A Group of Three

I give you a group of three. One is sitting down, and will never get up. The second eats as much as is given to him, yet is always hungry. The third goes away and never returns.

Stove, fire, smoke.

Posted in Riddles

The Floating Cork

If a cork is placed into a glass of water, it will almost always drift to the side of the glass. There is one simple way, however, to get the cork to float in the center of the glass. What is it?

Water, the glass, and the cork are all that is required.

The reason that a cork drifts to the side of a glass is that it floats to the highest point. Since water “clings” to the glass, the highest point is around the edge of the water. To get the cork to float in the middle of the glass, all you have to do is fill the glass as much as possible. The water will form a convex shape above the glass, with the highest point at its center. This is where the cork will settle.

Posted in Brain Teasers

You Heard Me Before

You heard me before,
Yet you hear me again,
Then I die,
‘Till you call me again.

An echo.

Posted in Riddles

What Looks Like Food

What looks like food, tastes like food, smells like food, sounds like food when you cook it, is grown in dirt like food, fills up your stomach like food, but is not food?

A poisonous mushroom. Since some types of mushrooms are edible, it can be very hard to distinguish between a safe mushroom and one that will kill you. Food is defined as a substance consumed to provide nutrition, therefore a poisonous mushroom that kills you doesn’t qualify as food, even though it shares all of the traits of a regular mushroom.

Other valid answers include anything that’s edible, resembles food, but is poisonous.

Posted in Riddles

Books By Charles Dickens

Pair these words to make nine titles of books by Charles Dickens:

A LITTLE    1 RUDGE
B PICKWICK  2 COPPERFIELD
C EDWIN     3 TIMES
D BARNABY   4 CHUZZLEWIT
E NICHOLAS  5 PAPERS
F HARD      6 HOUSE
G BLEAK     7 DROOD
H DAVID     8 DORRIT
I MARTIN    9 NICKLEBY

A 8 = LITTLE DORRIT
B 5 = PICKWICK PAPERS
C 7 = EDWIN DROOD
D 1 = BARNABY RUDGE
E 9 = NICHOLAS NICKLEBY
F 3 = HARD TIMES
G 6 = BLEAK HOUSE
H 2 = DAVID COPPERFIELD
I 4 = MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT

Posted in Brain Teasers

I Can Ruin a Lucky Run

I can ruin a lucky run,
Or create an item of wealth,
But for man, woman or child,
I’ll always steal your health.

What am I?

Die. The roll of a die can ruin a game of chance. A die (i.e. mold) is used to create new coins and so far at least, we all die.

Posted in Riddles
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A Special Something Shared

The numbers 3, 7, 8, 40, 50 and 60 all share something that no other whole number does. What is it?

When spelled out in English they each have exactly five letters.

Posted in Brain Teasers

I Tell You When to Start

I tell you when to start,
Or remind if you forget.

I smash others to break them apart,
But I’m pushed by another of me.

What am I?

Cue. A cue tells you when to start, or if you forget your lines in a play. A cue ball is used to break at the beginning of a game of pool and the cue stick is used to push the cue ball on the break.

Another interesting tidbit is that cue is how you spell the letter q if you’re writing it out.

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Calm and Cool Among Tumult and Fury

I remain calm and cool among tumult and fury,
I hide treasures and creatures you could hardly fathom,
I will crush those I welcome in deeply,
I am dark yet beautiful.

What am I?

Underwater in the deep ocean. Even when storms brew, the water deep below the surface is calm and cool. Thousands of treasures have been lost in sunken ships, and amazing creatures live at deep depths of the ocean. At extreme depths, the pressure is crushing. It is extremely dark deep in the ocean, yet also beautiful.

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Springiest Anagram

What is the only anagram of Springiest?

Persisting

Posted in Brain Teasers