A woman is put in a cement room without windows. The door is mechanically bolted shut and under strict watch so that nobody can come in or out. It is secured in every possible way. 24 hours later, the door is opened, and there are now 2 people inside the room. How is this possible?
Think about the woman's condition when she was first put in the room...
I have seven yellow pencils, seven red pencils, and seven blue pencils. I have to divide them into two groups; the first group has to have three fewer yellow pencils than the second group, the second group should have one more red pencil than the first group, and the first group should have five more blue pencils than the second group. How many blue pens would be in each pile?
Think about the constraints on the yellow and red pencils, and how they might "balance out" in each group. The question is asking about blue pencils, but the answer might not be a straightforward division of the 7 blue pencils...
Sofia is a student in high school. Her professor, Ms. Davis, assigned her an essay that would be due in three days. Sofia, being the worst student in her class, procrastinates and doesn't even begin the essay. Three days later, Sofia begs Ms. Davis to push the essay date back by five more days, and Ms. Davis agrees. Five days go by, and still…no essay. Sofia begs Ms. Davis to push the essay date back by a week, and Ms. Davis agrees. One week later, Sofia comes to the class with a burning candle (How did she even bring it in there?), but no essay. Sofia asks Ms. Davis if she can push the essay back until the candle wick burns out, and Ms. Davis agrees once again. Sofia laughs because she doesn't have to ever worry about the essay again. Why?
Think about the properties of a candle wick...
Sofia blew out the candle. She said, "until the candle wick burns out", NOT, "until the flame burns out". Therefore, Sofia can keep the candle unburned forever and never submit her essay.
Beckett called the police and said that his little brother, Cody, had been kidnapped. The man told the officers, "I was walking in the park with Cody. Suddenly, a stranger ran up to us and snatched my brother! I told the man to put him down or else I'd call the police, but then he ran away!". The officers asked Beckett to give a description of the kidnapper. Beckett said, "The stranger was tall and thin, he had dark hair, and he was wearing a blue v-neck T-shirt,". After these words, Beckett was arrested for fraud. Why?
Think about what Beckett said about the kidnapper's clothing...
If the supposed stranger was running away from Beckett, the guy couldn't have seen that he was wearing a v-neck T-shirt because the v-neck is normally seen in the front, but Beckett could only see the guy's back.
A retired zookeeper owned a huge house with a very large and beautifully landscaped yard. The neighbors of the man drove past his home daily, and admired his arrangement of all the large trees and numerous healthy bushes which adorned the front yard. One day, a neighbor drove by the former zookeeper's house, and was astonished to see a living, fully-grown ostrich standing in the yard. A week later, neighbors reported seeing a live, fully-grown bear standing near the ostrich. As the next few weeks passed, the neighbors saw a tiger, a lion, a hippopotamus, and finally an elephant appear in the yard of the retired zookeeper --- all fully- grown and alive, but without any cages or bars to protect the neighborhood from them. Amazingly, not one person who lived in that area ever expressed any fear of the uncaged animals, and no one ever called the police for protection. Were these people living in the Twilight Zone? What exactly was going on here, and why weren't any of these people afraid for their lives?
Think about the profession of the homeowner...
The retired zookeeper was also a professional topiary expert. Mixing together the best of his two worlds, he sculpted zoo animals from his fully-grown, healthy, living bushes in his front yard, much to the delight of his neighbors.
If someone were to write a biography about us, the following could be reported: #1- Some of us reside in boxes, and others of us can be found resting in the backs of cars, but we are not homeless. #2- Four of us are found in a part of every ship. #3- One of us is famous for falling down a steep incline and injuring himself. #4- Ten of us are associated with a round ball, but we are not basketball players. #5- Unfortunately, one of us is reputed to be a serial killer. Based on the biographical information above - - - Who/what are we?
Think about common objects that can be found in various places, and pay attention to the subtle wordplay in each clue...
