Riddles and Brain Teasers

I’m Located In the Middle of Nowhere

I am located in the middle of nowhere. What am I?

The letter ‘h’. It is the middle letter of the word ‘nowhere’

Posted in Riddles

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

One Two Six Sequence

What is the next number in this series?

1, 2, 6, 42, 1806, ___

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To get the next number, multiply the previous number in the series by itself plus one:n × (n + 1).For example, to get 6, multiply 2 × (2 + 1)
To get 42 multiply 6 × (6 + 1)Thus, 1806 × 1807 = 3263442

To get the next number, multiply the previous number in the series by itself plus one:

n × (n + 1).

For example, to get 6, multiply 2 × (2 + 1)
To get 42 multiply 6 × (6 + 1)

Thus, 1806 × 1807 = 3263442

Posted in Brain Teasers

Tagged with sequence

A Smiling Guard

Two guards were on duty outside a barracks. One faced up the road to watch for anyone approaching from the North. The other looked down the road to see if anyone approached from the South. Suddenly one of them said to the other, “Why are you smiling?”

How did he know his companion was smiling?

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They were facing each other. As to why his companion was smiling, the world may never know.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Oct 31 = Dec 25

How can Oct 31 and Dec 25 be the same?

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Because Oct 31 represents the octal (base 8) number 31, which, when converted to decimal, is 25. Dec 25 is short for Decimal 25, thus the two are equal.

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Loses Its Head Every Morning

What loses its head every morning only to get it back every night?

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A pillow.

Posted in Riddles

Ten Men and Women

TEN = 20, 5, 14
MEN = 13, 5, 14

What do WOMEN equal using the same logic?

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WOMEN = 23, 15, 13, 5, 14

The number is the letter’s position in the alphabet.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Picking Red Balls

A bag contains 64 balls of eight different colors. There are eight of each color (including red).
What is the smallest number you would have to pick, without looking, to be sure of selecting 3 red balls?

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59. The first 56 balls could all be non-red colors. If that happened, you’d have to choose from the 8 remaining balls, all of which would be red.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Secure Spy Transfer

You are a spy and need to send an item to a contact in another country without letting anyone else have access to it. All unlocked items will be opened in transit. How can you send this item securely?

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Place a lock on the item and send it to your contact. They will place their own lock on the package and return it to you. You remove your lock and send it back. When they receive it, they can unlock the package and retrieve the item.

Posted in Brain Teasers