A woman was found dead in a ditch. They picked up her phone and called the first person in her contacts, which was the husband. They called the husband and said, "Hi, your wife was found dead in a ditch, please hurry!" So, the husband came to the ditch and got arrested. Why did he get arrested?
The husband was already at the scene of the crime...
The husband killed her, because he knew where the ditch was.
A world-famous magician and his young assistant were observed walking slowly along in a department store when suddenly they both stopped walking and began to slowly rise from the floor. The two continued to rise majestically until they had reached a height of 20 feet. Numerous store customers and a security guard witnessed the event, but no one seemed shocked by what they had seen, and no report of the occurrence ever reached the news media. The secrets of magic are not supposed to be revealed, but how would you speculate the magician and his assistant accomplished this feat, and why didn't the onlookers express amazement?
Hint: Think about the department store's layout and a common feature often found in them...
The magician and his assistant were simply using an escalator to go up to the next floor in the department store.
A man is late for an appointment and, in his haste, takes a corner so fast that only two wheels were on the pavement. A policeman is standing on the corner, but he did not give him a ticket. Why?
Think about the type of vehicle the man is driving...
Spencer wakes up in the middle of a forest. A few seconds later, a witch and three magic tunnels–a red, a yellow, and a blue–appear in front of the guy. The witch tells Spencer, "Two of these tunnels will make you disappear forever, and the other one will send you back to your house. Listen to these clues VERY carefully,". Clue 1: Choose the red tunnel, and you won't not disappear. Clue 2: It's a lie to say that the yellow tunnel isn't dissimilar. Clue 3: The blue tunnel doesn't have less in common with the red than with the yellow. Which tunnel should Spencer choose?
Think about the clues as statements about the tunnels, and consider what would be true if a tunnel led to Spencer's house versus if it made him disappear forever. Pay close attention to the use of double negatives and words like "dissimilar" to help you decipher the witch's tricky clues.
Spencer should choose the yellow tunnel. If he chooses the red tunnel, he will not NOT disappear; in other words, Spencer WILL disappear if he enters the red tunnel. We can therefore exclude the red tunnel. If he chooses the blue tunnel, he will also disappear; this is because the blue tunnel doesn't have less in common with red than yellow. In other words, the blue tunnel has more in common with red than yellow, so the blue tunnel will also make Spencer disappear. Choosing the yellow tunnel is the safest option because if it's a lie to say that yellow isn't dissimilar, the truth is that yellow IS different from the red and blue tunnels.
Bruno, a former race car driver, decided to switch professions when he became 30 years old. One day, on his new job, he suddenly felt compelled to speed up his car to over 90 miles per hour on the highway. As he glanced at his rearview mirror, he saw two police cars with their lights flashing and sirens wailing, coming up behind him; but Bruno appeared unphased by this, and he increased his speed to over 100 m.p.h. The two police cars remained in hot pursuit when suddenly, Bruno heard a loud bang and realized he had blown a tire. He was very fortunate to be able to pull safely over to the side of the road. Bruno laid his head down on his steering wheel as the two police cars reached his location --- and then went whizzing past him down the highway. All Bruno could say was, "I hope they don't get away." Why didn’t the two police cars stop to arrest Bruno for speeding and running from the law, and what is Bruno's new profession?
Think about a job where speeding and reckless driving are not only allowed but also encouraged, and the police would be more interested in helping than arresting...
Bruno's new profession as he had become a police officer. He was in his police cruiser when he spotted a car that matched the description of one used by a couple of men who had just committed a robbery, and he began his high-speed pursuit. Two other police cars joined in the pursuit until Bruno’s car had a flat tire.
Five friends-Albert, Brenda, Carl, Diana, and Eric–raced around a track. Albert finished before Brenda but after Carl. And Diana finished before Eric but after Brenda. In what order did each friend finish?
Think about the "sandwich" relationships: Carl is before Albert, Albert is before Brenda, Brenda is before Diana, and Diana is before Eric. Now, try to "assemble" the order!
From first to last, the order in which the friends finished is: Carl, Albert, Brenda, Diana, and Eric.
