Hilda’s Age

When Randolph asked Hilda how old she was, Hilda replied that in two years she would be twice as old as she was five years ago. How old is Hilda?

Aside from the potential response that it’s rude to ask the age of a lady, the answer can be worked out mathematically.

x + 2 = 2(x – 5)
x + 2 = 2x – 10
x + 12 = 2x
12 = x
In two years she’ll be 14, which is twice her age 5 years ago (7).

Posted in Brain Teasers

The 500 Mile Race

Mike, Jimmy, Nader, Kevin, and Larry were the top five finishers in the regional 500-mile race. They drove yellow, orange, green, red and blue cars but not necessarily in that order.

Neither Kevin nor Larry drove the green car.
Kevin finished faster than Mike and Larry.
The blue car finished earlier than Larry’s and Nader’s car.
The yellow car finished faster than the green car and the orange car.
Mike’s and Larry’s car finished ahead of the orange car.
Jimmy’s car finished before the blue and the yellow car.

Who drove what color car and what place did each driver finish?

1st – Jimmy, red car
2nd – Kevin, blue car
3rd – Larry, yellow car
4th – Mike, green car
5th – Nader, orange car

Posted in Brain Teasers

Four Colored Balls in Gym Class

Four different-colored balls are being used in a gym class activity – blue, red, yellow and orange. Each student must hold two different-colored balls, but no two students can have the same two colors (for example, only one student can hold the blue and red ball).

How many students can play the game?

Six. If you prefer math, you can calculate it as 4 combination 2

4! / (2!)^2
24 / 4 = 6

Or you can work it out manually:

1. Blue Red
2. Blue Yellow
3. Blue Orange
4. Red Yellow
5. Red Orange
6. Yellow Orange

Posted in Brain Teasers

Often Talked Of But Never Seen

Often talked of, never seen,
Ever coming, never been,
Daily looked for, never here,
Still approaching, coming near,
Thousands for it’s visit wait,
But alas for their fate,
Tho’ they expect me to appear,
They will never find me here.

Tomorrow.

Posted in Brain Teasers

I Hide But My Head Is Outside

I hide but my head is outside. What am I?

A nail.

Posted in Riddles

5 25 325 4325

Given

1 = 5
2 = 25
3 = 325
4 = 4325

What does 5 equal?

54325. Rather than being a mathematical solution, the answer is derived by prepending (putting in front of) the value on the left side of the equation with the previous answer. So for 3 you take 25, the previous answer, and put 3 in front, giving you 325. Then you put 4 in front to get 4325 and lastly, put 5 in front to get 54325.

Posted in Brain Teasers
Tagged with

It Scares Animals

A seven letter word that has T as the second letter, A as the fourth letter and S as the sixth letter. Girls love it, boys use it, parents hate it and it scares animals. Hint: It’s a German word.

A persistent puzzle solver will discover that no English word satisfies the letter requirements, to say nothing of the loving, using, hating or being scared requirements. I found three German words that work:

1) strafst
2) strapse
3) strauss

1 and 3 mean punish and bouquet respectively. I couldn’t find a definition for strapse. Punish is the likely answer. Girls love to punish boys, boys use punishment as well, a good parent hates to use punishment and animals are scared of it. I don’t know of any animals that are scared of a bouquet, though a bouquet fits as something girls love and boys use.

Posted in Riddles

Two Two Four Sequence

What number comes next?

2, 2, 4, 12, 48, ___

240. To get the number, multiply the previous number in the series by its position. 48 is in the 5th position, so 48 × 5 = 240

Posted in Brain Teasers
Tagged with

Full of Holes Yet Full of Water

I’m full of holes, yet I’m full of water. What am I?

A sponge.

Posted in Riddles

A Bottle and a Cork

A bottle and cork cost $1.10. If the bottle costs a dollar more than the cork, how much does the cork cost?

Most people guess 10 cents, but $1 more than 10 cents is $1.10, which would mean the total cost would be $1.20, not $1.10.

The correct answer is 5 cents. If the cork costs 5 cents, then the bottle costs a dollar more, or $1.05, making the total cost $1.10.

Posted in Brain Teasers