Not far outside the town of Pottsville, a railroad track runs through a tunnel in a hillside. There's only one track, and the tunnel is wide enough for only one train. But one day, two trains went into the tunnel from opposite directions. Each train entered the tunnel exactly at eight o'clock. Three minutes later, each train came out at the opposite ends of the tunnel. Yet, there was no collision! How was this possible?
Think about the time of day and the fact that the trains entered the tunnel at exactly 8:00...
One train comes at 8am and the other train came at 8pm.
You and Hector are in the car. You are in the passenger seat while Hector is driving. Hector is very good at driving. He closes his eyes to scare you as he is driving. You look at him and see his eyes closed. Your heart starts pounding because there is something in the road and Hector has to swerve out of the way, but with his eyes closed he can't see it, yet he still swerved out of the way and kept driving perfectly. Along with his eyes being closed the whole time, you were also silent the whole time. How is that possible that he knew something was in the way with his eyes closed?
Think about the situation from a different perspective...
Since you are in the passenger seat, when you look at Hector all you see is the right side of his face, only his right eye. He had his right eye closed and his left eye opened. You just couldn't see it.
Death and taxes; taxes and death----- They're sure to be with us, until our last breath. So, try to save money-----How much can you save? They'll nickel us and dime us-----Right down to the grave. And now that you've heard my negative chant, tell me the man's name you hear in my rant.
Listen carefully to the rhythm and meter of the rant, and think about a famous person whose name sounds like a phrase that's often repeated when discussing the inevitability of...
A man and his wife were slowly driving along when their teenage son, who had just recently received his driver's license, suddenly drove his car up behind them and started to repeatedly smash into the back of their car, while his sister, who was in the car with him, loudly cheered and egged on her brother. Witnesses to the event appeared unaffected by the incident, and in fact some were even observed smiling. The police were never called. What was going on with this family, and why did no one call the police?
Think about a common family outing where people often gather to watch and enjoy...
The man and his wife had taken their two children to an amusement park. The parents were in one bumper car, and their two children were in another bumper car.
Clayton grew up in a very large, very poor family. With a dozen children(six boys and six girls) to care for, his parents had a hard time providing food and clothing for everyone. Also, as hot water had to first be boiled on the stove to mix with cold water for baths, Clayton and his siblings were lucky to be able to take a bath even one time a month. As he grew older, Clayton was able to obtain a good-paying job, and could afford to move into better housing where he had enough food and clean clothing for himself; but his habit of rarely taking a bath stuck with him. In fact, Clayton now only takes a bath once every two years or so, but no one at his office job(where he has to wear a suit and tie) has ever complained of his having any body odor, or made any negative references concerning his personal hygiene. They say old habits die hard, but this one grew by leaps and bounds!! Refusing to take even a sponge bath, how does Clayton manage to keep his job without offending any of his co-workers?
Here's a hint: Think about Clayton's job and the specific requirements of his profession. It's not about his personal habits, but about the nature of his work.
Leslie bought some ice cream on Friday. She kept all of the flavors a secret from her friends, although she wanted to enjoy it for dessert the next day. When Leslie woke up on Saturday, she didn't find the ice cream; someone had eaten it! The girl decided to ask her friends if they had eaten the ice cream. Geoff said that he was about to leave for work, and hadn't seen anything. Christian said that he was excited to try the new butterscotch ice cream on Saturday, albeit afraid that he was going to miss it. And Margot said that she didn't even know about the ice cream, but was also willing to try it. Who knows something?
Pay close attention to the alibis and what each friend says about the ice cream...
Christian couldn't be sure that there was a butterscotch taste among the ice cream flavors because Leslie kept all of the flavors in secret. Therefore, he knows something about the stolen ice cream.
A bus driver goes the wrong way on a one-way street. He passes two stop signs without stopping, and he even ignores all of the traffic signs. The driver passes the cops, but they don't arrest him. Why?
Think about the driver's occupation and the circumstances under which he is operating the bus...
Nowhere in this riddle did I say that the bus driver was actually driving a bus; after all, he was walking!
