Maya’s Stamps Errand

Maya’s mother asked her to buy some stamps. The available stamps were 3 cents, 9 cents, 11 cents, 17 cents and 21 cents. Her mother asked her to buy eight each of three stamps and nine of each of the remaining two stamps. Unfortunately, Maya forgot which stamps she was supposed to buy eight and nine of. Luckily, her mother had given her $5, the exact amount required to buy the stamps. Which stamps did she buy?

Eight of the 11 cent, 17 cent and 21 cent stamps and nine of the 3 cent and 9 cent stamps.

Posted in Brain Teasers

First One, Then I Seem None

First I am one, then I seem none,
In death I birth new life.
What’s raised exceeds me,
For on bent knee,
I add to a world that’s rife.

What am I?

A seed. One seed turns into a plant or tree and seemingly disappears. When a plant dies, the seeds can be harvested to create new plants. From a single seed, hundreds more are created, vastly exceeding the original. Gardeners care for plants on bent knee and each new plant helps make the air fresher.

Posted in Riddles

Beam, Shine and Sparkle White

I beam, shine and sparkle white,
I brighten the day with a single light.
I charm and enchant one and all,
I can counter the darkest pall.

What am I?

A smile.

Posted in Riddles
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Today Before Yesterday

I am a rare case where today comes before yesterday. What am I?

A dictionary

Posted in Riddles

The Bookworm

A bookworm eats from the first page of an encyclopedia to the last page in a straight line. The encyclopedia consists of ten 1000-page volumes and is sitting on a bookshelf in the usual order. Not counting covers, title pages, etc., how many pages does the bookworm eat through?

        __                             __
      B|  |                           |  |F
      A|1 |...........................|10|R
      C|  |                           |  |O
      K|  |                           |  |N
       |__|                           |__|T
      -------------------------------------

On a book shelf the first page of the first volume is on the “inside”, so the bookworm eats only through the cover of the first volume, then 8 times 1000 pages of Volumes 2 – 9, then through the cover to the 1st page of Vol 10 for a total of 8,000 pages.

Note: The question asks how many pages, not how many sheets of paper.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Mountain Covered With Snow

Why doesn’t a mountain covered with snow catch cold?

Because it has a snowcap. ;) I know, it was more joke than riddle, but I found it amusing.

Posted in Riddles

Eight Eights For A Thousand

How can you add 8 eights to equal 1,000?

888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 1,000

Posted in Brain Teasers

Placed On the Table But Never Eaten

What is placed on the table, cut and passed but never eaten?

A deck of cards. You play card games on a table, cut the deck, then deal (or pass out) the cards, but you only eat the snacks.

Posted in Riddles

English and Afrikaans

What is a six-word sentence that has the same meaning and spelling in both English and Afrikaans?

My pen is in my hand. It’s not all that meaningful of a sentence, but it’s the same in English and Afrikaans.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Ground Not For Thy Daily Bread

Ground not for thy daily bread,
Leave me in my scented bed,
Ignore me not, lest I doth wither,
My name I leave you to consider.

A flower. The soil they grow in is not used for food, like wheat to make bread, but for their smell. A neglected flower will wither.

Posted in Riddles