A beggar’s brother went out to sea and drowned.
But the drowned man had no brother.
What was the relationship between the man who drowned and the beggar?
Fred brings home 100 pounds of potatoes, which (being purely mathematical potatoes) consist of 99 percent water. He then leaves them outside overnight so that they consist of 98 percent water. What is their new weight?
100 lb of potatoes with 99% water weight means there’s 99 lb of water and 1 lb of solids, a 1:99 ratio.
If the water decreases to 98%, then the solids account for 2% of the weight. The 2:98 ratio reduces to 1:49. Since the solids still weigh 1 lb, the water must weigh 49 lb for a total of 50 lbs for the answer.
An arrow. It has feathers and its nest (a quiver) is usually carried an archer’s back. The arrow flies when released, but will always land somewhere to rest.
What plant becomes the name of a star by removing the first letter, becomes a number without the last letter and becomes a bird if the first and last letters are taken away?
Hester goes out for an afternoon bicycle ride. She rides for one hour at five miles an hour, then three hours at four miles an hour and finally two hours at seven miles an hour. How many miles did she ride in total?
A lemon. It’s a citrus fruit whose juice is acidic and can be used to conduct electricity for motors. A car or other purchase that has problems is known as a lemon and can be expensive to repair. Lemons have a tart flavor but do little harm (unless you get it in a cut, then it hurts like the dickens). The old saying goes, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” (I know, it’s spelled aid not ade but it sounds the same and wouldn’t make any sense the other way. It all works out nicely when the riddle is told instead of read.)
Bill buys three items at the store for exactly $100. The second item costs half as much as the first item, and the third item is half as much as the second.