Jennifer is always late for work. One day, she comes to work late as usual, which angers her boss. But, her boss is more lenient today and gives Jennifer a chance to keep her job. If she solves his rebus puzzle, Jennifer won't be fired. The boss says, "I'm A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T V W X Y Z!". Luckily, Jennifer was a smart girl and managed to keep her job. What did the rebus puzzle say?
The hint is: Think about the alphabet, but not just the letters...
"I'm missing you". "A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T V W X Y Z" is missing the letter "U", which sounds like "I'm missing you (U)".
Emma was arrested for robbing a bank. The police wanted to arrest Emma's boyfriend as well because he was supposedly an accomplice. The officers found four men-Kevin, Miles, Paul, and Stanley-and interrogated them. One of them is the boyfriend who is lying. Another person was Emma's brother, who did not assist with the robbery but was also lying because he wanted to help. And the other two boys were innocent and telling the truth. Each person says the following: Kevin: Stanley is her boyfriend. Miles: Paul is lying. Paul: Kevin is lying. Stanley: Miles is not her brother. Who is Emma's brother, and who is her boyfriend?
Think about who must be telling the truth, and use that to figure out who is lying...
Kevin is Emma's brother, and Miles is her boyfriend. If Kevin is telling the truth, then Stanley is lying because the boyfriend lies. This means Miles is also lying because according to these conditions, Miles IS the brother who is lying. But then, Paul is telling the truth. It contradicts that Kevin is telling the truth because both of them cannot be truthful at the same time. So, Kevin is lying, Paul is telling the truth, and Miles is lying. By default, Stanley is the other man telling the truth. The two liars are Kevin and Miles; they are Emma's boyfriend and brother. Since Stanley said that Miles is NOT her brother, and that statement is true, it means Kevin is her brother, and Miles is her boyfriend.
Mr. Plessy, one of the best pilots in his town, came to his insurance company to file a report. He said that someone had robbed him in the street, but he couldn't see what the robber had looked like because of his poor eyesight. The insurance manager refused to proceed with the case and called Mr. Plessy a liar. Why?
Think about Mr. Plessy's profession and how it relates to his claim...
Mr. Plessy is a pilot, but it's impossible to work as one if you have poor eyesight.
I Make Reading A Challenge, And That Can Cause Some Damage. I Am Difficult To Manage, But When That Happens, The Passage Is Much Less Savage. I Make Many People Frown, But The Answer Is Just To Slow Down. I Know This Is Not What You Had Planned, I Just Hope You Will Understand. What Am I?
Think about something that can make reading more difficult, but when controlled, makes the text more pleasant to read. It's often associated with a pace or speed...
Rearrange all the letters in each of the sentences to form, in each case, a well-known proverb.
1. I don't admit women are faint.
2. It rocks. The broad flag of the free.
3. Strong lion's share almost gone.
What are the proverbs?
Here's a hint:
Think about phrases that offer advice or words of wisdom, and pay attention to the word order and letter arrangements. You might need to "rearrange" your thinking to uncover the well-known proverbs hidden within!
1. Time and tide wait for no man.
2. Birds of a feather flock together.
3. A rolling sone gathers no moss.
A woman is sitting in her hotel room when there is a knock at the door. She opened the door to see a man whom she had never seen before. He said "Oh I'm sorry, I have made a mistake, I thought this was my room." He then went down the corridor and in the elevator. The woman went back into her room and phoned security. What made the woman so suspicious of the man?
Here's a hint:
Think about what the man said and did, and how it relates to the fact that he was a stranger in the woman's hotel room...
I have three envelopes, into one of them I put a $20 note. I lay the envelopes out on a table in front of me and allow you to pick one envelope. You hold but do not open this envelope. I then take one of the envelopes from the table, demonstrate to you that it was empty, screw it up and throw it away. The question is would you rather stick with the envelope you have selected or exchange it for the one on the table. Why? What would be the expected value to you of the exchange?
Hint: Think about the probability of the $20 note being in each envelope initially, and how that probability changes when one envelope is eliminated. It's not 50/50!
