Hilda’s Age

When Randolph asked Hilda how old she was, Hilda replied that in two years she would be twice as old as she was five years ago. How old is Hilda?

Aside from the potential response that it’s rude to ask the age of a lady, the answer can be worked out mathematically.

x + 2 = 2(x – 5)
x + 2 = 2x – 10
x + 12 = 2x
12 = x
In two years she’ll be 14, which is twice her age 5 years ago (7).

Posted in Brain Teasers

The Missing Dollar

Three travelers register at a hotel and are told that their rooms will cost $10 each so they pay $30. Later the clerk realizes that he made a mistake and should have only charged them $25. He gives a bellboy $5 to return to them but the bellboy is dishonest and gives them each only $1, keeping $2 for himself. So the men actually spent $27 and the bellboy kept $2. What happened to the other dollar of the original $30?

There is no missing dollar from the original $30 because after getting $1 back, the three travelers had paid a total of $27 for their room ($9 each), not $30. Out of that $27, the hotel has $25 and the clerk kept the remaining $2. If you still want to work from the original $30, the travelers have $3, the hotel has $25 and the bellboy has $2. The misleading part is adding the bellboy’s $2 to the $27, when in fact it should be subtracted.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Complete the Word Square

A word square is a combination of words that can be spelled horizontally and vertically.

The most well known is called the Sator Square (in Latin):

S A T O R
A R E P O
T E N E T
O P E R A
R O T A S

What five words complete this word square?

I T C H E S
T _ _ _ _ _
C _ _ _ _ _
H _ _ _ _ _
E _ _ _ _ _
S _ _ _ _ _

Thrust, Crisco, Hussar, Escape and Stores.

Making this lovely word square below:

I T C H E S
T H R U S T
C R I S C O
H U S S A R
E S C A P E
S T O R E S
Posted in Brain Teasers

The Boat at High Tide

A boat has a ladder that has six rungs. Each rung is one foot apart. The bottom rung is one foot from the water. The tide rises at 12 inches every 15 minutes. High tide peaks in one hour.

When the tide is at its highest, how many rungs are under water?

None. The boat is floating on the water, so as the tide rises, so does the ladder.

Posted in Brain Teasers

The 22nd and 24th Presidents of the U.S.

The 22nd and 24th presidents of the United States of America had the same parents, but were not brothers. How is this possible?

It was the same guy! Grover Cleveland is the only president in history to serve two, non-consecutive terms.

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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Shave Everyday

I can shave everyday but my beard will stay. Who am I?

A barber.

Posted in Riddles

Hello Father

A women and daughter walked into a restaurant. A man walked past and the women both said, “Hello, Father”. How is this possible?

The man was a priest.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Two Hands But Can’t Clap

I have two hands but I cannot clap. What am I?

A clock.

Posted in Riddles
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Thanks, You’re Fired

A man is leaving on a business trip and stops by his office on the way to the airport. The night watchman stops him and says, “Sir, don’t take that flight. I had a dream last night that your plane would crash and everyone would die!” The business man cancels his trip and sure enough, the plane crashes, killing all the passengers. The man gives his watchman a $10,000 reward for saving his life, then fires him. Why?

Because his night watchman was sleeping on the job.

Posted in Brain Teasers