A Rickety Bridge Riddle
Four people need to cross a rickety bridge at night. Unfortunately, they have only one torch and the bridge is too dangerous to cross without one. The bridge is only strong enough to support two people at a time. Not all people take the same time to cross the bridge. Times for each person: 1 min, 2 mins, 7 mins and 10 mins. What is the shortest time needed for all four of them to cross the bridge?
Hint:
17 mins.
The initial solution most people will think of is to use the fastest person as an usher to guide everyone across. How long would that take? 10 + 1 + 7 + 1 + 2 = 21 mins. Is that it? No. That would make this question too simple even as a warm up question.
Let's brainstorm a little further. To reduce the amount of time, we should find a way for 10 and 7 to go together. If they cross together, then we need one of them to come back to get the others. That would not be ideal. How do we get around that? Maybe we can have 1 waiting on the other side to bring the torch back. Ahaa, we are getting closer. The fastest way to get 1 across and be back is to use 2 to usher 1 across. So let's put all this together.
1 and 2 go cross
2 comes back
7 and 10 go across
1 comes back
1 and 2 go across (done)
Total time = 2 + 2 + 10 + 1 + 2 = 17 mins Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
The initial solution most people will think of is to use the fastest person as an usher to guide everyone across. How long would that take? 10 + 1 + 7 + 1 + 2 = 21 mins. Is that it? No. That would make this question too simple even as a warm up question.
Let's brainstorm a little further. To reduce the amount of time, we should find a way for 10 and 7 to go together. If they cross together, then we need one of them to come back to get the others. That would not be ideal. How do we get around that? Maybe we can have 1 waiting on the other side to bring the torch back. Ahaa, we are getting closer. The fastest way to get 1 across and be back is to use 2 to usher 1 across. So let's put all this together.
1 and 2 go cross
2 comes back
7 and 10 go across
1 comes back
1 and 2 go across (done)
Total time = 2 + 2 + 10 + 1 + 2 = 17 mins Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Hidden Gems Riddle
Find the names of 10 gems or precious stones hidden in the following story. Each one spans at least two words.
Sir Gade rode toward a castle atop a zebra at a steady gallop, a long way from home. He arrived at the gate and the keeper knelt in shame. Thy steed must be tired. Sir Gade replied, I am on direct orders from the King. Let me through. A cougar, nettled by the noise, emerged from a shrub. You must save me! cried the gate man. Sir Gade, eyes filled with rancor, alighted and gazed toward the sky. An item fell from his cloak as drove his sword into the cougars spine. Let me pass! cried Sir Gade. The gate keeper, stunned from his saga, tentatively opened the gate, then retrieved the fallen item.
Sir Gade rode toward a castle atop a zebra at a steady gallop, a long way from home. He arrived at the gate and the keeper knelt in shame. Thy steed must be tired. Sir Gade replied, I am on direct orders from the King. Let me through. A cougar, nettled by the noise, emerged from a shrub. You must save me! cried the gate man. Sir Gade, eyes filled with rancor, alighted and gazed toward the sky. An item fell from his cloak as drove his sword into the cougars spine. Let me pass! cried Sir Gade. The gate keeper, stunned from his saga, tentatively opened the gate, then retrieved the fallen item.
Hint:
1. topaz atop a zebra
2. opal gallop, a long
3. amethyst shame. Thy steed
4. diamond replied, I am on direct
5. garnet cougar, nettled
6. ruby shrub. You
7. coral rancor, alighted
8. kyanite sky. An item
9. spinel spine. Let
10. agate saga, tentatively Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
2. opal gallop, a long
3. amethyst shame. Thy steed
4. diamond replied, I am on direct
5. garnet cougar, nettled
6. ruby shrub. You
7. coral rancor, alighted
8. kyanite sky. An item
9. spinel spine. Let
10. agate saga, tentatively Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Something You Might Eat Riddle
Im something you might eat, but I also kill.
I can cause blindness and burns.
Because of me, people lose limbs.
Ive even been known to crash cars.
And yet Im considered beautiful
Small children play with me and parents dont mind.
