Ten Men’s Strength

Ten men’s strength,
Ten men’s length,
Ten men can’t break it,
Yet a young boy walks off with it.

What am I?

A rope.

Posted in Riddles

Sever Bones and Marrow

My first is in wield, sever bones and marrow.
My second is in blade, forged in cold steel.
My third is in arbalest, and also in arrows.
My fourth is in power, plunged through a shield.
My fifth is in honor, and also in vows
My last will put an end to it all.

What am I?

Weapon

Posted in Riddles

What Once Was Red Is Black Instead

Tear one off and scratch my head, what once was red is black instead. What am I?

A match. You tear a match out of a matchbook and scratch the head to light it, then the red tip turns black from the flame.

This is an exact duplicate of Tear One Off and Scratch My Head but I’m leaving it to avoid broken links.

Posted in Riddles

What’s The Captain’s Name?

I was standing by a railing,
watching a ship a sailing.
What is the Captain’s name.
If you don’t know his name,
It’s you to blame.
What is the Captain’s name.

“What” is the name of the Captain.

Thanks to Sherry for submitting this one. Here’s the backstory of the riddle.

“One of my favorites I remember as a child from my father, he always said it was a Newfoundland riddle. I don’t know where it may have originated. This is usually spoken. Ensure you say it as a statement and not a question.”

Posted in Riddles

Probability That Both Children Are Girls

Walking down the street one day, I met a woman strolling with her daughter. “What a lovely child,” I remarked. “In fact, I have a younger child as well,” she replied.

What is the probability that both of her children are girls?

1/2 probability. This has been know to cause raging debates and is known as one of the variations of the Boy or Girl paradox. This variation is more straightforward because knowing the position of the child leaves only two possibilities – the other child is a boy or a girl, each of which have a 1/2 probability.

Another variation of this can be found here.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Which Coin is Counterfeit?

You are given eight coins and told that one of them is counterfeit. The counterfeit one is slightly heavier than the other seven. Otherwise, the coins look identical. Using a simple balance scale, how can you determine which coin is counterfeit using the scale only twice?

First weigh three coins against three others. If the weights are equal, weigh the remaining two against each other. The heavier one is the counterfeit. If one of the groups of three is heavier, weigh two of those coins against each other. If one is heavier, it’s the counterfeit. If they’re equal weight, the third coin is the counterfeit.

Posted in Brain Teasers

How Much Time is Left in the Exam?

During a math exam, Willy asks Ms. Matilda, the teacher, how much time is left. Ms. Matilda is known for being obtuse and answers that the amount of time left is 1/5 of the time already completed and that is also how much time is left, in a manner of speaking.

How much time is left?

15 minutes. The total exam time is 90 minutes. If 15 minutes are left, 75 minutes have already passed, and one fifth of 75 is 15. However, if you follow Ms. Matilda’s hint and pay attention to only the numbers in 1/5, you get the answer of 15 minutes as well.

Posted in Brain Teasers

A King and Device of Measure

I am a king but also a common device of measure. What am I?

A ruler. A king is a ruler of people, a ruler is a device to measure distance.

Posted in Riddles

If You Lose Me

If you lose me, others around you may lose me too. What am I?

Your temper.

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Aft to Fore and Fore to Aft

I run fore to aft on one side of a ship and aft to fore on the other. What am I?

The name of the ship.

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