Cannot Keep Until Given

You cannot keep me until you have given me. What am I?

Your word.

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Three Consecutive Days

Name three consecutive days without using the words Wednesday, Friday, or Sunday.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow.

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Just Two Letters

Using just two letters, fill in the blank letters below to make five English words. The letters are not always in the same order and the same letter may of course be used more than once. What are the words?

1. _ N T _ I N _
2. V I _ _ _ R
3. _ H _ _ L
4. _ _ _ K
5. _ _ _

The two letters are E and W. They make the following words

1. ENTWINE
2. VIEWER
3. WHEEL
4. WEEK
5. EWE

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My Thunder, Lightning and Rain

My thunder comes before the lightning.
My lightning comes before the clouds.
My rain dries all the land it touches.

What am I?

A volcano.

(via Reddit)

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What’s The Captain’s Name?

I was standing by a railing,
watching a ship a sailing.
What is the Captain’s name.
If you don’t know his name,
It’s you to blame.
What is the Captain’s name.

“What” is the name of the Captain.

Thanks to Sherry for submitting this one. Here’s the backstory of the riddle.

“One of my favorites I remember as a child from my father, he always said it was a Newfoundland riddle. I don’t know where it may have originated. This is usually spoken. Ensure you say it as a statement and not a question.”

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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.

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Leaves That Don’t Fall

I have wood but no bark,
And leaves that don’t fall,
I am made up of branches,
and come in sizes of all.

I am completely devoured many times,
over and over by a worm of a kind.
If you want to know the answer of mine,
look for the secret that I’ve stored inside.

What am I?

A library or bookstore.

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Swallowed the Dead

I’ve swallowed the dead,
Of a torn land’s end.
And I hold the remains,
Of an unknown friend

A mansion once stood,
Where I now lay,
We honor all those
Who gave us today.

What am I?

Arlington National Cemetery, the burial place of soldiers from the United States Civil War. It also houses the tomb of unknown soldiers. General Robert E. Lee’s mansion once stood on the land that is now occupied by the cemetery. And on Memorial Day in the US, we honor all those who died while serving their country’s armed forces.

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Where None Should Be

One where none should be,
Or maybe where two should be,
Seeking out purity,
In the kings trees.

What am I?

A unicorn

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A Leathery Snake

A leathery snake,
With a stinging bite,
I’ll stay coiled up,
Unless I must fight.

A whip.

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