Comes To Bedsides, Icy Bridges

He comes to bedsides, icy bridges,
battlefronts, and crumbling ridges.
When he comes, he comes alone,
taps a shoulder, then is gone.

Death.

By Sef Daystrom

Posted in Riddles

Never Was, Always To Be

I never was, am always to be. No one ever saw me, nor ever will. And yet I am the confidence of all, To live and breathe on this terrestrial ball. What am I?

Tomorrow or the future.

Posted in Riddles

What Goes In the Water Red?

What goes in the water red
And comes out black?

Iron

Posted in Riddles

A Promise to the President

Ronald has a rare opportunity to meet the President of the United States. During his visit the president gives him a gift but tells Ronald he is never to sell it unless he sees the president again. Ronald consents, but the president dies later that year. Years later a man offers to buy the President’s gift for $1000. Ronald agrees and exchanges the gift for 20 crisp $50 bills. Did he keep his promise?

Yes. The president was Ulysses S. Grant, who died in 1885 and whose face has been on the $50 bill since 1913. He saw the president on the bills before he made the exchange.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Midway Numbers

Select the number that is midway between the lowest number and the highest number.
Which number is midway between that number and the number that is nearest the highest number?

35  5 52 36 67
69  4 51 37 71
55 68  3 53 39

53.

37 is midway between 3 (the lowest number) and 71 (the highest number).
53 is midway between 37 and 69 (nearest to the highest number).

Posted in Brain Teasers

Letters, Letters, What Comes Next?

What letter comes next letter in this series?

A E F H I ___

K. It’s the series of capital letters without curves in alphabetical order.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Useless Keys

What keys don’t unlock any doors?

Piano keys, keyboard keys, monkey, donkey, turkey, jockey, hockey, doohickey, malarkey and passkey. There may be others, but you get the drift.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Four Cards

Four cards are placed in front of you on the table, each with a number on one side and a color on the other. The visible cards show 3, 8, red and brown. Which cards should you turn over in order to test the truth of the statement that if a card shows an even number on one face, then its opposite face is red?

four-cards

You’d need to turn over only the 8 and brown card. Only a card with an even number on one face and which is not red on the other face can invalidate the stated rule. If you turn over the 3 card and it’s not red, it doesn’t invalidate the rule, nor does turning over the red card and finding it has the label 3.

This test was devised by Peter Cathcart Wason and is known as the Wason selection task. Less than 10% of test subjects got it correct in two separate studies.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Thought Follows Closely Behind

I can run but not walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. What am I?

A nose.

Posted in Riddles

Six One Seven and Nine to Make Twenty Four

How can the numbers 6, 1, 7 and 9 be arranged to make 24?

91 – 67 = 24
(9 – 6) × (1 + 7) = 3 × 8 = 24

Posted in Brain Teasers