Easy puzzles, riddles and brainteasers you can solve on sight
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Quick Riddles
The Contest Center
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We will list the name of anyone who solves the starred puzzles
Paving
The nation of Flupstanistan has a program of paving the streets in its major cities.
Currently there are 1000 miles of streets, of which 500 miles are paved.
Their budget allows them to pave 3 miles of streets per year.
As the cities grow, they add a combined 4 miles of streets per year.
Nonetheless, the paving project will be completed in 2478.
How is that possible?
Answer
Cherries
I climbed into a cherry tree where there were several ripe cherries growing.
I did not pick any cherries, I did not eat any cherries, and no cherries fell off,
yet when I climbed down there were no cherries in the tree.
How is that possible?
Answer
Twins
Twins Cora Manfredi and Nora Manfredi were born exactly 6 months apart.
How is that possible?
Answer
Sailboat
A sailboat has a ladder of 12 metal rungs bolted to its side. The rungs are
exactly 1 foot apart, and the water comes exactly to the fourth rung
(from the bottom). When the tide rises 6 feet, which rung will it reach?
Answer
Syzygy
Can you use the words SYZYGY and ONOMATOPOEIA in a logical sentence?
Answer
Dyslexic #1
How many dyslexics does it takes to screw in a lightbulb?
Answer
Dyslexic #2
How many dyslexics does it takes to screw in a lightbulb?
Answer
Las Vegas
Tanya has taken two trips to Las Vegas.
Both times she went with her husband Leo.
Tanya's husband Leo has taken only one trip to Las Vegas.
How is this possible?
Answer
Chest
Which is worth more, a chest full of $5 gold pieces, or the same chest half
full of $10 gold pieces?
Answer
September
(contributed by Ross Ramsay)
A man born in March has his birthday in September. Although he was orphaned
as a young child he grew up and married his father. How is this possible?
Answer
Marksman
(contributed by Ross Ramsay)
A marksman hangs up a small tin can, walks straight away 100 paces, puts on an
impenetrable blindfold, turns around 3 times, fires one shot and hits the can.
How is this possible?
Answer
Marksman #2
A marksman places a small tin can on a fencepost. Then he puts on an
impenetrable blindfold, walks straight away 100 paces, turns around 3 times,
fires one shot and hits the can. How is this possible?
Answer
The Forest
How far can you walk into a forest?
Answer
Ladder
How can you jump from the top of a 100-foot ladder onto a concrete
floor without getting hurt?
Answer
Seconds
Quickly: How many seconds are there in a year?
Answer
Horse
What horse never comes out in the daytime?
Answer
Monday to Friday
(based on a contribution from Miki Spurlock)
This week, two riders came into Greenwich, England at noon on Monday,
stayed for exactly 24 hours, and left at noon on Friday, but the two
riders were never in town at the same time.
How is this possible?
Answer
The Flood
When the waters of the Flood subsided, and the Ark landed on Mt. Ararat,
what did Moses tell the animals they must do?
Answer
* The Hunting Dog
Two country folk, Wilcox and Harris, meet in Billingsgate.
Harris has a foxhound on a leash.
Wilcox: Where 'ave ye been, 'arris?
Harris: I have been ahunting with me dog.
Wilcox: Is 'e a good 'unting dog?
Harris: Aye, Wilcox, this be the best 'unter I've ever 'ad.
Wilcox: Then will ye give me the loan of 'im?
Harris: That I will. I do give ye me dog. Take the dog.
Now ye may go ahunting.
Wilcox: Thank'ee, but wot's 'is name? 'Ow shall I call 'im?
Harris: I just told ye.
What is the dog's name? It is a perfectly plausible name for a dog.
Be sure to explain your reasoning.
Solved by: Chris Robinson, Christopher Toh, James S. Dyer, Jr.
Ten
Why is Ten afraid of Seven?
Answer
Millennium
Which is correct?
A: The Second Millennium began Jan. 1, 2000.
B: The Second Millennium began Jan. 1, 2001.
Answer
Midnight
I was driving at midnight on Jan. 31. It was freezing cold in
Kutztown, PA. I was on an isolated unpaved road when my car battery
went dead. The headlights went off, and I coasted to a stop.
There were no moon or stars out, and no human-made lights visible.
Yet I clearly saw a mouse cross the road, and could tell that it was
brown, not gray.
How is this possible?
Answer
Mime
(contributed by Ross Ramsay)
A mime artist falls through a broken grating on a busy sidewalk
into a dark locked cellar. How does she let people know she is there?
Answer
The Cabinet
There is a cabinet with 12 drawers. Each drawer is opened only once.
In each drawer are about 30 compartments, with only 7 names.
What is it?
Answer
Fire
Which is correct?
A: Police search for whoever caused the fire.
B: Police search for whomever caused the fire.
