Leaves That Don’t Fall

I have wood but no bark,
And leaves that don’t fall,
I am made up of branches,
and come in sizes of all.

I am completely devoured many times,
over and over by a worm of a kind.
If you want to know the answer of mine,
look for the secret that I’ve stored inside.

What am I?

A library or bookstore.

Posted in Riddles
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BEJQXYZ

What is significant about the following set of letters?

BEJQXYZ

They are the only letters in the alphabet that are not found at the beginning of the name of a state in the United States of America. The rest of the letters in the alphabet, namely ACDFGHIKLMNOPRSTUVW, start the name of at least one state. Incidentally, eight different states each start with the letters M and N, tying them for the most states starting with a particular letter. The next highest is a three-way tie between A, I and W with four each.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Balance Twelve Eggs

Suppose you have twelve eggs and a balance scale. All of the eggs are identical except for one whose only difference is its weight. Using the scale only three times, determine which egg is the odd egg out and whether it is heavier or lighter than the other eggs.

Weigh four against four. If they’re equal, weigh three of them against three you haven’t weighed. If they balance too, weigh the last remaining egg against any of the others to see if it is lighter or heavier. If the three suspects are heavier, weigh one of them against another and the one that goes down is it. If they balance the remaining suspect is heavy. Use the same process if they’re lighter. If the initial four vs four don’t balance, weigh two heavy eggs and a light egg against one heavy egg, one light one and a known normal egg. If they balance weigh the remaining two light eggs against each other. If they balance the unweighed heavy egg is the odd one out. If the side with two heavy eggs goes down weigh them against each other. If they balance it is the light egg on the other side. If the other side goes down it is either because of one heavy egg on that side or because the one light egg on the other side is lighter than the rest. Weigh one of them against a known normal egg to determine which is true.

Posted in Brain Teasers

The Floating Cork

If a cork is placed into a glass of water, it will almost always drift to the side of the glass. There is one simple way, however, to get the cork to float in the center of the glass. What is it?

Water, the glass, and the cork are all that is required.

The reason that a cork drifts to the side of a glass is that it floats to the highest point. Since water “clings” to the glass, the highest point is around the edge of the water. To get the cork to float in the middle of the glass, all you have to do is fill the glass as much as possible. The water will form a convex shape above the glass, with the highest point at its center. This is where the cork will settle.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Brothers And Sisters Of Leopold

If Leopold had one more sister he would have twice as many sisters as brothers.
If he had one more brother he would have the same number of each.

How many brothers and sisters does Leopold have?

Three sisters and two brothers.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Two Days After

What is two days after the day after the day before yesterday?

Tomorrow.

The day before yesterday is two days ago.

The day after the day before yesterday (2 days ago) is yesterday.

And two days after yesterday is tomorrow.

Posted in Brain Teasers

How Old is Malcolm, His Dad and Grandfather?

Malcolm is the number of weeks of his father’s age treated as days and his grandfather’s age in months. All three of their ages add up to 120 years. How old is Malcolm, his father and his grandfather?

Malcolm is 6.
The father is 42. 42 days = 6 weeks.
The grandfather is 72. 72 months = 6 years.

Posted in Brain Teasers

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

Serve Many But They Forget About Me

I serve many, confirmed by how healthy those I serve are. Yet after they’re successful they forget about me. It’s true, sometimes I hit them and they’re often bloody, but they don’t mind.

What am I?

A doctor (more specifically, an obstetrician) or a midwife. They deliver thousands of healthy babies but they are soon forgotten. Sometimes they smack the baby on the butt to clear the airway, and newborn babies can have blood on them from the placenta being pulled from the walls of the uterus or from an episiotomy.

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My Tines

My tines are long.
My tines are short.
My tines end ere
My first report.

What am I?

A lightning bolt.

Posted in Riddles