Howard’s Football Game

In 2014, Howard returned from his football game later than normal and Trudy, his Mom, was concerned. She asked what position he played, and he said he was a lineman. She asked what team they played and he said the Bears. She asked if anything strange had happened, and he said no. She asked what the score was and he said their team won, 14-1. Satisfied, Trudy sent Howard up to bed. The next morning Trudy told her husband Mick about her conversation with Howard. Mick’s face turned red and he stormed up to Howard’s room.

Why was Mick mad?

Mick knew Howard was lying about being at the football game because in American football it’s impossible to score just 1 point (before the 2015 one-point safety rule). A score of 2 is the lowest possible score (awarded for a safety). In fact, 1 is the only impossible score in football. You can score 2 points for a safety, 3 points for a field goal and 6 points for a touchdown, with an extra point for the field goal. You also have the option to go for another touchdown for a 2-point conversion. With 2, 3, 6 and 7 you can generate any other number except for 1.

For example, here are ways a team could score from 2 to 10 points.
2 = safety
3 = field goal
4 = 2 + 2
5 = 3 + 2
6 = touchdown
7 = touchdown and extra point attempt
8 = touchdown and two point conversion
9 = touchdown and field goal
10 = touchdown, extra point attempt and field goal

Posted in Brain Teasers

A Long Bicycle Ride

Hester goes out for an afternoon bicycle ride. She rides for one hour at five miles an hour, then three hours at four miles an hour and finally two hours at seven miles an hour. How many miles did she ride in total?

31 miles.

1 hour at 5 mph = 5 miles
3 hours at 4 mph = 12 miles
2 hours at 7 mph = 14 miles

5 + 12 + 14 = 31 miles

Posted in Brain Teasers

Each Morning I Appear

Each morning I appear
To lie at your feet,
All day I will follow
No matter how fast you run,
Yet I nearly perish
In the midday sun.

Shadow.

Posted in Riddles

Flora Not Fauna

I am flora, not fauna,
I am foliage, not trees,
I am shrubbery, not grass,

What am I?

A bush.

Posted in Riddles

Three Children’s Names

Tom’s mother has three children. One is named April, one is named May. What is the third one named?

Tom

Posted in Brain Teasers

No New Digits

A six-digit number represented by ABCDEF (each letter represents a different number) can be multiplied by 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 and yet no new digits appear in the result. As a matter of fact, all the digits are rotated. What is the number?

142857 (The first 6 digits of 1/7)

2 x 142857 = 285714
3 x 142857 = 428571
4 x 142857 = 571428
5 x 142857 = 714285
6 x 142857 = 857142

Posted in Brain Teasers

A Human with Five Hands

How can a human have five hands?

In addition to the two hands on the end of their arms, they also have three hands of cards. Another alternative could be handwriting, of which most people have one, but that could be added into the mix.

Posted in Riddles

The Case of Wesley and the Broken Window

Wesley’s mom discovered a broken window in the living room and went to ask Wesley about it. Wesley told her he had been playing Monopoly with his friend Cindy. She asked him what his last roll had been and he said, “A one”. She immediately knew he was lying.

How?

Monopoly has two dice, and the lowest number two dice can roll is 2. The window repair came out of Wesley’s allowance and he stopped throwing his baseball in the house.

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

What Do These Dates Have In Common?

What do these dates have in common?

15 February 1984
2 July 1983
16 December 1983

They all fall in the middle.
15 February was the middle of February (1984 being a leap year).
2 July was the middle day of the year 1983.
And 16 December was the middle of December.

Posted in Brain Teasers