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.
Miya had a birthday party. She invited three friends over-Derek, Trevor, and Amanda-who each gave her some gifts. In the middle of the party, Miya realizes that someone has stolen all of her gifts. She thinks it is one of the guests, so she questions them. Each guest makes two assertions-one truth and one lie. Derek: "I wasn't in the house when it happened. I know Amanda stole the gifts". Trevor: "Amanda stole them, I saw them. I already have enough gifts". Amanda: "I didn't steal the gifts. Derek tells the truth, he wasn't in the house". Who stole the gifts?
Pay close attention to the statements that mention another person's whereabouts or honesty, as they can be used to verify or contradict each other.
Trevor stole the gifts. If Derek was the thief, both of his assertions would have been false. And if Amanda was the thief, both of Derek's assertions would have been true. Both cases go against the rules, so Trevor is the thief.
It was the snowiest winter in the past 25 years, and Tina called the police to report a theft. The woman suspected that her neighbor, Natalie, had stolen her clothes. Tina said, "At 10:00, I went outside to hang my laundry. When I looked out of my window two hours later, I saw Natalie folding the clothes and putting them into a big bag. I immediately called the police after that,". Tina was taken into custody for slandering Natalie. Why?
Think about the timing and the weather...
It was very snowy all day. In two hours, damp laundry would be so frozen that Natalie wouldn't possibly be able to fold it so neatly and put it into a bag.
A mad chef forces you to cook breakfast for him; if he likes it, he'll set you free, but if not, you'll stay with him forever. While you're at the stove cooking something up, the chef dumps an entire container of salt into the pot you're cooking with. But when you serve breakfast, the chef realizes he'll have to let you go. What did you cook for him?
Think about something you can cook that would actually benefit from a large amount of salt being added to it...
You cooked some boiled eggs. No matter how much salt is added to the pot, the boiled eggs won't be salty.
Hannah became very tired while driving. She decided to stop at a nearby two-story hotel and stay there for the night. The receptionist said that her hotel room number is 604; he even offered to show Hannah where it was. Hannah didn't believe him; she rushed back to her car, hopped inside, and sped away. Why?
Think about the physical characteristics of a two-story hotel...
The first digit of a hotel room number usually indicates the floor it is on. Room 604 is supposed to be on the sixth floor, but the hotel only has two floors.
Are the below statements True or False?
1. The Washington Monument is in Washington D.C.?
2. The Pacific Ocean is on the east coast of North America?
3. There are 12 months in every Gregorian year?
4. The color red is a primary color?
5. Lincoln was the the third president of the United States?
Here's a hint:
Look for the one statement that is NOT a fact, but rather a trick question. The answer is not necessarily "false", but rather "not entirely true".
Here's a hint: Think about the things you wear, use, or find in pairs in your daily life. You might be surprised at how many common items are sold in twos!
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.
Jake is a blogger who likes to look at how many likes his posts get. One day, he checks the likes on his most recent post. Only one of the following statements is true. How many likes did Jake get? 1) Jake got at least 1 like. 2) Jake got at least 50 likes. 3) Jake got fewer than 50 likes.
Think about what would happen if Jake got exactly 1 like...
Only the third statement is true; Jake got zero likes. If the first statement is true, then he has at least one like, but the third statement is also true, assuming that this number is less than 50; this contradicts the conditions. If the second statement is true, then Jake has at least 50 likes, but the first statement automatically becomes true, too. If the third statement is true, then Jake has fewer than 50 likes; this makes the second statement wrong, but for the first statement to be wrong, too, the post should have gotten less than one like. Therefore, Jake got zero likes on his most recent post.
Morgan was making apricot jam. She put all the apricots in the pot and stirred them up. Then she remembered she had to add 1 ounce of lemon juice for every two apricots! How did she figure out how much lemon juice to put?
Counting is not the only way to solve this problem... Think about the apricots in pairs!
