Game brain teasers – Flashcards

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question
By moving one of the following digits, make the equation correct. 62 - 63 = 1
answer
26 - 63 = 1 (26 = 2x2x2x2x2x2 = 64, ? 64 - 63 = 1)
question
You have a fox, a chicken and a sack of grain. You must cross a river with only one of them at a time. If you leave the fox with the chicken he will eat it; if you leave the chicken with the grain he will eat it. How can you get all three across safely?
answer
Take the chicken over first. Go back and bring the grain next, but instead of leaving the chicken with the grain, come back with the chicken. Leave the chicken on the first side and take the fox with you. Leave it on the other side with the grain. Finally, go back over and get the chicken and bring it over.
question
You have 12 black socks and 12 white socks mixed up in a drawer. You're up very early and it's too dark to tell them apart. What's the smallest number of socks you need to take out (blindly) to be sure of having a matching pair?
answer
3 socks. If the first sock is black, the second one could be black, in which case you have a matching pair. If the second sock is white, the third sock will be either black and match the first sock, or white and match the second sock.
question
What is special about the following sequence of numbers? 8 5 4 9 1 7 6 10 3 2 0
answer
The numbers are in alphabetical order. (eight, five, four, nine, one, seven, six, ten, three, two, zero)
question
Three travelers register at a hotel and are told that their rooms will cost $10 each so they pay $30. Later the clerk realizes that he made a mistake and should have only charged them $25. He gives a bellboy $5 to return to them but the bellboy is dishonest and gives them each only $1, keeping $2 for himself. So the men actually spent $27 and the bellboy kept $2. What happened to the other dollar of the original $30?
answer
There is no missing dollar from the original $30 because after getting $1 back, the three travelers had paid a total of $27 for their room ($9 each), not $30. Out of that $27, the hotel has $25 and the clerk kept the remaining $2. If you still want to work from the original $30, the travelers have $3, the hotel has $25 and the bellboy has $2. The misleading part is adding the bellboy's $2 to the $27, when in fact it should be subtracted.
question
You are the bus driver. At your first stop, you pick up 29 people. On your second stop, 18 of those 29 people get off, and at the same time 10 new passengers arrive. At your next stop, 3 of those 10 passengers get off, and 13 new passengers come on. On your fourth stop 4 of the remaining 10 passengers get off, 6 of those new 13 passengers get off as well, then 17 new passengers get on. What is the color of the bus driver's eyes?
answer
The eye color of the reader of this problem. The first sentence is the key: "You are the bus driver"
question
A rooster lays an egg at the very top of a slanted roof. Which side is the egg going to roll off on?
answer
Neither, roosters don't lay eggs.
question
Why is it very common to have a 9 minute snooze interval on alarm clocks, why not 10 instead?
answer
By setting the snooze time to 9 minutes, the alarm clock only needs to watch the last digit of the time. So, if you hit snooze at 6.45, the alarm goes off again when the last digit equals 4. They couldn't make it 10 minutes, otherwise the alarm would go off right away, or it would take more circuitry.
question
A bookworm eats from the first page of an encyclopedia to the last page in a straight line. The encyclopedia consists of ten 1000-page volumes and is sitting on a bookshelf in the usual order. Not counting covers, title pages, etc., how many pages does the bookworm eat through?
answer
On a book shelf the first page of the first volume is on the "inside", so the bookworm eats only through the cover of the first volume, then 8 times 1000 pages of Volumes 2 - 9, then through the cover to the 1st page of Vol 10 for a total of 8,000 pages. Note: The question asks how many pages, not how many sheets of paper.
question
An Arab sheikh tells his two sons to race their camels to a distant city to see who will inherit his fortune. The one whose camel is slower will win. The brothers, after wandering aimlessly for days, ask a wise man for advise. After hearing the advice they jump on the camels and race as fast as they can to the city. What does the wise man say?
answer
The wiseman tells them to switch camels.
question
An 18-wheeler is crossing a 4 kilometer bridge that can only support 10,000 kilograms and that's exactly how much the rig weighs. Halfway across the bridge a 30 gram sparrow lands on the cab, but the bridge doesn't collapse. Why not?
