After You Wake Up

You do this after you wake up,
And you get all wet,
If you didn’t you would cause,
Those nearby to fret.

What am I?

Getting dressed.

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The Potato Paradox

Fred brings home 100 pounds of potatoes, which (being purely mathematical potatoes) consist of 99 percent water. He then leaves them outside overnight so that they consist of 98 percent water. What is their new weight?

50 pounds.

100 lb of potatoes with 99% water weight means there’s 99 lb of water and 1 lb of solids, a 1:99 ratio.

If the water decreases to 98%, then the solids account for 2% of the weight. The 2:98 ratio reduces to 1:49. Since the solids still weigh 1 lb, the water must weigh 49 lb for a total of 50 lbs for the answer.

Read more at the Potato Paradox wikipedia page.

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Before Mount Everest

Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the tallest mountain in the world?

Still Mount Everest. Just because it wasn’t discovered didn’t make it any smaller.

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I Wave But Never Say Goodbye

I wave my hands at you,
But I never say goodbye.

You’re always cool with me,
Even cooler when I’m high.

What am I?

An electric fan

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Debbie’s Dragster

Debbie starts driving her dragster from rest and constantly accelerates to 60 mph in 10 seconds. How far does she travel in those 10 seconds?

1/12 mile

Ten seconds is 1/6 of a minute and 1 minute is 1/60 of an hour, so 10 seconds is 1/360 of an hour.

If you graph her trip with the speed on the y-axis and the time on the x-axis, you get a triangle with height of 60 mph and width of 1/360 of an hour. To calculate the area of the triangle, you multiply 1/2 × 1/360 × 60 = 1/12.

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At Birth It Can’t Start Nor By Death Is It Ended

More precious than gold, but cannot be bought,
Can never be sold, only earned if it’s sought,
If it is broken it can still can be mended,
At birth it can’t start nor by death is it ended.

Friendship. It is more precious than gold to have a genuine friend, and true friendship cannot be bought or sold, only earned. When a friendship is broken it can be fixed and infants aren’t able to make friends until they’re older, but death can’t end it. Love doesn’t work as an answer because a friendship requires two people to interact, while parents love their children as soon as they’re born.

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When Is The Equation Correct?

When is the following equation correct?

14 + 1 = 3

When dealing with 24-hour time, 1400 hours plus 1 hour is 1500 hours, also known as 3 o’clock.

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I Can Create Peace

My first is in alphabet, my third is in Guinness, my sixth is in donut and my eighth is in elephant. My fifth doesn’t appear in walrus, my second isn’t in stealth, but my seventh is in tremendous and my fourth is in horse. I can create peace.

What am I?

Everyone. Several words match the letter requirements, but only everyone satisfies the last statement. The other words are:

absentee
aperture
housetop
evermore

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Four Chains in One Loop

You have four chains. Each chain has three links in it. Although it is difficult to cut the links, you wish to make a single loop with all 12 links. What is the fewest number of cuts you must make to accomplish this task?

Three cuts. Cut each link in one chain. Separate them, and use the links to join the ends of the three intact chains.

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A Lady’s Delight

Lovely and round,
I shine with pale light,
Grown in the darkness,
A lady’s delight.

What am I?

A pearl. They’re formed in clams, which are of course dark.

Posted in Riddles