Born In the Ocean

Born in the ocean,
White as snow,
I’m hidden in water,
Where do I go?

What am I?

Salt. Salt is harvested from seawater, it’s white and it dissolves in water.

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Seemingly Simple Math

What is the answer to this math problem:

8 ÷ 2 (2 + 2)

16 or 1, depending.

According to PEMDAS, parentheses come first: 8 ÷ 2 (4)

Then, even though multiplication is first in PEMDAS, you go left to right: 4 (4) = 16

If you got 1, you’re in good company. That’s what I got at first too but most calculators I’ve tried get 16.

I found this at Popular Mechanics and the debate continues online.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Stars Awash in a Sheen of Light

Stars awash in a sheen of light
It calls out loud in vile delight.
Listeners endure in fright.
Vicious brute that reigns at night,
Evil whelped of heinous bite,
Renewed by wax, it regains might.
A leading way to slay the beast,
Get the hidden weapon thus released.

What is this describing?
Hint: The first letter of each line has a clue

A werewolf (vulnerable to silver bullets).

Posted in Riddles

Tree That’s Difficult To Get Along With

Which tree is the most difficult to get along with?

A crab tree.

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Worn By Men For Privacy

I’m an argument of why my side should win,
And worn by men for privacy.
I don’t last long if I get under your skin,
And I rhyme with a kind of misery.

What am I?

Brief (or briefs). A legal brief is a short outline of the arguments in a court case, briefs are worn by men to cover their privates. Brief also means to not last long and brief rhymes with grief, a kind of misery.

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Flowers, Families and Streets

Five kinds of flowers grow in separate gardens on five different streets. Here is what you know:

1. The Smiths do not grow violets.
2. The Morgans grow peonies and do not live on 2nd street.
3. The Parks live on 3rd street.
4. Begonias bloom on 4th street.
5. Roses do not grow on 5th street.
6. The Johnsons do not live on 1st street.
7. The Rosens do not grow daffodils
8. The Johnsons grow roses
9. Daffodils grow on 1st street

Which flowers grow on in whose gardens on what streets?

1st street: Smiths, daffodils.
2nd street: Johnsons, roses.
3rd street: Parks, violets
4th street: Rosens, begonias
5th street: Morgans, peonies.

Posted in Brain Teasers

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

It Scares Animals

A seven letter word that has T as the second letter, A as the fourth letter and S as the sixth letter. Girls love it, boys use it, parents hate it and it scares animals. Hint: It’s a German word.

A persistent puzzle solver will discover that no English word satisfies the letter requirements, to say nothing of the loving, using, hating or being scared requirements. I found three German words that work:

1) strafst
2) strapse
3) strauss

1 and 3 mean punish and bouquet respectively. I couldn’t find a definition for strapse. Punish is the likely answer. Girls love to punish boys, boys use punishment as well, a good parent hates to use punishment and animals are scared of it. I don’t know of any animals that are scared of a bouquet, though a bouquet fits as something girls love and boys use.

Posted in Riddles

Halo of Water, Tongue of Wood

Halo of water, tongue of wood
Skin of stone, long I’ve stood.
My fingers short reach to the sky
Inside my heart men live and die.

A castle.

Posted in Riddles

I See Much But Change Little

I see much but change little,
I am firm, irresolute,
Powerful but gentle,
I can rip apart mountains,
Yet be moved by gentle stirrings,
I am valued and wasted,
I am life itself,
And I give life to others.

What am I?

A tree. A tall one can see long distances but don’t change much. They are strong and powerful, and the roots of a tree can slowly tear apart a mountain. The gentle stirrings of the wind can blow their branches and leaves. Trees are valuable as they provide wood and paper, but they are also wasted. And lastly, trees, like all plants, provide us with life-giving oxygen.

Posted in Riddles