answer
Since the bridge is 4 kilometers long, the halfway point would be 2 kilometers. The 18-wheeler would have used much more than 30g of fuel to drive 2 kilometers.
question
A completely black dog was strolling down Main street during a total blackout affecting the entire town. Not a single streetlight had been on for hours. As the dog crosses the center of the road a Buick Skylark with 2 broken headlights speeds towards it, but manages to swerve out of the way just in time. How could the driver see the dog to swerve in time?
answer
It was during the day
question
In a small cabin in the woods, two men lay dead. The cabin itself is not burned, but the forest all around is burned to cinders. How did the men die?
answer
It's the cabin of a plane and the plane crashed.
question
Ida puts her coffee into the microwave, as she does every morning, for exactly 2 minutes. When the microwave goes off, she opens the door, but then closes the door again and sets the microwave for 2 more seconds. What good would 2 more seconds be?
answer
To rotate the handle on the mug so she can comfortably remove it.
question
Beulah died in the Appalachians while Craig died at sea. Everyone was much happier with Craig's death. Why?
answer
Beulah and Craig were hurricanes.
question
You are a cook in a remote area with no clocks or other way of keeping time other than a four-minute and a seven-minute hourglass. On the stove is a pot of boiling water. Jill asks you to cook a nine-minute egg in exactly 9 minutes, and you know she is a perfectionist and can tell if you undercook or overcook the egg by even a few seconds. How can you cook the egg for exactly 9 minutes?
answer
1. Flip both hourglasses over and drop the egg into the water. 2. When the 4-minute timer runs out, flip it over (4 minutes elapsed, 3 remaining on the 7-minute timer). 3. When the 7-minute timer runs out, flip it over. (7 minutes elapsed, 1 remaining in the 4-minute timer) 4. When the 4-minute timer runs out, flip the 7-minute timer over. (8 minutes elapsed. 6 minutes remained in the 7-minute timer, but flipping it over leaves one minute's worth of sand on top. When it runs out exactly nine minutes will have elapsed.
question
I am the owner of a pet store. If I put in one canary per cage, I have one bird too many. If I put in two canaries per cage, I have one cage too many. How many cages and canaries do I have?
answer
Four canaries and three cages. If you put one canary in each cage, you have an extra bird without a cage. However, if you put two canaries in each cage then you have two canaries in the first cage, two canaries in the second cage and an extra cage.
question
Here is a series of numbers. What is the next number in the sequence? 1 11 21 1211 111221 312211 13112221
answer
The next number in the sequence is 1113213211, because the rule for creating the next number is to simply describe the previous number. The first number is 1, or 1 (one) 1, so you get 11. To describe 11, you have two 1's, or 21. Now you have one 2 and one 1, so the next number is 1211. The solution is to simply continue describing the previous number using only numbers.
question
My daughter has as many sisters as she has brothers. Each of her brothers has twice as many sisters as brothers. How many sons and daughters do I have?
answer
Four daughters and three sons. Each daughter has 3 sisters and 3 brothers, and each brother has 2 brothers and 4 sisters. To figure it out mathematically, you could use the following two equations where G = the number of girls and B = the number of boys: G - 1 = B 2(B - 1) = G Solving for G gives you 4 and plugging that in to G - 1 = B gives you a B of 3.
question
What seven-letter word has hundreds of letters in it?
answer
Mailbox
question
If you had a ton of feathers and a ton of stones which would be heavier?
answer
Neither. They both weigh a ton.
question
Tom's mother has three children. One is named April, one is named May. What is the third one named?
answer
Tom
question
Two women apply for a job. They are identical and have the same mother, father and birthday. The interviewer asks, "Are you twins?" to which they honestly reply, "No".
answer
They are triplets.
question
If a bottle and a cork cost a dollar and a nickel, and the bottle costs a dollar more than the cork, how much does the cork cost?
answer
Most people guess 5¢, but $1 more than 5¢ is $1.05, and if the bottle cost $1.05, the bottle and the cork would be $1.10, not $1.05. The cork actually costs 2½¢ and the bottle costs a dollar more, or $1 and 2½¢, making the total $1.05.
