Al and Fred’s Car Wash

Al washes a car in 6 minutes. Fred washes the same car in 8 minutes. How long will it take them to wash the car together?

There isn’t enough information, thus there’s no one, right answer. (As frustrating as that may be)

This is from the TV show Boy Meets World, season 1 episode 12.

Posted in Brain Teasers

A Silent Z

What word in the English dictionary has a silent z?

The word rendezvous. Even though it’s a French word, it’s in the English dictionary and is pronounced [rahn-duh-voo].

Turns out rendezvous isn’t the only one. Another word is oyez.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Sits in the Corner

I sit in a corner and travel around the world. What am I?

A stamp.

This is nearly a duplicate of Lives in the Corner.

Posted in Riddles

More Than a Few

Nothing specific,
but more than a few.
This many clustered
together will do.

Bunch. It’s a vague term that means more than a few. And clustered items like bananas, grapes or celery come in bunches.

By Sef Daystrom

Posted in Riddles

My Motor Revs, But I’m No Rocket

My motor revs, but I’m no rocket,
I’ll hit you deep within your pocket,
I’m a little tart, don’t be afraid,
Unless life’s gift – then quick, seek aid!

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.)

Posted in Riddles

Pronounced As One Letter, Written With Three

Pronounced as one letter,
And written with three,
Two letters there are,
And two only in me.
I’m double, I’m single,
I’m black, blue, and gray,
I’m read from both ends,
And the same either way.

What am I?

Eye. It’s pronounced like the letter ‘i’, but written with three letters. There are only two letters used (‘e’ and ‘y’). The eye is double with two ‘e’s and represents a single eye. The eye is made up of various colors, some of which are black, blue and gray. And lastly, the eye is a palindrome, spelled the same forward and backward.

Posted in Riddles
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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

What is the Chance That You’ll Be Correct?

If you choose an answer to this question at random, what is the chance that you will be correct?

a) 25%
b) 50%
c) 60%
d) 25%

This is becomes a self-referential paradox. Both A and D would be correct if there were four unique answers, but since A and D are the same answer, the chance that you would choose a correct answer is 50%, which makes B correct. But if there’s only one correct answer, the odds of choosing the correct one at random goes back to 25%. And around and round you go.

There’s a lot of discussion at Richard Wiseman’s blog and more at Lifehacker, where I first saw this.

Posted in Brain Teasers

No Thicker Than Your Finger

No thicker than your finger when it folds.
As thick as what it’s holding when it holds.

A sack.

By Sef Daystrom

Posted in Riddles

I See Much But Change Little

I see much but change little,
I am firm, irresolute,
Powerful but gentle,
I can rip apart mountains,
Yet be moved by gentle stirrings,
I am valued and wasted,
I am life itself,
And I give life to others.

What am I?

A tree. A tall one can see long distances but don’t change much. They are strong and powerful, and the roots of a tree can slowly tear apart a mountain. The gentle stirrings of the wind can blow their branches and leaves. Trees are valuable as they provide wood and paper, but they are also wasted. And lastly, trees, like all plants, provide us with life-giving oxygen.

Posted in Riddles