A Cowboy Rides Into Town On Friday

A cowboy rides into town on Friday, stays for three days and leaves on Friday. How did he do it?

The horse’s name is Friday

Posted in Riddles

What One One One Represents

What do the following numerals represent?

11111121113122223222

The number of syllables in the numbers from one to twenty.

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

Three Two Three Sequence

What number belongs at the beginning of this sequence?

?, 3, 2, 3, 9, 2, 4, 8, 4, 3, 7, 6

3 ½.

If you break up the numbers into groups of 4, a,b,c,d, then 2 × |a – d| = |b – c|.

9 2 4 8 → 2 × |9 – 8| = |2 – 4|, or 2 × 1 = 2
4 3 7 6 → 2 × |4 – 6| = |3 – 7|, or 2 × 2 = 4, so
n 3 2 3 → 2 × |3 ½ – 3| = |3 – 2|, or 2 × ½ = 1;

I’m not sure this is the correct solution, but it’s the best I’ve found so far. Email me if you know of a better one.

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Buying Chickens

You must buy 100 chickens for exactly $100, and purchase at least one chicken from each store. The first store charges 5 cents/chicken, the second charges $1/chicken and the third charges $5/chicken. How many chickens should you buy from each store?

80 from store 1 = $4
1 from store 2 = $1
19 from store 3 = $95

Posted in Brain Teasers

Touch Me and I’m Gone

Touch me and I’m gone,
But to you I belong.
I stay with you for life,
But I am not seen by your wife.

What am I?

Your reflection in the water.

Posted in Riddles

Eyes That Don’t See

Most of you have two eyes. I only have one.
Most of you have eyeballs. I do not.
Your eyes aren’t dangerous, neither are mine.
But all together, I am extremely dangerous.
You can see things with your eyes.
I can’t see anything, even though the air is clear where my eye is.

What am I?

The eye of a tornado or hurricane. Could also be the eye of a needle.

Posted in Riddles
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A Treasure to Many

A necessity to some, a treasure to many,
I’m best enjoyed among pleasant company.
Some like me hot, some like me cold.
Some prefer mild, some like me bold.

What am I?

Coffee.

Posted in Riddles
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Tree That’s Difficult To Get Along With

Which tree is the most difficult to get along with?

A crab tree.

Posted in Riddles

Job Hopping Jeremy

Jeremy was making $10 an hour at his summer job, but he hated the work. He decided to take a 50% pay cut to work at an easier job. He liked his new job at first, then grew bored and found another job paying 50% more than he was currently making. What was his hourly pay at the third job?

$7.50. If you guessed $10, don’t feel bad. Percentages can be counter intuitive.

First job: $10/hour
Second job: $10/hour – ($10 &times .5) = $5/hour
Third job: $5/hour + ($5 × .5) = $7.50

Posted in Brain Teasers