question
A boat has a ladder that has six rungs. Each rung is one foot apart. The bottom rung is one foot from the water. The tide rises at 12 inches every 15 minutes. High tide peaks in one hour. When the tide is at its highest, how many rungs are under water?
answer
None. The boat is floating on the water, so as the tide rises, so does the ladder.
question
You have a lighter and two fuses that take exactly one hour to burn, but they don't burn at a steady rate. For example, one fuse could take 59 minutes to burn the first inch and then burn the rest of the fuse in the last minute.
answer
Light the first fuse on both ends and the second fuse at only one end. When the first fuse burns out you know 30 minutes have passed. Light the other end of the second fuse and when it burns out, 45 minutes have passed.
question
A man can make perfect counterfeit bills. They look exactly like real ones, they're made of exactly the same materials, made the same way, everything. So perfect, one could pretty much call them real bills. One day he successfully makes a perfect copy of another bill. However, he gets caught when he tries to use the copy. How is this possible?
answer
He made a perfect copy of a counterfeit bill.
question
A prisoner is told "If you tell a lie we will hang you; if you tell the truth we will shoot you." What can he say to save himself?
answer
You will hang me. If they hang him, then the statement was true and they could only hang him for telling a lie. If they shoot him, then it makes the statement a lie and they were only to shoot him for telling the truth. An alternate solution is to say, "You will not shoot me," leading to the same quandary for the killers.
question
A man is traveling with a fox and two chickens, if he leaves the fox alone with the chickens the fox will eat the chickens. He comes to a river and needs to cross it, he finds a small boat that can carry only him and one animal, how does he get himself, the fox and two chickens across the river safely?
answer
Take the fox over, return with nothing. Go over with one chicken, return with the fox. Go over with the second chicken, return with nothing. Finally, take the fox over.
question
A man is looking at a picture of a man on the wall and states: Brothers and sisters I have none, but this man's father is my father's son. Who is the man in the picture in relation to the man looking at the picture?
answer
The man in the picture is his son. Since he doesn't have any brothers or sisters, the statement my father's son is himself. A shortened version would be this man's father is myself, so he is the father of the man in the picture.
question
A man and his son had a terrible car accident and were rushed to the hospital. The man died on the way, but the son was still barely alive. When they arrived, an old gray surgeon was called in to operate. Upon seeing the young boy, the surgeon said, "I can't operate - this is my son." How is this possible?
answer
The surgeon was his mother.
question
A wise king devised a contest to see who would receive the Princess' hand in marriage. The Princess was put in a 50 x 50 foot carpeted room. Each of her four suitors were put in one corner of the room with a small box to stand on. The first one to touch the Princess' hand would be the winner and become the new King. The rules were the contestants could not walk over the carpet, cross the plane of the carpet, or hang from anything; nor could they use anything but their body and wits (i.e. no magic, telepathy, nor any items such as ladders, block and tackles etc). One suitor figured out a way and married the Princess and became the new King. What did he do?
answer
Asked the princess to touch his hand.
question
Two guards 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 his companion was smiling?
answer
They were facing each other. As to why his companion was smiling, the world may never know.
question
You're riding a horse. To the right of you is a cliff and in front of you is an elephant moving at the same pace and you can't overtake it. To the left of you is a hippo running at the same speed and a lion is chasing you. How do you get to safety?
answer
Get off the merry-go-round.
question
You have 50 quarters on the table in front of you. You are blindfolded and cannot discern whether a coin is heads up or tails up by feeling it. You are told that x coins are heads up, where 0 < x < 50. You are asked to separate the coins into two piles in such a way that the number of heads up coins in both piles is the same at the end. You may flip any coin over as many times as you want. How will you do it?
answer
Take x coins, flip all of them and put them in one pile. The rest of the coins form the second pile.
question
You have four chains. Each chain has three links in it. Although it is difficult to cut the links, you wish to make a single loop with all 12 links. What is the fewest number of cuts you must make to accomplish this task?
answer
3 cuts. Cut each link in one chain. Separate them, and use the links to join the ends of the 3 intact chains.