The answer might seem a little counter intuitive at first but we'll see... The short answer is that it is in your advantage to exchange. But why? Well initially there was a 1/3 chance that you were holding the envelope with the note in it and a 2/3 chance that the note was on the table. This is still the case after one of the envelopes on the table has been removed, there is still a 1/3 chance that you have the note and a 2/3 chance of it being on the table. If this is confusing then it may help to think that the questioner knows which envelope the $20 note is in, though in practice it doesn't actually matter. The questioner would always be able to demonstrate that the note was not in one of the envelopes on the table regardless of where the note was, so the fact that he was able to do this changes nothing. Consider a different example.... Say there are a 1000 envelopes on the table, 1 with a note inside. You pick 1 envelope, the chance that this has the note in it is clearly 1/1000, where as the chance that it is still on the table is 999/1000. Odds are its on the table. Now the questioner could, assuming he can remember where the note is demonstrate to you that the note is not in 998 of the envelopes on the table. In this case nothing would have happened to change the fact that there is only a 1/1000 chance of you having the note. That is why you exchange. What is the value of the exchange? Simply before the exchange you have 1/3 of $20 and afterwards you will have 2/3 of $20, ie the advantage to you is about $6.66
A forest exists somewhere on Earth. This forest has no life except for trees. After a storm, a tree was hit by lightning and falls.
What sound would it make?
Think about the phrase "no life except for trees"... what does that really mean?
If you go to the movies and you're paying, is it cheaper to take one friend to the movies twice, or two friends to the movies at the same time?
Think about the number of tickets you need to buy in each scenario...
It's cheaper to take two friends at the same time. In this case, you would only be buying three tickets, whereas if you take the same friend twice you are buying four tickets.
Jim was examining an angle measuring 14 and 1/2 degrees, using his magnifying glass that magnifies everything two times. Under the glass, how large would that angle measure?
Think about what happens to the angle when it's magnified, not just the number...
14 and 1/2 degrees. Explanation, angles remain constant when magnified. A square has 4-90 degree corners, if you zoom in (magnify) a square, it's still a square.
Lazy Larry agreed to work on a job for his brother-in-law for thirty hours at eight dollars an hour, on the condition that he would forfeit ten dollars per hour for every hour that he idled. At the end of the thirty hours Larry wasn't owed any money and didn't owe his brother-in-law any money either. How many hours did Larry work and how many hours did he idle?
Think about the "break-even" point: if Larry didn't work at all, how much would he owe his brother-in-law?
Lazy Larry worked 16-2/3 hours and idled 13-1/3 hours. 16-2/3 hours, at $8.00 an hour amounts to the same amount as 13-1/3 hours at $10.00 per hour.
An officer wishing to arrange his men in a solid square found by his first arrangement that he had 39 men left over. He then started increasing the number of men on a side by one, but found that 50 additional men would be needed to complete a new square.
How many men did the officer have?
Think about the differences between consecutive perfect squares...
The officer had 1975 men. When he formed a square measuring 44 by 44, he had 39 men over. When he tried to form a square 45 x 45, he was 50 men short.
Tara has $29.00 dollars. She bought 4 coloring books that cost $3.00 each, 4 boxes of Crayola crayons that cost $2.00 each. She spends the rest of her money on markers.
How much money did she spend on markers?
Think about how much money Tara spent on the coloring books and crayons, and then subtract that amount from her original $29.00 to find out how much she had left to spend on markers!
A policeman bursts through the door, and he finds exactly what the caller described. A man is hanging from the ceiling of the house. There was no furniture, no windows and the man was not psychically killed, or poisoned. The only thing the policeman found was a puddle of water. How did the man hang himself?
He stood on an ice cube to hang himself, which was slow and painful.
Some will use me, while others will not, some have remembered, while others have forgot. For profit or gain, I'm used expertly, I can't be picked off the ground or tossed into the sea. Only gained from patience and time, can you unravel my rhyme. What am I?
Think about something that requires effort and dedication to acquire, but can't be physically found or obtained through shortcuts...
Spelled forwards I'm what you do every day, Spelled backward I'm something you hate. What am I?
Think about a common daily activity that involves a word that can be spelled forwards and backwards, and consider how the reversed spelling might evoke a strong negative emotion...