Two teenagers, covered in tattoos and dressed in black leather jackets with chains around their necks, strutted into a local business. Each of the teens was carrying a long, tapered, hardwood stick. When they entered the room, they arrogantly announced in a loud voice, "We are here to beat everyone in this room, and no one can stop us!" Several of the patrons started to leave out the back door, fearing a confrontation was unavoidable. The two, true to their words, proceeded to beat everyone in the room with their sticks, despite being heavily outnumbered. Everyone who dared to stand up to them was beaten in turn, but no one called the police to stop the beatings, and the owner of the establishment thanked them for coming --- and even welcomed them back! Has society completely fallen to pieces, or is there some rational explanation for these events?
Think "profession" rather than "punk rock" when considering the teenagers' attire and behavior.
The two talented teens had gone to either a local youth center, or to a local pool hall, where they successfully challenged and defeated each of the willing patrons there in the game of pool.
A store has on sale a computer and word processor small enough to fit in your pocket. It can add, multiply, subtract, divide, and write in all languages. A delete device will correct any error. No electricity is required to operate it. The price? Only a few cents! How can the store make a profit by selling it so cheap?
Think old-school, non-electronic, and something you might find in a stationery store...
Here's a hint: Think about the things you wear, use, or find in pairs in your daily life. You might be surprised at how many common items are sold in twos!
If there is a Yellow house on Bluebird Lane, a Green house on Orange Street, a Pink house on Kitten Road, a Black house on Whitehorse Pike and a Purple house on Firebird hill, where is the White house?
Look for a pattern in the names of the streets and the colors of the houses...
A king decided to let a prisoner try to escape the prison with his life. The king placed 2 marbles in a jar that was glued to a table. One of the marbles was supposed to be black, and one was supposed to be blue. If the prisoner could pick the blue marble, he would escape the prison with his life. If he picked the black marble, he would be executed. However, the king was very mean, and he wickedly placed 2 black marbles in the jars and no blue marbles. The prisoner witnessed the king only putting 2 black marbles in the jars. If the jar was not see-through and the jar was glued to the table and the prisoner was mute so he could not say anything, how did he escape with his life?
The prisoner used his other senses to his advantage...
The prisoner grabbed one of the marbles from the jar and concealed it in his hand. He then swallowed it, and picked up the other marble and showed everyone. The marble was black, and since the other marble was swallowed, it was assumed to be the blue one. So the mean king had to set him free
You walk up to a mountain that has two paths. One leads to the other side of the mountain, and the other will get you lost forever. Two twins know the path that leads to the other side. You can ask them only one question. Except! One lies and one tells the truth, and you don't know which is which. So, What do you ask?
Think about what you can ask that would get a consistent answer from both the truth-teller and the liar...
You ask one twin, "Are you twins?". If he says "Yes", he is telling the truth. Therefore, you ask the other twin which way to go and go the opposite way because he is lying. If he says "No", he is the liar and you ask the other twin which way to go because he is telling the truth.
There are 8 brothers. Brother 1 is playing checkers. Brother 2 is eating. Brother 3 is watching video games. Brother 4 is dancing. Brother 5 is texting. Brother 6 is at school. Brother 7 is sleeping. What is Brother 8 doing?
Think about the situation and the activities mentioned... Are you sure there are 8 brothers?
Brother 8 is playing checkers with Brother 1 because checkers includes two people to play.
There is a lamp inside a photography darkroom. When the darkroom door is closed, it is impossible to tell from outside the room whether or not the lamp is on. There are two switches outside the door of the darkroom. One or both of the switches may control the lamp. It also could be that neither of the switches controls the lamp. All you know is that the light bulb is currently off and that the lamp and bulb are in working condition. The darkroom door is closed and once you open the door you cannot touch either of the switches. If you can only open the dark room door one time, how can you tell which switches, if any, control the lamp?
Here's a hint: Think about how you can use the switches to create a sequence of events that will give you the most information about the lamp's state when you open the door. Consider flipping one or both switches before opening the door, and think about what you can infer from the lamp's state when you finally see it.
Turn the first switch on and leave it on for ten minutes. After ten minutes, turn that switch off and turn the second switch on. Open the darkroom door, and lightly (in case it is hot) touch the bulb. If the lamp is on, and the bulb is quite hot, both switches work the lamp. If the lamp is on, and the bulb is cool, the second switch controls the lamp. If the lamp is off, and the bulb is hot, switch one controls the lamp. If the lamp is off, and the bulb is cool, neither switch controls the lamp.