question
Three closed boxes have either white marbles, black marbles or both, and they are labeled white, black and both. However, you're told that each of the labels are wrong. You may reach into one of the boxes and pull out only one marble. Which box should you remove a marble from to determine the contents of all three boxes?
answer
The one labeled both. Since you know it's labeled incorrectly, it must have all black marbles or all white marbles. After you determine what it contains, you can identify the other two boxes by the process of elimination.
question
You are given eight coins and told that one of them is counterfeit. The counterfeit one is slightly heavier than the other seven. Otherwise, the coins look identical. Using a simple balance scale, how can you determine which coin is counterfeit using the scale only twice?
answer
First weigh three coins against three others. If the weights are equal, weigh the remaining two against each other. The heavier one is the counterfeit. If one of the groups of three is heavier, weigh two of those coins against each other. If one is heavier, it's the counterfeit. If they're equal weight, the third coin is the counterfeit.
question
You're in a room with two doors. There's a guard at each door. One door is the exit, but behind the other door is something that will kill you. You're told that one guard always tells the truth and the other guard always lies. You don't know which guard is which. You are allowed to ask one question to either of the guards to determine which door is the exit. What question should you ask?
answer
Ask either guard what door the other guard would say is the exit, then choose the opposite door. If you ask the guard who always tells the truth, he knows the other guard would lie, so he'll point you to the door leading to death. If you ask the guard who always lies, he knows the other guard would truthfully show you the exit, so he'll lie and point you to the door leading to death. An alternate solution is to ask a guard what they would answer if you were to ask them which door was the exit, then choose that door. The truthful guard will point to the correct exit, but the lying guard will too. Here's why. If you asked him what door was the exit, he would normally lie and point to the death door, but you asked him what he would say if you asked what door was the exit, and in order to lie to that question, he will point you to the exit.
question
How far can a dog run into the forest?
answer
Halfway. After that it will be running out of the forest.
question
What number comes next? 2, 2, 4, 12, 48, ___
answer
240. To get the number, multiply the previous number in the series by its position. 48 is in the 5th position, so 48 × 5 = 240
question
What is the next number in this series? 1, 2, 6, 42, 1806?
answer
To get the next number, multiply the previous number in the series by itself plus one: n * (n+1). For example, to get 6, multiply 2 * 2+1. To get 42 multiply 6 * 6+1. Thus, 1806 * 1807 = 3263442
question
If: 2 3 = 10 7 2 = 63 6 5 = 66 8 4 = 96 9 7 = ??
answer
f(n,m) = (n + m) * n e.g. f(2,3) = (2 + 3) * 2 = 10 Hence, f(9,7) = (9 + 7) * 9 = 144
question
What do the following numerals represent? 11111121113122223222
answer
The syllables in the numbers from 1 to 20
question
You must buy 100 chickens for exactly $100, and purchase at least one chicken from each store. The first store charges 5 cents/chicken, the second charges $1/chicken and the third charges $5/chicken. How many chickens should you buy from each store?
answer
80 from store 1 = $4 1 from store 2 = $1 19 from store 3 = $95
question
Bill buys three items at the store for exactly $100. The second item costs half as much as the first item, and the third item is half as much as the second. How much did each one cost?
answer
First: $57.14, Second: $28.57, Third: $14.29
question
A man was killed on Sunday morning. His wife found the body and called the police. The police arrived and questioned the chef, maid, butler, and gardener. Their alibis were: Chef - making breakfast Maid - getting mail Butler - setting table Gardener - watering plants The police immediately arrested the criminal. Who was it and how did they know?
answer
The maid. Mail isn't delivered on Sunday
question
A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?
answer
The third room, since the lions would be dead.
question
Name three consecutive days without using the words Wednesday, Friday, or Sunday.
answer
Yesterday, today and tomorrow
question
A plane crashed on the border or US and Canada. Where do they bury the survivors?
answer
You don't bury survivors
question
There are six glasses in a row. The first three are full of water, and the next three are empty. By moving only one glass how can you make them alternate between full and empty?
