Horse Fence

Farmer Finnegan needs to build a fence to keep his horses on his property. He only has a little over 1.5 miles of fence materials, but there’s also a mile-long straight river running through his property. What shape should he use for the fenced in area to give his horses the most space possible?

Our dear friend Finnegan should build a half-circle fence with the river as the diameter, giving the horses about 0.4 square miles to frolic and play in.

Area of semi-circle = πr2 / 2 = π × .5 miles2 / 2 = 0.3927

Posted in Brain Teasers

What Do These Dates Have In Common?

What do these dates have in common?

15 February 1984
2 July 1983
16 December 1983

They all fall in the middle.
15 February was the middle of February (1984 being a leap year).
2 July was the middle day of the year 1983.
And 16 December was the middle of December.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Hardware Store Costs

Ralph goes to the hardware store to buy something for his house. He asks the clerk how much one will cost and the clerk looks it up and tells him it will be $3. He asks about buying twelve and is told it will be $6. Two hundred will cost $9.

What is Ralph buying?

Door numbers at $3 each.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Twice Is 99 More Than Half

What number satisfies this requirement? Twice the number is 99 more than half of the number.

66.

2 × 66 = 132 and 132 – 66 / 2 = 99.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Two Tons

If you had a ton of feathers and a ton of stones which would be heavier?

Neither. A ton is a ton, no matter what it’s made up of, and they both weigh a ton.

Posted in Brain Teasers

It Never Lasts Forever

You can have it
and be at it,
but it never
lasts forever.

Peace.

By Sef Daystrom

Posted in Riddles

How Much Time is Left in the Exam?

During a math exam, Willy asks Ms. Matilda, the teacher, how much time is left. Ms. Matilda is known for being obtuse and answers that the amount of time left is 1/5 of the time already completed and that is also how much time is left, in a manner of speaking.

How much time is left?

15 minutes. The total exam time is 90 minutes. If 15 minutes are left, 75 minutes have already passed, and one fifth of 75 is 15. However, if you follow Ms. Matilda’s hint and pay attention to only the numbers in 1/5, you get the answer of 15 minutes as well.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Two Days of the Week Starting With T

What two days of the week start with ‘T’, other than Tuesday and Thursday?

Today and tomorrow.

Posted in Riddles

Stands

Stands
———–
0_2345

What does this represent?

No one understands.

Posted in Brain Teasers
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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