Midway Numbers

Select the number that is midway between the lowest number and the highest number.
Which number is midway between that number and the number that is nearest the highest number?

35  5 52 36 67
69  4 51 37 71
55 68  3 53 39

53.

37 is midway between 3 (the lowest number) and 71 (the highest number).
53 is midway between 37 and 69 (nearest to the highest number).

Posted in Brain Teasers

I Change Stature As I Age

I change stature as I age, but my importance does not differ by age. My importance is manifested mostly when with my boss. When we part, I am of no importance.

What am I?

A pencil. It gets shorter with use, but is no less important. Its impact is from the person using the pencil to write or draw. Without them, the pencil is just an idle tool.

Thanks Keller!

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Plane Crash

A plane with 50 passengers crashes and everyone is killed, but there were only 49 bodies. How is this possible?

Two of the passengers were siamese twins.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Only One Color, But Not One Size

Only one color, but not one size,
stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies;
present in sun, but not in rain;
doing no harm, and feeling no pain.

A shadow.

Posted in Riddles

Turn Two Into Five

How do you turn 2 into 5?

Turn it upside down and look at it in a mirror.

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What Work is Never Finished?

What work can one never finish?

An autobiography. Unless you’re writing it in your death bed I suppose, but even then, how will you be able to record the time of death?

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Jump When I Walk

I jump when I walk, can’t go backward and sit when I stand. What am I?

A kangaroo.

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Soft and Transparent

I am soft and transparent.
I am so small that I can sit on your finger.
I have no light but I help you to see the beautiful world.

What am I?

A contact lens.

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False Positive HIV Test

Imagine an HIV test that is 95% accurate (false positive rate of 5%) and around 2% of the tested population is infected with HIV. What is the probability that you actually have HIV when your test comes back positive?

29%

To read more about this, see the False Positive Paradox page on Wikipedia.

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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?

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

Makeup also works.

Posted in Riddles