100 Blank Cards Riddle
Someone offers you the following deal:
There is a deck of 100 initially blank cards. The dealer is allowed to write ANY positive integer, one per card, leaving none blank. You are then asked to turn over as many cards as you wish. If the last card you turn over is the highest in the deck, you win; otherwise, you lose.
Winning grants you $50, and losing costs you only the $10 you paid to play.
Would you accept this challenge?
There is a deck of 100 initially blank cards. The dealer is allowed to write ANY positive integer, one per card, leaving none blank. You are then asked to turn over as many cards as you wish. If the last card you turn over is the highest in the deck, you win; otherwise, you lose.
Winning grants you $50, and losing costs you only the $10 you paid to play.
Would you accept this challenge?
Hint: Perhaps thinking in terms of one deck is the wrong approach.
Yes!
A sample strategy:
Divide the deck in half and turn over all lower 50 cards, setting aside the highest number you find. Then turn over the other 50 cards, one by one, until you reach a number that is higher than the card you set aside: this is your chosen "high card."
Now, there is a 50% chance that the highest card is contained in the top 50 cards (it is or it isn't), and a 50% chance that the second-highest card is contained in the lower 50. Combining the probabilities, you have a 25% chance of constructing the above situation (in which you win every time).
This means that you'll lose three out of four games, but for every four games played, you pay $40 while you win one game and $50. Your net profit every four games is $10.
Obviously, you have to have at least $40 to start in order to apply this strategy effectively. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
A sample strategy:
Divide the deck in half and turn over all lower 50 cards, setting aside the highest number you find. Then turn over the other 50 cards, one by one, until you reach a number that is higher than the card you set aside: this is your chosen "high card."
Now, there is a 50% chance that the highest card is contained in the top 50 cards (it is or it isn't), and a 50% chance that the second-highest card is contained in the lower 50. Combining the probabilities, you have a 25% chance of constructing the above situation (in which you win every time).
This means that you'll lose three out of four games, but for every four games played, you pay $40 while you win one game and $50. Your net profit every four games is $10.
Obviously, you have to have at least $40 to start in order to apply this strategy effectively. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
The Secret Santa Exchange
A group of ten friends decide to exchange gifts as secret Santas. Each person writes his or her name on a piece of paper and puts it in a hat. Then each person randomly draws a name from the hat to determine who has him as his or her secret Santa. The secret Santa then makes a gift for the person whose name he drew.
When it's time to exchange presents, each person walks over to the person he made the gift for and holds his or her left hand in his right hand.
What is the probability that the 10 friends holding hands form a single continuous circle?
When it's time to exchange presents, each person walks over to the person he made the gift for and holds his or her left hand in his right hand.
What is the probability that the 10 friends holding hands form a single continuous circle?
Hint: It's not as difficult as it seems.
It's the number of ways the friends can form a circle divided by the number of ways the names can be drawn out of the hat.
1/10
For a group of n friends, there are n! (n factorial) ways to draw the names out of the hat. Since a circle does not have a beginning and end, choose one person as the beginning and end of the circle. There are now (n-1)! ways to distribute the remaining people around the circle. Thus the probability of forming a single circle is
(n-1)! / n!
Since n! = (n-1)! * n (for n > 1), this can be rewritten as
(n-1)! / (n*(n-1)!)
Factoring out the (n-1)! from the numerator and denominator leaves
1/n
as the probability. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
For a group of n friends, there are n! (n factorial) ways to draw the names out of the hat. Since a circle does not have a beginning and end, choose one person as the beginning and end of the circle. There are now (n-1)! ways to distribute the remaining people around the circle. Thus the probability of forming a single circle is
(n-1)! / n!
Since n! = (n-1)! * n (for n > 1), this can be rewritten as
(n-1)! / (n*(n-1)!)
Factoring out the (n-1)! from the numerator and denominator leaves
1/n
as the probability. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
The Coin Toss Riddle
You are in a bar having a drink with an old friend when he proposes a wager.