Answer
Bricks
How many bricks 3x4x8 inches does it take to complete a wall 2x12x48 feet?
Answer
8 Letters
(contributed by Ross Ramsay)
What word is suggested by the letters HIJKLMNO ?
Answer
Tail Tale
(contributed by George L. Epstein)
If you call the tail a leg, how many legs does a horse have?
Answer
Empty
How much food can you eat on an empty stomach?
Answer
Square
What is 1/4 squared?
What is 4 times square?
Answer
A Transcontinental Word
Of all the words in the English language, which word is longest?
Answer
What Word?
My whole is diligent. Remove my third and it is finished.
Remove its second and it's a furrow. Remove its second
and it describes this puzzle to those who cannot solve it.
Answer
Eggs
If it takes 10 minutes to boil an egg, how long does it take
to boil a dozen eggs?
Answer
It's the Berries
Which of the following is NOT a berry?
A strawberry, B raspberry, C blueberry,
D huckleberry, E pumpkin.
Answer
President
What popular actor's first and last names are the same as
the last names of two U.S. presidents?
Answer
More Berries
Did you check the answer to "It's the Berries," or did you simply
assume that you knew the right answer? You might be surprised.
Answer
Vice-President
Who leads the country after the vice-president dies?
Answer
Price List
At the hardware store I found an item that costs $2 for five,
$4 for twenty, and $6 for six hundred. What is it?
Answer
Air Disaster
An American-built Lockheed airplane with a Swedish-built Saab engine
belonging to British Airways and flying from Denmark to Algeria
carrying Japanese tourists crashes in the Pyrenees Mountains,
exactly on the border between France and Spain. Where do they
bury the survivors?
Answer
Linseed
Rearrange the letters of GROW NO LINSEED to spell one single word.
Answer
What is it?
The dead carrying the living.
(Many answers are possible... only one is best.)
Answer
Nut
What nut does not have any of the letters N, U or T in its name?
Answer
Read It
(contributed by Charles Prosser)
What does this sentence say?
stand
i |
take
u |
2
throw |
world
d |
Answer
Planet
Which was the first planet to be discovered?
Answer
Lori
In which state does Lori live?
Answer
How Many Sheep?
(contributed by Joshua O'Connell)
How many sheep must I have if I have two sheep before a sheep, two
sheep after a sheep and one sheep in the middle?
Answer
Shorter
What common English word becomes shorter when you add two letters?
Answer
Salty Sea Dogs
A schooner is sailing in the South Seas when some crewmen spot a sailor
on a tiny island waving frantically. They send a lifeboat and bring him
back to the ship. He says his small sailboat had capsized in a storm,
his father drowned, and he washed up on that island. The Captain rushes
down from the bridge, sees the sailor, and shouts, "This is my son.
You have rescued my son!"
How is this possible?
Answer
Who Uses It?
People who make it do not wish to use it. People who need it do
not buy it. People who use it do not know they are using it.
What is it?
Answer
Not Twins
Esther and Lester were born to the same mother and same father
on the same day only 5 minutes apart, but they are not twins.
How is this possible?
Answer
Smuggler
The notorious smuggler Rob M. Bleind pulls up to the border crossing
in a racecar. The guards realize that once he gets past the barrier
they will never be able to catch him, so they do a very thorough search.
They find a hidden compartment containing bags of black sand, cement,
gold-colored marbles, walnut shells and some rubber molds.
What was Rob smuggling?
Answer
Relations
(contributed by Oren Nielson)
Brothers and sisters I have none, but that man's father is my father's son.
What is his relationship to me?
Answer
Rich and Poor
(contributed by Thomas Brazell)
What is better than happiness and worse than death?
The poor have it, the rich lack it, and you die if you eat it.
Answer
Fool
K: Look, Fren Li, here comes that simpleton Phu Dhal Mya.
F: Why do you call him a simpleton, Kuh Ki?
K: Watch, I will show you. Here, Phu, would you like this
shiny quarter, or this dollar bill?
P: I would like the shiny quarter.
K: See? He does that every time.
F: I think you are the greater fool.
K: Why?
Answer
Sidekick
Who is the Lorone Ranger's sidekick?
Answer
Pronunciation
(contributed by John Forrey)
Which common English word is most often pronounced incorrectly?
Answer
3 Sons
Bill's parents have three sons.
The first is named Tom, the second is named Dick.
What is the third son named?
Answer
Hits
Rosie "The Rocket" Foodlemyer, the star closing pitcher, came to bat only
once last baseball season, and struck out. Yet she had 2 hits that season.
How is that possible?
Answer
* Quartic Yards
You measure rope in yards, carpeting in square yards, and
gravel in cubic yards. What is measured in quartic yards
[4-dimensional yards]?
