Hidden Gems

Find the names of 10 gems or precious stones hidden in the following story. Each one spans at least two words.

Sir Gade rode toward a castle atop a zebra at a steady gallop, a long way from home. He arrived at the gate and the keeper knelt in shame. “Thy steed must be tired.” Sir Gade replied, “I am on direct orders from the King. Let me through.” A cougar, nettled by the noise, emerged from a shrub. “You must save me!” cried the gate man. Sir Gade, eyes filled with rancor, alighted and gazed toward the sky. An item fell from his cloak as drove his sword into the cougar’s spine. “Let me pass!” cried Sir Gade. The gate keeper, stunned from his saga, tentatively opened the gate, then retrieved the fallen item.

1. topaz – “atop a zebra”
2. opal – “gallop, a long”
3. amethyst – “shame. Thy steed”
4. diamond – “replied, I am on direct”
5. garnet – “cougar, nettled”
6. ruby – “shrub. You”
7. coral – “rancor, alighted”
8. kyanite – “sky. An item”
9. spinel – “spine. Let”
10. agate – “saga, tentatively”

Sir Gade rode toward a castle atop a zebra at a steady gallop, a long way from home. He arrived at the gate and the keeper knelt in shame. “Thy steed must be tired.” Sir Gade replied, “I am on direct orders from the King. Let me through.” A cougar, nettled by the noise, emerged from a shrub. “You must save me!” cried the gate man. Sir Gade, eyes filled with rancor, alighted and gazed toward the sky. An item fell from his cloak as drove his sword into the cougar’s spine. “Let me pass!” cried Sir Gade. The gate keeper, stunned from his saga, tentatively opened the gate, then retrieved the fallen item.

Posted in Riddles

Hard Boiled Kiwi Bird Eggs

If you can hard boil a Kiwi bird egg in 20 minutes, how long would it take to hard boil four Kiwi bird eggs?
Note: Kiwi birds are about the size of a chicken, but they lay eggs that are close to the size of an Ostrich egg. So one would assume they must take a long time to hard boil.

20 minutes. You can boil them all at once in a large pot.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Only Hides in the Unwound

What can be seen but never found that only hides in the unwound?

Relaxation. You can see when someone is relaxing, but no one can remain completely relaxed forever. You can relax more easily as you learn to unwind.

Posted in Riddles

What is the center of gravity?

What is the center of gravity?

V. The letter ‘v’ is the center of the word gravity.

Posted in Riddles

Peggy’s Shy Parrot

Peggy wanted to buy a talking parrot and went down to the pet shop. She bought a parrot after being assured it would repeat any word or phrase it heard. Peggy bought the parrot and took it home, but it still hadn’t said a word after a few weeks. She returned to the shop to complain, but discovered the original assurances were still accurate. Why didn’t the parrot talk?

It was deaf so it couldn’t hear a phrase to repeat it.

Posted in Brain Teasers

In the Sky But Also the Ground

I am in the sky but also in the ground. When you study me, no matter how long, I will always end with an f. I may be in your yard but not in your house. What am I?

A leaf.

Posted in Riddles

Fill in the Blank and Discover the Event

Fill in the missing words to make a phrase with both the left and right hand sides. For instance, if you were given GRAPE __________ FLY, the missing word could be FRUIT, making GRAPEFRUIT and FRUIT FLY.

1. TOP __________ AGENT
2. PROXY __________ OF NO CONFIDENCE
3. SECOND-HAND __________ DETECTOR
4. THE SACK OF __________ APPLE
5. ST. LOUIS __________ SIN

Once you have the words, what event does it represent?

1. SECRET
2. VOTE
3. SMOKE
4. ROME
5. CARDINAL

The event is a Papal conclave, when a new Pope is chosen.

Posted in Brain Teasers

One Sunday to Seven Saturday

1. Sunday
2. Monday
3. Tuesday
4. Wednesday
5. Thursday
6. Friday
7. Saturday

What phrase does this represent?

Days are numbered. Commonly used to say someone or something is going to end soon.

Posted in Brain Teasers
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Wolves and Owls

You are in the woods with owls and wolves. There are 22 eyes and 32 legs. How many owls and wolves are there?

5 owls and 5 wolves, (not 6 owls because 2 of the eyes and legs are yours).

2 * owls + 2 * wolves = 20 eyes
2 * owls + 4 * wolves = 30 legs
owls + wolves = 10 eyes → owls = 10 – wolves
owls + 2 * wolves = 15 → 10 – wolves + 2 * wolves = 15 → wolves = 5
owls + 5 = 10 → owls = 5

Posted in Brain Teasers

Black, Red and White

What’s black when you get it, red when you use it, and white when you’re all through with it?

Charcoal.

Posted in Riddles