Riddles and Brain Teasers

Cut One Off And I Become Stronger

I have three letters. Cut one off and I become stronger. Cut two off and I become ten. What am I?

A fox. Removing the f leaves ox, a strong animal. Cutting off the fo leaves X, the roman numeral for 10.

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An Oddly Priced Fish Shop

A fish shop with odd pricing sells fish for the following prices: A trout costs $20, a salmon is $19, and a plaice comes in at $16. Using their pricing logic, how much would they charge for a mackerel?

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$13. The price is calculated by using the position in the alphabet of the first letter of the name of the fish. An Albacore would be $1, a Bandfish would be $2. Note, I do not recommend using this pricing strategy unless you find yourself with an assortment of cheap Zebrafish.

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A Big Rig Crossing a Bridge

An 18-wheeler is crossing a 4 kilometer bridge that can only support 10,000 kilograms and that’s exactly how much the rig weighs. Halfway across the bridge a 30 gram sparrow lands on the cab, but the bridge doesn’t collapse. Why not?

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Since the bridge is 4 kilometers long, the halfway point would be 2 kilometers. The 18-wheeler would have used much more than 30g of fuel to drive 2 kilometers.

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I Cover What Is Real And Hide What Is True

I cover what is real and hide what is true,
But sometimes I bring out the courage in you.

What am I?

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A mask. It makes people look different, but can make you feel more powerful than you normally do.

Makeup also works.

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A Date With No Numbers

How can you write a date in 5 letters without using any numbers?

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The most popular answer for this teaser is ‘today’. Of course this only works if you’re reading it on that particular date or if the date is not specified. Another option is to respond literally with ‘a date’. Lastly, certain dates could be squeezed into letters using Roman numerals if you abbreviate the year to 2 numerals. For example, January 20th, 2011 would be I XX XI.

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The Boat at High Tide

A boat has a ladder that has six rungs. Each rung is one foot apart. The bottom rung is one foot from the water. The tide rises at 12 inches every 15 minutes. High tide peaks in one hour.

When the tide is at its highest, how many rungs are under water?

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None. The boat is floating on the water, so as the tide rises, so does the ladder.

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The More There Is The Less You See

The more there is the less you see. What is it?

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Darkness. There more darkness there is, the less you can see.

Darkness

Darkness. There more darkness there is, the less you can see.

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Tagged with What am I?

Celebrate, Hide Their Shame or Commit Crime

Some use me to celebrate,
Others use me to hide their shame,
Others use me to commit crime.

What am I?

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Alcohol. People have a drink to celebrate, but also drink to hide their shame. Lastly, drunk driving is a crime.A mask is also a valid answer. They can be used to celebrate Halloween or at dress-up parties, a mask can hide your shame and masks are used by thieves.Update: This one has more valid answers than I thought. Money, drugs and night also work.

Alcohol. People have a drink to celebrate, but also drink to hide their shame. Lastly, drunk driving is a crime.

A mask is also a valid answer. They can be used to celebrate Halloween or at dress-up parties, a mask can hide your shame and masks are used by thieves.

Update: This one has more valid answers than I thought. Money, drugs and night also work.

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Tagged with What am I?