A Four Word Admonition

What four word admonition makes the happy person sad and the sad person happy?

The phrase, “This too shall pass.” According to Wikipedia, the well-known phrase is often attached to a fable of a great king who is humbled by these words, and to someone who is experiencing something wonderful, it can be saddening. But to one who is in the pits of despair, it is a phrase that brings relief and hope.

In other words, if a happy person is told, “This too shall pass” it will make them sad. But to a person on hard times, hearing, “This too shall pass” will cheer them up.

Posted in Riddles

What Can You Break But Not Touch?

What can you break but not touch?

A promise.

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An Alphabetical Rebus

What does this represent?

abcdefghijkmnopqrstuvwxyz

Noel (more literally no “l”).

I hope you have a great holiday season!

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Choose Your Own Death

A prisoner was brought before the King to be executed. The King was in a peppy mood and asked the prisoner how he would like to die. The prisoner told him and the King laughed heartily. The prisoner was released and sent on his way, alive.

What did the prisoner say?

He asked to die of old age.

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Not Want to Have But Not Want to Lose

What do you not want to have and not want to lose?

A lawsuit.

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Three Kinds of Apples

Three kinds of apples are mixed randomly in a box. How many apples must you take out to be sure of having at least two apples of one kind?

Four. If the apples are A, B, and C, it’s possible that you could take out one A, one B and one C with three apples, but the fourth apple must be one of the three kinds.

Posted in Brain Teasers

The Case of Wesley and the Broken Window

Wesley’s mom discovered a broken window in the living room and went to ask Wesley about it. Wesley told her he had been playing Monopoly with his friend Cindy. She asked him what his last roll had been and he said, “A one”. She immediately knew he was lying.

How?

Monopoly has two dice, and the lowest number two dice can roll is 2. The window repair came out of Wesley’s allowance and he stopped throwing his baseball in the house.

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The Honest and Dishonest Guards

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?

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.

Posted in Brain Teasers

What Can Lift Objects

What can lift objects
or hopelessly try,
but only when filled,
or, lifeless, it lies?

A glove.

By Sef Daystrom

Posted in Riddles

Three Five Six To One Hundred

Without changing the order of these numbers, how can they equal 100?

3 5 6 2 54 5

= 3 * (5 – 6) + 2 * 54 – 5
= -3 + 108 – 5
= 105 – 5
= 100

Posted in Brain Teasers