It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.
A couple has two children. At least one of them is a boy. Assuming the probability of having a boy or girl is 50%, what is the probability that both children are boys?
If you answered 1/2, you’re not without comrades, but the generally accepted answer by statisticians (though not without debate) is 1/3. This is because there are four possible combinations: boy-boy, boy-girl, girl-boy and girl-girl. Since we are told one of the children is a boy (but we don’t know if it’s the first or second child), we can rule out the girl-girl combination, leaving three remaining options. Only one out of 3 is boy-boy, so we get a 1/3 chance.
Sequoia, eulogia or miaoued are all good options, but there’s an even shorter (and more obscure) word with all the vowels and not a single consonant: Iouea. It’s not the kind of word you’d use at the dinner table, but it’s listed in the Wikipedia dictionary as a genus of Cretaceous fossil sponges.
If you got really tricky and tried to find a word that contained the letters in the phrase ‘all of the vowels’, you probably found, like I did, that there isn’t one. But it was still worth checking.
A fish. A fish bowl or aquarium is the fish’s house and the people inside are the decorative divers that offer no reply (one might ask how the fish knows, given that they aren’t a talkative bunch themselves).
I have been hot my entire life. Put me in water or in a freezer for days and I will still be hot. My red color should tell you but don’t be deceived, even when I’m green, I’m still hot. What am I?
A father gathered his three sons and told them he would die soon and needed to decide which son would inherit his land. He gave them the following test.
“Go to the market and purchase something that is large enough to fill my bedroom, but small enough to fit in your pocket. Based on what you bring I will decide which of you is wisest.”
All three sons went to the market in search of something to satisfy their father’s demands. When they returned the father gathered them in his bedroom.
The first son put down pieces of cloth that he had bought and laid them end to end across the room, but it barely covered any of the floor.
The second son laid down hay but there was only enough to cover part of the floor.
The third son showed his father what he had purchased and the father announced, “You are truly the wisest and will inherit my land.”