I Will Stomp You If You Get In My Way

I roam through the land hoping to rescue my love. I search high and low and will stomp on you if you get in my way. What am I?

Mario, from Super Mario Brothers video game by Nintendo. He roams the land searching for the princess and his primary method of getting rid of folks is to stomp on them.

Thanks to Rowan for figuring this out.

Posted in Riddles

Into the House Through the Keyhole

What always comes into the house through the keyhole?

The key.

Posted in Riddles

A U2 Concert

U2 has a concert that starts in 17 minutes and they must all cross a bridge to get there. All four men begin on the same side of the bridge. You must help them across to the other side. It is night. There is one flashlight. A maximum of two people can cross at one time. Any party who crosses, either 1 or 2 people, must have the flashlight with them.

The flashlight must be walked back and forth. It cannot be thrown and other tricks like that are not needed to solve the problem. The solution is simply a matter of allocating resources in a certain order. Each band member walks at a different speed. A pair must walk together at the rate of the slower man’s pace:

Bono: 1 minute to cross
Edge: 2 minutes to cross
Adam: 5 minutes to cross
Larry: 10 minutes to cross

For example: if Bono and Larry walk across first, 10 minutes have elapsed when they get to the other side of the bridge. If Larry then returns with the flashlight, a total of 20 minutes have passed and you have failed the mission.

This is one of my favorite brain teasers and I want to give you the satisfaction of figuring it out on your own. If you’re having a hard time, here’s a hint: There is a valid answer that doesn’t require tricks like throwing the flashlight or shining it backwards or having some other means of moving the flashlight.

There’s an assumption people often make that keeps them from solving this. Two members cross the bridge each time, but neither one of the two who crossed necessarily need to return. Think about how that would be possible. If you’re still stuck, use objects to simulate their movements. Use whatever you have laying around – pens, paper, erasers – and move them back and forth. Good luck!

Posted in Brain Teasers

A Fruity Series

What is the next letter in this fruity series?

a a a p p ?

Y.

The series consists of the letters of papaya in alphabetical order.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Halo of Water, Tongue of Wood

Halo of water, tongue of wood
Skin of stone, long I’ve stood.
My fingers short reach to the sky
Inside my heart men live and die.

A castle.

Posted in Riddles

Area, Death, Kick

What word can be added before or after these words to make a new word or phrase?

Area, Death, Kick

Penalty. Penalty area, Death penalty, Penalty kick.

Posted in Riddles

amid eerie niger won spawn

What phrase do these words sound like when rearranged?

amid eerie niger won spawn

“Won spawn amid niger eerie” sounds like, “Once upon a midnight dreary”, from The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Lucrezia Borgia

Lucrezia Borgia invited a prospective victim to lunch. They ate a hearty meal of roast venison, with a selection of fresh vegetables, all washed down with the finest wine imported from Bordeaux, France.

After the meal, they ate figs and freshly picked grapes.

“Just one apple left”, said Lucrezia, “I insist you have it.

“No”, said the guest, “I couldn’t”.

“Tell you what”, said Lucrezia, “we’ll share it”, and promptly sliced the apple in two with her sharpest knife. The guest and Lucrezia started to eat their respective halves when the guest’s eyes rolled towards the ceiling and he fell over, dead.

“Another victim successfully dispatched,” thought Lucrezia.

How did she do it?

She used a knife coated on just one edge with cyanide. When she sliced the apple in two, only the victim’s half was poisoned.

Posted in Brain Teasers

I Climb Higher When Hot

I climb higher when hot,
But beware my rage,
I’ll kill with a breath,
If I can escape my cage.

Mercury. It rises when encased in a thermometer when it’s hot and mercury poisoning results from inhaling mercury.

Posted in Riddles
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Four Letters and a Fruit or Vegetable

I have four letters in my name,
I am a fruit or a vegetable,
I look like a giant green onion,
I end with the letter k.

What am I?

The leek. It has four letters, has been considered both a fruit and a vegetable, looks like a green onion and ends with the letter k.

Posted in Riddles