You are in a room that is completely bricked in on all four sides, including the ceiling and floor. You have nothing but a mirror and a wooden table in the room with you.
How do you get out?
Look closely at the mirror...
You look in the mirror you see what you saw, you take the saw and you cut the table in half, two halfs make a whole, and you climb out the hole.
There is a certain club which is for men only. There are 600 men who belong to this club and 5% of these men wear one earring. Of the other 95% membership, half wear two earrings and the other half wear none. How many earrings are being worn in this club?
Focus on the 5% who wear one earring, and think about how the remaining 95% can be divided into two equal groups...
Six hundred. We know that 5%, or 30 of the men are wearing one earring. Of the other 95%, or 570, we know that half are wearing two earrings and the other half none. This is the same as if they all wore one.
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?
What single-digit number should go in the box with the question?
6
5
9
2
7
1
4
3
5
?
8
0
2
8
1
Look for a pattern in the numbers, and think about how they relate to each other... it's not just about the numbers themselves, but about their positions!
The missing number is 4. Simply add the first and second rows together to get the third row value.
65, 927
+
14, 354
80, 281
How many times does the long hand of the clock pass the short hand between midnight one day and midnight the following day? As both hands are together at the starting time of midnight this does not count as a pass.
Think about the short hand's movement and how often it "gets caught" by the long hand...
Can you divide the watch face with 2 straight lines so that the sums of the sums of the numbers in each part are equal?
Think about the symmetry of the watch face and the numbers that are diagonally opposite each other...
The sum of the numbers on the watch face is 78. If the two lines cross, there must be 4 equal parts, but 78 is not divisible by 4. Then the lines do not cross, giving three parts with the sum of 26 each. Once you see the pairs on the face that add to 13(12+1,11+2, and so far) the answer will be easy to find.
A man told his son that he would give him $1000 if he could accomplish the following task. The father gave his son ten envelopes and a thousand dollars, all in one dollar bills. He told his son, "Place the money in the envelopes in such a manner that no matter what number of dollars I ask for, you can give me one or more of the envelopes, containing the exact amount I asked for without having to open any of the envelopes. If you can do this, you will keep the $1000." When the father asked for a sum of money, the son was able to give him envelopes containing the exact amount of money asked for. How did the son distribute the money among the ten envelopes?
Think about the powers of 2...
The contents or the ten envelopes (in dollar bills) should be as follows: $1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 489. The first nine numbers are in geometrical progression, and their sum, deducted from 1,000, gives the contents of the tenth envelope.
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.
Two camels were facing in opposite directions. One was facing due East and one was facing due West. They were in the desert so there was no reflection. How can they manage to see each other without walking around or turning around or moving their heads?
Think about the camels' positions relative to each other, rather than their directions...
The two camels were facing each other the entire time. Hence facing in opposite directions.
One is to three as three is to five and five is to four and four is the magic number.
What is the pattern?
"Think about the number of letters in the written form of each number..."
One has three letters in the word three has five letters in it five has four letters and four has four letters in it (if you try more numbers they will always come back to the number four: so four is the magic number)
A man was found murdered on Sunday morning. His wife immediately called the police. The police questioned the wife and staff and got their alibi. The Wife said she was sleeping. The Cook was cooking breakfast. The Gardener was picking vegetables. The Maid was getting the mail. The Butler was cleaning the closet. The police instantly arrested the murderer. Who did it and how did they know?
"Think about the time of day and the activities that wouldn't make sense..."
It was the Maid. She said she was getting the mail. There is no mail on Sunday!
A man was shot to death while in his car. There were no powder marks on his clothing, which indicated that the gunman was outside the car. However, all the windows were up and the doors locked. After a close inspection was made, the only bullet holes discovered were on the man's body. How was he murdered?
Think about a specific situation where a man might be in his car, but not necessarily driving or parked on the road...
The victim was in a convertible. He was shot when the top was down.