One day, a famous king and a famous queen each moved to the same small, rural town, and each built their own house there. The king and the queen were not married, but they were related. The report was they were not very fond of one another, despite being related, and in fact, were both well-known for having highly competitive natures. Both the king and the queen sent out invitations to the townspeople to visit their new houses, each secretly hoping the people would come only to see them, and not the other. On the given day, residents of the town lined up outside both the king's and the queen's new houses; but the people showed no outward signs of respect by bowing or curtsying to either of them. In return, the king presented a stone-faced appearance to his visitors, while the queen offered a cold and frosty reception to everyone who entered her place. To top things off, both the king and the queen both provided food and drink to all the people who came to visit them, but the townspeople were all made to pay for everything they ate and drank that day. However, the people all left both houses that day --- satisfied and happy!!! Why did the people show no outward signs of respect to the famous king and queen, and why weren't the townspeople upset and angry about being invited, and then having to pay for their meals?
Think about a different kind of "king" and "queen" that are not royalty, but still have a sense of grandeur and competitiveness. The key to this riddle lies in the type of "houses" they built and the nature of their "hospitality".
The famous king and the famous queen were: The Burger King and The Dairy Queen. Both had just built new franchises in the small town, and each was hoping to gather the most new customers from the townspeople who lived there. Neither franchise was about to give free food away to everyone, so all the people bought their burgers, fries, and ice cream treats at one or the other, and all were happy to have both of these fast-food options available to them in their community.
A young woman owns two horses, a plane, a gun, a tape with many markings, and a machine with sharp teeth which she uses almost every day. She does not use any of these for transportation or for self-defense (although the gun is loaded), but she does rely on all of these items to meet her financial needs. What does this young woman do for a living, and why does she need this strange assortment of objects?
Think "entertainment" and consider the markings on the tape as a crucial clue.
The young woman is a carpenter. She uses her two sawhorses, her carpenter’s plane, her nail gun, her tape measure, and her circular saw almost every day as she works to earn a living.
Once every year a farmer walks about on his farm property, picks out his favorite tree, and chops it down with an axe. He then drags the tree home and puts it in a metal bowl. The farmer then spends time lovingly caring for the tree by watering it every day and providing it with the best plant food money can buy to keep it as healthy as possible. Two weeks later he throws the tree outside, sets it on fire, and burns it to a crisp. How can you explain this apparent drastic change in the farmer's mood toward this tree?
Think about a specific time of year and a popular tradition that involves trees...
The man owns a Christmas tree farm where he grows thousands of Christmas trees for sale to the public. He is simply performing his annual Christmas ritual of selecting a tree, placing it in a tree stand, keeping it healthy for two weeks, and then disposing of it.
Hidden in the poem below, a female's name you'll seek; just read and listen to the rhyme, but please, don't take a week! MYSTERY POEM: A camel is accustomed to dry and arid places; but since it has no social skills, it spits in people's faces! What is the female name you hear?
Pay close attention to the words that rhyme in the poem, especially the last words of each sentence.
There once was an evil wizard. He took 3 woman from their homes and turned them into rose bushes that looked exactly alike. He put them in his garden. One of the woman had a husband and children and begged the wizard to let her see them. He agreed. At night, he brought the woman to her house. In the morning he came and took her home. One day the husband decided to go rescue her. So he snuck into the wizard's garden. He looked and looked at the 3 identical rose bushes trying to figure out which could be his wife. Suddenly, he knew the answer and he took his wife home. How did he know which rose bush was his wife?
Pay attention to the wizard's nightly visits...
The wizard brought the rosebush to her home at night and returned her to the garden in the morning. Therefore, she was the only plant without dew.
Six glasses are in a row. The first three are filled with milk, and the last three are empty. By moving only one glass, can you arrange them so that the full and the empty glasses alternate?
Think about moving a glass from one end to the other, but not just to the adjacent position...
Pick up the second glass and pour the milk into the fifth glass and then put it back in the second position.
3 men go into a motel. The man behind the desk said the room is $30, so each man paid $10 and went to the room. A while later the man behind the desk realized the room was only $25, so he sent the bellboy to the 3 guys' room with $5. On the way the bellboy couldn't figure out how to split $5 evenly between 3 men, so he gave each man $1 and kept the other $2 for himself. This meant that the 3 men each paid $9 for the room, which is a total of $27, add the $2 that the bellboy kept = $29. Where is the other dollar?
"Think about the initial transaction, not just the refund..."
