I Cannot Speak

I cannot speak but I have great knowledge,
I’m not a tree but I have leaves.
I have hinges but I am neither a door nor a window.

What am I?

A book.

Posted in Riddles
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I Lack Much Reason, But Often Rhyme

I lack much reason, but often rhyme,
And require logic to pass the time,
To get the words to tell your kin,
Look for clues that lie within,
Though all are different, they act the same,
The answer is practically in the name.

What am I?

A riddle.

Posted in Riddles

Maya’s Stamps Errand

Maya’s mother asked her to buy some stamps. The available stamps were 3 cents, 9 cents, 11 cents, 17 cents and 21 cents. Her mother asked her to buy eight each of three stamps and nine of each of the remaining two stamps. Unfortunately, Maya forgot which stamps she was supposed to buy eight and nine of. Luckily, her mother had given her $5, the exact amount required to buy the stamps. Which stamps did she buy?

Eight of the 11 cent, 17 cent and 21 cent stamps and nine of the 3 cent and 9 cent stamps.

Posted in Brain Teasers

What Toby Likes

Toby likes indigo but not red. He likes onions but not turnips. He likes forms but not shapes.

According to the same rule, does he like tomatoes or avocados?

Toby only likes words that start with prepositions, like his name. Thus he likes tomatoes, not avocados.

Posted in Brain Teasers

If This Site Had a Phone Number

If this site had a phone number, I would want it to be 743-3537. Why?

Because the numbers on a phone would spell the word RIDDLES.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Springiest Anagram

What is the only anagram of Springiest?

Persisting

Posted in Brain Teasers

Dead At The End of An Alley

A man is found dead at the end of an alley. A detective who enters the scene sees the letter X and immediately knows who killed the man and why. What did the detective conclude?

The alley is a bowling alley. The man who was killed was a pin spotter (an old profession where they would reset the pins by hand). The X was the marking on the score sheet for a strike. The detective saw the letter X and knew that the person bowled last, got a strike, and was due to bowl again. But they bowled before the pin spotter could get out of the way.

Submitted by Dennis

Posted in Riddles

A C F H K ?

What is the next letter in this sequence and why? A C F H K _

M. Skip 1 letter then 2 letters, alternating.

Posted in Brain Teasers

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

How Old is Lilly?

Two days ago Lilly was 7 years old. Next year she will turn 10. How can this be?

Her birthday is December 31st. Today is January 1st so she was 7 two days ago, and turned 7 last year. Now she’s 8 and will turn 9 this year. And next year she’ll turn 10.

For example, if today is 01 Jan 2015:

30 Dec 2014 = age 7 (two days ago)
01 Jan 2015 = age 8 (today, she turned 8 on 31 Dec 2014, which was last year)
31 Dec 2015 = age 9 (her birthday this year)
31 Dec 2016 = age 10 (her birthday next year)

Posted in Brain Teasers