Four Chains in One Loop

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?

Three cuts. Cut each link in one chain. Separate them, and use the links to join the ends of the three intact chains.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Cats and Kittens But No Mittens

Six men are carrying boxes holding six cats and each cat has 6 kittens. How many legs are there in total?

1020. There are 6 men with 2 legs each, for a total of 12 legs.
There are 36 cats with 4 legs each for a total of 144 legs.
There are 216 kittens with 4 legs each for a total of 864 legs
12 + 144 + 864 = 1020.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Instrument Can’t Be Touched Nor Seen

What instrument can make any sound and be heard but not touched or seen?

Your voice.

Posted in Riddles

Add More But Weigh Less

The 17 items in your shopping cart weigh 8 pounds. But when your daughter puts in a ball, poster board and yo-yo the shopping cart weighs less. How is that possible?

Your daughter had to get out of the cart to fit the remaining items.

Posted in Brain Teasers

By Odin’s Beard

Some came from the Sun and Moon,
Others from Thor and his hammer are hewn,

By Odin’s beard, and Frigg and Tiw,
The last is Saturn, from which we grew.

What are we?

They are the origins of the names of each day of the week.

Sunday – Sun day.
Monday – Moon day.
Tuesday – Tiw’s or Týr’s day, the god of single combat, son of Odin.
Wednesday – Woden’s or Odin’s day, god of poetry and of the dead.
Thursday – Thor’s day, god of thunder, son of Odin.
Friday – Frigg’s day, goddess of the clouds, wife of Odin.
Saturday – Saturn’s day, god of fertility and agriculture.

Posted in Brain Teasers

I Lack Much Reason, But Often Rhyme

I lack much reason, but often rhyme,
And require logic to pass the time,
To get the words to tell your kin,
Look for clues that lie within,
Though all are different, they act the same,
The answer is practically in the name.

What am I?

A riddle.

Posted in Riddles

Odd Start, Even Finish

What three letter English word has an odd start, an even finish and an infinitely long middle?

The word vex. “v” is Roman numeral 5, which is odd. “x” is Roman numeral 10, which is even. “e” is the base of the natural logarithm and is irrational (e = 2.718281828…). Its mantissa (the part to the right of the decimal point) is infinitely long.

Posted in Riddles

Peggy’s Shy Parrot

Peggy wanted to buy a talking parrot and went down to the pet shop. She bought a parrot after being assured it would repeat any word or phrase it heard. Peggy bought the parrot and took it home, but it still hadn’t said a word after a few weeks. She returned to the shop to complain, but discovered the original assurances were still accurate. Why didn’t the parrot talk?

It was deaf so it couldn’t hear a phrase to repeat it.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Each Morning I Appear

Each morning I appear
To lie at your feet,
All day I will follow
No matter how fast you run,
Yet I nearly perish
In the midday sun.

Shadow.

Posted in Riddles

Marcus’ Strange Age

Marcus was 15 years old in 2010. In 2015 he was only 10 years old. How is this possible?

The years are B.C., so 2015 came before 2010.

Posted in Brain Teasers