Some people even live inside of me.
What am I?
I can cause blindness and burns.
Because of me, people lose limbs.
Ive even been known to crash cars.
And yet Im considered beautiful
Small children play with me and parents dont mind.
Some people even live inside of me.
What am I?
Hint:
Magic Under Water Riddle
A magician was boasting one day at how long he could hold his breath under water. His record was 6 minutes. A kid that was listening said, "that's nothing, I can stay under water for 10 minutes using no types of equipment or air pockets!" The magician told the kid if he could do that, he'd give him $10,000. The kid did it and won the money. Can you figure out how?
Hint:
The kid filled a glass of water and held it over his head for 10 minutes. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Week Long Vacation Riddle
Hint:
Power Outage Riddle
Julie is going on an extended trip for three weeks. She lives in a remote area where there are frequent electrical power outages which can last up to three or four days. Julie has quite a bit of food in her freezer which would go bad if it thawed and then re-froze. She does have digital clock and a VCR which would flash 12:00 if the power went out. Unfortunately the clock and VCR flash even if the power only goes out for a few seconds. What can Julie do so that when she returns home she will be able to determine whether the power was out long enough to thaw her food? Asking a neighbor whether the power was out, isn't a reliable option because the nearest house is half a mile away, and one house may have power, while another house may have no power. She won't be able to have a neighbor check on her house every day, and has no one to house sit.
Hint:
One thing Julie could do is freeze a tray of ice-cubes, and turn the tray of ice upside down in her freezer. When she comes home, she should check the tray. If the ice cubes are still in the tray, the food is safe to eat. If the trays are empty, it's time to clean out the freezer. She will have to make a judgment call if the ice-cubes are only slightly thawed. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Longing Flames At Home
If you travel overseas
Then you need to buy a case
If you want log flames at home
Then you need a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Then you need to buy a case
If you want log flames at home
Then you need a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Hint:
Cant Get A Long Goat
Hint:
Peanut Butter And Cereal Riddle
Hint:
A Man In New York City
A man in New York City has $10. He spends $6.50 on flowers, and $3 on lunch (hot coffee and a hot dog). He then gets on the subway which will take him 7 stops for 50 cents. But he is forced to get off of the subway just 5 stops away from where he began.
Why is this?
Why is this?
Hint:
When he gets on the subway it is 6 stops away from the end of the line (end of the track). So when it reaches this point it begins to work backwards. So when it goes back one stop he has traveled 7 stops but is only 5 away from where he began. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
The Old Horror House
There is an old horror house. It has no electricity, plumbing, or power of any sort. You go inside and see three doors. Each door has a number on it. In each door is a way for you to die. In door number one, you die by getting eaten by a lion. In door number two, you die by getting murdered. In door number three, you die by electric chair. You may not turn back so you have to go through a door.
Which door do you go through?
Which door do you go through?
Hint:
Go through number three. You'll survive because it's an electric chair and there is no electricity. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Who Owns The Fish?
There are 5 houses in 5 different colors in a row. In each house lives a person with a different nationality. The 5 owners drink a certain type of beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigar, and keep a certain pet. No owners have the same pet, smoke the same brand of cigar, or drink the same beverage. Other facts:
1. The Brit lives in the red house.
2. The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
3. The Dane drinks tea.
4. The green house is on the immediate left of the white house.
5. The green house's owner drinks coffee.
6. The owner who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.
7. The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill.
8. The owner living in the center house drinks milk.
9. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
10. The owner who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats.
11. The owner who keeps the horse lives next to the one who smokes Dunhill.
12. The owner who smokes Bluemasters drinks beer.
13. The German smokes Prince.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
15. The owner who smokes Blends lives next to the one who drinks water.
The question is: WHO OWNS THE FISH?