"Want to play a game?" he asks.
"Sure, why not?" you reply.
"Ok, here's how it works. You choose three possible outcomes of a coin toss, either HHH, TTT, HHT or whatever. I will do likewise. I will then start flipping the coin continuously until either one of our combinations comes up. The person whose combination comes up first is the winner. And to prove I'm not the cheating little weasel you're always making me out to be, I'll even let you go first so you have more combinations to choose from. So how about it? Is $10.00 a fair bet?"
You know that your friend is a skilled trickster and usually has a trick or two up his sleeve but maybe he's being honest this time. Maybe this is a fair bet. While you try and think of which combination is most likely to come up first, you suddenly hit upon a strategy which will be immensely beneficial to you. What is it?
"Want to play a game?" he asks.
"Sure, why not?" you reply.
"Ok, here's how it works. You choose three possible outcomes of a coin toss, either HHH, TTT, HHT or whatever. I will do likewise. I will then start flipping the coin continuously until either one of our combinations comes up. The person whose combination comes up first is the winner. And to prove I'm not the cheating little weasel you're always making me out to be, I'll even let you go first so you have more combinations to choose from. So how about it? Is $10.00 a fair bet?"
You know that your friend is a skilled trickster and usually has a trick or two up his sleeve but maybe he's being honest this time. Maybe this is a fair bet. While you try and think of which combination is most likely to come up first, you suddenly hit upon a strategy which will be immensely beneficial to you. What is it?
Hint: Think what would be most likely to happen if you chose HHH, would this be a good decision?
The answer is to let your friend go first. This puzzle is based on an old game/scam called Penny Ante. No matter what you picked, your friend would be able to come up with a combination which would be more likely to beat yours. For example, if you were to choose HHH, then unless HHH was the first combination to come up you would eventually lose since as soon as a Tails came up, the combination THH would inevitably come up before HHH. The basic formula you can use for working out which combination you should choose is as follows. Simply take his combination (eg. HHT) take the last term in his combination, put it at the front (in this case making THH) and your combination will be more likely to come up first. Try it on your friends! Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
The Prime Number Riddle
Two hundred people in an auditorium are asked to think of a single digit number from 1 to 9 inclusive and write it down. All those who wrote down a prime number are now asked to leave. Ninety people remain behind in the hall. How many of these are expected to have written down an odd number?
Hint: Remember that 1 is not a prime number.
Those that remain behind must have written {1,4,6,8,9} and from this only {1,9} are odd. The probability of an odd number is thus 2/5.
Expected number of odds is 2/5 * 90 = 36 Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Expected number of odds is 2/5 * 90 = 36 Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
An Absentminded Philosopher Riddle
An absentminded philosopher forgot to wind up the only clock in his house. He had no radio, television, telephone, internet, or any other means of ascertaining the time. He therefore decided to travel by foot to his friend's house, a few miles down a straight desert road. He stayed there for the night and when he came back home the following morning, he was able to set his clock to the correct time. Assuming the philosopher always walks at the same speed, how did he know the exact time upon his return? Note: this is not a trick question. The Philosopher did not bring anything to his friend's house, nor did he bring anything back with him on his trip home.
Hint: We can assume that the journey to his friend's and back took exactly the same amount of time.
