I Generate Fear But Am Quiet As A Mouse

I can generate fear and some say I come out of your ears. I’m quiet as a mouse but not welcomed in the house.

Smoke.

Posted in Riddles

Never Resting, Never Still

Never resting, never still,
Silently moving from hill to hill,
I do not walk, run or trot,
But all is cool where I am not.

What am I?

Sunlight (or sunshine).

Posted in Riddles
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Hilda’s Age

When Randolph asked Hilda how old she was, Hilda replied that in two years she would be twice as old as she was five years ago. How old is Hilda?

Aside from the potential response that it’s rude to ask the age of a lady, the answer can be worked out mathematically.

x + 2 = 2(x – 5)
x + 2 = 2x – 10
x + 12 = 2x
12 = x
In two years she’ll be 14, which is twice her age 5 years ago (7).

Posted in Brain Teasers

A Fox, Chicken and Sack of Grain

You have a fox, a chicken and a sack of grain. You must cross a river with only one of them at a time. If you leave the fox with the chicken he will eat it; if you leave the chicken with the grain he will eat it. How can you get all three across safely?

Fox and (little) chicken

Take the chicken over first. Go back and bring the grain next, but instead of leaving the chicken with the grain, come back with the chicken. Leave the chicken on the first side and take the fox with you. Leave it on the other side with the grain. Finally, go back over and get the chicken and bring it over.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Far Blow Bacon

What do the following words have in common?

far
blow
bacon
lather
fasting
wariness
pacemaker

Each of these words becomes a new word when the letter ‘e’ is placed after the first letter.

far = fear
blow = below
bacon = beacon
lather = leather
fasting = feasting
wariness = weariness
pacemaker = peacemaker

Posted in Brain Teasers

An Extraordinary Event

On the sixth of May in the year 1978 at exactly thirty-four minutes past noon, a most extraordinary event occurred. This singular occasion will probably never be witnessed by anyone who was alive at that time. What happened?

The time and date was 12:34 5/6/78, counting from one to eight. The next time this event will occur is 12:34 6 May 2078. Unless someone alive in 1978 lives to be over a hundred, they won’t be alive when it happens again.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Twice As Many Women As Children

At a party of thirty-five people there are twice as many women as children and twice as many children as men. How many of each are there?

20 women, 10 children and 5 men.

To figure it out, let m be the number of men and you get this equation:

4m + 2m + m = 35
7m = 35
m = 35 ÷ 7
m = 5

Posted in Brain Teasers

A City in the Twilight

Half-way up the hill, I see thee at last, lying beneath me with thy sounds and sights — A city in the twilight, dim and vast, with smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights.

The Past (Longfellow).

Posted in Riddles

Spell check

Which word is always spelled wrong?

The word “wrong”.

Posted in Brain Teasers

AADFJJ

A A D F J J J M M N ?

What comes next in the series?

O S. The series contains the first letter of each month in alphabetical order (April, August, December, February, January, July, June, March, May, November). O and S represent the remaining 2 months, October and September.

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