At Birth It Can’t Start Nor By Death Is It Ended

More precious than gold, but cannot be bought,
Can never be sold, only earned if it’s sought,
If it is broken it can still can be mended,
At birth it can’t start nor by death is it ended.

Friendship. It is more precious than gold to have a genuine friend, and true friendship cannot be bought or sold, only earned. When a friendship is broken it can be fixed and infants aren’t able to make friends until they’re older, but death can’t end it. Love doesn’t work as an answer because a friendship requires two people to interact, while parents love their children as soon as they’re born.

Posted in Riddles

Border Plane Crash

A plane crashed on the border or US and Canada. Where do they bury the survivors?

Nowhere, you don’t bury survivors.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Reading Hexadecimal

How many people can read hexadecimal if only you and dead people can read it?

57006

The trick is that the word “dead” represents a number in hexadecimal. That number in base 10 is 57005, and adding one more to include yourself gives you: 57005 + 1 = 57006.

Posted in Brain Teasers

A Problem In Many People’s Lives

I am a problem in many people’s lives. At times (even more than once) I’m useful. The older I grow, the less useful I become. Who am I?

Credit or debt. Debt is a problem in many people’s lives, but in order to go to school or make a large purchase, it can be useful. As your debt grows older, it’s more unpleasant than useful.

Posted in Riddles

Snakes and Mice

On a remote (imaginary) island, there are 11 snakes and a single mouse. As you’d expect, snakes eat the mice. But contrary to what you’d expect, when a snake eats a mouse, it turns into one.

The snakes live by only two rules:

1. Don’t get eaten.
2. Eat mice as long as rule #1 isn’t violated.

How many snakes and mice will there be left on the island?

10 snakes, 1 mouse.

If there were only a single snake and mouse, the snake could eat the mouse, then turn into one, leaving a single mouse.

If there were two snakes and a single mouse, rule 2 would keep either of the snakes from eating the mouse to avoid being eaten themselves.

With three snakes and one mouse, one of the snakes could eat a mouse and be safe as a mouse thanks to rule 2.

This pattern continues. With an even number of snakes, nothing happens. With an odd number of snakes, one snake can eat the mouse.

Thus, with 11 snakes, one snake would eat the mouse, turn into one and leave 10 snakes and 1 mouse.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Sentca

Four words can be made from the letters below. What are the words?

S E N T C A

1. ENACTS
2. ASCENT
3. STANCE
4. SECANT

Posted in Brain Teasers

Eternally Joining In A Single Bite

With pointed fangs it sits in wait,
With piercing force it doles out fate,
Over bloodless victims proclaiming its might,
Eternally joining in a single bite

What is it?

A stapler.

Posted in Riddles

Ten Men’s Strength

Ten men’s strength,
Ten men’s length,
Ten men can’t break it,
Yet a young boy walks off with it.

What am I?

A rope.

Posted in Riddles

A Person, Place and Thing

Fill in the blanks to make three common, English words (no plurals). The answers are a person, a place and a thing, in that order.

1. _ _ L F B A _ _
2. _ _ _ C K Y A _ _
3. _ _ O D P E _ _ _ _

1. HALFBACK
2. BRICKYARD or STOCKYARD
3. WOODPECKER

Posted in Brain Teasers

I Go Around In Circles

I go around in circles,
But always straight ahead
Never complain,
No matter where I am led.

A wheel.

Posted in Riddles