Traveling Colorful Balls

Kevin, Charles, Larry and Alex are in a room that’s about 110 feet long. In front of them are 5 balls which are exactly 100 ft from the exit. The balls are yellow, purple, green, red and blue, respectively. Each man must carry a ball to the exit. After traveling 20 ft a ball will change color twice. The sequence of color changes is always the same: yellow, purple, green, red, and blue.

At 80 ft Kevin’s ball is red.
At 40 ft Larry’s ball is purple.
At 60 ft Charles’ ball is blue
At 100 ft Alex’s ball is purple.

What color ball was left behind?

The remaining ball was blue. Here’s a table of each ball and the color it changes to at 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 ft. Kevin’s started out yellow, Larry’s was green, Charles’ was red and Alex began with a purple ball, leaving blue as the one nobody picked.

 20 ft40 ft60 ft80 ft100 ft
YellowGreenBluePurpleRedYellow
PurpleRedYellowGreenBluePurple
GreenBluePurpleRedYellowGreen
RedYellowGreenBluePurpleRed
BluePurpleRedYellowGreenBlue
Posted in Brain Teasers

Many are Perplexed While Seeking Me

Many get perplexed in life while seeking me. Others put their life in danger and others give up. If you find me you are satisfied. What am I?

Hint: It is in every house.

You. Hundreds of books have been written about people searching for themselves. Some methods are quite dangerous. Still others give up. But if you figure out who you are, you will be satisfied.

Lastly, the word you is in the phrase everY hOUse.

Posted in Riddles

Find The Country Names

How many country names can you find in the following statements?

Don’t reach in a crack in the rocks, there might be snakes in there.
While I was on the highway called the Alcan, a daily occurrence was car breakdowns.
The top social class, as defined by many, is the upper-upper.

Three.

1. China (reaCH IN A)
2. Canada (alCAN A DAily)
3. Peru (upPER-Upper)

Posted in Brain Teasers

A U2 Concert

U2 has a concert that starts in 17 minutes and they must all cross a bridge to get there. All four men begin on the same side of the bridge. You must help them across to the other side. It is night. There is one flashlight. A maximum of two people can cross at one time. Any party who crosses, either 1 or 2 people, must have the flashlight with them.

The flashlight must be walked back and forth. It cannot be thrown and other tricks like that are not needed to solve the problem. The solution is simply a matter of allocating resources in a certain order. Each band member walks at a different speed. A pair must walk together at the rate of the slower man’s pace:

Bono: 1 minute to cross
Edge: 2 minutes to cross
Adam: 5 minutes to cross
Larry: 10 minutes to cross

For example: if Bono and Larry walk across first, 10 minutes have elapsed when they get to the other side of the bridge. If Larry then returns with the flashlight, a total of 20 minutes have passed and you have failed the mission.

This is one of my favorite brain teasers and I want to give you the satisfaction of figuring it out on your own. If you’re having a hard time, here’s a hint: There is a valid answer that doesn’t require tricks like throwing the flashlight or shining it backwards or having some other means of moving the flashlight.

There’s an assumption people often make that keeps them from solving this. Two members cross the bridge each time, but neither one of the two who crossed necessarily need to return. Think about how that would be possible. If you’re still stuck, use objects to simulate their movements. Use whatever you have laying around – pens, paper, erasers – and move them back and forth. Good luck!

Posted in Brain Teasers

What Boys Use, Girls Like and Parents Hate

Boys use it, girls like it, parents hate it. What is this 5-letter word?

The phone.

Posted in Riddles

I Can Be Quick, And Then I’m Deadly

I can be quick and then I’m deadly,
I am a rock, shell and bone medley.
If I was made into a man, I’d make people dream,
I gather in millions by ocean, sea and stream.

Sand. Quicksand is deadly (at least in movies). Sand is made up of rocks, shells and bones. The sandman visits you when you dream (again, according to legend, I’ve never seen him…) and there is plenty of sand in the oceans, seas and streams.

Posted in Riddles
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Always Done On Purpose

Of all the things that are broken,
this makes the least noise
and is always done on purpose.

Bread.

By Sef Daystrom

Posted in Riddles

Married Many Women

He has married many women but has never married. Who is he?

A priest.

Posted in Riddles

Measures Out Time

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

What am I?

Sand

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I Move Quickly

Physicists have built devices to make me move quickly. My last eight letters can be commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and journals.

What am I?

Particles. Physicists use particle accelerators and newspapers, magazines and journals have articles.

Posted in Riddles
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