Three men, three women, and six young children are all seated around a table, staring at a dead body. This is neither a wake nor a funeral, and no one at the table appears to be distressed or sad. In fact, everyone appears to be smiling. The oldest of the three men, an elderly man with a grizzled, white beard, stands up and instructs everyone at the table to lower their heads, as he proceeds to say a few words over the deceased. The old man then says one final word, picks up a long, sharp knife, and plunges it into the corpse on the table --- much to the delight of the onlookers! Will the evils of this world never cease?! Must children be forced to watch these types of twisted, warped proceedings; or are these events less horrid than they appear? What is the one final word said by the old man with the white beard, and just what exactly is going on here?
"Think about a special occasion where people gather around a table, and a ritual is performed with a specific object..."
The family members are all sitting around a table waiting for the man with the white beard to say his prayer of thanks for all of God’s blessings to them. The last word of his prayer is, “Amen”, after which, he proceeds to carve the Thanksgiving turkey, which is the dead body laying on the table.
A mother has 6 daughters. The 1st one was watching television, The 2nd was sleeping, The 3rd was at school, The 4th was playing chess, and The 5th was playing with her phone, what was the 6th daughter doing?
During the first week of July, Jenny came back from a business trip and saw that her house had been burgled. She called the police and told them the following story: "My business trip was supposed to be between the 29th and the 31st of the previous month, so I was supposed to be gone for three days. However, I returned just now and found my house in a huge mess! Someone must have robbed me!". Jenny was arrested for a false report. Why?
Hint: Think about the calendar...
Jenny came back during the first week of July, so the previous month was June. She couldn't be away for business between the 29th and the 31st of June because June 31st doesn't exist; there are only 30 days in June.
Farmer Egbert has a cow, two horses, and a cat. The farmer drives up to the farm accompanied by his dog Fluffball. How many feet are there on the farm?
Think about the number of legs each animal has, but don't forget to consider the farmer himself!
The task was to count the number of FEET, so the correct answer is just two. Cows and horses have HOOVES; dogs and cats have PAWS; only Egbert, a human, has FEET.
It was during a television advertisement on the reality show "Dog the Bounty Hunter" that Jean first received her calling to become an actual bounty hunter. Immediately after viewing the ad, Jean stood up, walked directly to her car, and proceeded to drive to a rather seedy location where she felt certain she would be able to secure her first bounty. Fearlessly, Jean entered the location without weapons of any kind and without handcuffs, and yet, she was able to apprehend her intended target without causing any disturbance, and without encountering any physical resistance from her prey. What gave Jean the courage and the confidence to think she could handle the duties, dangers, and responsibilities associated with the bounty hunting profession?
Think about the "seedy location" Jean drove to and what kind of "target" she might be looking for...
As Jean was watching her favorite TV show “Dog the Bounty Hunter” one evening, a commercial for Bounty paper towels appeared. Jean remembered she had just used her last roll of paper towels earlier that day and had always wanted to try the Bounty brand, so she drove to a local mini-mart and picked up a roll to try it, to see if it was truly “The Quicker - Picker - Upper”.
One summer evening, as Irene sat on the front porch of her old Kentucky home, she witnessed about a dozen men in two large trucks pull up to an old abandoned farmhouse about a hundred yards from hers. Suspicious, she grabbed her binoculars and observed two of the men approach the old farmhouse --- and set it on fire! After ten minutes had passed, the farmhouse was completely engulfed in flames, but neither Irene nor any of her neighbors in sight of the burning building ever bothered to call 9-1-1 to report any of these events. To make matters even worse, two police cars passed the flaming house but never bothered to stop. What happened to civic duty and responsibility? Has society totally turned its back on the idea of neighbors helping neighbors; or is there an alternate explanation for these events? What exactly was happening here?
Think about the context and the people involved... Are they really "neighbors" in the classical sense?