A boy leaves home in the morning to go to school. At the moment he leaves the house he looks at the clock in the mirror. The clock has no number indication and for this reason, the boy makes a mistake in interpreting the time (mirror-image). Just assuming the clock must be out of order, the boy cycles to school, where he arrives after twenty minutes. At that moment the clock at school shows a time that is two and a half hours later than the time that the boy saw on the clock at home. What time is it?
Think about what happens when you look at a clock in a mirror...
The difference between the real time and the time of the mirror image is two hours and ten minutes (two and a half hours, minus the twenty minutes of cycling). Therefore, the original time on the clock at home that morning could only have been five minutes past seven: The difference between these clocks is exactly 2 hours and ten minutes (note that also five minutes past one can be mirrored in a similar way, but this is not in the morning!). Conclusion: The boy reaches school at five minutes past seven plus twenty minutes of cycling, which is twenty-five minutes past seven!...
Sometimes I am born in silence, Other times, no. I am unseen, But I make my presence known. In time, I fade without a trace. I harm no one, but I am unpopular with all. What am I?
Think about something that can appear suddenly, without warning, and can be very unwelcome, yet it doesn't cause any physical harm...
A man who lived on the top floor of a twenty story building had to go up and down daily for work, and of course, for food and the other necessities. On most days he could only ride the elevator to the fifteenth story, and he would have to walk the rest of the way. When it rained, however, he could ride all the way up to the twentieth story. Why?
Think about the man's physical ability to use the elevator...
The man wasn't tall enough to reach the button for the 20th floor. He could only reach the 15th story button on the elevator. When it rained, he brought his umbrella, and used it to press the 20th story button on the elevator.
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 needed to survive, but when am here there is evil and good, when am gone others come in, you don't seek me you die. What I am?
Think about something that is essential for human existence, but its presence can bring about both positive and negative consequences. It's a delicate balance, and without it, others will take its place, but if you don't have it, you'll perish.
I am free yet priceless, you can't own me but you can use me, you can't keep me but you can spend me. Once you lost me you can never have me back. What am I?
Think about something that is intangible, yet extremely valuable, and is often associated with time...
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 come in darkness, but fill the mind with light. I bring enlightenment to some while gripping others in the hand of fear. For me, it can be a journey of inexplicable joy and sorrow. What I will show you will often be unreachable. Journey with me and what you see may haunt you. Journey with me and you may never want to return home. Journey with me and you will never know when it will end. What am I?
"The answer is often shrouded in mystery, but think about an experience that can be both thrilling and terrifying, bringing both understanding and unease. It's a path that's not always easy to follow, but one that can leave a lasting impression."
I am a word of five letters. Take away my first and I am the name of what adorns the estate of many of the nobility of England. Take away my first and second, and I am the name of a place where all the world was once congregated. Take away my last, and I am the name of a beautiful mineral. Take away my two last, and I am the name of a fashionable place of resort. I am small in stature but capable of doing a great deal of mischief, as I once did in London in the year 1666. What word am I?
Hint: Think about a word that is associated with fire...
I talk, but I do not speak my mind I hear words, but I do not listen to thoughts When I wake, all see me When I sleep, all hear me Many heads are on my shoulders Many hands are at my feet The strongest steel cannot break my visage But the softest whisper can destroy me The quietest whimper can be heard. What am I?
Pay attention to the contrast between "wake" and "sleep" in the riddle, and think about something that is visible to all when it's "awake", but is heard by all when it's "asleep".
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...
My first is a creature whose breeding is unclear. My second, a price you must pay. My whole can be found in the river of Time and refers to events of today. What am I?
Think about the concept of "history" and how it relates to the river of Time...
Three employees–A, B, and C–get called into the office. One of them is fired, another one is promoted, and the last one wants to resign at first, but changes his mind. You know that one, the employee who is fired is older than the rest and single, and two, Employee B is younger than the employee who stays, and he doesn't know C's wife. Who is fired?
Think about the relationships between the employees and how the clues about age and marital status can help you figure out who is fired...
C can't be fired because he's married (i.e. he has a wife). B can't be fired either because he's younger than the employee who stays (B can't be younger than A because nobody was fired and decided to stay at the same time, and he can't be younger than himself either, so B is the youngest). It means that A has been fired.