1. The Brit lives in the red house.
2. The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
3. The Dane drinks tea.
4. The green house is on the immediate left of the white house.
5. The green house's owner drinks coffee.
6. The owner who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.
7. The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill.
8. The owner living in the center house drinks milk.
9. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
10. The owner who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats.
11. The owner who keeps the horse lives next to the one who smokes Dunhill.
12. The owner who smokes Bluemasters drinks beer.
13. The German smokes Prince.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
15. The owner who smokes Blends lives next to the one who drinks water.
The question is: WHO OWNS THE FISH?
Hint:
The German sits in his Green House, smoking his Prince cigars, drinking coffee, and watching his FISH.
The rest go like this-
1st House: Yellow, Norwegian, Water, Cats, Dunhill
2nd House: Blue, Dane, Tea, Horse, Blends
3rd House: Red, Brit, Milk, Birds, Pall Malls
4th House: Green, German, Coffee, FISH, Prince
5th House: White, Swede, Beer, Dogs, Bluemasters Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
The rest go like this-
1st House: Yellow, Norwegian, Water, Cats, Dunhill
2nd House: Blue, Dane, Tea, Horse, Blends
3rd House: Red, Brit, Milk, Birds, Pall Malls
4th House: Green, German, Coffee, FISH, Prince
5th House: White, Swede, Beer, Dogs, Bluemasters Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
The Red Hat
Once upon a time there lived a king who wished to find the wisest man in the realm to be his assistant. He summons the 3 known wisest men to his court and he administers the following test.
He sits them in a circle, facing each other and he says Im going to put either a red hat or a white hat on each of your heads. He proceeds to place a red hat on each of their heads. Obviously they can see each other but there are no mirrors in the room so they cant see whats on their heads. He says If you can see a red hat, raise your hand. They all raise their hands. Then he says If you can tell what color hat you have on, stand up.
Time goes on, one guy looks at another guy, he looks at the other guy. The other guy looks at him. Finally one guy stands up. The question is how did he know he was wearing a red hat?
He sits them in a circle, facing each other and he says Im going to put either a red hat or a white hat on each of your heads. He proceeds to place a red hat on each of their heads. Obviously they can see each other but there are no mirrors in the room so they cant see whats on their heads. He says If you can see a red hat, raise your hand. They all raise their hands. Then he says If you can tell what color hat you have on, stand up.
Time goes on, one guy looks at another guy, he looks at the other guy. The other guy looks at him. Finally one guy stands up. The question is how did he know he was wearing a red hat?
Hint: For a moment or two, nobody moved. Nobody knew for certain what color his hat was, and thats what told the wisest guy that all of the hats were red.
Step 1:
Wiseguy #1 knows he can see two red hats.
Step 2:
Wiseguy #1 thinks, "Hey, if I were wearing a white hat, Wiseguy #2 would see one red hat and one white."
Step 3:
Wiseguy #1 then thinks, "If I were wearing a white hat, and Wiseguy #2 saw one red hat and one white (and if he were wearing a white hat himself), then Wiseguy #3 would have seen two white hats. So, Wiseguy #3 wouldnt have raised his hand to the first question.
Wiseguy #1 thinks, "If that were true, Wiseguy #2 would be sure that he had a red hat. But since Wiseguy #2 was actually unsure about his hat color, it can only mean one thing, my hat is red." Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Wiseguy #1 knows he can see two red hats.
Step 2:
Wiseguy #1 thinks, "Hey, if I were wearing a white hat, Wiseguy #2 would see one red hat and one white."
Step 3:
Wiseguy #1 then thinks, "If I were wearing a white hat, and Wiseguy #2 saw one red hat and one white (and if he were wearing a white hat himself), then Wiseguy #3 would have seen two white hats. So, Wiseguy #3 wouldnt have raised his hand to the first question.
Wiseguy #1 thinks, "If that were true, Wiseguy #2 would be sure that he had a red hat. But since Wiseguy #2 was actually unsure about his hat color, it can only mean one thing, my hat is red." Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Driving At Midnight Riddle
I was driving at midnight on Jan. 31. It was freezing cold in New York. 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?
Hint:
Crunchy Pieces Riddle
I come in long, crunchy pieces and I taste good with peanut butter. I have a lot of fiber and I am green. What am I?
Hint:
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