As Irene and her neighbors looked out of their respective windows, they all saw the two large trucks were actually fire engines carrying about a dozen firemen. They obviously had come with permission from the owner of the abandoned farmhouse, to perform a training exercise on fire fighting techniques (Irene and her neighbors had received notification from the fire company of this planned exercise earlier that same week). After the firemen started the building on fire, they proceeded to practice their skills in putting out the blaze. The police cars who passed the fire saw the firefighters were training, as they also had been notified of this planned fire at the start of their shift. The owner of the building got rid of his old farmhouse, and gave the fire company some needed practice, providing a win-win situation.
We first appeared outside in the early 1940s during World War II. Our construction was a simple mixture of glass and aluminum, with a flexible entrance that kept out unwanted intrusions. We were not migratory and never slept -- even at nighttime. The famous movie director, Alfred Hitchcock, once used one of us in his movie "The Birds" back in 1963, which resulted in some shattered glass. A famous "lady" once described us as being, "like a lighthouse on the highway", as we were easily seen at nighttime. In the year 2000, there were more than two million of us in existence, but as of 2020, our numbers have quickly declined, and there are now fewer than 100,000 of us remaining in the United States. We were greatly honored in 2015 when someone nominated us for inclusion into the National Register of Historic Places in the state of Arkansas. Who/what are we?
Here's a hint: Think about a common roadside structure that was once ubiquitous, but has since become a relic of the past.
Trains travel from one town to another town all day, always on the same track, always going nonstop and at the same speed. The noon train took 80 minutes to complete the trip, but the 4 PM train took an hour and 20 minutes. Why?
Think about the timing of the trains and how it might affect the duration of their trips...
There are 2 cops parked along a one-way street looking for traffic violations. They spot a taxi driver going in the wrong direction, yet they do nothing.
Why?
Think about the situation from a different perspective... Are the cops really "looking" at the taxi driver?
The taxi driver wasn't driving at the time, he was walking.
In Jamaica, if you drop a steel ball weighing five pounds from a height of 45 inches, will it fall more rapidly through the water at 20 degrees Fahrenheit or water at 40 degrees Fahrenheit? Or will it make no difference?
Think about the properties of water at different temperatures...
40 degrees Fahrenheit. At 20 degrees Fahrenheit the water would be ice.
Nick timed himself and found out that if he wore a bright white outfit he ran 20 miles in 80 minutes, but when he wore a dark outfit, he ran 20 miles in one hour and twenty minutes. What does this mean for his next race?
Think about how the color of Nick's outfit might be affecting his performance, but not in a physical way...
Nothing, as 80 minutes equals an hour and twenty minutes.
One day, down at the South Pole, five penguins and twice as many polar bears got onto a train. The train was headed to another station that was 15 minutes away from where it was initially. What is wrong with this story?
Think about the environment and inhabitants of the South Pole...
Polar bears live at the North Pole, while penguins live at the South Pole. They can't coexist at the same Pole.
These are a series of riddles. They are all connected. 1) There are 100 bricks on a plane. One falls off. How many are left? 2) What are the three steps to put an elephant in a fridge? 3) What are the four steps to put a giraffe in a fridge? 4) A lion was having a party and he invited all the animals. All of them came except one. Which one was it? 5) A lady crossed a crocodile-infested river and survived. How? 6) She crossed back and died. How?
1) 99 2) Open the door, put the elephant in, and close the door. 3) Open the door, take the elephant out, put the giraffe in, and close the door. 4) The giraffe. It was in the fridge. 5) The crocodiles were at the party. 6) The brick from the plane hit her in the head.
A green apple costs $1, a red apple costs $2, and a blue apple costs $3. If you have $3, but only two bills, what apples can you buy?
Think about the possible combinations of bills you can have with only two bills...
There are two solutions; you can either buy one green apple and one red apple using a $1 and a $2 (yes, $2 bills are a thing), or you can buy three green apples using the same two bills. You could have bought one blue apple using those bills, but blue apples don't exist!
A man has Ten Horses and nine stables as shown here. [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] The man wants to fit Ten Horses into nine stables. How can he fit Ten horses into nine stables?
Think about the names of the horses...
