Brain teasers

[The Golden Touch]

So I've already posted this for one of my group games to figure out. This math problem was given to me via an AD at work.

7 girls on a bus.
Each girl has 7 bags.
Each bag has 7 cats.
Each cat has 7 kittens.
How many legs are on the bus?

The answer is not, "Buses don't have legs."


Also- feel free to post your own brain teasers!

[Caeli]

I love math problems. ♥

7 girls x 7 bags = 49 bags
49 bags x 7 cats each = 343 cats
343 cats x 4 legs each = 1372 cat legs

343 cats x 7 kittens = 2401 kittens
2401 kittens x 4 legs = 9604 kitten legs

7 girls x 2 legs = 14 girls' legs
1372 cat legs + 9604 kitten legs + 14 girls' legs = 10990 legs.

The answer is 10992 legs.

[The Golden Touch]

Yay, Caeli! You super rock! I forgot to tell you not to count the bus driver but you got it either way. Now we need a new problem!

I figured mine out by single bag x seven + 14 legs.

[Caeli]

Oh! I figured the bus driver would be the "forgotten" part of the puzzle... I always leave them out. :P

Here's two logic puzzles, one hard and one easier:



Four students took a test where every question had two possible answers, A or B. Each question was worth 10 points, for a total of 100 points.

The students' test results were posted as seen below, but the teacher forgot to tally Colin's score. Colin was heading to the teacher's office when Mary called him back, saying they could figure out his score using teh results from the other tests. Can you figure out Colin's score?

#		Mary	Dan	Lisa	Colin
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Score		B B A B A B B A B B 70	B A A A B A B A A A 50	B A A A B B B A B A 30	B B A A A B B A A A ?

A girl takes her dog out. At first, she carries her dog for 10 seconds, but then her dad steps out. At this point, the girl sets her dog down and keeps walking. The dog immediately runs over to the dad, and upon reaching him, he turns around and runs back to the girl. The dog keeps doing this until the dad catches up with the girl.

The dog runs at five feet per second, the dad walks at two feet per second, and the girl walks at one foot per second. How far does the dog run by the time the dad catches up to his daughter?

[Jacqueline]

I will leave you two classics, as a tip I will give bonus points for guessing in which movie they appear. Enjoy!

As I was going to St Ives

I met a man with seven wives

Every wife had seven sacks

Every sack had seven cats

Every cat had seven kittens

Kittens, cats, sacks, wives

How many were going to St Ives?



You are given a 5 gallon jug and a 3 gallon jug in front of a fountain. Measure out exactly 4 gallons of water.

[warlko]

hi, I'm new here and I like brain teasers besides role play.


Caeli I think your first problem is incomplete. It's impossible to figure out colin's score without knowing others' score.
now in second problem the daughter is 10 feet ahead, and her dad is closing the distance at a rate of one foot per second so he'll catch up in 10 seconds. With the speed of 5 feet per second the dog will run 50 feet.


Elenwe your first problem may have several answers.

It does not tell where others are going so the answer might be 1 (only the teller)

If we assume all are going to St Ives then
persons = 9
       sacs = 7*7    = 49
       cats = 7*49   = 343
   kittens = 7*343 = 2401

        Total = 2802

If we count only Kittens, cats, sacks, wives then = 2800

If we discount sacs then = 2753 (including the teller)

In the second problem
First I'll fill 5 gallon jug and and then I'll pour the water from the 5 gallon jug into the 3 gallon jug after that I'll empty the 3 gallon jug and then I'll pour the remaining 2 gallon water from the 5 gallon jug into the 3 gallon jug. Now the 3 gallon jug will be able to hold additional 1 gallon water. Now I'll again fill the 5 gallon jug and pour 1 gallon in the 3 gallon jug so that I'll have 4 gallon water in 5 gallon jug.

[Jacqueline]

Hah! That's the fun thing about riddles, there is only one valid answer so you have to choose!

[warlko]

In that case I'd go for 1 (only the teller)

[Jacqueline]

I can't say if that's correct or not because in case that it was... it would be a spoiler for other people!

So... maybe yes, and maybe no!

[Caela]

I will leave you two classics, as a tip I will give bonus points for guessing in which movie they appear. Enjoy!

As I was going to St Ives

I met a man with seven wives

Every wife had seven sacks

Every sack had seven cats

Every cat had seven kittens

Kittens, cats, sacks, wives

How many were going to St Ives?



You are given a 5 gallon jug and a 3 gallon jug in front of a fountain. Measure out exactly 4 gallons of water.

Only the teller is going to St. Ives.

The jugs have been explained and both are riddles given to Detective John Mclain and Zues (love Samuel Jackson!) in one of the Die Hard movies...believe it was the third.

[warlko]

hah! now I've to wait for another thing besides approval..

I've a conundrum...

Four cars are stopped at a four-way intersection. At the same time and at the same speed, they all drive forward and continue their journeys without colliding.
How is this possible?

NOTES:
All the cars are facing forward into the intersection.
The intersection is not large enough for the cars to
cross at the same time and miss each other
(this is possible on larger intersections).
There are no tricks such as overpasses or tunnels.