The three men HAVE paid $27. But the bellboy's $2 are part of it. The hotel has $25 of the men's dollars. The bellboy has the other two. That's $27, and the three the men have make $30. The riddle is confusing because it would add the bellboy's $2 to the men's $27. But the men don't HAVE $27, nine each. They each PAID $9 for a total of $27, of which the hotel has $25 and the bellboy has $2. They HAVE $1 each. Add that to the two the bellboy has, and the $25 in the cash drawer (together the men's $27), and you have accounted for all thirty. I came across this riddle elsewhere on riddles.com, but the answer given was "I don't know"! So I figured it out and posted it.
A bus driver was heading down a street in Colorado. He went right past a stop sign without stopping, he turned left where there was a "no left turn" sign, and he went the wrong way on a one-way street. Then he went on the left side of the road past a cop car. Still - he didn't break any traffic laws. Why not?
Think about the occupation of the person involved...
Lauren has a lemon tree. The number of lemons on the tree doubles every week. In 28 weeks, Lauren should expect the tree to be completely covered with fruit. How many weeks will it take for the tree to be half-covered with apples?
Pay close attention to the type of fruit mentioned in the question...
Zero. If I asked you about lemons, the answer would be 27 weeks because the number of lemons on Lauren's tree doubles every week. However, I asked you about APPLES, and they don't grow on lemon trees; therefore, the answer is zero.
In 2000, a 40-year-old doctor told his son that when a little boy he decided to be a doctor by seeing a internet web site about performing a heart transplant on a puppy with a defective heart so that the puppy would live a normal life. I then thought that I would be a doctor so that I could help people in a similar way. What is the defect in this story?
Think about the timeline: when did the internet become widely available, and when was the first heart transplant performed?
The internet did not exist when the doctor was a little boy.
A subtle and intriguing start! Here's a hint: Think about a common, innocent phrase that might be used to describe a particular scene or situation. The answer is not meant to be offensive or provocative, but rather a play on words.
I have a certain number of candies, X. If I divide them into groups of three, then two candies will be left. If I divide them into groups of five, then three candies will be left. And if I divide them into groups of seven, then two candies will be left. How many candies do I have?
Think about the remainders as a pattern: 2, 3, 2... Does this pattern remind you of a specific type of number?
Place three piles of matches on a table, one with 11 matches, the second with 7, and the third with 6. You are to move matches so that each pile holds 8 matches. You may add to any pile only as many matches as it already contains. All the matches must come from one other pile. For example, if a pile holds 6 matches, you may add 6 to it, no more or less.
You have three moves. How can you do it?
Think about the "balance" of matches between the piles...
First pile to second; second to third; third to first:
Pile
Initial number
First move
Second move
Third move
First
11
11-7=4
4
4+4=8
Second
7
7+7=14
14-6=8
8
Third
6
6
6+6=12
12-4=8
If place 1 cake of soap on a pan of a scale and 3/4 cake of soap and a 3/4-pound weight on the other, the pans balance.
How much does a cake of soap weigh?
Think about what "balances" means in this context...
Since 1/4 cake weighs 3/4 pound, and entire cake weighs 3 pounds.
A mother has three sick children. She has a 24-ounce bottle of medicine and needs to give each child eight ounces of the medicine. She is unable to get to the store and has only three clean containers, which measure 5, 11 and 13 ounces. The electricity is out and she has no way of heating water to wash the containers and doesn't want to spread germs. How can she divide the medicine to give each child an equal portion without having any two children drink from the same container?
Think about filling and emptying the containers in a specific sequence to achieve the desired outcome. Focus on the 11-ounce container and how it can be used to "split" the medicine in a way that allows each child to receive 8 ounces.
Fill the 5 oz. and 11 oz. Containers from the 24 oz. container. This leaves 8 oz. in the 24 oz. bottle. Next empty the 11 oz. bottle by pouring the contents into the 13 oz. bottle. Fill the 13 oz. bottle from the 5 oz. container (with 2 oz.) and put the remaining 3 oz. in the 11 oz. bottle. This leaves the 5 oz. container empty. Now pour 5 oz. from the 13 oz. bottle into the 5 oz. bottle leaving 8 oz. in the 13 oz. bottle. Finally pour the 5 oz. bottle contents into the 11 oz. bottle giving 8 oz. in this container.
Robert and David were preparing to have a water balloon fight. "No Fair" cried Robert, "You have 3 times as many as I do!" David said "Fine!" and gave Robert 10 more balloons. "Still not fair!" argued Robert, "You still have twice as many as I do." How many more balloons must David give Robert for them to have the same number?