Find the four digit number in which the first digit is one fourth of the last digit, the second digit is 6 times the first digit, and the third digit is the second digit plus 3. What is it?
Think about a simple multiplication table to crack the code...
A sharpshooter hung up his hat and put on a blindfold. He then walked 100 yards, turned around, and shot a bullet through his hat. The blindfold was a perfectly good one, completely blocking the man's vision. How did he manage this?
Think about the environment and the time of day...
Inspector Bradstreet, a highly respected police detective with 25 years of investigative experience on the force, was in a room with four homicide suspects: Joan, Shirley, Dorothy, and Irene. He was in the room with the four of them for at least 15 minutes, but for some reason, he had not started interrogating the suspects, despite the fact that a dead body, which had a knife sticking out of its back, lay on the floor in the room with them. One of the four suspects had called 911 to summon the police at some point. Why hadn't this highly decorated and respected detective started his investigation into the obvious murder by questioning the four suspects? For what reason was he waiting?
Think about the situation from the detective's perspective... what would make him hesitate to start questioning the suspects, despite the urgency of the situation? Consider the phrase "he was in the room with the four of them" very carefully.
Inspector Bradstreet was dead. It was his body that had the knife stuck in it.
You have 5 kids and you have to get them all into a car. Tommy and Timmy are twins but they fight so they can't sit together. Sarah and Sally fight too, so they can't sit together. Max fights with his sisters so he can only sit by his brothers. There are 5 seats side by side and you have to put them in order. How would you seat the kids, so that everyone is happy?
Think about "sandwiching" the troublemakers between those who get along!
You walk into a room and see a bed. On the bed, there are two dogs, four cats, a giraffe, five cows, and a duck. There are also three chickens flying above the bed. How many legs are on the floor?
Think about what's NOT touching the floor...
There are six legs on the floor. All of the animals are on the bed and no other furniture is mentioned in the room. Four legs from the bed and your two legs because you are standing in the room.
I look flat, but I am deep, Hidden realms I shelter. Lives I take, but food I offer. At times I am beautiful. I can be calm, angry and turbulent. I have no heart, but offer pleasure as well as death. No man can own me, yet I encompass what all men must have. What am I?
Think about a natural element that can be both serene and violent, providing sustenance while also posing a threat, and is essential for human survival...
With pointed fangs, I sit in wait, With piercing force, I dole out fate, Over bloodless victims proclaiming its might, Eternally joining in a single bite. What am I?
"Think about a common object that is often used to 'join' things together, and has a 'bite' that can be quite strong..."
I can be any color you can imagine. You see me in everyday life. I have been around for many, many years, look around, you can probably see some of me right now.
What am I?
Think about something that surrounds you, something you might be sitting on, walking on, or even wearing...
I am the shell of something interesting. My front is very eye catching but my inside tells all. What am I ?
"Think about something you might find in a museum or a collector's shelf, and consider the difference between its attractive exterior and the valuable information it holds within..."
I take you by night, by day take you back. None suffer to have me but do from my lack. What am I?
"Think about something that is often associated with darkness and light, and is essential for our well-being, but its absence can cause great distress..."
I am a type of room you cannot enter or leave. Raised from the ground below, I could be poisonous or a delicious treat. What am I?
Think about a space that's often found in a house, but you can't physically enter or exit it. The "raised from the ground below" part might be a literal clue...
I have seven letters and am something you eat. My only anagram can help your pain. If you remove my first 2 letters I wear things down. Removing my first 3 letters is an adjective and removing my first 4 letters leaves a measure of time. What am I?
Think about a common food item that's often associated with relief or comfort, and its anagram is a word that's synonymous with "remedy" or "cure".
I am Sausage. Anagram: assuage. An example of something that a nurse might assuage is someone's pain with the distribution of medicine
Four legs I do have, yet I never walk. I work not, yet I have food. All the food I get, none do I eat but you do. I cannot read yet many times I'm found with books. I am only but a carpenter's work. What am I?