answer
Pour the water from the 2nd glass into the 5th glass.
question
Two men are standing on one side of a bridge and two women are approaching them. One of the men says, "Here comes my wife and daughter" to which the second man replies, "Here comes my wife and daughter". If they have not married the same woman and the women aren't pregnant, how is this true?
answer
The men are widowers and married each others' daughter.
question
Rearrange the letters in the words "new door" to make one word.
answer
"new door" can be rearranged into "one word"
question
Two fathers and two sons go fishing together in the same boat. They all catch a fish but the total catch for the day is 3 fish. How is this possible?
answer
There are three men: A grandfather, a father (the grandfather's son) and the father's son.
question
A green glass door admits only certain objects. Apples and balls are allowed, but pears and bats aren't. What determines whether an item can enter?
answer
All words with a repeated letter are allowed. Green glass door, apple and ball.
question
B,C,D,E,G,P What is the next letter in the sequence?
answer
T - they all rhyme.
question
A mile-long train is moving at sixty miles an hour when it reaches a mile-long tunnel. How long does it take the entire train to pass through the tunnel?
answer
2 minutes (The back of the train would be at the beginning of the tunnel after 1 minute, and would leave the end of the tunnel at the 2 minute mark.
question
Stands ----------- 0_2345 What does this represent?
answer
No one understands
question
First, think of the color of clouds. Next think of the color of snow. Last, think of the color of the moon. Now, what do cows drink?
answer
Water (if the teaser worked, you guessed milk)
question
Rhonda will go see ballet but not the opera. Her favorite number is eight and she doesn't like nine. She likes salmon but not trout. She hates Mondays and likes Wednesdays. Does she use a comb or a brush?
answer
A comb. Rhonda likes words with silent letters, like her name.
question
On a regular 12-hour digital clock how many times would the same three digits in a row be displayed (e.g. 1:11, 11:12, 12:22) in one day?
answer
34 times. These 17 instances will be visible twice in a 24 hour period. 1:11 2:22 3:33 4:44 5:55 10:00 11:10 11:11 11:12 11:13 11:14 11:15 11:16 11:17 11:18 11:19 12:22
question
A man says his dog can jump over his house. No one believes him but he is right. How is that possible?
answer
The dog can jump over his dog house.
question
Five pigeons are sitting on a fence. The farmer comes out and shoots one. How many are left?
answer
None, the rest flew away at the sound of the gunshot.
question
A plane with 50 passengers crashes and everyone is killed, but there were only 49 bodies. How is this possible?
answer
Two of the passengers were siamese twins
question
A man leaves home, turns left, goes straight, turns left again, goes straight and turns left once more then returns home and there's another man with a mask on. What's going on?
answer
A baseball game
question
A man is leaving on a business trip and stops by his office on the way to the airport. The night watchman stops him and says, "Sir, don't take that flight. I had a dream last night that your plane would crash and everyone would die!" The business man cancels his trip and sure enough, the plane crashes, killing all the passengers. The man gives his watchman a $10,000 reward for saving his life, then fires him. Why?
answer
Because his night watchman was sleeping on the job.
question
A sharpshooter hangs up his hat, turns around and walks 50 meters, then turns around and shoots his gun, putting a hole right through his hat. How did he do it?
answer
He hung the hat up on his gun.
question
5 cats can catch 5 mice in 5 minutes. How many cats does it take to catch 100 mice in 100 minutes?
answer
5 cats. The same five could keep catching 5 mice every 5 minutes for 100 minutes.
question
There's a green ranch house on a green street with green walls, tables and chairs. What color is the staircase?
answer
There is no staircase, it's a ranch.
question
A man saw a snake crossing the road and swerved to crush it with his tires. All the street lights were off as well as the car's headlights. There were no other lights on along the road. How did the man see the snake?
answer
It was during the daytime
question
What do the following words have in common? current, by, dew, faze, loan, ate
answer
They all have homonyms: currant, buy, due, phase, lone, eight
question
How can you alter the following equation by a single stroke to make it correct? 5 + 5 + 5 = 550
answer
5 4 5 + 5 = 550 Add a diagonal line on the top left of the first plus sign to convert + into a 4. You could also put a slash through the equal sign to make ? (not equal) but that's not as cool.
