I have one, you have one. Take away a letter and a bit remains. If you remove the second, bit still remains. After much trying, you might be able to remove the first one also, but it remains. What's the word?
Think about something you might find in a computer, and how the word changes when you remove certain letters...
Habit! Remove the 'H', and it's 'a bit'. Remove the 'A', and it's 'bit'. Remove 'B', and it's '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.
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.
Mrs. Beverly has three daughters–Sally, Gianna, and Emma. She is about to have another daughter. What will she name her–Victoria, Alyssa, or Amanda?
Think about the names of Mrs. Beverly's existing daughters... do you notice a pattern or connection between them?
Mrs. Beverly will name her next daughter Alyssa; the names of her other three daughters each contain a double letter. Alyssa's name has a double letter ("s"), unlike the other two.
A history teacher was speaking to his 10th-grade class one day when he presented them with this unusual riddle: “Mark Twain and Santa Claus were both familiar with me. Each one of us has an icy body and two tails, but we are not associated with Sonic the Hedgehog. We are never outguessed, but we are often outgassed. Many people today put me to work in their homes, but I never receive any payment for my service, despite the fact I was born in America. Lastly, I am considered to be the big sister of a famous falcon, but my life span was short --from1960 to 1977.” “Teacher,” said the brightest student in the class,” are you trying to confuse us by talking about five different things that have the same name?” “Maybe I am,” said the teacher. “Maybe I am.”What was the solution to his bizarre-sounding riddle?
Think about a natural phenomenon that can be found in the United States, has a short lifespan, and is associated with a type of bird.
The teacher was referring to Halley’s Comet; one of Santa’s reindeer (Comet); a comet in outer space; the scouring powder known as Comet; and the car that came after the Ford Falcon known as the Mercury Comet.
Dominick is the manager of a massively successful hotel. One day, his richest guest, Kim, calls him. She says that someone stole all of her money from the vault in her room. Dominick decides to question three other hotel guests–Sally, Lawrence, and Deborah. Dominick asks each of them just one question: "What were you doing within the last hour?" Sally says, "I was chilling in a hotel room with my boyfriend, and had nothing to do with the robbery." Lawrence says, "I was having lunch in the local sushi restaurant on the top floor. " Deborah says," I was swimming in the hotel swimming pool." Who is the robber?
Think about the logistics of the hotel's amenities and how they relate to each guest's alibi...
Sally is the robber. Dominick never mentioned the robbery, but Sally started making excuses straight away.
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.
If someone were to write a biography about us, the following could be reported: #1 - Some people claim we can cure hiccups. #2 - If you are down and a little blue, you might be experiencing me. #3 - The four of us are hidden from view and are waiting for you --- underneath your car. #4 - E.C.T., not etc., has this frightening therapeutic nickname. #5 - Not trying to sound corny, but we are often seen at farmer's markets, roadside stands, and garden centers, especially in the Fall. Based on the biographical information above --- Who/what are we?
Think about things that are often associated with certain emotions, seasons, and places... and can be found in unexpected locations.
A bizarre ritual occurs, often when the weather is hot, and it has been happening for over 100 years. Two men bring two cups to a place where a large plate is located. They do not drink anything from their cups and eat nothing from the plate. Soon, a third man joins the other two, and he brings with him his cup and a wooden object. Strangely, two of the three men wear masks, despite the fact all three of them know each other. Over the next two to three hours, only one of the men remains near the large plate, while various other men continue to take their cups and wooden objects to and from their meeting place with the other two men. Just what is this strange ritual?
Think about a popular outdoor activity that people enjoy during the summer months, and a specific role that three individuals play in this activity...
The two masked men are the home plate umpire and the two catchers taking turns coming to the plate. One at a time, the hitters from both sides come to the plate to hit. All the players and the umpire always wear protective cups.
