A man gets off the bus looking for an address and approaches a couple walking in the same direction for directions. The woman says they’re going that way and take him. Along the way the man asks if they’re related. The woman grins and says, “We’re not strangers. This man’s mother is my mother’s mother-in-law.” The man is confused but doesn’t say anything. When he gets back home he tells his wife about the conversation and she can’t figure it out either. They decide to ask their lawyer and he eventually works it out with pen and paper. How are the couple related?
You have four chains. Each chain has three links in it. Although it is difficult to cut the links, you wish to make a single loop with all 12 links. What is the fewest number of cuts you must make to accomplish this task?
Rhonda will go see ballet but not the opera. Her favorite number is eight and she doesn’t like nine. She likes salmon but not trout. She hates Mondays and likes Wednesdays. Does she use a comb or a brush?
A merchant has 21 sacks of grain: 7 full, 7 half-full and 7 empty. He wants to divide them equally among his three sons. How can he do this, without transferring any grain between sacks, so each son has the same quantity of grain and number of sacks?
Often talked of, never seen, Ever coming, never been, Daily looked for, never here, Still approaching, coming near, Thousands for it’s visit wait, But alas for their fate, Tho’ they expect me to appear, They will never find me here.
You have a fox, a chicken and a sack of grain. You must cross a river with only one of them at a time. If you leave the fox with the chicken he will eat it; if you leave the chicken with the grain he will eat it. How can you get all three across safely?
Take the chicken over first. Go back and bring the grain next, but instead of leaving the chicken with the grain, come back with the chicken. Leave the chicken on the first side and take the fox with you. Leave it on the other side with the grain. Finally, go back over and get the chicken and bring it over.
