What Comes Next I S I T

What comes next in this series?

I S I T P N A A D L I I Y N ___

The letter A.

There are three separate series

1. Starting with the first letter and taking every third letter you get ITALY.
2. Starting with the second letter and taking every third letter you get SPAIN.
3. Starting with the third letter and taking every third letter you get INDIA.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Company, Congregation or Convocation

Some form a parliament,
Others a company, congregation or convocation,
The mob can see a murder, or clamor and wake,
A bouquet is presented when flushed.

What are we?

Birds. These are collective nouns for groups of birds.
parliament – owls
company – parrots
congregation – plovers
convocation – eagles
mob – emus
murder – crows clamor – rooks
wake – buzzards
bouquet – pheasants (when flushed)

Posted in Riddles

The Thinner It Grows

You use me from your head to your toes.
The more you use the thinner it grows.
For years I was not often used,
Not using me now is not excused.

Soap.

Posted in Riddles

In Oven But Not Baked

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 sand, but is fine as hair?

Yeast.

Posted in Riddles

A Long Bicycle Ride

Hester goes out for an afternoon bicycle ride. She rides for one hour at five miles an hour, then three hours at four miles an hour and finally two hours at seven miles an hour. How many miles did she ride in total?

31 miles.

1 hour at 5 mph = 5 miles
3 hours at 4 mph = 12 miles
2 hours at 7 mph = 14 miles

5 + 12 + 14 = 31 miles

Posted in Brain Teasers

A Most Unusual Paragraph

This is an unusual paragraph. I’m curious as to just how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so ordinary and plain that you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is highly unusual though. Study it and think about it. You still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out. Try to do so without any coaching.

The letter “e” is the most common letter in the English language, yet it never appears in the entire paragraph.

Posted in Brain Teasers

An Alphabetic Phrase

What phrase can be made using the following letters?

A B C D E F G I

Big-faced.

I wouldn’t suggest calling anyone that, unless you want a big red nose from being punched.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Sweet or Bitter and Sometimes Free

I often fall from up above,
Sweet or bitter and sometimes free,
Use me to declare your love,
I’m worth more than most any.

An apple. They fall off trees and can be sweet or bitter depending on the type of apple. Most people buy apples, but you can get a free one if you have an apple tree. In olden days apples were used to throw at a person you loved, and in 2013 the company, Apple, pushed past Exxon Mobile to have the largest market capitalization in the United States.

Posted in Riddles

I Build Up Castles

I build up castles.
I tear down mountains.
I make some men blind,
I help others to see.
What am I?

Sand.

Posted in Riddles

Three Philosophers Under a Tree

Three philosophers are taking a nap under a tree. While they’re asleep, a small boy smears their noses with red berries. When they awake, they each begin to laugh, thinking the other two are laughing at each other.

But then one philosopher stops laughing, realizing his nose is red too. How did he come to this conclusion?

Let’s call the philosopher’s A, B and C. A reasoned that B was confident his nose wasn’t red. If B saw A’s nose wasn’t red, he would be surprised that C was laughing, because C would have nothing to laugh at. But B wasn’t surprised, therefore, A correctly reasoned his nose was smeared.

Posted in Brain Teasers