My Thunder, Lightning and Rain

My thunder comes before the lightning.
My lightning comes before the clouds.
My rain dries all the land it touches.

What am I?

A volcano.

(via Reddit)

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In Heaven But Not in Hell

I am in heaven but not in hell.
I’m in the devil but not in god.
I’m in the river but not in the sea.

What am I?

The letter “v”.

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Pot

What does this represent?

Pot OOOOOOOO

Potatoes (Pot + 8 Os)

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The Japanese IQ Test

Supposedly this is given as a test in Japan. I have no idea if that’s accurate.

There are 8 people who have to cross the river on a raft.

1. Policeman
2. Thief
3. Father
4. Boy 1
5. Boy 2
6. Mother
7. Girl 1
8. Girl 2

The rules are:

Only two people can cross at a time.
Only the adults can operate the raft.
The father can’t be with the girls unless the mother is there.
The mother can’t be with the boys unless the father is there.
The thief can’t remain with anyone unless the policeman is present.

How do you get them all across?

Instead of working it out by hand, here’s a flash version.

Click on the circle to start. Click on a person to put them on the raft and click on the lever to make the raft cross.

Here’s how I did it in 17 steps. Can you do it faster? Let me know in the comments.

1. Policeman (P)
2. Thief (T)
3. Father (F)
4. Boy 1 (B1)
5. Boy 2 (B2)
6. Mother (M)
7. Girl 1 (G1)
8. Girl 2 (G2)

1. P, T →
2. ← P

3. P, B1 →
4. ← P T

5. F, B2 →
6. ← F

7. F, M →
8. ← M

9. P, T →
10. ← F

11. M, F →
12. ← M

13. M, G1 →
14. ← P T

15. P, G2 →
16. ← P

17. P, T →

Posted in Brain Teasers

Losing Ten Minutes An Hour

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?

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.

Posted in Brain Teasers

PPOD Rebus

What phrase does this represent?

PPOD

Two peas in a pod.

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Chimadena

What does this represent?

chimadena

Made in china. The word “made” is wedged between the word “china” (chi-na)

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Old Mother Twitchet Had One Eye

Old Mother Twitchet had one eye
and a long tail that she let fly.
And every time she went through a gap,
she left some tail in the trap

A needle and thread.

Posted in Riddles

The Person Who Makes It Sells It

The person who makes it, sells it.
The person who buys it never uses it.
The person who uses it doesn’t know it.

What is it?

A coffin.

Posted in Riddles

Don’t Speak But No Word I Cannot Make

I don’t speak but there is no word I cannot make. What am I?

The alphabet.

Posted in Riddles