One day, Kathy was walking in the park when she stumbled upon two suspicious men. One of them was dressed like a werewolf, while the other one was not. Which of the two men was the real werewolf?
Think about what a "real" werewolf would do if they didn't want to be discovered...
The real werewolf is the guy who DOESN'T look like a werewolf. Werewolves only transform during the time of the full moon, and at night. It's daytime now, so there can't be any moon in the sky, let alone a full one. Therefore, the guy who looks like a werewolf must only be wearing a costume, and the guy who doesn't look like a werewolf is the real werewolf.
Ryan and his son Ralph go to a pet store. Ralph sees a very cute rabbit, and asks Ryan to buy it for him. Ryan seems unsure about it, and tells Ralph, "Oh, Ralph, these rabbits can breed every two months, and each time, they will produce four bunnies. We're going to have so many rabbits in our house after a year, and I don't want to take care of them! They'll be too much to take care of!". Ralph laughs at Ryan and says,"Don't be so silly, Dad! We're not going to have that many rabbits in our house after that long!". Who is correct, and how many rabbits will Ralph and Ryan have in a year?
Think about the initial condition: Ryan and Ralph are buying ONE rabbit.
Ralph is correct; they will only have one rabbit after a year. Ralph and Ryan only saw one rabbit in the pet store, but a single rabbit simply can't breed on its own; it takes TWO rabbits to breed. Therefore, after one year, the two of them will only have that one rabbit…if they choose to buy it, that is.
A boy is five feet tall and records his height by hammering a nail in a tree and carving his hame. Five years later he returns to the same tree and finds that it has grown on average 16 inches per year.
How high now, is the nail from the ground?
Think about what's changing and what's not...
It is still five feet tall because only the top of the tree grows. The trunk only gets bigger by circumference.
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.
Trains travel from one town to another town all day, always on the same track, always going nonstop and at the same speed. The noon train took 80 minutes to complete the trip, but the 4 PM train took an hour and 20 minutes. Why?
Think about the timing of the trains and how it might affect the duration of their trips...
John was very tired after a long day of work. He went to bed at 10 p.m., wound his alarm clock, and set it for noon the next day. Since John fell asleep almost immediately, how many hours of sleep did he get before the alarm woke him?
Think about the word "noon" very carefully...
Two hours. Wind-up clocks can't be set more than 12 hours in advance.
There are 3 light bulbs in three separate rooms. in front of you, there is a panel with 3 separate switches. They only turn on or off. You may look inside each room only once. How can you tell which bulb belongs to which switch?
Here's a hint: Think about the initial state of the bulbs and how you can manipulate them to gather the most information possible in a single glance. Consider using a "process of elimination" approach, and think about what you can learn from a bulb being ON or OFF.
You turn on any two switches, leave them for a few minutes, and turn one switch off. You enter each room only once. you know that the lightbulb that is lit belongs to the switch that was left on, the bulb that is off, but hot, belongs to the switch you turned off, and the cold bulb belongs to the switch you never touched.
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.
Two friends-Nora and Ashley-were going home after doing their weekly grocery shopping. Ashley began to complain about how heavy her bags were, and Nora responded, "If you gave me one of your bags, I'd have double the number of bags you have! And if I gave you one of mine, we'd have the same number of bags!". How many bags does each friend have?
Think about the number of bags Nora has in terms of Ashley's bags, and pay attention to the phrase "double the number of bags you have"...
Nora has seven bags, while Ashley has just five bags.
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.
A triangle has sides of 13, 18 and 31 inches. What is the triangle's area?
Think Pythagoras!
Zero. The two shorter sides of a triangle, when added together (13+18=31), must be greater than the third or longest side (31) for it to be a triangle by definition. Therefore, the result would be two parallel lines with an area of 0.
A man had a bar of lead that weighed 40 lbs., and he divided it into four pieces in such a way as to allow him to weigh any number of pounds from one to forty. What are the weights of the four pieces?
Think about the binary number system and how it can be used to represent different weights...
A woman is at her mother's funeral when suddenly she sees a man so handsome, she instantly falls in love with her. Unfortunately, she never got a chance to talk to the man. The next day, the woman kills her sister. What was the motive?
The woman was hoping to see the man again. If you got this correct on the first try, you have the mind of a psychopath.
A little girl named Sasha was left home alone with her butler, chef, and gardener. Sasha's parents went out on a date night and came home and found their daughter stabbed to death. The police questioned the chef first the gardener second and the butler last. The chef said, "I was in the kitchen preparing dinner for my little Sasha I would never do anything to hurt my princess". The gardener said, " I was outside working on the plants...I was about to come in and take a shower". And the butler said, " I was cleaning Sasha's room...I didn't even have a knife on me anyway so I couldn't of killed her". Automatically the cops knew who it was and arrested them. Who and How?
Here's a hint:
Pay close attention to the statements made by each suspect, and think about what they say about their activities and locations at the time of the murder. In particular, consider what the butler says about not having a knife on them...
The butler because the cops never mentioned that she was stabbed with a knife.
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.
As defendants, we deny all involvement in the unscrupulous dealings which have come to light in the recent government investigation. What country name is hidden in the previous sentence?
Think about the first letter of each word in the sentence...
You are locked in a house and you have four objects. You have a wooden chair, a ladder, a piano, and a rubber ax. You can only pick one object and you can't get out by breaking anything. What would you use to get out?
Think about an object that can help you reach something that can lead you out of the house, but not necessarily a physical exit...
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..."
Chicago. The first three words out of seven of chicken are CHI, the first two words out of 3 of cat are CA, and the first two words out of goat are GO. Therefore making, (CHI)(CA)(GO).
The things I bite, they don't bleed,
I don't bite until you push me;
I bring my victims together each time I bite,
But they'll come undone if you pull it just right.
What am I?
Think about something you use every day, often without even realizing it, and which has a very specific purpose...
Different lights do make me strange, thus into different sizes, I will change. What am I?
Think about something that can be altered or transformed by various sources of illumination, and its appearance can vary in scale depending on the light it receives...
I am not a person nor an animal. I was born from the death of something large and hot. I am capable of consuming anything and everything. I am very dark and exists in a place where there is no gravity. What am I?
Think about something that forms from the remnants of a massive, hot celestial body, and is known for its incredible appetite and dark nature...
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
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...
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...
Riddle me this. I am humble in my greetings, but forget my whole and you are sure to find hell. What am I?
Think about a common phrase people use when greeting each other, and how removing a single word from that phrase can lead to a very different and ominous outcome...
I build up castles. I tear down mountains. I make some men blind, I help others to see. What am I?
Think about something that can be used to create grand structures, but also has the power to destroy or alter the natural landscape. It's something that can be both constructive and destructive, and its effects can be felt by people in different ways...
A certain number has three digits. The sum of the three digits equals 36 times this number. Seven times the left digit plus 9 is equal to 5 times the sum of the two other digits. 8 times the second digit minus 9 is equal to the sum of the first and third.
What is the number?