Think about the ratios of balloons between Robert and David before and after David gives Robert 10 more balloons...
David must give Robert another 20 water balloons, giving them each 60. Robert started with 30 water balloons and David with 90.
The rungs of a 10-foot ladder attached to a ship are 1 foot apart. If the water is rising at the rate of one foot an hour, how long will it take until the water covers the ladder?
Think about the situation: the ladder is attached to the ship, which means it's moving with the ship...
It will never cover the ladder because as the water rises, so will the floating ship.
There was a man who wanted to prove his love to his wife. So, he climbed the highest mountain, swam the deepest ocean and walked the biggest desert. What do you think his wife said?
Think about what would be a humorous, yet fitting response from the wife, considering the husband's over-the-top efforts to prove his love...
Nothing. She divorced him for never being at home.
A man was found dead in his study. He was slumped over his desk and a gun was in his hand. There was a cassette recorder on his desk. When the police entered the room and pressed the play button on the tape recorder they heard: "I can't go on. I have nothing to live for." Then there was the sound of a gunshot. How did the detective immediately know that the man had been murdered and it wasn't a suicide?
The cassette had started at the beginning of the man's utterance. Someone else had to be there to rewind the tape.
A famous chemist was murdered in his own lab. There was no evidence except for a piece of paper with the names of chemical substances on it. On the day he was murdered, the chemist had only 3 visitors: his wife, Mary, his nephew Nicolas, and his friend Johnathan. The police arrested the murderer right away. How did they know who it was?
Think about the names on the piece of paper... are they just random chemical substances, or could they be something more?
The piece of paper had a clue on it. If you combine the short names of the chemical substances on the paper, you’ll get a name: Ni-C-O-La-S.
I am the beginning of sorrow and the end of sickness. You cannot express happiness without me, yet I am in the midst of crosses. I am always in risk, yet never in danger. You may find me in the sun, but I am never out of darkness. What am I?
Think about a single letter that can be found in many words related to the descriptions given...
I may be right in front of you, And you will never know, But when I reveal myself your trust in me will go, And you will feel none apart from woe. What am I?
Think about something that's often hidden in plain sight, and when it's exposed, it can lead to feelings of betrayal and disappointment...
I'm used for a lot of things, I'm used for flowers, plants, food and sometimes for decoration, I come in different colors and shapes and I break if you don't take care of me. What am I?
The more of me you put on, the more you can remove. I come in many forms, but I'm generally liquid up high and solid down below. If you avoid me, I won't care, but others will. What am I?
Think about something you might wear or apply to your body, and how it can be affected by temperature changes...
Take two numbers, such that the square of the first, plus the square of the second, shall equal 8; while the first, plus the product of the first and second, shall equal 6. What are the two numbers?
Think algebraically, and consider a system of equations involving x and y, where x and y are the two numbers. Pay close attention to the relationships between x, y, x^2, and y^2.
The Pope has it but he does not use it. Your father has it but your mother uses it. Nuns do not need it. Your lady friend's husband has it and she uses it. What is it?
What comes once in a year, twice in a month, thrice in a week, and 4 times in a day?
The letter 'R'.Once in YEAR. Twice in the month: FEBRUARY. Three times in the days of a week: SUNDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY Four times in the times of a day: ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, TEN, ELEVEN, and TWELVE (X2 for AM & PM).
Purple, yellow, red, and green, The king cannot reach it, nor yet the queen; Nor can Old Noll, whose power is great. Tell me this riddle while I count to eight.
Think about something that is often associated with colors, but is out of reach of powerful individuals, and can be described in a short amount of time...
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.
A father and son were in a car accident where the father was killed. The ambulance brought the son to the hospital. He needed immediate surgery. In the operating room, a doctor came in and looked at the little boy and said I can't operate on him he is my son.
Who is the doctor?
The hint is: Think outside the traditional family structure.
A masked man is being hunted by the authorities for his vigilante activities, in which he helps and protects innocent people. His modus operandi is to seek out injustices caused by corrupt and evil people, stop these people from completing their wicked plans, and to deliver his own personal letter to these villains --- something to remind them of his visit. Who is this masked man, and what is the personal letter he delivers?
Think of a classic literary character who is known for seeking justice and leaving a calling card at the scene of their interventions...
The masked man is Zorro, and the personal letter he delivers to the villains he thwarts ----- is the letter "Z".