A young sailor boy from Chicago by the name of Jack, and his little Jack Russel terrier named Bingo, stood guard over a well-known treasure for 100 years, but neither Jack nor his dog ever experienced any kind of aging during that time. Perhaps the secret of Jack and Bingo's miraculous defiance of the aging process can best be explained by revealing Jack's famous motto: "The more you eat, the more you want." What is this famous treasure Jack and Bingo guarded for 100 years, and how did they manage to defy the aging process?
Think about a type of "treasure" that is often associated with being sweet and tempting, and where Jack's motto "The more you eat, the more you want" makes perfect sense...
Young Sailor Jack and his little Jack Russel terrier have adorned every box of Cracker Jack that contained a hidden treasure (a prize) from 1916 until 2016. The company stopped putting little material prizes in each box in 2016, much to the chagrin of baseball fans everywhere.
A young man named Orion is carrying a large, double-edged axe. He is stalking his prey, possessed by one single thought -- to kill! His hands are calloused, but his soul is not, as he always strives to be kind to others, despite his strong desire to kill. He has killed 11 times already today, but he feels compelled to kill at least two more times because that very morning Orion believes he heard a voice instructing him to kill no fewer than 13 today. Orion plans to use his axe to kill only those older than 50 years of age. Many other people have witnessed his multiple axe killings, but no one has ever tried to intervene or report his actions to the police. What is wrong with these people? It appears obvious that Orion is seriously mentally ill and suffers from auditory hallucinations with delusional thinking. How can his killing spree possibly be ignored? Or, is there some reasonable explanation for these events? Just what in the world is happening here?
Think about a context where killing is not only accepted but also expected, and where Orion's actions are not morally or legally wrong.
Orion works as a lumberjack. At the start of his work, Orion’s boss instructed him to meet his quota for the day by using his axe to chop down at least 13 mature trees.
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: The Vegans say that they will eat, no raw meat, steamed, or cooked; but should they bite one juicy steak, I think they might get hooked. What is the female name you hear?
Listen carefully to the last word of each line, it's where the name is hiding in plain sight!
In a far-off kingdom, there is a castle with five rooms. Each room has a door with a different color: blue, red, green, yellow, or purple. Inside each room, there is a person with a different nationality: American, British, Canadian, Dutch, and Estonian. Each person has a favorite animal, which is also different for each person: cat, dog, elephant, giraffe, and horse. Additionally, each person has a favorite food, which is different for each person: pizza, sushi, spaghetti, tacos, and waffles. Using the following clues, can you figure out who lives in each room, what their nationality is, what their favorite animal is, and what their favorite food is? The person in the blue room is not Dutch or Estonian. The British person's favorite animal is a horse. The person who likes sushi lives in the red room. The Canadian person likes pizza. The Dutch person lives in the green room. The person who likes tacos lives in the yellow room. The American person's favorite animal is a giraffe. The person who likes waffles lives in the purple room. The person who likes spaghetti is Estonian. The person who likes elephants lives in the room adjacent to the person who likes giraffes.
Here's a hint to get you started:
Focus on the clues that mention specific room colors and nationalities first. Use the fact that the Dutch person lives in the green room and the person who likes sushi lives in the red room to start building your solution. Then, use the clues about favorite animals and foods to fill in the remaining rooms.
