Special Strengths

What’s special about the word “strengths”?

It has a record nine letters but only one vowel, and it’s one of the longest one-syllable words in English.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Wily Winifred and the Case of the Odd Numbers

Mrs. Shine was having a rough day and wanted a break. So she asked her class to calculate the sum of the first 50 odd numbers. In a few moments, Winifred was at her desk with the correct answer of 2,500. Stunned, Mrs. Shine figured she must have gotten lucky, and sent precocious Winifred back to her seat with the task of finding the sum of the first 75 odd numbers. Again, Winifred returned in seconds with the correct answer (5,625).

How did Winifred find the answer so quickly?

Winifred, being the precocious child she is, realized there was a pattern when computing smaller sums of odd numbers.

First 3: 1 + 3 + 5 = 9
First 4: 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 = 16
First 5: 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 = 25

Do you see the pattern like our dear friend Winnie?

For the first n odd numbers, the sum is equal to n2. Thus the first 50 is 502, or 2,500, and the first 75 is 752, or 5,625.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Once a Minute, Twice in a Moment

What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment but not once in a thousand years?

The letter “m”.

Posted in Riddles

A Sunday Morning Murder

A man was killed on Sunday morning. His wife found the body and called the police. The police arrived and questioned the chef, maid, butler, and gardener. Their alibis were:

Chef – making breakfast
Maid – getting mail
Butler – setting table
Gardener – watering plants

The police immediately arrested the criminal. Who was it and how did they know?

The maid. Mail isn’t delivered on Sunday.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Cannot Hear or Even See

I cannot hear or even see,
But sense light and sounds there may be,
Sometimes I end up on a hook,
I can be combined with a book.

What am I?

A worm. Worms don’t have eyes or ears, but they can sense light and their bodies can detect vibrations in the ground. Fishers use worms as bait and the term bookwork is used for someone who loves to read.

Posted in Riddles

Around the House Without Touching It

What goes around and in the house, but never touches the house?

The sun.

Posted in Riddles

Wear Black

What does this represent?

Wear
Black

Black underwear.

Posted in Riddles

Look at My Face

If you look at my face you won’t see 13 in any place. What am I?

A clock face. It only has the numbers 1 through 12.

Posted in Riddles
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A House With No Doors

I am in a house with no doors. There are people inside but give no reply. Who am I?

A fish. A fish bowl or aquarium is the fish’s house and the people inside are the decorative divers that offer no reply (one might ask how the fish knows, given that they aren’t a talkative bunch themselves).

Posted in Riddles

I Tell You When to Start

I tell you when to start,
Or remind if you forget.

I smash others to break them apart,
But I’m pushed by another of me.

What am I?

Cue. A cue tells you when to start, or if you forget your lines in a play. A cue ball is used to break at the beginning of a game of pool and the cue stick is used to push the cue ball on the break.

Another interesting tidbit is that cue is how you spell the letter q if you’re writing it out.

Posted in Riddles
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