[Jacqueline]

Only the teller is going to St. Ives.

The jugs have been explained and both are riddles given to Detective John Mclain and Zues (love Samuel Jackson!) in one of the Die Hard movies...believe it was the third.

Bonus points for Caela!

[Shiny]

Hey,


I also do believe that the scoring-riddle is unsolvable without the scores of Mary, Lisa and Dan,
(which to admit took me about three accumulated hours, spent with different approaches,) as long as guessing isn't an option. This way, I can only tell the maximum difference in scoring between each of them.


   
   
   
   
   

Name	Mary	Dan	Lisa	Colin
Mary	0	6	4	3
Dan	6	0	2	3
Lisa	4	2	0	3
Colin	3	3	3	0

and that there are four answers they have in common, so between 0-40 points as an lower limitation.



I assume by large intersection you mean one with multiple lanes, warlko? So only two lanes crossing each other? And they all are driving straight forward , no meddling with the steering wheel?
No idea.


My puzzle:
There is an series of 100 numbered lamps, standing in line, and a 100 frogs.
When the lamps are touched they go off (if they were on) and vice versa.
At first, all lights are off.
The first frog jumps on every lamp and switches them on.
The second frog jumps on every second lamp and switches it off (so lamp nr. 2,4,6,... are now off).
The third frog jumps on every third lamp and switches it off/on (depending on its previous state).
And so on.
Which lamps remain on after all 100 frogs had their turn?
(And as a bonus question, if there was an infinite series of lamps and an infinite supply of frogs, how could the set of shining lamps be characterized?)


Have fun,


Shiny

[Caeli]

Oops! Sorry about that, I typed up the whole thing and then forgot to include their test scores. :P

Four students took a test where every question had two possible answers, A or B. Each question was worth 10 points, for a total of 100 points.

The students' test results were posted as seen below, but the teacher forgot to tally Colin's score. Colin was heading to the teacher's office when Mary called him back, saying they could figure out his score using teh results from the other tests. Can you figure out Colin's score?

#		Mary	Dan	Lisa	Colin
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Score		B B A B A B B A B B 70	B A A A B A B A A A 50	B A A A B B B A B A 30	B B A A A B B A A A ?

[Jacqueline]

Three riddles for the sphinxes out there!

Reaching stiffly for the sky,
I bare my fingers when it's cold
In warmth I wear an emerald glove
And in between I dress in gold


Two bodies have I
Though both joined in one
The longer I stand still
The faster I run


I run all day but never walk,
I often murmur but never talk,
I have a bed but never sleep,
I have a mouth but never eat,


Enjoy!

[The Golden Touch]

The first one is a tree.

The second one, I am not sure.

The third one is a river.

[Shiny]

Heureka!

Colin scored 60 points!

Explanation (Don't look if you want to solve it yourself)

Again, the table for maximum deviation of points.                     Name Mary Dan Lisa Colin Mary 0 60 40 30 Dan 60 0 20 30 Lisa 40 20 0 30 Colin 30 30 30 0 Lisa(30) differed by the maximal amount from both Mary(70) and Dan(50). That means, she got question 2,4,5,10 wrong (those where her answers differed from Mary) and question 6,9 (Dan). The right answers for the first set are those of Mary, for the second set the ones of Dan.                             Question nr. Right answer Colin's answer 2 B B 4 B A 5 A A 6 B B 9 B A 10 B A This means that Colin scored at least 30 points. The only questions remaining are nr. 1,3,7,8. These were answered the same by all students. Since Lisa scored only 30 points, and she only could have got them from these questions, Colin got 30 points from them as well. Colin's score is 30 (questions 2,4,5,6,9,10) points + 30 ( questions 1,3,7,8) points = 60 points

Thank you for this excellent puzzle, Caeli!



[/td][/tr][/table]

[warlko]

@Caeli

I got the same answer 60 points for Colin.


@Shiny

My problem is not that complex. You are making unmentioned assumptions.

Now in your puzzle all the factors by which a numbered lamp is divisible will be in pairs so that will bring the lamp to its original state except in the square number pair. There are 10 square numbers between 1 and 100 so 10 lamps (1,4,9,16,25,36,49,64,81,100)will remain on.

and in the bonus question we can only infer that the totality of all numbers is infinite, and that the number of squares is infinite so infinite lamps will remain on.


@Elenwe

1- A deciduous tree
2- Hourglass
3- River

[Caela]

hah! now I've to wait for another thing besides approval..

I've a conundrum...

Four cars are stopped at a four-way intersection. At the same time and at the same speed, they all drive forward and continue their journeys without colliding.
How is this possible?

NOTES:
All the cars are facing forward into the intersection.
The intersection is not large enough for the cars to
cross at the same time and miss each other
(this is possible on larger intersections).
There are no tricks such as overpasses or tunnels.

They're all in a single file line going the same way? (I know this assumes a stop light instead of a stop sign.)

Or they could all be at different four way stops.

[Jacqueline]

@Elenwe

1- A deciduous tree
2- Hourglass
3- River

Yes, yes and yes, congratulations!

