Imprisoned In Wood and Never Released

I am taken from a mine and shut up in a wooden case from which I am never released. Yet I am used by almost everybody. What am I?

Pencil lead. While modern pencils don’t contain lead, that’s still what we call the graphite compound. When real lead was used in pencils it was mined and nearly everyone has used a pencil at some point in their life.

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Coffee

What does this represent?

COF FEE

Coffee break. The word coffee is broken into two pieces.

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Letters, Letters, What Comes Next?

What letter comes next letter in this series?

A E F H I ___

K. It’s the series of capital letters without curves in alphabetical order.

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Crazy Taxi Driver

A taxi driver runs through four red lights, two stop signs and goes through a house. A police officer witnesses this but doesn’t do anything. Why not?

The taxi driver is not in his cab, he’s out for a run. The house he went through was his own because he was done running.

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Wily Winifred and the Case of the Odd Numbers

Mrs. Shine was having a rough day and wanted a break. So she asked her class to calculate the sum of the first 50 odd numbers. In a few moments, Winifred was at her desk with the correct answer of 2,500. Stunned, Mrs. Shine figured she must have gotten lucky, and sent precocious Winifred back to her seat with the task of finding the sum of the first 75 odd numbers. Again, Winifred returned in seconds with the correct answer (5,625).

How did Winifred find the answer so quickly?

Winifred, being the precocious child she is, realized there was a pattern when computing smaller sums of odd numbers.

First 3: 1 + 3 + 5 = 9
First 4: 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 = 16
First 5: 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 = 25

Do you see the pattern like our dear friend Winnie?

For the first n odd numbers, the sum is equal to n2. Thus the first 50 is 502, or 2,500, and the first 75 is 752, or 5,625.

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Make This Addition Problem Correct

This math problem is currently wrong.

11 + 66 + 88 + 96 = 294

How can you make it actually equal 294?

Flip the numbers upside down:

11 + 99 + 88 + 96 = 294

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Two Backbones

I have two backbones and thousands of ribs and I stretch across the land. What am I?

Train tracks.

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Instrument Can’t Be Touched Nor Seen

What instrument can make any sound and be heard but not touched or seen?

Your voice.

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What Letter Comes Next MAMJJASO

What letter comes next in this sequence?

M, A, M, J, J, A, S, O, ____

N. The letter represent the first letters of the months of the year, starting with March. N is for November, and of course D would be the next one.

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Apples and Lies

During lunch hour a group of boys from Mr. Bryant’s homeroom visited a nearby grocery store. One of the five took an apple.

Jim said, “It was Hank or Tom”.
Hank said, “Neither Eddie nor I did it.”
Tom said, “Both of you are lying.”
Don said, “No, one of them is lying, the other is speaking the truth.”
Eddie said, “No, Don, that is not true.”
When Mr. Bryant was consulted, he said, “Three of these boys are always truthful but two will lie every time.”

Who took the apple?

Tom took the apple
Jim was telling the truth
Hank was telling the truth
Tom was lying
Don was lying
Eddie was telling the truth
(three telling the truth and two lying)

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