question
24 = HiaD 26 = LotA 7 = DotW 9 = LoaC 12 = SotZ 88 = PK
answer
24 hours in a day 26 letters of the alphabet 7 days of the week 9 lives of a cat 12 signs of the Zodiac 88 piano keys
question
How do you pronounce Ghoti?
answer
Fish. The gh is pronounced as in tough, the o as in women and the ti as in nation. Ghoti is a constructed word to illustrate irregularities in English spelling.
question
What does this sentence represent? Stand Take Mine Taking I You To My
answer
I understand you undertake to undermine my undertaking.
question
What is the only anagram of Springiest?
answer
Persisting
question
How do you get from cold to warm in four steps, changing only one letter at a time?
answer
cold, cord, word, worm or ward, warm
question
How do you turn 2 into 5?
answer
Turn it upside down and look at it in a mirror.
question
What is N? 6, 9, 27, 54, N, 2241
answer
675. The next number in the sequence is n squared minus m or f(n,m) = n2 - m f(6,9) = 62 - 9 = 27 f(9,27) = 92 - 27 = 54 f(27,54) = 272 - 54 = 675 f(54,675) = 542 - 675 = 2241
question
Two boys weighing 50 pounds each and their older brother weighing 100 pounds wish to cross a river. Their boat will only hold 100 pounds. How can they all cross the river in the boat?
answer
Two 50lb boys cross, one comes back. 100lb boy crosses, other 50lb boy returns Both 50lb boys cross.
question
A circular island with a diameter of 30 feet has a 30 foot tree stands at the center. A man cuts the tree down with his chainsaw, making the cut a foot up from the ground. The tree comes crashing down and hits the water but doesn't splash. Why not?
answer
It's winter and the water is frozen.
question
What word or expression does this represent? ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTVWXYZ
answer
Missing you (U).
question
Jack is looking at Anne, but Anne is looking at George. Jack is married, but George is not. Is a married person looking at an unmarried person? A) Yes B) No C) Cannot be determined
answer
A. If Anne is married, she's looking at George, who is unmarried. If Anne is unmarried, Jack is looking at her.
question
What is the missing number? 2 3 4 15 12 3 4 5 28 20 4 5 6 45 30 5 6 7 66 42 6 7 8 ?? 56
answer
91. To get the number in the fourth column, you add the numbers in column 1 and 2, then multiply by the number in column 2. f(n,m) = (n + m) * m For example, f(2,3) = (2 + 3) * 3 = 15. Thus f(6,7) = (6 + 7) * 7 = 91
question
Two scruffy dogs were walking down the street. The first dog turned to the other and said, "Do you realize that if one of your fleas jumped onto me we would have the same number of fleas?" The second replied, "Yes, but if one of your fleas jumped onto me I would have five times as many fleas as you." How many fleas are on each dog to begin with?
answer
2 and 4
question
A snail creeps 10 feet up a wall during the daytime, then falls asleep. It wakes up the next morning and discovers it slipped down 6 feet. If this happens each day, how many days will it take to reach the top of a 20 foot wall?
answer
4 days Day 1: up to 10, down to 4 Day 2: up to 14, down to 8 Day 3: up to 18, down to 12 Day 4: up to 22 (20 really) and done
question
Two children were playing checkers and each played five games. Both children won the same number of games yet there were no ties. How is this possible?
answer
They weren't playing each other.
question
How can you put 21 pigs in 4 pigpens and still have an odd number of pigs in each pen?
answer
Put 7 pigs in the first three pens and arrange the fourth pen to contain the other three pens.
question
Mike, Jimmy, Nader, Kevin, and Larry were the top five finishers in the regional 500-mile race. They drove yellow, orange, green, red and blue cars but not necessarily in that order. Neither Kevin nor Larry drove the green car. Kevin finished faster than Mike and Larry. The blue car finished earlier than Larry's and Nader's car. The yellow car finished faster than the green car and the orange car. Mike's and Larry's car finished ahead of the orange car. Jimmy's car finished before the blue and the yellow car. Who drove what color car and what place did each driver finish?