[warlko]

They're all in a single file line going the same way? (I know this assumes a stop light instead of a stop sign.)

Or they could all be at different four way stops.

No they are not in a single file, they are facing one another and they are at the same intersection


I'll ask another. This one is very simple...

A young man and his father are involved in a terrible car accident. Tragically, the father dies soon after. When the young man arrives at the emergency ward, the surgeon says:
“I cannot operate on this young man … he is my son!”
How can this be so?

Note: the man who died really was the young man’s father!

[Oniya]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

The surgeon is the young man's mother.

[warlko]

Bingo!! Oniya

[Story Tale]

This is one of the first my father asked me.


You have a fox, a chicken and a sack of grain. You must cross a river with only one of them at a time. If you leave the fox with the chicken he will eat it; if you leave the chicken with the grain he will eat it. How can you get all three across safely?

[Jacqueline]

This is one of the first my father asked me.


You have a fox, a chicken and a sack of grain. You must cross a river with only one of them at a time. If you leave the fox with the chicken he will eat it; if you leave the chicken with the grain he will eat it. How can you get all three across safely?

Take the chicken over first. (Poor fox!)
Then go back and bring the grain next.
Instead of leaving the chicken with the grain, come back with the chicken.
Then leave the chicken on the first side and take the fox with you.
Leave the fox on the other side with the grain. (Aw, I can imagine the poor fox looking with sad eyes at the sack of grain again)
And finally go back, get the chicken and bring it over!

It was fun!

[Story Tale]

And one used in the Labyrinth..


You're in a room with two doors. There's a guard at each door. One door is the exit, but behind the other door is something that will kill you. You're told that one guard always tells the truth and the other guard always lies. You don't know which guard is which. You are allowed to ask one question to either of the guards to determine which door is the exit. What question should you ask?

[The Golden Touch]

I would ask... How many fingers am I holding up?

[Jacqueline]

And one used in the Labyrinth..


You're in a room with two doors. There's a guard at each door. One door is the exit, but behind the other door is something that will kill you. You're told that one guard always tells the truth and the other guard always lies. You don't know which guard is which. You are allowed to ask one question to either of the guards to determine which door is the exit. What question should you ask?

This one took me a bit.

I'd ask either guard: What door the other guard would say is the good door? And after that I will do the opposite.

Why? Because if I ask the guard who always tells the truth, he knows the other guard will always lie about it and in consequence he'll point me to the bad door.

If I ask the guard who always lies, he knows the other guard will show me the exit, so he'll lie and point me to the bad door too.

[Jacqueline]

A classic one!

A genie in a distant kingdom is so smart and intelligent that he's able to answer and solve every question thrown at him regardless of the topic. What would you ask him to finally defy his knowledge?

[Oniya]

What is the question you cannot answer?

[Jacqueline]

That's correct!

[Story Tale]

Lol Golden, sorry, just saw your edit.. I thought that was a brain teaser at first.

[The Golden Touch]

No worries, I just realized I wasn't very specific in my question/answer.

[Jalynn6]

Warlko, do they all go forward and then turn right?

[Jalynn6]

Ok I got one!

You are standing outside a room with no windows, only a solid door.  Outside there are three switches to three lightbulbs inside.  You can go inside only once.  How do you tell which switch goes to which light bulb.

Also. You are in a room. No windows no doors no way out. made of concrete. No way out.

The only things in the room with you, are a table and a mirror. How do you get out?

[DarklingAlice]

You are standing outside a room with no windows, only a solid door.  Outside there are three switches to three lightbulbs inside.  You can go inside only once.  How do you tell which switch goes to which light bulb.

1) Turn one switch to off. Let us denote it switch 'A'.
2) Wait a sufficient amount of time.
3) Turn a second switch off. Let us denote it switch 'B'
4) Immediately enter the room.
5) The light remaining on is 'C' and then 'A' and 'B' can be determined from comparing the temperature of the bulbs.

As for the second one...I think I have the answer but it's just too punny  :P

[Jalynn6]

You are correct!  (I always assumed the lights were off and so turned one on for awhile then off and turned another on and left one off but it all works)

And come on with the pun! the pun is the point!

[Contacaton]

Context: 10c coins, 20c coins, 50c coins, $1 coins, and $2 coins.

Two coins make 30c.
One cannot be a 10c coin.
Addition only.

[Oniya]

The Answer

One is not a 10c coin:  That one is a 20c coin.
The other one is the 10c coin.

[Contacaton]

Correctamundo!

I ate three bowls of spaghetti for breakfast.
I ate one bowl of spaghetti for lunch.
I ate two bowls of spaghetti for dinner.
How many bowls have I eaten today?

[Oniya]

Burp!

Hopefully none, but you have eaten an awful lot of spaghetti.  ;D

[Contacaton]

Correct again. I was hoping to trick you with that one :P

[Strident]

Here's a nice little brain teaser for you all:

Three friends check into a motel for the night and the clerk tells them the bill is $30, payable in advance.

They decide to devide the bill up evenly and each pay the clerk $10 and go to their room.