The blue room: American, favourite animal is a giraffe, favourite food is sushi. Red room: British, favourite animal is a horse, favourite food is tacos. The green room: Dutch, favourite animal is a cat, favourite food is spaghetti. Yellow room: Canadian, favourite animal is an elephant, favourite food is pizza. Purple room: Estonian, favourite animal is a dog, favourite food is waffles. Explanation: Clue #1 tells us that the person in the blue room cannot be Dutch or Estonian. This leaves us with American, British, Canadian, and Estonian. We can use other clues to narrow it down further. Clue #2 tells us that the British person's favourite animal is a horse, so they cannot be in the blue room. This leaves us with American, Canadian, and Estonian. Clue #3 tells us that the person who likes sushi lives in the red room, so the American person must be in the blue room. Clue #4 tells us that the Canadian person likes pizza, so they must be in the yellow room. Clue #5 tells us that the Dutch person lives in the green room, so they cannot be in the yellow room. This leaves us with British and Estonian. Clue #6 tells us that the person who likes tacos lives in the yellow room, so the British person must be in the red room. Clue #7 tells us that the American person's favourite animal is a giraffe, so they must be in the blue room. Clue #8 tells us that the person who likes waffles lives in the purple room, so the Estonian person must be in the purple room. Clue #9 tells us that the Estonian person likes spaghetti, so the Dutch person must like cats. Clue #10 tells us that the person who likes elephants lives in the room adjacent to the person who likes giraffes, so the Canadian person is just like an elephant. So the final solution is The blue room: American, favourite animal is a giraffe, favourite food is sushi. Red room: British, favourite animal is a horse, favourite food is tacos. The green room: Dutch, favourite animal is a cat, favourite food is spaghetti. Yellow room: Canadian, favourite animal is an elephant, favourite food is pizza. Purple room: Estonian, favourite animal is a dog, favourite food is waffles
In the back yard, there is a hollow stump, that contains six ears of corn. If a healthy squirrel carries out only three ears each day, how many days will it take to empty the stump?
Think about the fact that the squirrel is "healthy"... does that imply something about its ability to carry corn?
Six. Each day the squirrel will carry out the two ears on his head plus one ear of corn.
Two sentries were on duty outside a barracks. One faced up the road to watch for anyone approaching from the North. The other looked down the road to see if anyone approached from the South. Suddenly one of them said to the other, "Why are you smiling?" How did he know that his companion was smiling?
Think about the sentries' positions and what they can see... or not see.
Although the guards were looking in opposite directions, they were not back to back. They were facing each other.
A man has to take a dog, a cat, and a mouse across a river. He can only take one of the animals across at a time. If he takes the mouse, the dog will eat the cat. If he takes the dog, the cat will eat the mouse. How does he get the three animals across the river?
Think about the order in which the man takes the animals across the river, and how he can ensure that the dog and cat are never left together, and the cat and mouse are never left together.
1. The man takes the cat across and goes back to get the mouse. 2. The man then takes the mouse across and returns with the cat. 3. The man leaves the cat on the shore and takes the dog across. He leaves the dog with the mouse. 4. The man goes back to get the cat and all of the animals have made it across the river!
During WWII, there was a bridge connecting Germany and Switzerland, and on the German side, there was a sentry tower with a guard in it. He would come out every three minutes to check on the bridge, and he had orders to turn back anyone who tried to get into Germany, and shoot anyone trying to escape without a pass. There was a woman who desperately needed to get into Switzerland, and she knew she didn't have time to get a pass. It would take her at least six minutes to cross the bridge, but she managed to do it. How?
Think about the direction she was traveling...
When the sentry went into the tower, she would start to cross into Switzerland, and when he came out, she would start to walk back into Germany. When he saw her, he would tell her to turn back into Switzerland.
Many different types of my last seven letters can be found in newspapers, magazines, & journals. Physicists have built devices to get me moving very fast. What am I?
Think about a word that has multiple meanings, and its last 7 letters relate to written publications, while also being connected to speed and physics...
A pet shop owner had a parrot with a sign on its cage that said "Parrot repeats everything it hears". Davey bought the parrot and for two weeks he spoke to it and it didn't say a word. He returned the parrot but the shopkeeper said he never lied about the parrot.
How can this be?
Think about what Davey did (or didn't do) during those two weeks...
