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.

Posted in Riddles

Balance Twelve Eggs

Suppose you have twelve eggs and a balance scale. All of the eggs are identical except for one whose only difference is its weight. Using the scale only three times, determine which egg is the odd egg out and whether it is heavier or lighter than the other eggs.

Weigh four against four. If they’re equal, weigh three of them against three you haven’t weighed. If they balance too, weigh the last remaining egg against any of the others to see if it is lighter or heavier. If the three suspects are heavier, weigh one of them against another and the one that goes down is it. If they balance the remaining suspect is heavy. Use the same process if they’re lighter. If the initial four vs four don’t balance, weigh two heavy eggs and a light egg against one heavy egg, one light one and a known normal egg. If they balance weigh the remaining two light eggs against each other. If they balance the unweighed heavy egg is the odd one out. If the side with two heavy eggs goes down weigh them against each other. If they balance it is the light egg on the other side. If the other side goes down it is either because of one heavy egg on that side or because the one light egg on the other side is lighter than the rest. Weigh one of them against a known normal egg to determine which is true.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Sweet And Valuable, But Lightning Fast

A tiny thing, that you exist,
Sweet and valuable, but lightning fast,
Combined minds and a member of royalty,
Without me you would die.

What am I?

The letter ‘b’, the verb to be or a bee. The letter b and a bee are both small and to be means you exist. Bees make honey, which is sweet, and their wings are going at around 230 beats per second. Bees are valuable because they pollinate flowers. They live in hives and the queen bee runs the show. If it weren’t for bees, we would probably starve to death.

Posted in Riddles

A Leathery Snake

A leathery snake,
With a stinging bite,
I’ll stay coiled up,
Unless I must fight.

A whip.

Posted in Riddles

Take Away All My Letters

Take away my first letter and I remain the same. Take away my last letter and I remain unchanged. Remove all my letters and I’m still me.

What am I?

A mail carrier. Letters in this sense are envelopes rather than the letters of the alphabet.

Posted in Riddles

Turn Two Into Five

How do you turn 2 into 5?

Turn it upside down and look at it in a mirror.

Posted in Brain Teasers

The Floating Cork

If a cork is placed into a glass of water, it will almost always drift to the side of the glass. There is one simple way, however, to get the cork to float in the center of the glass. What is it?

Water, the glass, and the cork are all that is required.

The reason that a cork drifts to the side of a glass is that it floats to the highest point. Since water “clings” to the glass, the highest point is around the edge of the water. To get the cork to float in the middle of the glass, all you have to do is fill the glass as much as possible. The water will form a convex shape above the glass, with the highest point at its center. This is where the cork will settle.

Posted in Brain Teasers

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

Bought By the Yard

I am bought by the yard but worn by the foot. What am I?

Carpet. Worn is used in the sense of a well-worn item.

(found on r/riddles)

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Walk On the Living

Walk on the living, they don’t even mumble,
Walk on the dead, they mutter and grumble.

What are they?

Leaves. They’re soft and silent when they’re alive but crunchy when dead.

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