Two In A Row Riddle
A certain mathematician, his wife, and their teenage son all play a fair game of chess. One day when the son asked his father for 10 dollars for a Saturday night date, his father puffed his pipe for a moment and replied, "Let's do it this way. Today is Wednesday. You will play a game of chess tonight, tomorrow, and a third on Friday. If you win two games in a row, you get the money."
"Whom do I play first, you or mom?"
"You may have your choice," said the mathematician, his eyes twinkling.
The son knew that his father played a stronger game than his mother. To maximize his chance of winning two games in succession, should he play father-mother-father or mother-father-mother?
"Whom do I play first, you or mom?"
"You may have your choice," said the mathematician, his eyes twinkling.
The son knew that his father played a stronger game than his mother. To maximize his chance of winning two games in succession, should he play father-mother-father or mother-father-mother?
Hint: Who does he need to beat to win?
Father-mother-father
To beat two games in a row, it is necessary to win the second game. This means that it would be to his advantage to play the second game against the weaker player. Though he plays his father twice, he has a higher chance of winning by playing his mother second. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
To beat two games in a row, it is necessary to win the second game. This means that it would be to his advantage to play the second game against the weaker player. Though he plays his father twice, he has a higher chance of winning by playing his mother second. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Three Rats Riddle
Three rats are sitting at the three corners of an equilateral triangle. Each rat starts randomly picks a direction and starts to move along the edge of the triangle. What is the probability that none of the rats collide?
Hint:
So lets think this through. The rats can only avoid a collision if they all decide to move in the same direction (either clockwise or rati-clockwise). If the rats do not pick the same direction, there will definitely be a collision. Each rat has the option to either move clockwise or rati-clockwise. There is a one in two chance that an rat decides to pick a particular direction. Using simple probability calculations, we can determine the probability of no collision. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Pearl Problems Riddle
"I'm a very rich man, so I've decided to give you some of my fortune. Do you see this bag? I have 5001 pearls inside it. 2501 of them are white, and 2500 of them are black. No, I am not racist. I'll let you take out any number of pearls from the bag without looking. If you take out the same number of black and white pearls, I will reward you with a number of gold bars equivalent to the number of pearls you took."
How many pearls should you take out to give yourself a good number of gold bars while still retaining a good chance of actually getting them?
How many pearls should you take out to give yourself a good number of gold bars while still retaining a good chance of actually getting them?
Hint: If you took out 2 pearls, you would have about a 50% chance of getting 2 gold bars. However, you can take even more pearls and still retain the 50% chance.
Take out 5000 pearls. If the remaining pearl is white, then you've won 5000 gold bars! Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Yahtzee Riddle
The game of Yahtzee is played with five dice. On the first turn, a player rolls all five dice, and then may decide to keep any, all, or none of the dice aside before rolling again. Each player has a maximum of three rolls to try to get a favorable combination of dice "kept" on the side.
If a player rolls two 2s and two 4s on his/her first roll, and keeps all four of these dice aside, what is the probability of getting a full house (three of one value and two of another) in one of his/her next two rolls? (ie what is the probability of getting either a 2 or a 4 in one of the next two rolls?)
If a player rolls two 2s and two 4s on his/her first roll, and keeps all four of these dice aside, what is the probability of getting a full house (three of one value and two of another) in one of his/her next two rolls? (ie what is the probability of getting either a 2 or a 4 in one of the next two rolls?)
Hint: Think of the probability of NOT getting a full house.
5/9
The answer is NOT 2/3 because you cannot add probabilities. On each roll, the probability of getting a 2 or a 4 is 1/3, so therefore, the probability of not getting a 2 or a 4 is 2/3. Since the die is being rolled twice, square 2/3 to get a 4/9 probability of NOT getting a full house in two rolls. The probability of getting a full house is therefore 1 - 4/9, or 5/9. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
The answer is NOT 2/3 because you cannot add probabilities. On each roll, the probability of getting a 2 or a 4 is 1/3, so therefore, the probability of not getting a 2 or a 4 is 2/3. Since the die is being rolled twice, square 2/3 to get a 4/9 probability of NOT getting a full house in two rolls. The probability of getting a full house is therefore 1 - 4/9, or 5/9. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
The Serial Killer Husband
A man kills his wife. Many people watch him doing so. Yet no one will ever be able to accuse him of murder. Why?
Hint:
A Fathers Murder
A man goes to his mother funeral, there, he meets a woman. They go out and the part there separate ways. The man forgets to get the woman's phone number. Three days later he kills his Father...Why?
Hint:
So the woman would go to his father's funeral and he can get her number this time....98% of people who got this right turned out to be serial killers... Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Crossing Safety Riddle
Two boys and a man need to cross a river. They can only use the canoe. It will hold only the man OR the two boys' weight. How can they all get across safely?
Answer:
Answer:
Hint:
The two boys go across. One of them get out. The other one goes back. He gets out and the man gets in. He goes across. Then the man gets out and the other boy gets in and goes across. Then the boy that was left gets in and now they both go across together. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Giving You Your Sight
Although its not a curtain
This gets closed every night
So that you can go to sleep
Its what gives you your sight
It is...
This gets closed every night
So that you can go to sleep
Its what gives you your sight
It is...
Hint:
A Dark Room Riddle
If you had only one match, and entered a dark room containing an oil lamp, some newspaper, and some kindling wood, which would you light first?
Hint:
Widows Sister Riddle
Hint:
Going To St. Ives
As I was going to St. Ives,
I met a man with seven wives,
Each wife had seven sacks,
Each sack had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kits:
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,
How many were there going to St. Ives?
I met a man with seven wives,
Each wife had seven sacks,
Each sack had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kits:
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,
How many were there going to St. Ives?
Hint:
One. As John McClane learns, this is a classic trick question. If the narrator meets the group on the way to St. Ives, then they must be going in the opposite direction and the math calculations are simply a bit of trickery meant to misdirect. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Red Everything Riddle
Hint:
Money In The Freezer Riddle
Hint:
Turning Down A Job Offer Riddle
Hint:
Scared Cheerios Riddle
Hint:
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