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

Rotating Coins Around Coins

You have two coins of equal size on a table, situated end to end vertically. If you roll the top coin around the bottom coin until it returns to its original position, how many times will it have rotated?

Twice. See this video for more details.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Once I’m Known You Can Hit A Grand Slam

A nine-letter word with but one vowel,
After I’m used you may need a towel,
Tests can be used to learn what I am,
Once I am known you can hit a grand slam.

Strengths. It has 9 letters with only one vowel, when you use your strengths the exertion can cause you to sweat, requiring a towel, tests can identify ones strengths and once you know what they are, you can hit a metaphorical grand slam by employing them in an area of your choosing.

Posted in Riddles

I Can Always Go Up, Never Down

I can always go up, never down,
I can always turn left, never right,
I am always hot when I’m cold

A ski lift.

Posted in Riddles

Every Dawn Begins With Me

Every dawn begins with me
At dusk I’ll be the first you see
And daybreak couldn’t come without
What midday centers all about
Daises grow from me, I’m told
And when I come, I end all cold
But in the sun I won’t be found
Yet still, each day I’ll be around

The letter “d”.

Posted in Riddles

Sum of Consecutives

What is the sum of the numbers in the following list which are consecutive?

15  5 10 28
24  7 18 26
11 21 17 13
22  9  1 20

The consecutive numbers are: 9, 10, 11; 17, 18; and 20, 21, 22.

The sum of those numbers is 128.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Stink When Alive

I stink when I’m alive, but I smell good when I’m dead. What am I?

A pig. Mmm, ham and bacon…

Posted in Riddles
Tagged with

NOAS Rebus

What does this represent?

  P
NOASE
  Y

Pay through the nose.

Posted in Riddles
Tagged with

Decorating With Tiles

You are decorating for spring and you’ve found a bargain. A huge box of beautifully decorated tiles, enough to provide a border in two rooms. You really can’t figure out how to arrange them. If you set a border of two tiles all around, there’s one left over. If you set three tiles all around or four or five or six there’s still one tile left over. Finally you try a block of seven tiles for each corner and you come out even. What is the smallest number of tiles you could have to get this result?

301. This is the smallest number that even divides by 7, but when divided by 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 gives you one left over.

Posted in Brain Teasers

A Mouth On My Head And Eat Everything

I have a mouth on my head and eat everything.

What am I?

A backpack.

Posted in Riddles