One letter for each stable. [T][E][N] [H][O][R][S][E][S]
Carl is trying to find solutions to a geometric puzzle. He has a square plot of land that he needs to reserve 1/4 for himself and divide the remaining 3/4 equally and in a similar shape, among his 4 children. There are two possible solutions. Can you solve the puzzle?
Think about dividing the square into smaller squares, and then rearranging those smaller squares to create four equal shapes for the children...
Solution #1 - Squares
First, Carl divides his as to reserve to himself one-fourth in the form of a square.
Then, Carl takes the remaining 3/4 shape and scales it down by 1/4. He then, multiplies the shape into 4 identically shaped pieces, and aranges them so that they fit into the original 3/4 shape.
Solution #2 - Rectangles
First, create a triangle that is 1/4 the size of the square.
Now, with straight lines, create two squares.
Proceed to disect the two squares with horizontal lines creating 4 triangles.
Then, disect one of the resultuing triangles from each square. The shape of land for each of his four children is divided evenly and is the same shape.
The distance from the Earth to the Sun is about 100 million miles. The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second, and light takes eight minutes to reach the Earth from the Sun. Let's say the Sun rose at 6am this morning, and that by some freak of physics the speed of light is suddenly doubled to 372,000 miles a second.
What time will the Sun rise tomorrow?
Think about what the speed of light has to do with the Sun rising...
6am again. After all, what diffrence does the speed of light make to the answer? It's irrelevant- only the speed of the roation of the Earth matters here.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith were walking home from the shopping mall with their purchases when Mr. Smith began to complain that his load was too heavy. Mrs. Smith turned to her husband and said, "I don't know what you're complaining about because if you gave me one of your parcels, I would have twice as many as you and if I gave you just one of mine, we would have equal loads." How many parcels was each carrying?
Think about the ratio of parcels between Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and how it changes when they exchange one parcel. The key is to find the smallest possible ratio that satisfies the conditions.
Mrs. Smith was carrying seven parcels and Mr. Smith was carrying five.
A camel travels a certain distance each day. Strangely enough, two of its legs travel 30 miles each day and the other two legs travel nearly 31 miles. It would seem that two of the camel's legs must be one mile ahead of the other two legs, but of course this can't be true.
Since the camel is normal, how is this situation possible?
Think about the direction the camel is traveling...
The camel operates a mill and travels in a circular clockwise direction. The two outside legs will travel a greater distance than the two inside legs.
A farmer in California owns a beautiful pear tree. He supplies the fruit to a nearby grocery store. The store owner has called the farmer to see how much fruit is available for him to purchase. The farmer knows that the main trunk has 24 branches. Each branch has exactly 12 boughs and each bough has exactly 6 twigs. Since each twig bears one piece of fruit, how many plums will the farmer be able to deliver?
The answer is not what you think it is... Pay close attention to the type of fruit mentioned in the question!
There is a bus full of people travelling to San Francisco and no one gets off the bus throughout the journey. But when it gets to the other side there is not a single person left. How is this possible?
Think about the purpose of the bus and the type of people on it...
A man who lived on the top floor of a twenty story building had to go up and down daily for work, and of course, for food and the other necessities. On most days he could only ride the elevator to the fifteenth story, and he would have to walk the rest of the way. When it rained, however, he could ride all the way up to the twentieth story. Why?
Think about the man's physical ability to use the elevator...
The man wasn't tall enough to reach the button for the 20th floor. He could only reach the 15th story button on the elevator. When it rained, he brought his umbrella, and used it to press the 20th story button on the elevator.
There is a green house. Inside the green house, there is a white house Inside the white house there is a red house. Inside the red house, there are lots of babies. What is it?
It is a watermelon. Explanation: The skin of the watermelon is green (green house), the watermelon rind is white (white house), the watermelon flesh is red (red house), and the watermelon seeds located in the red flesh are the babies.
I have no voice and yet I speak to you, I tell of all things in the world that people do. I have leaves, but I am not a tree, I have pages, but I am not a bride or royalty. I have a spine and hinges, but I am not a man or a door, I have told you all, I cannot tell you more. What am I?