A few minutes later, the clerk realizes he has made an error and overcharged the trio by $5. He asks the bellhop to return $5 to the 3 friends who had just checked in. The bellhop sees this as an opportunity to make $2 as he reasons that the three friends would have a tough time dividing $5 evenly among them; so he decides to tell them that the clerk made a mistake of only $3, giving a dollar back to each of the friends.

He pockets the leftover $2 and heads home feeling pleased with himself!

Now,
Each friend spent $9 on the room.

3 x 9 = 27

There's $2 in the bellhops pocket:

27+2 = 29

But wait..they started with $30!!! Where's the missing dollar gone?

[Contacaton]

1: There's $30 with the friends.

2: There's $30 with the clerk.

3: There's $5 with the bellhop and $25 with the clerk, 5+25= 30.

4: There's $2 with the bellhop, $25 with the clerk, and $3 with the friends, 2+25+3= 5+25= 30.

[Shjade]

Now,
Each friend spent $9 on the room.

3 x 9 = 27

There's $2 in the bellhops pocket:

27+2 = 29

But wait..they started with $30!!! Where's the missing dollar gone?

I realize that "trick" questions are the point of brain teasers, but isn't it cheating to give false information for your brain teaser?

The $27 they spent on the room includes the $2 in the bellhop's pocket. If you then say there are $2 in the bellhop's pocket and bump the number to $29 you're saying there are $4 in the bellhop's pocket. I'm wondering if that's intended as misleading information (say, including $2 in the bellhop's pocket that aren't related to this particular transaction), or if it's outright misinformation (given that the $2 in his pocket are actually included in the initial $27, meaning you can't add it twice to get $29).

See, the way you have it written there, they spent $29 on the room & bellhop and got $3 back, which means there isn't one missing dollar, there are two extra dollars (as you'd end up with $27 for room, $2 for bellhop, and $3 back to the friends - $32 total). That's if it's misinformation, as opposed to intentionally misleading via including two unrelated dollars.

[Oniya]

I realize that "trick" questions are the point of brain teasers, but isn't it cheating to give false information for your brain teaser?

That's actually a classic 'teaser.  I know I've seen it in a Martin Gardner collection along with the fox/chicken/grain problem.

[Jalynn6]

:( This one seemed to be missed!

You find yourself in a room with no windows, doors, holes, cracks, or any other means of escape.  In the room with you is a table and a mirror.  How do you get out?

[TheGlyphstone]

:( This one seemed to be missed!

You find yourself in a room with no windows, doors, holes, cracks, or any other means of escape.  In the room with you is a table and a mirror.  How do you get out?

Something like this, I may have the exact wording wrong.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Look in the mirror such that you can see the table. Do it again, so that you see what you saw.
Saw the table in half.
Take the two halves of the table and make a whole.
Climb out through the hole.

[Jalynn6]

Woot! You got it! Anyone else wanna try?

[Indiran]

Hi all,

I also have one waiting to be solvde.

you ring yourself outside of a room with now windows.
There is a lamp hanging in the room, contoled by one of the three switches outside of the room.
You only get one chance to enter to room, and go back out, and you don't see the light burning from outside of the room.

How can you find out which swicht is controling the lamp?

Best regards,

Indiran

[Indiran]

Hi, I want to apologise for the bad spelling, the post was sent before i noticed my mestakes :-)
you ring = you find ....  was the biggest one.

[Oniya]

This is similar to the one posted earlier.  Let's label the switches A, B, and C.

Flip switch A on for a couple minutes, then flip it off.
Flip switch B on and leave it on.
Leave switch C alone (off).

Enter the room.

If the light is on, it is controlled by switch B.
If the light is off, touch the bulb.
If the bulb is hot/warm, switch A controls the bulb.
If the bulb is cool, switch C controls the bulb.

[Indiran]

Yes, you got it :-)
This was an easy one, I'll try to find a more challenging one the next time.

Greetings

[Indiran]

I hope this will be more challenging.  :)

You are standing at a crossroad, you have two options, or you can go left or right.
On the side of the road there is a house where identical twin sisters live. You are told that by the people in the village that, if you ask them a question, one of them will always tell the truth, the other one will always lie.
You need to get home, but you don't know which direction you need to go.
So you knock on the door of the house, one of the sisters is going to open, but you don't know which one it is going to be, the one who will tell you the truth or the one who will lie to you.
You can only ask one question. What question are you going to ask, so you know which direction is the right way to go.

Please let me know if you have a additional question.

[TheGlyphstone]

Are you only able to ask the sister at the door one question?

[Karstien]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Ask one sister what direction the other sister would say was home. Whatever she says the other sister would say, it's the opposite direction.

[Indiran]

Ask one sister what direction the other sister would say was home. Whatever she says the other sister would say, it's the opposite direction.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Hi Karstien,
This is correct :), may I ask how you know this answer? :)

[TheGlyphstone]

I was going to go with "Ask the sister who opens the door which way to go. Then shoot her in the leg with a crossbow and ask her if it hurts. Cross-reference your answers and go the correct way." ;D

[Indiran]

I was going to go with "Ask the sister who opens the door which way to go. Then shoot her in the leg with a crossbow and ask her if it hurts. Cross-reference your answers and go the correct way." ;D

Well, you can only ask one question :)

[TheGlyphstone]

Well, you can only ask one question :)

Same plan then - ask her which way to go, then shoot her with the crossbow. Wait for the other sister to investigate the noise, ask herif the first sister is hurt.

