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

Rhonda At the Ballet

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 comb. Rhonda likes words with silent letters, like her name.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Fifty Quarters

You have fifty quarters on the table in front of you. You are blindfolded and cannot discern whether a coin is heads up or tails up by feeling it. You are told that x coins are heads up, where 0 < x < 50. You are asked to separate the coins into two piles in such a way that the number of heads up coins in both piles is the same at the end. You may flip any coin over as many times as you want.

How can you do it?

Take x coins, flip all of them and put them in one pile. The rest of the coins form the second pile.

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Long or Short, Grown or Bought

I can be long or short. I can be grown or bought. I can be painted or left bare. My tip can be round or square. What am I?

Fingernails.

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A Nighttime Run

A man is running across a field at night clutching something in his arms as several other men pursue him. He looks back and sees they’re getting closer. In a final burst of effort his pursuers catch up and bring him crashing to the ground. His pursuers stand over him but do not touch him or take what he was carrying. Why not? Who was the running man?

A football player who was tackled.

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Hot My Entire Life

I have been hot my entire life. Put me in water or in a freezer for days and I will still be hot. My red color should tell you but don’t be deceived, even when I’m green, I’m still hot. What am I?

A red or green laser. Red and green pepper also works.

Technically, the laser beam itself isn’t hot, but lasers can heat up what they’re shining on.

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Dark As Midnight

What is dark as midnight but is still night?
The word has 7 letters, starts with a B and ends with an E.

Bedtime

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Thin, Bold, Sick And Cold

One thin, one bold,
One sick, one cold.
The earth we span,
To prey upon man.

Who are we?

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Posted in Riddles

Going Down to the River

A zebra was going to the river. On the way the zebra encountered five giraffes. Each giraffe had five monkeys on their neck. How many animals were going to the river?

Just one – the zebra. The other 30 animals (5 giraffes and 25 monkeys) were going the other way.

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My Daughter’s Father

I am a faithful wife who married but once. John’s son is my daughter’s father. What is my relationship to John?

Daughter-in-law. Her daughter’s father is her husband (she’s only been married once and is devoted, meaning she didn’t have an affair). This means John’s son is her husband, so John is her father-in-law, making her the daughter-in-law.

Posted in Brain Teasers