Consecutive Christmas Caroling

My family sings Christmas carols at the hospital where my wife works.
We do this every year and since we started, have not missed a single year.
The next time we do this will be the 18th consecutive Christmas.
My 15 year old daughter has been every time.

How is this possible?

She was born in March 1999 so the first year she came was December 1999 (before her 1st birthday).
Her first time was when she was 0, second time when she was 1, third time when she was 2, etc…

Now that she is 15, she has been 16 times. Oh and of course she was also present in December 1998 in her mum’s belly, due to be born the next March.

So, a total of 17 times and next time will be the 18th.

Thanks to Michael for submitting this real-life brain teaser about his family.

Posted in Brain Teasers

You Hold My Tail

You hold my tail while I fish for you. What am I?

A fishing net.

Posted in Riddles
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Count to A

If you were to spell out the numbers, how far would you have to go before encountering the letter A?

One thousand (or one hundred and one, depending on how you pronounce it).

Posted in Brain Teasers

Reading in the Dark

Jim and his wife Patty were sitting in bed together one evening while a thunderstorm raged outside. After a bolt of lightning followed by a loud clap of thunder, the lights went out. Jim stopped reading and went to sleep, but Patty continued reading in the dark. How did she do it?

Darkness

Patty is blind and was reading a Braille book so she didn’t need the light to begin with. Of course this also meant she didn’t know Jim snuck downstairs to get some cookies, but we’ll just keep that quiet.

Posted in Brain Teasers

I Won’t Break If Thrown

I won’t break if thrown from the highest building, but I will break if placed in the ocean. What am I?

Tissue.

Posted in Riddles
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The Barber of Seville

The Barber of Seville shaves all men living in Seville.
No man living in Seville is allowed to shave himself.
The Barber of Seville lives in Seville.

Who shaves the Barber of Seville?

Nobody. The Barber of Seville is a woman. Female barbers are rare, but they exist.

And for more fun with barbers, check out the Barber paradox.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Ten White Man On A Dirt Road

Ten white men standing on a dirt road.
Killed by three eyes as black as night.

What happened?

Someone bowled a strike. The ten white men are the pins, the dirt road is the bowling alley (it’s not dirt, but it’s the color of dirt, and if it said a smooth wooden alley it wouldn’t be much of a riddle). Three eyes as black as night are the finger holes in the bowling ball.

Posted in Riddles

Builds Its Table On My Shelf

From that which comes within itself,
it builds its table on my shelf.

A spider. The silk comes from within the spider, and the “table” (web) is often built in corners like there are on a bookshelf.

By Sef Daystrom

Posted in Riddles

A Word That Has No End

I’m a five-letter word that has no end, Commit a sin? One through three can amend, One, four and five are something alive, Two and three occur near to thee.

What am I?

Abyss. aby is an archaic word meaning to pay the penalty for. An ass, otherwise known as a donkey, is alive and “by” is another way of saying near to you.

Posted in Riddles

How Old is Malcolm, His Dad and Grandfather?

Malcolm is the number of weeks of his father’s age treated as days and his grandfather’s age in months. All three of their ages add up to 120 years. How old is Malcolm, his father and his grandfather?

Malcolm is 6.
The father is 42. 42 days = 6 weeks.
The grandfather is 72. 72 months = 6 years.

Posted in Brain Teasers