Jim’s Canoeing Adventure

Jim was canoeing on a lake when a sudden thunderstorm blew in tipped his boat. He swam to a rocky island about a mile from his family’s cottage and found a small, abandoned shack. Inside was an old kerosene lamp and a few matches. All the wood on the island was too damp to burn and the lamp was his only means of signaling for help but it only held an inch of kerosene, not enough to reach its short wick. How did he get the lamp burning to summon help?

Knowing kerosene and water wouldn’t mix and kerosene is less dense than water, he dipped the lamp in the lake and filled it with enough water so the kerosene rose to the top to cover the wick. The lamp was still burning an hour later when a motorboat rescued him.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Holds Fast To The Center Of Everything

There is one word that stands the test of time and holds fast to the center of everything. Though everyone will try at least once in their life to move around this word, but in fact, unknowingly, they use it every moment of the day. Young or old, awake or in sleep, human or animal, this word stands fast. It belongs to everyone, to all living things, but no one can master it. The word is?

Gravity.

Posted in Riddles

Rarely Touched, Often Held

I’m rarely touched but often held and if you’re wise you’ll use me well. What am I?

Your tongue.

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Greater Than God

It is greater than God and more evil than the devil. The poor have it, the rich need it and if you eat it you’ll die. What is it?

Nothing. Nothing is greater than God, nothing is more evil than the devil, the poor have nothing, the rich need nothing and if you eat nothing you’ll die.

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Snake Coiled Round and Round

Snake coiled round and round,
Snake deep below the ground,
Snake that’s never had a head,
Snake that binds but not with dread.

A rope.

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Working With Something In Its Eye

What always works with something in its eye?

A needle. Thread goes in the eye of the needle when you sew. If you sew…

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Passes Before The Sun

What passes before the sun but makes no shadow?

Air.

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I Make You See the Beauty of Nature

I make you see the beauty of nature through colors,
My name makes things weigh less
And I have no weight at all.

What am I?

Light. Without light you wouldn’t be able to see anything. And light is made up of all the colors of the rainbow. Adding light to a word can mean it weighs less and light has no mass.

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Say My Name

Say my name and I disappear. What am I?

Silence.

An alternate version is, “What is so fragile it breaks when you say its name?”

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Blindly Picking Socks

You have 12 black socks and 12 white socks mixed up in a drawer. You’re up very early and it’s too dark to tell them apart. What’s the smallest number of socks you need to take out (blindly) to be sure of having a matching pair?

Sock drawer

Three socks. If the first sock is black, the second one could be black, in which case you have a matching pair. If the second sock is white, the third sock will be either black and match the first sock, or white and match the second sock.

Posted in Brain Teasers