Long and Thin

Long and thin, red within,
With a nail at the end.

What am I?

A finger.

Posted in Riddles

Four Weights To Thirty

What four weights can be used to balance from one to thirty pounds?

A = 1
B = 3
C = 9
D = 17

1 lb = A
2 lbs + A = B
3 lbs = B
4 lbs = A + B
5 lbs + A + B = C
6 lbs + B = C
7 lbs + B = A + C
8 lbs + A = C
9 lbs = C
10 lbs = A + C
11 lbs + A = B + C
12 lbs = B + C
13 lbs = A + B + C
14 lbs + B = D
15 lbs + B = A + D
16 lbs + A = D
17 lbs = D
18 lbs = A + D
19 lbs + A = B + D
20 lbs = B + D
21 lbs = A + B + D
22 lbs + A + B = C + D
23 lbs + B = C + D
24 lbs + B = A + C + D
25 lbs + A = C + D
26 lbs = C + D
27 lbs = A + C + D
28 lbs + A = B + C + D
29 lbs = B + C + D
30 lbs = A + B + C + D

Posted in Brain Teasers

Same Three Digits with Sum of 800

When Florence and Willie finished playing darts, they proudly announced that their 3-digit scores added up to exactly 800 points. Furthermore, each of their scores shared the same 3 digits, without any repeating digits.

What were their two scores?

364 and 436.

You could figure this out mathematically, but instead, I plugged in digits that added up to 10 for the first column, 9 for the second column (since you carry the 1) and 7 for the third column (again, because you’re carrying the 1).

Posted in Brain Teasers

24 from 9, 6, 11 and 3

How do you get 24 from 9, 6, 11 and 3 using addition, subtraction, multiplication or division?

There are multiple solutions.

(6 – 3) × 11 – 9

(11 – 6) × 3 + 9

(9 – 6) × (11 – 3)

Posted in Brain Teasers

An Animal of Few Letters

I am an animal of few letters,
Remove the second and you can’t see,
Change it to “l” and I’m a punishment,
Yet backwards I’m a game.

What am I?

Frog. It only has four letters, removing the “r” leaves fog, which makes it hard to see. Changing the “r” to an “l” makes flog, a punishment I hope you’ve never experienced. Flog backwards is golf, a game some would call a punishment when you keep swinging away at the ball yet it remains perched on its little white tower of terror while the other golfers impatiently wait for you to tee off.

Posted in Riddles

Can’t Be Touched, Can Be Felt

It can’t be touched, but can be felt.
It can’t be opened, but can be gone into.
Those who seek it always find it under something,
yet it moves from place to place.

Shade. You can’t touch shade, but you can feel its coolness. You can’t open shade but you can go into it. If you’re looking for shade it always has to be underneath something to block the light and shade moves as the light does.

Written by Sef Daystrom

Posted in Riddles

Twice in Eternity

I occur twice in eternity,
And I’m always within sight.

What am I?

The letter ‘t’.

Posted in Riddles
Tagged with

Letter Missing From a Series

What letter is missing from this series?
B C D G P T V Z

The letter E. The series contains all of the letters that rhyme with bee (apologies to any English speakers who pronounce Z as zed instead of zee if this confused you).

Posted in Brain Teasers

Three Kinds of Apples

Three kinds of apples are mixed randomly in a box. How many apples must you take out to be sure of having at least two apples of one kind?

Four. If the apples are A, B, and C, it’s possible that you could take out one A, one B and one C with three apples, but the fourth apple must be one of the three kinds.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Never Ahead, Ever Behind

Never ahead, ever behind,
Yet flying swiftly past;
For a child I last forever,
For adults I’m gone too fast.

What am I?

Childhood.

Posted in Riddles
Tagged with