I come in different shapes and sizes. Parts of me are curved, others are straight. You can put me anywhere you like, but there is only one right place for me. What am I?
Think about something you use every day, something that can be found in many different forms, but has a very specific purpose and "home"...
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...
Wherever the wind does go, Towards there I dance; With the sun above me I grow; Yet without water below, I can never survive; And the taller I grow, The deeper I become. What am I?
Think about something that sways gently in the breeze, and its growth is dependent on the sun and water...
I am a window, I am a lamp, I am clouded, I am shining, and I am colored; set in white, I fill with water and overflow. I say much, but I have no words. What am I?
I am the runner, The pencils the chaser. I eat up the lead, I choke on the eraser. When I am done, I become another one, To be used again. I am white And blank as well. I can be folded, Into a bell. My corners are cut perfectly, My lines are straight and blue. Me having black marks or not, Fully depends on you. What am I?
Think about something you use to write or draw on, and how it interacts with pencils and erasers...
My host thinks I'm an irritation, a bother, a pain. But he can't evict me, so here I will remain. Then one day I'm taken and ranked among my peers. Can you guess just what I am? Then you might call me dear.
Think about something that is often unwanted, but cannot be removed, and is later sorted and categorized with others like it, earning a new level of appreciation.
How you describe me is what I am. Poets might hate me, but sailors should love me. I can't give them the sea, but only something that sounds like it. What am I?
Think about a word that is a homophone for "sea" and is often used in poetry and navigation...
An orange. (Note: orange doesn't rhyme with anything, and it gives sailors vitamin C (a homophone of sea))
I'm a spy but I have no eye. I bake a nice pie but I have no tongue. I float downward but everything goes up. What am I?
Think about something that can be found in the kitchen, but isn't a living thing...
The riddle "I'm a spy but I have no eye. I bake a nice pie but I have no tongue" is unanswered. Do you know the answer? If so, click ANSWER and add your answer in the comments section.
With pointed fangs it sits in wait, With piercing force it doles out fate, Over bloodless victims proclaiming its might, Eternally joining in a single bite. What is it?
A digger worked to get it, It took him all the day. And when, at last, he got it. What was it, anyway? So light you couldn't weigh it. No color one could see, Much bigger than the digger, What, then, could it be?
Think about something that can be dug up, but isn't a physical object...
On February 28th in New York Museum, at quarter-past midnight, a security guard named Ollie Bulb is found murdered in the Latin exhibits, along with the "Mythical Crystal Tear of Cepa" missing. Around Ollie are glass shards. Detective Dill is at it again! Detective Dill finds 4 suspects that were in the museum during the murder. Sal Spudder, another security guard says, "I was at the Egyptian exhibits from 9 PM to 1 PM. But Chauncey was at the Latin exhibits at 12:15 PM, though!" Chauncey Chantenay, a scientist studying some artifacts says, "Yes, I was at the Latin exhibit, but I left by 12:20 PM cuz' of the police!" Horace Radische, a security guard visiting on his off day says, "I admit, going here exactly at midnight was a bad choice. Except, the police were already here when I arrived!" Beatrice Lutz, the museum caretaker says, "Gah! That bloody rat! Oh, sorry, I was cleaning the bathrooms between 11:45 PM and 12:25 PM." Upon receiving the autopsy report, it reports that Ollie was killed at 12:10 PM by a glass object. Because she heard every valid witness, Detective Dill immediately knew who it was. Who did Det. Dill suspect and why? And what had happened to the "Mythical Crystal Tear of Cepa"?
Here's a hint:
Pay close attention to the times mentioned by each suspect, and think about what would be unusual or contradictory about their statements. Also, consider what kind of object could be used as a murder weapon in a museum, and how it might relate to the "glass shards" found around Ollie's body.
Horace Radische. Detective Dill knew he lied because he said that by midnight, the police were already there. But if Ollie was murdered at 12:10 PM and he was found at quarter-past, how were the police already there? And for the "Mythical Crystal Tear of Cepa"? It was the murder weapon. Horace smashed Ollie in the head with the artifact and upon contact it shattered, and Ollie collapsed due to the sheer force impacted on his head. Hence the death, the shards, and the missing artifact.