[Saerrael]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Hi Karstien,
This is correct :), may I ask how you know this answer? :)

I recall that answer from the film 'The Labyrinth.'
Not specifically worded that way, but the idea is the same.

[Karstien]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Hi Karstien,
This is correct :), may I ask how you know this answer? :)

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Lol, I have had it before, demons guarding the door to hell. I got it correct then too. ~grins~ I love riddles.

[Karstien]

Glyphstone, does she look like a city guard to you? Less of the kneecapping innocent housewives.  :P

[TheGlyphstone]

Just call me Alexander. :D

[AndyZ]

Wow, awesome thread and I didn't see it until now.

Here's an original one I came up with as a kid.  It doesn't follow the usual riddle rules, but I think it qualifies as a thinker.

You're the manager of a baseball team.  You're offered the chance to hire a pitcher who's under the effects of a magical mixed blessing (magic is otherwise unheard of, but this sure seems to come true).  Roughly one game in ten, the pitcher throws a no-hitter, where none of the team ever manages to hit the ball, assuring a victory for your team.  However, the other nine times out of ten, every player that the pitcher throws the ball for ends up on base.  This likewise guarantees certain defeat.

Do you want this pitcher, and if so, how would you manage the curse?

[Oniya]

I'd take him, and manage him this way:

He would be my starting pitcher.  He would pitch one inning.  If the other team scored anything off of him, I'd rotate in my backup pitcher.  If they didn't, I'd let him continue.

[SinXAzgard21]

I'd take him, and manage him this way:

He would be my starting pitcher.  He would pitch one inning.  If the other team scored anything off of him, I'd rotate in my backup pitcher.  If they didn't, I'd let him continue.

The opposing team would just run the bases till they became dust if you leave him in for one inning... Let them go up a point or two and pull him, bases will be loaded but at least it will not look strange if you pull him when the first batter gets on base.

[Amy Liz]

Here's an easy one.

I went to bed and was able to turn off my bedroom light and get into bed before the room was dark. The light switch and the bed are ten feet apart. How is this possible?

[TheGlyphstone]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

You went to bed during the day.

[Amy Liz]

Yes :) Another one!

There are four girls, and four apples in a basket. Every girl takes an apple, yet one apple remains in the basket? How is this possible?

[AndyZ]

I would actually take him out as soon as a single hit was scored, but yeah ^_^  Too easy or just enough thought-provoking to tell again elsewhere?

Yes :) Another one!

There are four girls, and four apples in a basket. Every girl takes an apple, yet one apple remains in the basket? How is this possible?

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Only three of them took apples from the basket.  One of them took an apple from the tree, or another girl, or somewhere else.

[Amy Liz]

Wrong! Try again :P

[AndyZ]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

One of the four girls owns the basket.  She brought around the four apples to give to her other three friends, and they each took one, but after she took her own, she placed it back into the basket.

[Amy Liz]

That's better!

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Actually, she took the basket with her apple still inside of it ;)

[TheGlyphstone]

My turn for an old saw.

There is an old stump containing seven ears of corn. A squirrel can remove three ears per day. Assuming nothing else interferes, how long does it take for the squirrel to empty the stump?

[MissFemdom]

Here goes another brainteaser:

You have an empty square of 3x3. Just like a sub-square of a sudoku. Inside, in eace one of the 9 boxes, you can only place one number. What numbers? 1, 2, 3, ... to 9. You can only use them one time. In fact, the entire square must be full at the end of the game (9 boxes for 9 different numbers).

The objective: sum of the numbers in ALL directions (diagonal, straight, lateral... but always lineally) must be equal to 15.

[Oniya]

The opposing team would just run the bases till they became dust if you leave him in for one inning... Let them go up a point or two and pull him, bases will be loaded but at least it will not look strange if you pull him when the first batter gets on base.

Similar to what I was thinking - I couldn't remember how 'soon' one can pull a pitcher.

[AndyZ]

My turn for an old saw.

There is an old stump containing seven ears of corn. A squirrel can remove three ears per day. Assuming nothing else interferes, how long does it take for the squirrel to empty the stump?

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Not feeling very well today, so I feel like there's a piece to this that I'm not getting.

Assuming no trick, a squirrel can remove 3 ears per day, there's 7, so it'll take 2 1/3 days to complete.  That's going under the impression that each time, a squirrel drags out the ear of corn, carries it off somewhere (thus the word remove) and eats it.

I can imagine the trick being things like that there's things besides just the ears of corn, that the squirrel actually lives in the stump, that the squirrel will eat the corn but not carry out the eaten ears, and thus it'll never be empty.  Or that the stump is fully sealed and the squirrel can't get to it, but that'd be something else interfering.

[TheGlyphstone]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Not feeling very well today, so I feel like there's a piece to this that I'm not getting.