Think about a common object found in a library or a study room, often associated with books, but not alive, and not capable of eating or walking...
Where man is, there I am
I'm natural, man makes me
I'm a shield, a weapon
I enchain to release
A stable foundation
Though ever-evolving
My body is quite vast
Though I'm not physical
I have many branches
I'm not a tree or plant
No guesses, you know me now
No mercy, if you are wrong
What am I?
Think about something that is inherently connected to human existence, yet is not a living thing, and has a dual nature that can be both protective and restrictive...
My first is in wield, sever bones and marrow. My second is in blade, forged in cold steel. My third is in arbalest, and also in arrows. My fourth is in power, plunged through a shield. My fifth is in honour, and also in vows My last will put an end to it all.
What am I?
"Think about the different parts of a medieval weapon, and how each part can be related to a word that fits the description..."
Which of the men is so prudent and wise as to say who drives me on my path, when I rise up strong, at times severe, powerfully prominent, sometimes vengeful, I travel throughout the land, burn houses. Smoke rises, grey over rooftops. The trees on earth shall be, the violent death of men, when I shake the woods, the flowering forests, fell tall trees, roofed with rain, by the highest powers, driven in my wandering, widely sent; I have on my back what once covered men, body, and soul, both in water. Say who covers me, or how I am called, that bears that burden. What am I?
"Think about a force of nature that can be both creative and destructive, and is often associated with power, strength, and transformation. The answer is not a living thing, but it can have a profound impact on the natural world and human societies."
Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?
Think about the veggies you often find in grandma's backyard, and the ones that come back year after year without needing to be replanted...
Never resting, never still. Moving silently from hill to hill. It does not walk, run or trot, All is cool where it is not. What is it?
Think about something that can move across the landscape without making a sound, and its presence is often associated with a decrease in temperature...
I want everything within sight. The impossible will not flee my plight. I will take it all by any means. To have is my heart's very need. A bottomless pit that nothing will fill. I have even led humans to kill. What am I?
What common English word will describe a person or thing as not being found in any place and yet with no changes other than a space between syllables, will correctly describe that person or thing as being actually present at this very moment?
The word is "NOWHERE". When a space is placed between the 'w' and 'h', you get the words "NOW HERE".
I have four of these, With matching extremities. They can do many things, And hardly ever bring me pain. Unless I stick them with a pin, Or burn them sometimes when... What is it that I can wiggle at will? And use in other means still?
As a whole, I am both safe and secure. Behead me, and I become a place of meeting. Behead me again, and I am the partner of ready. Restore me, and I become the domain of beasts.
What am I?
Think about a word that can be modified by removing its first letter, and the resulting words have different meanings related to the descriptions in the riddle.
I am everywhere yet not seen; I was dead yet I'm alive; a Son to a man who is dead yet a Son to One Who's forever alive; suffered, not for myself but for others. I have disproved many beliefs and many laws. Who am I?
Think about something that is omnipresent, has undergone a transformation, and has a complex relationship with its "parents". It's not a living being, but its impact is felt by all.
A man was found murdered on Sunday morning. His wife immediately called the police. The police questioned the wife and staff and got these alibis: The Wife said she was sleeping. The Cook was cooking breakfast. The Gardener was picking vegetables. The Maid was getting the mail. The Butler was cleaning the closet. The police instantly arrested the murderer. Who did it and how did they know?
Pay close attention to the activities mentioned and think about what time of day it is...
It was the Maid. She said she was getting the mail. There is no mail on Sunday! (next day air and email doesn't count)
Pete and Repeat were on a boat. Pete fell out, who was left on the boat?
Think about the names...
Repeat! Pete and Repeat were on a boat. Pete fell out, who was left on the boat? Repeat! Pete and Repeat were on a boat. Pete fell out, who was left on the boat? Repeat! Pete and Repeat were on a boat. Pete fell out, who was left on the boat? Repeat! Pete and Repeat were on a boat. Pete fell out, who was left on the boat? Repeat! Ex