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

The More You Run

The more you run, the harder I am to catch. What am I?

Your breath.

Posted in Riddles

A Harvest Sown and Reaped

A harvest sown and reaped on the same day
In an unplowed field,
Which increases without growing,
Remains whole though it is eaten
Within and without,
Is useless and yet
The staple of nations.

A war.

Posted in Riddles

Apple Rebus

What does this represent?

Apple
3.14

Apple pie. (pi is a mathematical constant of 3.14…)

Posted in Brain Teasers
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Nearly A Victory, Quickly I Pass

Nearly a victory,
Quickly I pass,
A request of the chair,
I’m silver, not brass.

What am I?

Second. Second place is next to winning. Seconds, the measure of time, pass quickly. Seconding a motion is requested by the chair of the body in Parliament. And the second place finisher in many sporting events such as the Olympics is awarded the silver medal.

And as for why the unit of time is called a second, it goes back to the days of Ptolemy. A second of time is the second small part, or pars minuta secunda, of an hour. (Thanks to Tim J for researching it).

Posted in Riddles

Graphical Rebus Two

What does this rebus represent?

Rebus

Castle on a Cloud

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The Color of Clouds

First, think of the color of clouds. Next think of the color of snow. Last, think of the color of the moon. Now, what do cows drink?

Water. If the teaser worked, you guessed milk.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Groups of Creatures

These are names given to groups of creatures or things, but they have been scrambled. What is the correct arrangement?

Colony of Birds
Horde of Spiders
Den of Wild Pigs
Clutter of Crows
Nest of Snakes
Park of Elks
Doylt of Ferrets
Gang of Machine Guns
Business of Swine
Volery of Artillery
Hover of Gnats
Drift of Frogs

Colony of Frogs
Horde of Gnats
Den of Snakes
Clutter of Spiders
Nest of Machine Guns
Park of Artillery
Doylt of Swine
Gang of Elks
Business of Ferrets
Volery of Birds
Hover of Crows
Drift of Wild Pigs

Posted in Brain Teasers

Three Digits in a Row

On a regular 12-hour digital clock how many times would the same three digits in a row be displayed (e.g. 1:11, 11:12, 12:22) in one day?

34 times. These 17 instances will be visible twice in a 24 hour period.

1:11
2:22
3:33
4:44
5:55
10:00
11:10
11:11
11:12
11:13
11:14
11:15
11:16
11:17
11:18
11:19
12:22

Posted in Brain Teasers

Word Party

You watch a group of words going to a party. A word either enters through one of two doors or is turned away by the guards. ‘HIM’ goes through door number one and ‘BUG’ goes through door number two. ‘HER’ is turned away. ‘MINT’ and ‘WEAVE’ go in through door one, ‘DOOR’ and ‘CORD’ take door two and ‘THIS’ and ‘That’ aren’t allowed in.

What determines whether a word can enter and which door they must use?

Door number one is for words composed entirely of capital letters written using only straight lines, such as A, E, F, H, and I. The entire set of letters allowed through door number one are AEFHIKLMNTVWXYZ. Door number two, as might be expected, is for words with capital letters that have a curve, including BCDGJOPQRSU. Any words composed of both straight and curved letters (or lowercase letters) are not allowed in. The word ‘THAT’ would have been sent through door number one, if the letters had been capitalized.

Posted in Brain Teasers