You're on a bus. 20 people get on at the first stop. At the next stop 45 people get on. At the 3rd stop 48 people get off. Then at the next stop 5 people get off and 9 get on. At the last stop 21 people get off 2 people are left. How is this possible? (Who's still on the bus)!?
Think about the person who's been on the bus the entire time...
This is possible because you and the bus driver are still on the bus!
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.
Hidden in the poem below, a manly name you'll seek; just read and listen to the rhyme, but please, don't take a week! MYSTERY POEM: I do not mind addition; I'll tolerate subtraction; but try not to increase my stress, by tossing in those fractions. I'll multiply and then divide, and figure out those sums; but modern math --- the math you use, just makes me want some Tums. What is the man's name you hear in the rhyme?
Pay attention to the words that sound like a name when read aloud, especially in the last line of the poem.
The names of three trees are hidden in the sentences below. The letters are in consecutive order. Can you find them? On this farm, we get ham from a hog any time. The farmer will help in every possible way. He faced two very similar choices, both bad.
Hint: Look for common tree names that are also common words in everyday language.
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...
A guy gets to choose how to die. He has 3 choices, one to get put in the electric chair, two to get hung, and three to get thrown into a lion pit of lions that had not eaten in one thousand years.
Which did he choose?
Think about the condition of the lions...
The lion pit because they had not eaten in one thousand years so they were already dead.
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.
If seven people meet each other and each shakes hands only once with each of the others, how many handshakes will there have been?
Think about pairs of people, not individual handshakes!
Twenty one. Most people would think there were 42 handshakes. The first person shakes the hand of 6 others, the second person shakes the hand of 5 remaining people, the third person shakes the hand of 4 remaining people, the fourth person shakes the hand of 3 remaining people, the 5th person shakes the hand of 2 remaining people and the sixth person shakes the hand of 1 remaining person. 6+5+4+3+2+1=21
In a pond, there are some flowers with some bees hovering over them. If both the following statements are true: 1. If each bee lands on a flower, one bee doesn't get a flower. 2. If two bees share each flower, there is one flower left out. How many flowers and bees are there?
Think about the concept of "odd" and "even" numbers in relation to the bees and flowers...
Emily wants to become a professional chef, but the cooking school she wants to apply to only accepts applicants over 17. Here's what you know about Emily's siblings' ages: 1) Emily's brother Patrick's age is two times that of Emily, and; 2) Emily's sister Nicole's age is one-half of that of Patrick. Nicole turned 17 this year. Using this information, can Emily apply to the cooking school this year?
Think about the age chain: Nicole → Patrick → Emily. If Nicole is 17, what can you say about Patrick's age, and then about Emily's age?
No, she cannot. If Nicole is 17, and her age is one-half of that of Patrick, then Patrick must be two times Nicole's age. Therefore, Patrick is 34. If Patrick is 34, and his age is two times that of Emily, then Emily must be one-half of Patrick's age. Therefore, Emily is 17. Emily and Nicole are of the same age because they are twins. However, the cooking school only accepts applicants "over 17", not "17 and over". Therefore, Emily cannot apply to the cooking school this year.
There are two numbers whose product added to the sum of their squares is 109, and the difference of whose squares is 24. What are the two numbers?
Think algebraically, and consider the two numbers as x and y. You'll need to form two equations based on the given conditions, and then solve for x and y. Focus on the difference of whose squares being 24, as this might help you find a crucial relationship between x and y.
5 and 7.
(5)² = 25(7)² = 49(5x7)+25+49=10949-25=24
A boy has as many sisters as brothers, but each sister has only half as many sisters as brothers.
How many brothers and sisters are there in the family?
You and your friend are trapped in a space prison on an alien planet. The alien warden decides to give you and your friend a chance at freedom. He states that your friend shall be allowed to temporarily leave your cell and try to escape through an electric gate guarded by a 3-number passcode. If your friend answers incorrectly or says anything but the final answer, your friend will be thrown back in the prison. A computer will then tell your friend 4 clues if requested. If this passcode is properly answered, you and your friend shall be freed. You are then blindfolded and your friend leaves. You hear your friend walk down one of the numbered hallways to the gate. Your friend asks for the first clue. A voice answers, "The numbers are in ascending order so that the number is greater than or equal to the number before it." Your friend asks for the second clue. The voice says, "The product of the 3 numbers is 36." Your friend asks for the third clue. The voice says, "The sum of the numbers is the number of the hallway you entered." Your friend pauses for a moment and thinks. Your friend then asks for the fourth and final clue. The voice says, "The largest number only appears once in the code." You hear a beep. You hear your cell door swing open. You are free! What was the code?
Here's a hint:
Think about the hallway your friend walked down... what could the sum of the numbers possibly be?
A hundred stones are placed, in a straight line, a yard distant from each other. How many yards must a person walk, who undertakes to pick them up, and place them in a basket stationed one yard from the first stone?
