Falling Window Cleaner

A window cleaner is cleaning a window on the 25th floor of a skyscraper when he slips and falls. He has no safety equipment and nothing to soften his fall, yet he is not hurt. How can this be?

He was cleaning the inside of the window.

Posted in Brain Teasers

What Number Comes Next 6 1 3 1 4

What number comes next?

6 1 3 1 4 _

5. The numbers are the alphabetical positions of the letters in the word FACADE.

F – 6th
A – 1st
C – 3rd
A – still 1st
D – 4th
E – 5th

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The Longest Double Letter Word

What is the longest unscientific English word that uses every letter in the word exactly twice? For example, noon has two Ns and two Os, but it’s not nearly long enough.

Happenchance. There are two Hs, two As, and so on for all the letters in the word. The longest scientific word with the same property is probably esophagographers.

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I Can Kill People

I can kill people, or cause great pain.
You eat me.
I can mean you’re crazy.
I hold things together.
I help climbers stay safe.
I can replace a swear.
And I’m on a violin.

What am I?

Nuts.

People with nut allergies can die from eating nuts. Being hit in the nuts hurts (I speak from experience. Painful, painful experience). You eat nuts (unless you’re allergic, in which case you should run away). If someone says you’re nuts, it doesn’t mean you’re a peanut or an almond. Nuts and bolts hold things together. A climber’s nut or chock wedges into a rock. Instead of swearing, you can say, “Aww nuts!”. And finally, the nut on a violin is a small piece of hard material that supports the strings.

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Many are Perplexed While Seeking Me

Many get perplexed in life while seeking me. Others put their life in danger and others give up. If you find me you are satisfied. What am I?

Hint: It is in every house.

You. Hundreds of books have been written about people searching for themselves. Some methods are quite dangerous. Still others give up. But if you figure out who you are, you will be satisfied.

Lastly, the word you is in the phrase everY hOUse.

Posted in Riddles

To Make In a Burning House

I am the best thing to make if you’re in a burning house. And you’d better make me quickly before the fire’s too hot to take.

Haste.  You need to make haste to get out of the burning house as soon as possible.

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Making Lots of Shirts

In a textile factory, 5 machines take exactly 5 minutes to make 5 shirts. How many minutes will it take 100 machines to produce 100 shirts?

5 minutes. It takes each machine 5 minutes to make a shirt, so if you have all 100 machines running at the same time, they’ll produce the 100 shirts in 5 minutes.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Don’t Get a Goat

On a game show there are three closed doors – one hides a car and the other two conceal a goat. The contestant selects a door, which remains closed, and the host, knowing where the car is hidden, reveals a goat behind one of the remaining two doors. The contestant is then given the option to switch doors or stay with the one they originally selected. What should the contestant do to have the best chance of winning the car?

The contestant should switch doors, which doubles the chance of winning the car. Initially there is a 2/3 chance of picking a goat, but once the other goat is revealed, switching to remaining door gives the contestant a better chance of winning the car. This is known as the Monty Hall Problem and can be very unintuitive.

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Ages Of Myself and My Brother

My current age, is the age of my 14 year-old brother plus one third of my age. How old will I be when my brother is twice his current age?

I will be 35. I am currently 21.

x = my current age

x = 14 + x/3
3x = 42 + x
2x = 42
x = 21 (so 14 years later, I'll be 35)
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All In White, A Fossil

All in white, a fossil,
fresh snow, a loan, the sky,
But just what am I?

A bride (something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue).

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