Four members of a band are walking to a night concert. They decide to take a shortcut, but must cross a bridge. Luckily they have one flashlight. Because of the varying size of their instruments, it takes each member a different amount of time to cross the bridge - it takes the first person one minute, the second person two minutes, the third person five minutes and the fourth person ten minutes. They must cross the bridge in pairs, travelling at the slower speed so if the one minute person went with the ten minute person, it would take a total of ten minutes. Since there is only one flashlight, one person must come back across the bridge, then another pair can cross. They only have 17 minutes to cross the bridge and still get to the concert on time. What order should they cross to get everyone across and get to the concert?
Think about the most efficient way to use the 17 minutes, considering the "return trip" of the flashlight is a crucial part of the puzzle.
First, the one minute person and the two minute person must cross the bridge, for a total of two minutes. Then the one minute person should come back with flashlight - total of three minutes. The five minute person and the ten minute person cross together next, making the total thirteen minutes. Now the two minute person goes back and (total now fifteen minutes) and gets the one minute person and they cross together bringing the total to seventeen minutes.
A young man decides to buy a collector's baseball card. He pays $60 for it. After a month, the value of the card has increased to $70 and he decides to sell it. But already a few days later he regrets his decision to sell the collector's item, and he buys it again. Unfortunately he has to pay $80 to get it back, so he loses $10. After a year of owning the baseball card, he finally decides to sell it for $100. What is his overall profit?
Think about the sequence of transactions and how they affect the young man's profit, rather than focusing on the individual prices of the baseball card.
How can you write down eight eights so that they add up to one thousand?
Think creatively about the different ways you can use the digit 8, and consider the various mathematical operations you can perform to reach a total of 1000...
If 1=5, 2=15, 3=215, and 4=3215. What does 5 equal?
Look for a pattern in the way numbers are being "encoded" into new numbers, and think about how the original number is being "hidden" within the new number.
The ambiguity of this riddle means that the answer could be either two or three. But the real answer is three because you have to follow the order of operations (half of two is one, and one plus two is three).
Four friends-Chloe, Evelyn, Francesca, and Grace-went out for lunch. Someone asked them about their ages, and this is what they said: "Evelyn is three times older than Francesca. But three years ago, Francesca was a year younger than Chloe is now. And Grace is two times older than Francesca,". Can you rank the girls in order of their ages?
Think about the relationships between the girls' ages in terms of simple equations, and try to find a common link between them. Focus on Francesca's age, as it seems to be the central piece of the puzzle.
From oldest to youngest, the order is as follows: Evelyn, Grace, Francesca, and Chloe. Evelyn is three times older than Francesca, and Grace is two times older than Francesca. Evelyn is older than Grace because multiplying a number by three will result in a greater number than multiplying the number by two. Both of them are older than Francesca, but if it was three years ago that Francesca was a year younger than Chloe is now, then Francesca is two years older than Chloe. Therefore, Evelyn is the oldest, followed by Grace, then Francesca, and then Chloe.
Can you combine plus signs and five 2's to get 28? Can you combine plus signs and eight 8's to get 1,000?
Think creatively about the different ways you can use the plus signs to group the numbers, and consider the mathematical operations you can perform beyond just simple addition.
When completed in 1889 the Eiffel Tower was something of a sensation. Designed by the French engineer Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel its height is 492 feet plus half its own height.
How high is the Eiffel tower?
A bird has a head 9cm long. The tail is equal to the size of the head plus a half of the size of the body. The body is the size of the head plus the tail.
How long is the bird?
Think algebraically! Let the length of the head be H, the length of the tail be T, and the length of the body be B. You'll need to set up equations using the given information and then solve for H + T + B.
72cm. Th head is 9cm. The tail is 18 + 9= 27cm. The body is 9 + 18 + 9= 36cm. 9 + 27 + 36= 72cm.
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.
There is a clothing store in Bartlesville. The owner has devised his own method of pricing items. A vest costs $20, socks cost $25, a tie costs $15 and a blouse costs $30. Using the method, how much would a pair of underwear cost?
Think about the words, not the clothes themselves...
$45. The pricing method consists of charging $5 for each letter required to spell the item.
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...
