Lots of Eggs

The number of eggs in a basket doubles every minute. If it’s full of eggs in an hour, when was the basket half full?

At 59 minutes. The eggs double every minute, so half full would be a minute before it was full.

Posted in Brain Teasers

What Every Man Has and Gives To Their Wife

What does every man have, some longer or shorter than others and they give it to their wife when they get married?

Note: This may not be appropriate for younger ages.

A last name.

Posted in Riddles
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Julian and Penelope’s Marriage Ages

When Julian and Penelope met, one was half the others age plus seven years. Ten years later when they married, Penelope was thirty, but this time one was nine tenths the age of the other. How old was Julian? (No fractions or partial years, whole numbers only).

Julian was 27 when Penelope was 30.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Which Are True and Which Are False?

A. When a car is driven forwards the wheels rotate counter-clockwise.
B. If a clock is put forward 1 1/4 hours the minute hand moves through 450°
C. When a clock reads 4.10 the acute angle between the hands is exactly 60°

A. False – The near-side wheels rotate counter-clockwise, but the far-side wheels rotate clockwise.
B. True
C. False – The acute angle is a little more than 60° because by the time the minute hand reaches 10, the hour hand will have moved slightly past the 4.

Posted in Brain Teasers

A Creature, Part Man

This creature, part man and part tree,
hates the termite as much as the flea.
His tracks do not match,
and his limbs may detach,
but he’s not a strange creature to see.

What is it?

A man with a wooden leg.

Posted in Riddles

Frederick’s Epitaph

Frederick died after a long and productive life of 87 years, but this epitaph was written on his headstone:

Frederick lived a good long life,
He loved his children and his wife,

He was honest, kind and deserved nothing but praise,
Even if he only had twenty-one birthdays.

How is this possible?

He was born on February 29th in a leap year. Consequently, in his 87 years, he only witnessed twenty-one of his actual birthdays. The other years there was no February 29th.

Posted in Brain Teasers

A Fox, Chicken and Sack of Grain

You have a fox, a chicken and a sack of grain. You must cross a river with only one of them at a time. If you leave the fox with the chicken he will eat it; if you leave the chicken with the grain he will eat it. How can you get all three across safely?

Fox and (little) chicken

Take the chicken over first. Go back and bring the grain next, but instead of leaving the chicken with the grain, come back with the chicken. Leave the chicken on the first side and take the fox with you. Leave it on the other side with the grain. Finally, go back over and get the chicken and bring it over.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Early Ages The Iron Boot Tread

Early ages the iron boot tread,
with Europe at her command.
Through time power slipped and fled,
’til the creation of new holy land.
Who am I?

Italy / Rome.

Posted in Riddles

Rebellious Randall

You’re waiting to board your flight at the airport with 99 other passengers, each with an assigned seat. All but one of the passengers will gladly sit in their designated seat. The only exception is Randall, a scoundrel who refuses to follow the rules. When he boards, he will choose a random, unoccupied seat.

If a rule-following passenger finds someone in their spot, they will choose another one at a random from the remaining unoccupied seats.

What is the probability that the last person to board the plane will sit in their proper seat?

The randomness stops as soon as someone else sits in Randall’s assigned seat. The chances of this happening range from 1 out of 99 to 1 out of 1 (when only one seat remains).

Thus, the probability of the last person sitting in their own seat can be calculated as 1/99 plus the sum of 2 to 98 of the formula 1 / n × (n + 1), which works out to 0.5, or 50%.

So there’s a 50% chance the last passenger will sit in their own seat thanks to Randall for screwing up order and procedure when boarding an aircraft.

Posted in Brain Teasers

The Same Upside Down

A word of five letters,
Upside down is the same,
A shark does this,
But it’s not to blame.

What is the word?

SWIMS.

If you turn the word upside down it’s the same word (the W and M flip to resemble themselves). A shark swims to attack, but it’s not bad. Sharks are just trying to eat. I’d still recommend you swim away if you see one swimming toward you.

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