I Start Out The Same As Others

I start out the same as others,
Then grow to four legs and four arms,
And two hearts beat inside,
Until the separation.

What am I?

A pregnant woman is like other women, then the baby forms, and then is delivered.

Posted in Riddles
Tagged with

Into the House Through the Keyhole

What always comes into the house through the keyhole?

The key.

Posted in Riddles

The Sun Bakes Them

The sun bakes them,
The hand breaks them,
The foot treads them,
The mouth tastes them.

Grapes. Grapes are grown in the sun, can be hand picked and crushed by feet (which is sort of gross) to make wine, which is tasted by your mouth when you drink it.

Posted in Riddles

Two Days After

What is two days after the day after the day before yesterday?

Tomorrow.

The day before yesterday is two days ago.

The day after the day before yesterday (2 days ago) is yesterday.

And two days after yesterday is tomorrow.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Bank Wait Times

Suppose a small bank has one teller and customer transactions take 10 minutes on average. With 5.8 customers arriving per hour, what is the expected wait time? What would it be if you added a second teller?

With one teller, customers will wait nearly five hours on average. But adding a second teller makes the wait go down to 3 minutes.

Thanks to John D. Cook for this one.

Posted in Brain Teasers

An Eye In a Blue Face

An eye in a blue face
Saw an eye in a green face.
“That eye is like to this eye”
Said the first eye,
“But in low place,
Not in high place.”

A daisy in the grass. The big eye is the sun.

This is from J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

Posted in Riddles

Deals In Secrets Tells Nothing But Lies

The first is a person who lives in disguise who deals in secrets and tells nothing but lies.
Then think of a letter that’s last to mend the middle of middle and end of end.
Now think of a sound which is often heard in search of every unknown word.
Put it together and answer me this, which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?

1. spy
2. d
3. er
Creature: Spider

Posted in Riddles

Short Black Dress

In the day I stand tall in a white petticoat. By evening I’m in my short black dress. What am I?

The wick of a candle.

Posted in Riddles

Leaves That Don’t Fall

I have wood but no bark,
And leaves that don’t fall,
I am made up of branches,
and come in sizes of all.

I am completely devoured many times,
over and over by a worm of a kind.
If you want to know the answer of mine,
look for the secret that I’ve stored inside.

What am I?

A library or bookstore.

Posted in Riddles
Tagged with

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