Assuming no trick, a squirrel can remove 3 ears per day, there's 7, so it'll take 2 1/3 days to complete.  That's going under the impression that each time, a squirrel drags out the ear of corn, carries it off somewhere (thus the word remove) and eats it.

I can imagine the trick being things like that there's things besides just the ears of corn, that the squirrel actually lives in the stump, that the squirrel will eat the corn but not carry out the eaten ears, and thus it'll never be empty.  Or that the stump is fully sealed and the squirrel can't get to it, but that'd be something else interfering.

There is a trick -  more of a wordplay trick than a logical trick, but it's none of the ones you thought of. The stump contains nothing but corn, the squirrel does not live in the stump, it will remove the corn before eating it, and can freely enter and exit the stump. And yes, the squirrel is intact, alive, and healthy, with no deformities or missing body parts.

[AndyZ]

My turn for an old saw.

There is an old stump containing seven ears of corn. A squirrel can remove three ears per day. Assuming nothing else interferes, how long does it take for the squirrel to empty the stump?

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Also guessing that nobody's adding corn, that when you say that the squirrel removes ears, you mean ears of corn, and that by "empty the stump" you mean to remove all seven ears.  I'm not really good at word tricks, I guess.

[TheGlyphstone]

...you're getting closer.

[Oniya]

With the addition of 'wordplay' as a factor, I'm going to say...

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Seven days.  Each day, the squirrel removes one ear of corn and two ears of squirrel.

[TheGlyphstone]

With the addition of 'wordplay' as a factor, I'm going to say...

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Seven days.  Each day, the squirrel removes one ear of corn and two ears of squirrel.

Got it. ;D

[Amy Liz]

Here's an illusion, a different kind of brain teaser ;)

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

[MissFemdom]

Here's an illusion, a different kind of brain teaser ;)

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Nice one! Love these eye teasers!

[Amy Liz]

Me too!

This one is pretty cool too :)

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

[Zandra]

An old favorite of mine...

(Speaker looking at a Portrait of a Man)

Brothers and Sisters, I have none
But that man's Father is my Father's son..


What is the relationship of  "That Man in the Portrait" to the speaker?

[Oniya]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

The Speaker is looking at a picture of himself.

[TheGlyphstone]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

The speaker is a man looking at a picture of his son.

[Zandra]

Nice TheGlyphstone! Exactly right.  ;D

[ChainsawAdams]

The element of fire has all the biological requirements necessary to label it as living organism except for one.  What is the requirement that fire lacks that prevents it from being defined as a living entity? 

[Oniya]

My guess would be organization.  Even the smallest bacteria have inter-cellular structures, where fire has no such differentiation.

[ChainsawAdams]

yeah, everything except for cellular structure,  Kind of a wild idea none the less.

[Chelemar]

My guess at the fire anwer o.O

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Fire does not have the ability to self-regulate.  It burns according to it's source, and whatever external forces are placed upon it.  It can't make itself burn hotter to get through a rain storm, or burn less to conserve fuel to save it's life. 

[Chelemar]

Here's one for you...

Riddle

I have one, you have one.
If you remove the first letter, a bit remains.
If you remove the second, bit still remains.
After much trying, you might be able to remove the third one also, but it remains.
It dies hard!

[Sarena]

My guess would be habit, Chelemar!

And how about leaving one of my own?

What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?

[AndyZ]

My guess would be habit, Chelemar!

And how about leaving one of my own?

What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

A river.

[Neroon]

The element of fire has all the biological requirements necessary to label it as living organism except for one.  What is the requirement that fire lacks that prevents it from being defined as a living entity?

Here's the textbook answer:

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

All living things are capable of seven characteristics.

While it can be argued that fire shows movement, respiration, growth, reproduction, excretion and nutition, fire lacks sensitivty.

And one for the pot:

Imagine you have two egg timers.  The sands in the first take 11 minutes to run out and the sand in the second take 7 minutes to run out.  How can you use them to measure exactly 15 minutes?

[TheGlyphstone]

Here's the textbook answer:

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

All living things are capable of seven characteristics.

While it can be argued that fire shows movement, respiration, growth, reproduction, excretion and nutition, fire lacks sensitivty.

And one for the pot:

Imagine you have two egg timers.  The sands in the first take 11 minutes to run out and the sand in the second take 7 minutes to run out.  How can you use them to measure exactly 15 minutes?

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Timer A = 11 minutes, Timer B = 7 minutes.
-Start them simultaneously.
-When Timer B has run out, there will be 4 minutes of sand left in Timer A.
-Start your 15 minute clock.
-When Timer A has finished draining, flip it over and reset it (Elapsed 4 minutes).
-Let Timer A drain all the way (Elapsed time, 4+11=15 minutes.

[Neroon]

You should be able to manage it without having to wait seven minutes before starting your 15 minutes.

[TheGlyphstone]

Can you elaborate more on what an egg timer is? This would be a trivial question if it was the classic "gallons of water in two buckets' scenario, but I'm assuming the egg timers are sealed.

[Neroon]

Like mini hourglasses.

