I Cannot Speak

I cannot speak but I have great knowledge,
I’m not a tree but I have leaves.
I have hinges but I am neither a door nor a window.

What am I?

A book.

Posted in Riddles
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Kneel In The Kayak

Kneel in the kayak grasping the boat, but don’t wrench the bullion or scowl at the chart. Behind the taped and sealed planter is a benevolent collier. The foxglove is in the bath.

Name the 19 creatures in the above sentence.

1. Eel
2. Yak
3. Asp
4. Boa
5. Wren
6. Bull
7. Lion
8. Cow
9. Owl
10. Hart
11. Hind
12. Ape
13. Seal
14. Ant
15. Vole
16. Collie
17. Fox
18. Ox
19. Bat

Posted in Brain Teasers

Alfred’s Tough Cash Request

Alfred is at the bank to cash his $200 check. He tells the cashier he would like some one dollar bills, ten times as many two dollar bills and the rest in fives.

How many of each denomination does the cashier need to give Alfred?

Five $1 bills, 50 $2 bills and 19 $5 bills.

We know that in order to give the rest of the amount in fives, the sum of the one and two dollar bills needs to be divisible by five (i.e. end in 0 or 5).

If we start with a single one dollar bill, we’d need ten two dollar bills to satisfy the request, making $21. But we need a sum that is divisible by 5. So we keep going up, like so:

$1 + $2 * 10 = $21
$2 + $2 * 20 = $42
$3 + $2 * 30 = $63
$4 + $2 * 40 = $84
$5 + $2 * 50 = $105 (Aha! It’s divisible by 5)
$6 + $2 * 60 = $126
$7 + $2 * 70 = $147
$8 + $2 * 80 = $168
$9 + $2 * 90 = $189

So the only option that works is 5 $1 bills and 50 $2 bills, leaving $95 (95 / 5 = 19) to be paid out in 19 fives.

Alfred is one tough customer.

Posted in Brain Teasers

One Sunday to Seven Saturday

1. Sunday
2. Monday
3. Tuesday
4. Wednesday
5. Thursday
6. Friday
7. Saturday

What phrase does this represent?

Days are numbered. Commonly used to say someone or something is going to end soon.

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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

Eight Letter Word With KST

What eight letter word has kst inside, in the beginning, and at the end?

Inkstand.

The letters “kst” are in the word, “in” is at the beginning, with “and” at the end. I know, it’s awkwardly worded but otherwise it wouldn’t be a riddle.

Posted in Riddles

Even Seven

How can you make seven even?

Remove the letter “s”, turning it into the word “even”.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Important Rebus

What does this represent?

IMPORTANT = IMPORTANT

Equally important.

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Shuns the Light of Day

What must be in the oven yet can not be baked?
Grows in the heat yet shuns the light of day?
What sinks in water but rises with air?
Looks like skin but is fine as hair?

Yeast.

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ROFORKAD

What does this rebus represent?

ROFORKAD

A fork in the road.

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