answer
1st - Jimmy, red car 2nd - Kevin, blue car 3rd - Larry, yellow car 4th - Mike, green car 5th - Nader, orange car
question
While driving his car a man slams on the brakes when he sees, in the middle of the street, a diamond studded door, a gold door and a silver door. Which door does he open first?
answer
His car door
question
Ronald has a rare opportunity to meet the President of the United States. During his visit the president gives him a gift but tells Ronald he is never to sell it unless he sees the president again. Ronald consents, but the president dies later that year. Years later a man offers to buy the President's gift for $1000. Ronald agrees and exchanges the gift for 20 crisp $50 bills. Did he keep his promise?
answer
Yes. The president was Ulysses S. Grant, who died in 1885 and whose face has been on the $50 bill since 1913. He saw the president on the bills before he made the exchange.
question
What 3 digit number has a tens digit that is 5 more than the ones digit and a hundreds digit that is 8 less than the tens digit?
answer
194
question
Why are manhole covers round?
answer
It allows them to be rolled around easily and prevents the cover from falling into the hole.
question
You are in the woods with owls and wolves. There are 22 eyes and 32 legs. How many owls and wolves are there?
answer
5 owls and 5 wolves, (not 6 owls because 2 of the eyes and legs are yours). 2 * owls + 2 * wolves = 20 eyes 2 * owls + 4 * wolves = 30 legs owls + wolves = 10 eyes ? owls = 10 - wolves owls + 2 * wolves = 15 ? 10 - wolves + 2 * wolves = 15 ? wolves = 5 owls + 5 = 10 ? owls = 5
question
When can ten plus ten equal ten, yet ten minus ten equal twenty?
answer
When putting gloves on, then removing them
question
Eat flush to my nose tree times for they buy dead by too. What is the answer?
answer
Eat (8) flush (plus) to (2) my nose (minus) tree (3) times (times) for (4) they buy dead by (divided by) too (2). There are two answers depending on whether you calculate as you read or calculate the entire solution at the end. 8 + 2 = 10, - 3 = 7, x 4 = 28, / 2 = 14 or 8 + 2 - 3 x 4 / 2 = 10 - 6 = 4
question
A man owed his friend $63 and repaid him the exact amount in cash without using coins or $1 bills (no online transfers, checks, credit cards or any other tricks) and without requiring change. How did he do it?
answer
A $50 bill, a $5 bill and 4 $2 bills.
question
Perform this calculation in your head, mentally adding the numbers as quickly as you can. Start with 1000 and add 40. Now add 1000. Add 30 to that, then add another 1000. Now add 20 to that result. Add another 1000 and finally, add 10 to that. What is the total?
answer
4,100. If you got 5,000 you're not alone. 96% of test subjects get the wrong answer
question
Read this sentence. Finished files are the re- sult of years of scientif- ic study combined with the experience of years. How many times does the letter F appear?
answer
There are six. Most people skip the word 'of' and only count three.
question
Without changing the order of these numbers, how can they equal 100? 3 5 6 2 54 5
answer
3 * (5 - 6) + 2 * 54 - 5 -3 + 108 - 5 105 - 5 = 100
question
A taxi driver runs through four red lights, two stop signs and goes through a house. A police officer witnesses this but doesn't do anything. Why not?
answer
The taxi driver is not in his cab, he's out for a run. The house he went through was his own because he was done running
question
Imagine you're alone in a boat with a large hole in the bottom. Sharks are swimming around you on all sides and the boat is sinking fast. How do you survive?
answer
Stop imagining ;)
question
A clock loses exactly ten minutes every hour. If the clock is set correctly at noon, what is the correct time when the clock reads 3:00pm?
answer
3:36pm. For every 60 minutes of real time, the clock moves 50 minutes. Put another way, 60/50 = 1.2 real minutes per slow-clock minute. In order for the clock to show 3:00pm, 180 of its slow minutes have to pass. 1.2 * 180 clock minutes = 216 real minutes or 3 hours and 36 minutes.