The pet shop starts with some dogs, then someone comes and takes 1 of the dogs, then another person and their child take 4 dogs. After that a mother, father and their 18 kids adopt 12 dogs. Then the pet shop receaves 3 dogs and someone takes 1, now the pet shop has 2 dogs. How many dogs did they have at the beginning?
"Work backwards from the end, and think about how the numbers of people relate to the number of dogs taken..."
I am useless when together but useful when I am broken apart. What am I?
Think about something that loses its purpose or functionality when its individual components are connected or united, but becomes useful or serves a purpose when those same components are separated or divided.
I am nothing, I am everything. I am perfect dark, I am the brightest lights. I am hungry, I am full. I am nowhere, I am everywhere. I am unseen, I am watched by millions. What am I?
Think about something that can be both absent and present, and can be perceived in different ways by different people...
I am a contained world that you can shake but please don't drop me because I may break. What am I ?
Think about something you can hold in your hand, with contents that can be disturbed by shaking, but are fragile and might shatter if not handled carefully...
I was developed during the Manhattan Project. I was conceived by Einstein, and built by a team led by Robert Oppenheimer, in Los Alamos, New Mexico. I was built in 1942. The U.S. was the first to develop me, with the help of German, Italian, and American scientists. I work by converting mass to energy, by splitting Uranium with Neutrons, which creates fission. This creates an explosion. My explosion is the release of nuclear energy. There are four parts to my explosion 1) the blast wave, 2) the thermal radiation, 3) initial nuclear radiation, and 4) residual nuclear radiation. As a single explosion, I destroyed more lives and property and injured more people, than any other explosion during all of World War II. What am I?
"Think big, think powerful, think destructive... and think atomic."
There is a word in the English language in which the first two letters signify a male, the first three letters signify a female, the first four signify a great man, and the whole word, a great woman. What is the word?
It is a 5 letter word if you take away first letter it is something you get from sun, if you remove second letter you will get something to eat, if you remove third letter you get a word you use in pointing at and if you remove the fourth letter you get something to drink. What is it?
The word you're thinking of is a common, everyday thing that you might find in a kitchen...
Something that requires our mental skill to decode it, our imagination to understand it, and our knowledge to be tested to its max, it confuses us at every stage, it seems easy yet difficult, and only those who are used to, will get through. What is it?
Think about something that you might find in a book, on a website, or in a conversation with a friend...
I am a 5-letter word. Take away the first letter and I am a place's name. Take away the first two letters and I become the opposite of the 5 letter word. What am I?
Think about a common, everyday word that can be associated with a location, and consider the concept of "opposites" in your answer.
Ray Whitcombe is found dead in his office at his desk. The police have narrowed the suspects down to three people: Mrs. Barbara Whitcombe, Ray's wife; Mr. Jason McCubbins, Ray's business partner; and Mr. Harold Nichols, Ray's best friend. All three visited Mr. Whitcombe the day of his murder, but all three provide the police with stories of explanation as to the reason for their visit. Police found Mr. Whitcombe with his wrist watch still on his right arm, a torn up picture of his wife laying on the floor beside the trash can, and an ink pen in his right hand. On the desk, the police found a name plate, a telephone that was off the hook, and a personal calendar turned to the July 5th page with 7B91011 written on it. After examining this evidence, the police knew their suspect. Who was it?
Pay close attention to the details of the crime scene, especially the personal calendar and the wrist watch. The key to solving this riddle lies in understanding the significance of the numbers and the orientation of the watch.
Jason McCubbins, Ray's business partner. The calendar is the clue to solving this murder. The police realized that since Mr. Whitcombe was wearing his watch on his right arm, he must be left handed. But the pen was found in his right hand. Realizing that the number on the calendar was written in a hurry and with his opposite hand, police matched the written number with the months of the year. So the B was an 8, thereby giving us 7-8-9-10-11: July, August, September, October, November. Use the first letter of each month and it spells J-A-S-O-N.