Think about the journey, not the destination. Focus on the total distance traveled, not the number of trips made.
In solving this question it is clear that to pick up the first stone and put it into the basket, the person must walk two yards, one in going for the stone and another in returning with it; that for the second stone he must walk four yards, and so on increasing by two as far as the hundredth, when he must walk two hundred yards, so that the sum total will be the product of 202 multiplied by 50, or 10,100 yards. If any one does not see why we multiply 202 by 50 in getting the answer, we refer him to his arithmetic.
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.
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 husband was called by the police telling him that his wife was killed and that he should get to the crime scene as soon as possible. Shocked, the husband dropped the phone and drove to the crime scene in 20 minutes, where he was arrested and charged for murder. How did the police know it was him?
The police told him to get to the crime scene, but they didn't specify where. The husband couldn't have known where the crime scene was unless he'd been there when the wife was dead or dying.
You walk into your house the electricity is out you see three doors that you have never seen before. You go through the one with a lion that hasn't eaten for over six months. There are another three doors you go through the one with an empty room. There's a man that says how do you want to be murdered with the gun the knife or the electric chair that will kill you in an instant. How will you survive?
The electric chair because your electricity is out.
You are floating in cold freezing water in the ocean after a shipwreck. Suddenly, out of the blue, you see an island. You quickly swim towards the island and sleep on the cold sand. The next day you see a boy, a woman, and a man who had claimed they had been poisoned and they need your water to cure them you ask them "What poison can be killed by water?" Then, you feel thirsty take out your water bottle and before you drink you realize it is some sort of potion then understand why they went to you. You see a note which tells that two are vampires while one is an actual human and tells you a secret code that could be a hint. The code was manacure. Who should you save?
Hint: Look closely at the code "manacure" and think about what it could be related to in the context of the story. It's not just a random word...
Answer: The man if you spell the words back word it spells cure a man the steps are here normal: manacure 1st step - separate them into words: man a cure 2nd step - rearrange them: cure a man 3rd step - you got your answer
I can sizzle like bacon, I am made with an egg, I have plenty of backbone, but lack a good leg, I peel layers like onions, but still remain whole, I can be long, like a flagpole, yet fit in a hole, What am I?
I have a head body and arm but no blood. I have eyes but can't see a nose but can't smell. I have a stage but haven't seen anyone perform. I have arms but can not carry anything you see things with me but you can't see what I am made of. What am I?
Think about a place where people often gather, and it's not a living thing...
When in hot water I get harder. I am only useful once broken. Some people eat only the white part for its low fat, high protein nutritional content. What am I?
Think about something you might find in a kitchen, but isn't always edible in its original form...
When spelled, I am a question. When shouted, I am a command. I am great for your heart, but hard on the sand. What am I?
Think about words that change meaning or tone based on how they're used, and consider a common activity that's good for your heart but tough on a certain terrain...
Sometimes I'm in an onion, sometimes I'm in a lamp. Sometimes I'm in the form of garlic, sometimes I'm in the form of asparagus. And I'm usually very bright. What am I?
Think about the different forms mentioned, and how they're all related to a specific aspect of food...
I cut through evil like a double-edged sword, And chaos flees at my approach. Balance I single-handedly upraise, Through battles fought with heart and mind, Instead of with my gaze.
What am I?
Think about a concept that brings order and stability, rather than a physical entity.
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..."
I am typically feared by both women and men. I often come for the old, but also for some young people who are very ill. Many will fight me in vain, and many others live in denial of me. Those who embrace me will lose their fear of me, but they will lose something of themselves in the process. What am I?
Think about something that is often associated with the end of life, but can also strike unexpectedly, and is often met with resistance or avoidance...
Baldness. (Note that 'death' doesn't fit the last clue. Those who embrace death lose ALL of themselves. Those who shave their head just lose something of themselves. Also, death ALWAYS comes for the old eventually, not just 'often'.)
Many-manned scud-thumper, Maker of worn wood, Shrub-ruster, Sky-mocker, Rave! Portly pusher, Wind-slave.
What am I?
Think about something that can be found in nature, is often associated with strong winds, and has a physical presence that can impact its surroundings.
A tree doubled in height each year until it reached its maximum height over the course of ten years. How many years did it take for the tree to reach half its maximum height?
Think about the power of doubling... if it doubles every year and reaches its maximum height in 10 years, what happened just one year before that?
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson were going on a hike through the woods. After a long day of hiking, they stopped for the night. They ate a cold meal, pitched a tent, and went to sleep. Both of them woke up in the middle of the night. "The stars are out tonight," remarked Doctor Watson. "What does this tell you?" Sherlock asked. "Well," he replied, "By the positions of the stars, it's roughly midnight." "What else does this tell you?" Sherlock asked again. "I don't know!" Doctor Watson retorted, annoyed. "What does it tell you?" What did the detective notice?
Think about what it means if the stars are visible...
"Elementary, my dear Watson. Someone has stolen our tent."