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.

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Surf, School, Room

What word can be added before or after these words to make a new word or phrase?

Surf, School, Room

Board. Surf board, school board (or maybe boarding school), board room.

Posted in Riddles

At Night They Come

At night they come without being fetched. By day they are lost without being stolen. What are they?

The stars.

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Fix This Roman Numeral Equation

This Roman numeral equation is wrong, but you can fix it without changing any of the elements of the equation. How is this possible?

I + XI = X

Look at it upside down. Instead of changing the equation, you can change your perspective.

This is from Dan Brown’s novel, Origin.

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Ghoti Pronunciation

How do you pronounce Ghoti?

Fish. The gh is pronounced as in tough, the o as in women and the ti as in nation. Ghoti is a constructed word to illustrate irregularities in English spelling.

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Calm and Cool Among Tumult and Fury

I remain calm and cool among tumult and fury,
I hide treasures and creatures you could hardly fathom,
I will crush those I welcome in deeply,
I am dark yet beautiful.

What am I?

Underwater in the deep ocean. Even when storms brew, the water deep below the surface is calm and cool. Thousands of treasures have been lost in sunken ships, and amazing creatures live at deep depths of the ocean. At extreme depths, the pressure is crushing. It is extremely dark deep in the ocean, yet also beautiful.

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Plum Taking

A man without eyes saw plums on a tree.
He neither took them nor left them, how can this be?

The man had only one eye and took one plum. (note singular versus plural)

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Up a Drainpipe Down but Not Down a Drainpipe Up

What can go up a drainpipe down but not down a drainpipe up?

An umbrella.

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Eyes That Don’t See

Most of you have two eyes. I only have one.
Most of you have eyeballs. I do not.
Your eyes aren’t dangerous, neither are mine.
But all together, I am extremely dangerous.
You can see things with your eyes.
I can’t see anything, even though the air is clear where my eye is.

What am I?

The eye of a tornado or hurricane. Could also be the eye of a needle.

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Soft and Transparent

I am soft and transparent.
I am so small that I can sit on your finger.
I have no light but I help you to see the beautiful world.

What am I?

A contact lens.

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