question
A man is running across a field at night clutching something in his arms as several other men pursue him. He looks back and sees they're getting closer. In a final burst of effort his pursuers catch up and bring him crashing to the ground. His pursuers stand over him but do not touch him or take what he was carrying. Why not? Who was the running man?
answer
A football player who was tackled
question
Two cowboys live next door to each other and both have a corral for their cows in the back. One day they meet at the back of their homes, standing next to a wall dividing their corrals. The first cowboy gets to thinking and asks his neighbor for a cow so he can double his herd. The other cowboys replies, "That's fine by me partner, cuz then we'll have the same number of cows?" How many cows does each cowboy own?
answer
We'll use A to represent the first cowboy and B for the second cowboy. A + 1 = 2A, so A = 1. A + 1 = B - 1, so B = 3.
question
On a dark, stormy Halloween night, four kids named Luke, John, Sarah and Bob walk into a haunted house during a blackout. Only one can escape. They take a staircase to the second floor, a trapdoor on the left, then go up the ladder to the right, followed by a 28-foot slide to the basement through the mouth of a Giant Panda. In one corner of the murky cellar is a chainsaw, a dagger, a rope with a noose and an electric chair. Written on the wall in blood are the words, "Only one will survive - choose your death!" Bob takes the rope, Sarah picks up the dagger, John chooses the chainsaw and Luke uses the chair. Who survives?
answer
Luke, because there's no power (it's during a blackout).
question
What does this represent? Pot OOOOOOOO
answer
Potatoes (Pot + 8 Os)
question
Given the numbers 1, 6, 7 and 9, find an equation that equals 24. You may only use each digit once.
answer
91 - 67 = 24 or (9 - 6) x (7 + 1) = 3 x 8 = 24 or 6 x ?9 + 7 - 1 = 18 + 6 = 24
question
O, S, C, Y, S, B, T, D, ? What is the next letter in the sequence?
answer
E. Oh say can you see, by the dawn's early light.
question
A red-house is made of red bricks, has a red wooden door and a red roof. A yellow-house is made of yellow bricks, has a yellow wooden door and a yellow roof. What is a green-house made of?
answer
Glass.
question
Go back. You must strive to find a way to stay alive. What is 4+no.5?
answer
South. If you read the letters from back to front they make 5.ou+4, or south.
question
What letter comes next? O T T F F S S
answer
E (one, two, three, four, five, six, seven eight)
question
SO, ND, JF, MA, __, __ What are the next two pairs of letters?
answer
MJ, JA. September, October, November, December...
question
Three rooms contain, 1) Gold coins, 2) Currency notes and 3) Cotton bags. If all three rooms catch fire, which room will the ambulance pour water on first?
answer
An ambulance doesn't pour water
question
Alfred and Bill are clerks at the local grocery store. Alfred can stock a shelf in 20 minutes, but Bill is new and takes 30 minutes. How long would it take for them to stock a shelf together?
answer
Working together they can stock a shelf at a rate of 1/20 + 1/30 (or 5/60) per minute. They'll finish in 12 minutes
question
Ralph goes to the hardware store to buy something for his house. He asks the clerk how much one will cost and the clerk looks it up and tells him it will be $3. He asks about buying twelve and is told it will be $6. Two hundred will cost $9. What is Ralph buying?
answer
Door numbers at $3 each.
question
A boat full of people goes under a bridge and when it comes out the other side not a single person is on it. How can this be?
answer
All the passengers are married.
question
Jim and Wanda both have some apples. If Jim gives Wanda an apple, they will both have the same number of apples. However, if Wanda gives Jim an apple, Jim will have twice as many as Wanda. How many apples do Jim and Wanda each have?
answer
Jim has 7 apples and Wanda has 5 apples.
question
gges egsg segg esgg What does this represent?
answer
Scrambled eggs
question
How can you cross out four letters from the word LIVING to leave six remaining?
answer
Cross out LING, leaving you with VI, or 6 in Roman numerals.
question
A women and daughter walked into a restaurant. A man walked past and the women both said, "Hello, Father". How is this possible?
answer
The man was a priest.
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