What Goes Up And Down But Doesn’t Move?

What goes up and down but doesn’t move?

A staircase. They go up and down, but you’re the one moving.

Posted in Riddles

Not the Sort That’s Eaten

I’m not the sort that’s eaten, I’m not the sort you bake,
Don’t put me in an oven, I don’t taste that great,
But when applied correctly, around me you will find,
Problems are so simple when my digits come to mind.

Pi (3.141592653)

Posted in Riddles

Fill in the Missing Element

Here is a series of numbers:

16 06 68 88 ___ 98

What belongs in the blank spot?

87 is the common answer to this, but it has to be flipped upside down, so I consider L8 more correct.

If you flip the numbers horizontally by 180 degrees:

86 87 88 89 90 91

You see that the blank spot is 87, counting from 86 to 91. However, you need to flip it around, so it becomes L8.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Pitching On The Merry-Go-Round

Everly and I were playing on the merry-go-round at the local park. It was very large and we stood on opposite sides. As we spun the merry-go-round counter-clockwise, I threw a ball to Everly. Did the ball go to Everly, to the right or left of them?

Since the merry-go-round had moved while the ball was traveling to Everly the ball went to the right of them.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Nearly Hanging

A prisoner is told, “If you tell a lie we will hang you; if you tell the truth we will shoot you.”

What can he say to save himself?

You will hang me. If they hang him, then the statement was true and they could only hang him for telling a lie. If they shoot him, then it makes the statement a lie and they were only to shoot him for telling the truth. An alternate solution is to say, “You will not shoot me,” leading to the same quandary for the killers.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Don’t Get a Goat

On a game show there are three closed doors – one hides a car and the other two conceal a goat. The contestant selects a door, which remains closed, and the host, knowing where the car is hidden, reveals a goat behind one of the remaining two doors. The contestant is then given the option to switch doors or stay with the one they originally selected. What should the contestant do to have the best chance of winning the car?

The contestant should switch doors, which doubles the chance of winning the car. Initially there is a 2/3 chance of picking a goat, but once the other goat is revealed, switching to remaining door gives the contestant a better chance of winning the car. This is known as the Monty Hall Problem and can be very unintuitive.

Posted in Brain Teasers

A Headless Kiss

What do you kiss that has a neck but no head?

A bottle.

Posted in Riddles

Lies Behind Stars

It cannot be seen, it cannot be felt,
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt,
Lies behind stars and under hills,
And empty holes it fills.
Comes first follows after,
Ends life kills laughter.

Darkness.

Posted in Riddles

Who May Enter?

A green glass door admits only certain objects. Apples and balls are allowed, but pears and bats aren’t. What determines whether an item can enter?

All words with a repeated letter are allowed. Green glass door, apple and ball.

Posted in Brain Teasers

A Promise to the President

Ronald has a rare opportunity to meet the President of the United States. During his visit the president gives him a gift but tells Ronald he is never to sell it unless he sees the president again. Ronald consents, but the president dies later that year. Years later a man offers to buy the President’s gift for $1000. Ronald agrees and exchanges the gift for 20 crisp $50 bills. Did he keep his promise?

Yes. The president was Ulysses S. Grant, who died in 1885 and whose face has been on the $50 bill since 1913. He saw the president on the bills before he made the exchange.

Posted in Brain Teasers