I am two-faced, but bear one head.
Men spill their blood for me.
I have no legs but travel widely.
I make kings immortal.
I am potent when shared,
Yet lust for my power keeps me locked away.
Money (coins specifically). Coins have two faces, heads and tails. People fight for money, and money travels far and wide. Kings live on when they’re depticted on a coin. Sharing money with others is a meaningful experience yet many people keep their money locked up.
I hesitated to add this because it’s poorly worded, ambiguous and the answer could be almost anything. I prefer teasers with a single answer, but there you go.
If you came up with a different answer and can explain how you did it, don’t think you’re wrong. It’s probably just as valid. Feel free to share yours in the comments.
My answer for the first number is 2.
Here’s how I got it.
The generic rule for a number in the sequence is: 2^(n – 1) + 1, where n is the position in the sequence.
Note: The teaser doesn’t specify the position of 17. In this case, it’s fifth.
Position 1: (so n = 1) is 2^(1 – 1) + 1 = 2
Position 2: 2^(2 – 1) + 1 = 3
Position 3: 2^(3 – 1) + 1 = 5
Position 4: 2^(4 – 1) + 1 = 9
Position 5: 2^(5 – 1) + 1 = 17
For the curious, the next 5 numbers of the sequence would be:
What is the highest product that can be generated by multiplying two numbers while only using each digit once (1 through 9)?
For example, 12345678 * 9 = 111,111,102
A snail or a measuring device (like a yard stick or tape measure). A snail’s foot is a muscle that allows it to move, and measuring devices have feet on them to measure distance.