Solved by: Carlos Rivera
The Accident
At noon on a sunny day, Lee was found on her patio in her pajamas and
a heavy bathrobe with her head cracked open lying in a large pool of
pink blood. The coroner immediately concluded it was an accident.
What happened?
Answer
* The Train Ride
The train ride from Plamunk to Grazunt takes 3 times as long as the
train ride from Grazunt to Plamunk. Every train travels at the same
constant speed. Both trips have the same number of stops, and each stop
takes the same length of time. The track is level, and there are no other
times involved, such as time to turn around, load or unload, take on fuel
or water, or change gauge. There are no slowdowns at bridges, tunnels,
grade crossings, switches, inclines, etc., and both towns are in the same
time zone.
How is this possible?
Solved by: Al Wilkinson, Hareendra Yalamanchili, MamaB,
Stephen Weinstein, Nishanthi Sivanandanayagam, Delmar Fenn
Fourth
Do they have the Fourth of July in Canada?
Answer
The Gambler
A gambler is holding 3 coins.
One is an ordinary quarter, the second has 2 heads, the third has 2 tails.
The gambler chooses one of the coins at random and flips it, showing heads.
What is the likelihood that the other side is tails?
Answer
Everywhere
(contributed by Ross Ramsay)
At the beginning of eternity,
At the end of space and time,
At the start of every end,
At the end of every place.
What am I?
Answer
Antique
Three roommates go to the Foodlemyer Antiques Emporium and Junkyard
and buy an aged lamp. The clerk says the price is $30, so they each
pay $10. Before they leave, though, the clerk notices that the price
is really $25. Since $5 does not split 3 ways evenly, the clerk gives
each buyer $1 back, and pockets the remaining $2.
Each roommate paid $9, totaling $27, and the clerk got $2, making
$29 altogether. What happened to the other $1?
Answer
The Suspects
Two murder suspects are brought in for questioning. The only
statements the police can get are these.
Suspect A: I am innocent.
Suspect B: One of us is lying.
Which one is the murderer?
Answer
Unusual Words
A: Find a 7-letter word containing all 5 vowels, AEIOU.
Answer
B: Find a 7-letter word starting with 2 vowels
and ending with 5 consonants. Answer
C: Find a 5-letter word containing 5 consonants.
Answer
D: Find a 9-letter word containing only one syllable.
(Can you find 6 or more?)
Answer
E: Find a 5-letter word starting with 4 consonants and
ending with a vowel. Answer
F: Find a 5-letter word starting with a consonant and
ending with 4 vowels. (Can you find 3 or more?)
Answers
G: Find a 5-letter word ending with 4 consonants and
starting with a vowel.
Answer
H: Find a 6-letter word starting and ending with consonants,
with 4 vowels in the middle.
Answer
I: Find an 8-letter word containing only 3 different letters
of the alphabet.
Answer
J: Find a 13-letter word containing only 4 different letters
of the alphabet.
Answer
K: Find a word containing all of the letters ABCDEFGHI.
Answer
L: Find a 5-letter word with a letter repeated 3 times,
in alternating positions. (Similar to cAbAnA or
sErEnE, but shorter.)
Answer
M: Find a 6-letter word starting with 3 consonants and
ending with 3 vowels.
Answer
N: Find a 6-letter word starting and ending with a vowel,
with 4 consonants between them.
Answer
O: Find a 9-letter word with only 1 vowel.
Answer
P: Find a 7-letter word which ends with 5 consonants
and is not a plural.
Answer
Q: Find a 10-letter word in which one letter occurs once,
one letter occurs twice, one letter occurs three times, and one letter
occurs four times. (For example, PEPPER contains R once, E twice, and P
three times.)
Answer
R: Find a 6-letter word starting with 4 vowels.
Answer
S: Find a 15-letter word with no repeated letters
(i.e., all 15 letters are different).
Answer
T: Find an unhyphenated word containing all of the letters CDEFGHI.
Answer
U: Find at least 10 common words in which the first,
third and fifth letters are the same.
Answer
V: Complete this word: REE****EER
Answer
Z: Find a Dutch word containing 8 consecutive consonants.
How about 9?
Answer
BZZZ
What goes
bzzz-zzz-h-o-n-e-y-bzz-zuzz-s-w-a-r-m-zz-zzz
Answer
Krishnanda
As I was trekking on the pilgrimage up the narrow winding path to the
Great Temple of Krishnanda, I met an elderly couple walking with their
3 sons and 3 daughters and their many grandchildren. The couple told me
that 4 times the product of their ages was the same as the product
of their sons' ages, and also of their daughters' ages, although all of their
children have different ages. Also, the product of the numbers of children
of their 3 sons was the same as the sum of their daughters' ages, while
the product of the numbers of children of their 3 daughters was the
sum of their sons' ages.
How many people were on the pilgrimage altogether?
Answer
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