A City in the Twilight

Half-way up the hill, I see thee at last, lying beneath me with thy sounds and sights — A city in the twilight, dim and vast, with smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights.

The Past (Longfellow).

Posted in Riddles

A Harvest Sown and Reaped

A harvest sown and reaped on the same day
In an unplowed field,
Which increases without growing,
Remains whole though it is eaten
Within and without,
Is useless and yet
The staple of nations.

A war.

Posted in Riddles

Count to A

If you were to spell out the numbers, how far would you have to go before encountering the letter A?

One thousand (or one hundred and one, depending on how you pronounce it).

Posted in Brain Teasers

If You Break Me, I Don’t Stop Working

If you break me
I do not stop working,
If you touch me
I may be snared,
If you lose me
Nothing will matter.

Your heart.

Posted in Riddles

Square Root Equations

Arrange the digits 1 through 9 into an equation so that the first number is the square root of the second number. (Two possible variations)

5672 = 321,489

OR

8542 = 729,316

Posted in Brain Teasers

I Look Like a Pearl

I look like a pearl,
Clouds are my ancestors,
I am very delicate,
I die when I’m touched.

What am I?

Dew.

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A Seemingly Simple Math Problem

What is the answer to this problem?

1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1
1 + 1 × 0 + 1 = ?

30.

There are two tricks to this one. The first is 1 × 0. But it’s mostly there as a distraction. Yes, 1 × 0 is 0, but that doesn’t affect anything else in the equation. The second, far trickier element is that the lines ending with 1 don’t have a + sign next to them. That means they should be combined with the following line.

Let’s put the equation all on one line, shall we?

1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 11 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 11 + 1 × 0 + 1 = ?

And the answer to that equation is 30.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Apples, Ice and Flowers

Apples, ice, and flowers can do it.
Pears, stones, and coins can’t.

Float.

By Sef Daystrom

Posted in Riddles

An Iron Horse With A Flaxen Tail

An iron horse with a flaxen tail.
The faster the horse runs,
The shorter his tail becomes.

What is it?

A needle and thread.

Posted in Riddles

Dancing All The Time

Moving to and fro,
Dancing all the time.
Only to be moved by others
To allow them to pass by.

What am I?

A door.

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