The Old Gray Surgeon

A man and his son had a terrible car accident and were rushed to the hospital. The man died on the way, but the son was still barely alive. When they arrived, an old gray surgeon was called in to operate. Upon seeing the young boy, the surgeon said, “I can’t operate – this is my son.”

How is this possible?

The surgeon was the boy’s mother.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Not the Sort That’s Eaten

I’m not the sort that’s eaten, I’m not the sort you bake,
Don’t put me in an oven, I don’t taste that great,
But when applied correctly, around me you will find,
Problems are so simple when my digits come to mind.

Pi (3.141592653)

Posted in Riddles

Words With Many Faces

My letters become three faces,
One has gone to far away places,
Another sets a standard high,
The third can never be a guy.

What are the three words?

Sailed, ideals and ladies.

Posted in Brain Teasers

BERETT ELTA NATH RENEV

Rearrange the letters of each word in the phrase below to form a well-known saying.

BERETT ELTA NATH RENEV

Better Late Than Never

Posted in Brain Teasers

Two Four Three Five Six

0 2 4 3 5 6 8 9 7 11 10 12 13 14 15 16 18 17 20 21 22 19 24 23 26 25 28 29 27

What is the next number in the sequence?

31. The tenth number is 10 + 1 = 11. The twentieth number is 20 + 1 = 21, therefore the thirtieth number is 30 + 1 = 31.

Posted in Brain Teasers
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Full of Holes Yet Full of Water

I’m full of holes, yet I’m full of water. What am I?

A sponge.

Posted in Riddles

Losing Ten Minutes An Hour

A clock loses exactly ten minutes every hour. If the clock is set correctly at noon, what is the correct time when the clock reads 3:00pm?

3:36pm. For every 60 minutes of real time, the clock moves 50 minutes. Put another way, 60/50 = 1.2 real minutes per slow-clock minute.

In order for the clock to show 3:00pm, 180 of its slow minutes have to pass. 1.2 * 180 clock minutes = 216 real minutes or 3 hours and 36 minutes.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Wench and Warrior

Round and round and round it goes,
The source but not the birth of clothes,
Wench and warrior, child and crone,
Without it dressed near barer bone.

A spinning wheel. It goes around in circles and makes the thread that is used in clothing and anyone who isn’t wearing clothes would be barer boned.

Posted in Riddles

Stocking the Shelves

Alfred and Bill are clerks at the local grocery store. Alfred can stock a shelf in 20 minutes, but Bill is new and takes 30 minutes. How long would it take for them to stock a shelf together?

Working together they can stock a shelf at a rate of 1/20 + 1/30 (or 5/60) per minute. They’ll finish in 12 minutes

Posted in Brain Teasers

The Lonely King

King Ferdinand has no immediate living relatives and decides to hold a contest to find a worthy successor when he dies. He gives a seed to every contestant and explains that the person with the healthiest and most beautiful plant will win the throne.

When the final day of the contest arrives, the king finds hundreds of plants of all shapes and sizes. However, he ignores them and awards the throne to a girl holding a pot with only moist dirt.

Why did she win?

King Ferdinand was a kind and trusting man and wanted to be sure he found an honest heir. He gave small pebbles to all the contestants, claiming they were seeds. Therefore, any contestant with a plant had switched their “seed” in order to win. Everyone but the girl had been dishonest.

Posted in Brain Teasers