[TheGlyphstone]

Okay, I got it.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Timer A = 11 minutes, B=7 minutes.
-Start both timers.
When Timer B is finished, flip it over (7 minutes elapsed, 4 minutes left on Timer A).
When Timer A is finished, flip Timer B over again (11 minutes elapsed)
When Timer B is empty again, 15 minutes have passed.

[Chelemar]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

A river.

you got it Sarina  :)

[Veluux]

hah! now I've to wait for another thing besides approval..

I've a conundrum...

Four cars are stopped at a four-way intersection. At the same time and at the same speed, they all drive forward and continue their journeys without colliding.
How is this possible?

NOTES:
All the cars are facing forward into the intersection.
The intersection is not large enough for the cars to
cross at the same time and miss each other
(this is possible on larger intersections).
There are no tricks such as overpasses or tunnels.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Did the cars all make right hand turns?

[Veluux]

Here's one for you all:

A king decided to let a prisoner try to escape a dungeon with his life. The king placed 2 marbles in a jar that was glued to a table. If the first marble the prisoner picked was blue, he would escape with his life. If he picked a black marble first, he would be executed. However, this king was very wicked, and he placed 2 black marbles in the jar and no blue marbles. The prisoner witnessed the king only putting 2 black marbles in the jar, but the prisoner was mute. If the jar was not see-through and the jar was glued to the table and that the prisoner was mute so he could not say anything to the people watching the trial, how did he escape with his life?

Clue

The prisoner picked two marbles, at separate times.

ANSWER - DON'T PEEK UNLESS YOU CAN'T SOLVE IT!

The prisoner grabbed one of the marbles from the jar and concealed it in his hand. He then swallowed it and picked the other marble and showed everyone. The marble was black, and since the other marble was swallowed, it was assumed to be the blue one. So the mean king had to set him free.

[AndyZ]

Here's the textbook answer:

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

All living things are capable of seven characteristics.

While it can be argued that fire shows movement, respiration, growth, reproduction, excretion and nutition, fire lacks sensitivty.

And one for the pot:

Imagine you have two egg timers.  The sands in the first take 11 minutes to run out and the sand in the second take 7 minutes to run out.  How can you use them to measure exactly 15 minutes?

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Flip both of them from start.  In 7 minutes, 11m will be down to 4 minutes and 7m will be empty.  Flip 7m to start it again.

In 4 minutes, 7m will be down to 3m and have 4m at the bottom.  Flip 7m again and it's been 15 minutes when it runs out.

[blackcatotaku]

You are trapped in a room, there is a door but it is locked, there are no windows and there are four floors and a ceiling. In the room is a piano, calendar and a mattress. How do you eat, drink and get out of the room? You must eat and drink before leaving! Hint: nothing is what it seems

[Oniya]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Have some dates from the calendar, drink from the mattress's spring, and take a key from the piano to unlock the door.

[blackcatotaku]

That is exactly right Oniya have you heard that one before? It is one of my favorites.

[Tamhansen]

Okay, here's one for you all.

A prisoner is sentenced to death, but the executioner, being a gentle soul allowed the prisoner to choose his own death

"You must make one statement" said the executioner "If it is truth you will be hanged. If it is a lie you will be drawn and quartered"

The prisoner thought about his answer and spoke.

The executioner was stunned, and by his own words unable to kill the prisoner, so he sent him home.

What o What did the prisoner say?

[TheGlyphstone]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

"I will die by being drawn and quartered."

[piece]

Here's one for the thread.

You are in a house with four walls. Each wall has a window, and each wall faces south. A bear walks by. What color is the bear?

[TheGlyphstone]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

White.

[piece]

Yes, indeed, Glyphstone.

[Oreo]

A favorite from my youth:

A man with no eyes saw plums on a tree.
He neither took plums nor left plums.
Now how can this be?

[TheGlyphstone]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

He had 1 eye, and saw 2 plums. He left 1 plum behind and took 1 plum with him.

I think I'll stop now, and let other people answer.

[Oniya]

Here's a tricky one:

What game with two popular variants is famous for having ivory pieces?

[Oreo]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

He had 1 eye, and saw 2 plums. He left 1 plum behind and took 1 plum with him.

I think I'll stop now, and let other people answer.

Correct :D

[AndyZ]

Here's a tricky one:

What game with two popular variants is famous for having ivory pieces?

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

An elephant?

[Oniya]

Excellent!

[TheGlyphstone]

*lightbulb goes on* I get it now...

[Songbird]

As I was walking to St. Yves,
I met a man with seven wives.
The seven wives had seven sacks,
The seven sacks held seven cats,
The seven cats had seven kits.
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives...
How many were going to St. Yves? ;)

[Oniya]

That depends on whether you caught up with him, or just crossed paths.  ;D

[Songbird]

That depends on whether you caught up with him, or just crossed paths.  ;D

Ah, that's true! ;D

[Oniya]

The classic answer

One - I was going to St. Ives

[Songbird]

The classic answer

One - I was going to St. Ives

Bingo! :D You win the prize! ;D

[wxiyn]

It appears there're lots of assumptions here. By any chance, these girls were mermaids?

So I've already posted this for one of my group games to figure out. This math problem was given to me via an AD at work.

