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.
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.
A bed. The foot of the bed can’t walk and the head of the bed can’t talk. It’s probably a good thing that beds can’t walk and talk. Just think of where they’d go and what they’d say…
A mile-long train is moving at sixty miles an hour when it reaches a mile-long tunnel. How long does it take the entire train to pass through the tunnel?
What plant becomes the name of a star by removing the first letter, becomes a number without the last letter and becomes a bird if the first and last letters are taken away?
I move quickly with hurried steps,
If my hand is forced I can sink ships,
I’ll cause you to shudder when driving your car,
And haul your fuel to where you are,
I’ll watch you bleed from a cut,
Add a rear and I’ll tell you what’s what.
Scuttle. To scuttle is to scurry or run hurriedly. Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of your own ship. Scuttle shake is felt in convertibles where the passengers feel a distinct shudder. A coal scuttle is a bucket-like container to haul coal. A shaving scuttle holds hot water when you’re shaving. And adding a “rear” forms scuttlebutt, or rumors and gossip.
Kings and lords and christians raised them
Since they stand for higher powers
Yet few of them would stand, I’m certain,
If women ruled this world of ours.
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.”
Pair these words to make nine titles of books by Charles Dickens:
A LITTLE 1 RUDGE
B PICKWICK 2 COPPERFIELD
C EDWIN 3 TIMES
D BARNABY 4 CHUZZLEWIT
E NICHOLAS 5 PAPERS
F HARD 6 HOUSE
G BLEAK 7 DROOD
H DAVID 8 DORRIT
I MARTIN 9 NICKLEBY
A 8 = LITTLE DORRIT
B 5 = PICKWICK PAPERS
C 7 = EDWIN DROOD
D 1 = BARNABY RUDGE
E 9 = NICHOLAS NICKLEBY
F 3 = HARD TIMES
G 6 = BLEAK HOUSE
H 2 = DAVID COPPERFIELD
I 4 = MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT