Break, Light, May

What word can be added before or after these words to make a new word or phrase?

Break, Light, May

Day. Daybreak, daylight, may day.

Posted in Riddles

Today Before Yesterday

I am a rare case where today comes before yesterday. What am I?

A dictionary

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Planting Trees on Arbor Day

On Arbor Day the fourth grade class began planting trees. They finished planting five trees before the fifth grade class arrived. But they accidentally planted them on the fifth grade side of the street.

The fourth-graders crossed the street to start over, and the fifth-graders planted the remaining trees. They finished first and felt bad for the fourth-graders, so they crossed the street and planted five trees. They planted another five trees at which point all of the trees had been planted.

By how many trees were the fifth-graders ahead of the fourth-graders?

Ten. The fifth-graders planted five more trees than they were assigned, and the fourth-graders planted five fewer than their assignment.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Measures Out Time

I measure out time,
Until in time,
All is smashed into me.

What am I?

Sand

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Horses, Sleep and Dreams

What do horses, sleep and dreams have in common?

Nightmares.

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Bank Wait Times

Suppose a small bank has one teller and customer transactions take 10 minutes on average. With 5.8 customers arriving per hour, what is the expected wait time? What would it be if you added a second teller?

With one teller, customers will wait nearly five hours on average. But adding a second teller makes the wait go down to 3 minutes.

Thanks to John D. Cook for this one.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Fewest Queens For Full Attack

What is the smallest number of queens required on a chess board to attack all squares?

5. To see where they need to be placed, check out the diagram on Wolfram’s Queens Problem page.

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If I’m Ever Gone, Beware

Sometimes you’ll find me hard and cold,
Other times I’m hard to hold,
Always present in the air,
If I’m ever gone, beware.

What am I?

Water. As ice I’m hard and cold, as water vapor I’m hard to hold and I’m always present in the air as humidity (aka water vapor). If the earth ever runs out of water, we’re toast.

Posted in Riddles

A Hundred Legs But Can’t Stand

I have a hundred legs, but cannot stand.
I have a long neck, but no head.
I cannot see, yet I help keep your house neat and tidy.

A broom.

Posted in Riddles

I Can Be Broken Yet I Hold On

I am a word with two meanings. With one I can be broken, with the second I hold on. What am I?

Tie. A tie score can be broken, but when you tie a knot (as in a necktie) it holds together.

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