7 girls on a bus.
Each girl has 7 bags.
Each bag has 7 cats.
Each cat has 7 kittens.
How many legs are on the bus?

The answer is not, "Buses don't have legs."


Also- feel free to post your own brain teasers!

[Cthonig]

Four cars are stopped at a four-way intersection. At the same time and at the same speed, they all drive forward and continue their journeys without colliding.
How is this possible?

NOTES:
All the cars are facing forward into the intersection.
The intersection is not large enough for the cars to
cross at the same time and miss each other
(this is possible on larger intersections).
There are no tricks such as overpasses or tunnels.

I didn't see anyone answer this so here's my answer: One road has four lanes, two in each direction - call it the east-west road - and the four cars are two eastbound and two westbound.

[BadForm]

There is a misleading word in the four-way stop question, that being the word "forward." While the drive forward a few inches they all actually turn right (left if you're in the UK I guess) so their paths never cross.

Ok, I haven't read back so forgive me if this has been asked before, but a man is moving towards the center of a field. He is praying because he knows when he reaches the center of the field he will die. Based solely on the information given, how does he know this?
HINT: This can be worked out purely on that information. So there is no need to add strange things about the field being a minefield or having a firing squad etc. However most fail to answer it because of a specific assumption they make about the way the man is moving.

[Oniya]

Ok, I haven't read back so forgive me if this has been asked before, but a man is moving towards the center of a field. He is praying because he knows when he reaches the center of the field he will die. Based solely on the information given, how does he know this?
HINT: This can be worked out purely on that information. So there is no need to add strange things about the field being a minefield or having a firing squad etc. However most fail to answer it because of a specific assumption they make about the way the man is moving.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

His parachute didn't open?

[TheGlyphstone]

You are driving a bus from New York to Chicago. When the bus left New York, it was travelling at 65 miles per hour with eighteen passengers, averaging 36 years of age. In Harrisburg, the bus picked up six passengers and dropped off three. Of the new total of passengers, five were men and the rest women, all between the ages of 18 and 55. Between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, the bus passes seven Amish buggies on the road carrying a total of exactly two-thirds of the current passenger load, but with a sum total of double their cumulative age. In Pittsburgh, a number of passengers board that doubles the total load, simultaneously with one-third of the load previous to the additional passengers departing. This includes three passengers each over the age of 65, and skews the ratio of hair colors onboard to where the bus contains twice as many brunettes as it does redheads, and as many blondes as redheads, brunettes, and bald men combined. Halfway between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, the oldest man on the bus reveals himself to be a terrorist who has rigged the bus to explode if its speed drops to lower than 55 miles per hour. The next 116 minutes are a thrilling action-packed series of twists and turns before an aging SWAT officer boards the bus via helicopter, disarms the bomb, and kills the bad guy. Three people have thrown up in the meantime, two fainted, and one dead of a heart attack, so the bus pulls over for 2.7 hours and lets everyone take a bathroom break. Two passengers end up trespassing in a farmer's field and are trampled by the bull, but four people board the bus, three of which act very strangely and will later be revealed as extraterrestrials scouting Earth for invasion. One baby is born via Caesarean section and the bus is abducted and thoroughly probed by a flying saucer retrieving its three lost scouts before wiping everyone's memories nothing else of notable importance happens. After fifteen hours and twenty minutes, not including time lost at gas stations and toll booths, everyone disembarks in Chicago. One young lady decides to write down the story in her diary, but can't remember an important detail - what was the name of the bus driver?

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

[you], of course.

[BadForm]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

As you do not say if you are using the individual or plural meaning of "you" I am unsure if you are referring to just me, whose UserID rather than name I shall give as BadForm, or if everyone reading your post are sharing the driving in which case I cannot possibly provide a full answer

Oniya, you correctly avoided the wrong assumption most make and provided a correct answer. It need not be that specific of course since something else may have caused the motion, but kudos!


Ok, a woman lives on the twentieth floor of an apartment block. Every morning she leaves her apartment, rides the elevator down to the garage, and drives to work. Every night she returns to her block, rides the elevator to the tenth floor, gets out and walks up the remaining ten flights of stairs. However, if someone else gets on the elevator she takes it all the way to her floor. Why is that?

[TheGlyphstone]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

As you do not say if you are using the individual or plural meaning of "you" I am unsure if you are referring to just me, whose UserID rather than name I shall give as BadForm, or if everyone reading your post are sharing the driving in which case I cannot possibly provide a full answer

Oniya, you correctly avoided the wrong assumption most make and provided a correct answer. It need not be that specific of course since something else may have caused the motion, but kudos!


Ok, a woman lives on the twentieth floor of an apartment block. Every morning she leaves her apartment, rides the elevator down to the garage, and drives to work. Every night she returns to her block, rides the elevator to the tenth floor, gets out and walks up the remaining ten flights of stairs. However, if someone else gets on the elevator she takes it all the way to her floor. Why is that?

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

The woman is a dwarf, and/or otherwise unable to reach higher than the 10th floor button on the elevator panel.

[BadForm]

Absolutely correct, TheGlyphstone! I may come up with others later, but for now I'll let y'all take the floor.