Riddles and Brain Teasers

Next in the Sequence

Here is a series of numbers. What is the next number in the sequence?

1
11
21
1211
111221
312211

13112221The next number in the series counts the previous numbers. Thus the first number is 1, which is one 1, or 11. To describe 11, you have two 1’s, or 21. Now you have one 2 and one 1, so the next number is 1211. The solution is to continue describing the previous number using only numbers.

13112221

The next number in the series counts the previous numbers. Thus the first number is 1, which is one 1, or 11. To describe 11, you have two 1’s, or 21. Now you have one 2 and one 1, so the next number is 1211. The solution is to continue describing the previous number using only numbers.

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Tagged with sequence

Liquid Splashes But None Seeps Through

When liquid splashes me, none seeps through,
When I’m moved a lot, liquid I spew,
When I am hit, color I change,
And colors I come in, quite a range,
What I cover is quite complex,
Yet I am very easy to flex.

What am I?

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Skin

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Tagged with What am I?

Hold In Your Left Hand

What can you hold in your left hand and not in your right?

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Your right elbow. You can try it yourself if you’re not convinced, but unless you have a broken arm or an incredibly flexible ulna, you won’t reach it.

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What Number Comes Next 6 1 3 1 4

What number comes next?

6 1 3 1 4 _

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5. The numbers are the alphabetical positions of the letters in the word FACADE.F – 6th
A – 1st
C – 3rd
A – still 1st
D – 4th
E – 5th

5. The numbers are the alphabetical positions of the letters in the word FACADE.

F – 6th
A – 1st
C – 3rd
A – still 1st
D – 4th
E – 5th

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Odd Start, Even Finish

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

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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.

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Has Teeth But Can’t Bite

What has teeth but can’t bite?

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A comb. Other inanimate objects with teeth like a saw, zipper or a gear can “bite” you. Many people can affirm from painful experience in regards to zippers and saws, and the unfortunate factory worker who is missing a finger can attest to gears. It’s a rare event that anyone would be injured by a comb.Another grim option is a dead animal or person.

Another grim option is a dead animal or person.

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Tagged with What am I?

Bank Wait Times

Suppose a small bank has one teller and customer transactions take 10 minutes on average. With 5.8 customers arriving per hour, what is the expected wait time? What would it be if you added a second teller?

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With one teller, customers will wait nearly five hours on average. But adding a second teller makes the wait go down to 3 minutes.Thanks to John D. Cook for this one.

With one teller, customers will wait nearly five hours on average. But adding a second teller makes the wait go down to 3 minutes.

Thanks to John D. Cook for this one.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Employ Rebus

What does this represent?

EMPLOY_ _ _ T

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Men out of work.

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Tagged with rebus

Always Done On Purpose

Of all the things that are broken,
this makes the least noise
and is always done on purpose.

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Bread.

By Sef Daystrom

Posted in Riddles

The Mysterious 6th Floor Window

A man was looking through a window on the 6th floor, opened it, thought for a minute then jumped, passing through the open window, but he was not injured. How was this possible?

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He was a window washer and he was entering the building.

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