Think about something you might find in a library or a bookshelf, something that conveys information and stories, but isn't a living thing...
I am heard before I am seen. Startled and I am alive. I rumble like thunder, yet I pour like rain. I am felt before I arrive; stand with me and you won't survive. What am I?
"Think about a force of nature that can be both fierce and gentle, and is often associated with changes in the weather..."
Looking for something? Open me. I'm sure that something inside of me lies. Of course, you can always find hope in me (Though despair must come first; and later, surprise), What's sought, though, depends on the seeker - One looks for bobbin; another, for beaker; Others, for nature; still others, for nurture - The quarry will vary from searcher to searcher. And yet (I suspect this will strike you as strange), My contents are set and will not ever change. If you cannot still guess what I mean, here's a clue: The answer - what I mean - lies inside of me, too. What am I?
Think about a common object that people often open to find different things, and its contents are fixed, yet what's sought can vary greatly from person to person...
Every famine begins with me. Each fight I'll be the first you see. Though food can never come without, what forest fire beginnings are all about. Fears begin with me it is true, and when I come I'll bring flames for you. But with the hungry I wont be found. Yet with each new life I'll be around. What am I?
I bring death with a mighty blow. I can ruin nations with a mighty hole. Many people may die. Many people will cry. A battle is won at least. In the end I can bring peace. What am I?
Think about something that can cause massive destruction, but is also a crucial element in resolving conflicts...
I'm done with a hand, one at a time;
A motion to make words, but not to make lines;
I'm known as correct, and as a way, in a way;
And even if you don't take me away, none of me would be left.
What am I?
Think about an action you perform with your hand that helps you communicate, but isn't about drawing or writing.
My first is in chocolate but not in ham, my second's in cake and also in jam, my third at tea-time is easily found, my whole is a friend who's often around. What am I?
Think about the words that describe social relationships and the common activities mentioned in the riddle...
On a fine sunny day a ship was in the harbor. All of a sudden the ship began to sink. There was no storm and nothing wrong with the ship yet it sank right in front of the spectators eyes. What caused the ship to sink?
What ancient device allows people to traverse through walls?
Think about something that was used in the past to help people move from one place to another, and its name has a word that is also a type of partition or barrier...
One day, a scientist was down in his lab. It was around 11 o'clock. He was working late on poisons and their antidotes. He was hungry, so he went to get a snack. Suddenly, he found himself tied to a chair. There was a nasty-looking robber in front of him. The robber had his wife. He said,' I will only leave you and your wife if you feed her 1 whole teaspoon of poison of your choice, if you don't, then I will kill you both'. The scientist fed his wife an entire teaspoon of a type of poison from his lab, but the wife did not die, how? There were blue, red, white, green, yellow, and pink-colored poisons in his lab. All of them were deadly. Which one did the scientist choose?
Think about the situation and the fact that the scientist is a expert in poisons and their antidotes...
The white one, since sugar is known as 'White Poison'.
You use me for my name, I'm not a breeze to tame, I'm fastest when I'm full and when it's cheap it sounds the same. You'll spot a nest near me (although I'm not a tree), the sea is fore, the sea is aft, it's all around, you see. What am I?
"Think about something you might find near the ocean, and consider the multiple meanings of a certain word..."
What is served, but not by a waiter; and an ace but not a card?
A volleyball: A volleyball serve that drops without the opposing team touching it is called an ace. Also, a tennis ball. In tennis, an ace is a legal serve that is not touched by the receiver, winning the point for the server.
Four kings of whom I am one lord. Often on deck but never on board. Though I have a large heart, I am always seen at war. During which I always wear a suit, but never a suit of armor. Who am I?
Think about a game where strategy and skill are key, and the "war" is more of a mental battle...
Half of me will mend, the other half will imprison. When I am together, I will poison. Who am I?
Think about something that has two distinct parts, where one part is associated with healing or fixing, and the other part is associated with confinement or restriction...