An Eye In A Blue Face

An eye in a blue face
Saw an eye in a green face.
‘That eye is like this eye’
Said the first eye,
But in a low, not high place.

The sun shining on daisies.

Posted in Riddles

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

Kevlar, Fire Escapes and Wipers, Oh My!

What do computer compilers, kevlar, fire escapes and windshield wipers all have in common?

They were all invented by women.

A variation of this brain teaser includes laser printers (they were invented by Gary Starkweather) and bulletproof vests (invented by Casimir Zeglen using silk, though modern vests use Kevlar, so it’s halfway right).

Posted in Brain Teasers

A Date With No Numbers

How can you write a date in 5 letters without using any numbers?

The most popular answer for this teaser is ‘today’. Of course this only works if you’re reading it on that particular date or if the date is not specified. Another option is to respond literally with ‘a date’. Lastly, certain dates could be squeezed into letters using Roman numerals if you abbreviate the year to 2 numerals. For example, January 20th, 2011 would be I XX XI.

Posted in Brain Teasers

As Heavy As Man’s Golden Greed

A metal neither black nor red,
As heavy as man’s golden greed.
What you do to stay ahead,
With friend or foe or arrow and steed.

What am I?

Lead. Lead is a metallic gray, is very heavy and in order to stay ahead of someone, you need to be in the lead.

Posted in Riddles

Two Two Four Sequence

What number comes next?

2, 2, 4, 12, 48, ___

240. To get the number, multiply the previous number in the series by its position. 48 is in the 5th position, so 48 × 5 = 240

Posted in Brain Teasers
Tagged with

In School Without Learning

I’m in school without learning,
And control from the middle.

What am I?

A fish. They swim in schools and the fish in the middle of a school control the school. The fish on the outside are guided by those in the middle.

Posted in Riddles
Tagged with

I Am Here, I Am There

I am here, I am there
I am burned into the mind of none
I walk on fire and live on ice
My words are meaningless for I talk not
I hate everyone yet fear no one
I have lived for centuries
Yet I have never existed
What am I?

Nothingness.

Posted in Riddles

Numbers Night Club

A man wants to get into a night club where the bouncers test each person before they can enter. The man waits and watches.
A woman walks up to the bouncers and the bouncers say 6. The woman replies with 3 and goes in.
A small man walks up and they say 12. The man replies 6 and is admitted.
The first guy thinks he’s figured it out and walks up. They say 4 and the man replies with 2, but they don’t let him in.

What should he have said?

4. The answer is the number of letters in the number. Six has 3 letters, twelve has 6 letters and four has 4 letters.

Posted in Brain Teasers

A Home But No Family

I have an end but no beginning, a home but no family, a space without room. I never speak but there is no word I cannot make. What am I?

A keyboard.

Posted in Riddles