Rope Around The Earth

If a piece of rope was tightly wrapped around the earth and you added 3 feet to its length, how high could you uniformly raise it from the earth’s surface?

Just short of 6 inches.

Thanks to Nigel Coldwell for this one.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Penny, Cork and A Bottle

Given a corked bottle with only a penny inside, how can you remove the penny without pulling out the cork, breaking the bottle and leaving the cork intact?

Push the cork into the bottle, then shake the penny out.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Twenty One Points Divide And Dance

Twenty one points divide and dance,
Twirling and leaping about,
Ladies, Romans and knights of France,
Craving a victor’s rout,
Wrought of wood, ivory or bone,
An exciting yet vicious pursuit,
Ancient, forbidden and crooked,
All in search of the loot.

A die. The standard die has 21 pips (or points), divided up on the six sides of the die which dance around when rolled. Ladies, knights and Romans all played dice as a pastime (though not together). Dice can be made of wood, ivory and bone, among other materials. Dice have been used in Asia since before recorded history and many governments tried unsuccessfully to outlaw the game. Professional gamblers were common and often used loaded dice. Desperate German chaps even bet their own liberty on a single roll of the dice.

Posted in Riddles

From Cold To Warm In Four Steps

How do you get from cold to warm in four steps, changing only one letter at a time to form a new word at each step?

cold
cord
word
worm
warm

An alternative is:
cold
cord
word
ward
warm

Yet another option, thanks to Beth:
cold
cord
card
ward
warm

Posted in Brain Teasers

Only Found In The Past

You will only ever find me in the past. I am created in the present but the future can never taint me. What am I?

History

Posted in Riddles
Tagged with

A Third of the Way But Only Halfway There

You’ve traveled a third of the way, yet you’re only halfway there.

Where are you going?

Hint: The answer applies in the US but not in Europe.

You’re in a build headed to the fourth floor. When you reach the second floor, you’ve gone one floor and have two more floors left, so you’re 1/3 of the way. But at the same time, you’re on the 2nd floor and have two more floors to get to the 4th floor, thus you’re halfway there.

This doesn’t work in Europe, because they typically refer to the “first floor” as the ground floor, and the first floor is one story up.

Thanks to Danny Llinas for submitting this.

Posted in Brain Teasers

The Roast with the Most

How do you spell roast?
How do you spell most?
How do you spell coast?
How do you spell post?

What do you put into a toaster?

Bread. (It turns into toast when it’s done toasting).

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

I Turn Polar Bears White

I turn polar bears white
and I will make you cry.
I make guys have to pee
and girls comb their hair.
I make celebrities look stupid
and normal people look like celebrities.
I turn pancakes brown
and make your champagne bubble.
If you squeeze me, I’ll pop.
If you look at me, you’ll pop.
Can you guess the riddle?

The answer to this admittedly lame riddle is, “No.” The reason is that the question at the very end asks if you can guess the riddle and there is nothing that satisfies all of the riddles’ requirements.

Some say that pressure is the answer, but they can’t explain how it turns polar bears white or pancakes brown. Nothing turns polar bears white, any more than something turns a snowflake white and heat makes pancakes brown, not pressure.

Posted in Riddles

Nine Matchbox Sticks To Ten

I have nine matchbox sticks and would like to make ten. How do I do it?

Arrange the nine matchbox sticks like so to make the shape of the number ten:

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    /| | |
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Posted in Brain Teasers