He Philosopher winds the grandfather clock to a random time right before leaving, 9:00 for example. Although this is not the right time, the clock can now be used to measure elapsed time. As soon as he arrives at his friend's house, the Philosopher looks at the time on his friend's clock. Let's say the time is 7:15. He stays overnight and then, before leaving in the morning, he looks at the clock one more time. Let's say the time is now 10:15 (15 hours later). When the Philosopher arrives home, he looks at his grandfather clock. Let's say his clock reads 12:40. By subtracting the time he set it to when he left (9:00) from the current time (12:40) he knows that he has been gone for 15 hours and 40 minutes. He knows that he spent 15 hours at his friends house, so that means he spent 40 minutes walking. Since he walked at the same speed both ways, it took him 20 minutes to walk from his friend's home back to his place. So the correct time to set the clock to in this example would therefore be 10:15 (the time he left his friend's house) + 20 minutes (the time it took him to walk home) = 10:35. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Fruity Smooches Riddle
Hint:
A Sharpshooter Riddle
A sharpshooter hangs up his hat, turns around and walks 5000 meters, then turns around and shoots his gun, putting a hole right through his hat. How did he do it?
Hint:
A Real Gun With Real Bullets
A man walks into a his bathroom and shoots himself right between the eyes using a real gun with real bullets. He walks out alive, with no blood anywhere. And no, he didn't miss and he wasn't Superman or any other caped crusader.
How did he do this?
How did he do this?
Hint:
Age Of Three Daughters Riddles
I was visiting a friend one evening and remembered that he had three daughters. I asked him how old they were. The product of their ages is 72, he answered. Quizzically, I asked, Is there anything else you can tell me? Yes, he replied, the sum of their ages is equal to the number of my house. I stepped outside to see what the house number was. Upon returning inside, I said to my host, Im sorry, but I still cant figure out their ages. He responded apologetically, Im sorry, I forgot to mention that my oldest daughter likes strawberry shortcake. With this information, I was able to determine all three of their ages. How old is each daughter?
Hint:
3, 3, and 8. The only groups of 3 factors of 72 to have non-unique sums are 2 6 6 and 3 3 8 (with a sum of 14). The rest have unique sums:
2 + 2 + 18 = 22
2 + 3 + 12 = 18
2 + 4 + 9 = 15
3 + 4 + 6 = 13
The house number alone would have identified any of these groups. Since more information was required, we know the sum left the answer unknown. The presence of a single oldest child eliminates 2 6 6, leaving 3 3 8 as the only possible answer. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
2 + 2 + 18 = 22
2 + 3 + 12 = 18
2 + 4 + 9 = 15
3 + 4 + 6 = 13
The house number alone would have identified any of these groups. Since more information was required, we know the sum left the answer unknown. The presence of a single oldest child eliminates 2 6 6, leaving 3 3 8 as the only possible answer. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
A Terrorist Took Over A Plane Riddle
A terrorist hijacks a plane with 10 passengers and there is lots of gold in the plane.
After talking the gold, he asked the government officials for 11 parachutes.
He killed all the passenger so that no one can identify him, take one parachute and jumps off.
Was he stupid to ask for 11 parachutes if he need only one?
After talking the gold, he asked the government officials for 11 parachutes.
He killed all the passenger so that no one can identify him, take one parachute and jumps off.
Was he stupid to ask for 11 parachutes if he need only one?
Hint:
He was genius.
Officials must have thought he was jumping with a hostage, they would never risk giving him a faulty parachute. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Officials must have thought he was jumping with a hostage, they would never risk giving him a faulty parachute. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Facebook Llama Riddle Challenge
Its 3am, the doorbell rings and you wake up. Unexpected visitors!!
Its your parents and they are here for breakfast.
You have strawberry jam, honey, wine, bread and cheese.
What is the first thing you open?
Its your parents and they are here for breakfast.
You have strawberry jam, honey, wine, bread and cheese.
What is the first thing you open?
Hint:
You will Open your Eyes first, then you will Open the door. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
$100 Bill Grocery Store Thief
A guy walks into a store and steals a $100 bill from the register without the owners knowledge.
He then buys $70 worth of goods using the $100 bill and the owner gives $30 in change.
How much money did the owner lose?
$30, $70, $100, $130, $170, or $200?
He then buys $70 worth of goods using the $100 bill and the owner gives $30 in change.
How much money did the owner lose?
$30, $70, $100, $130, $170, or $200?
Hint:
The best answer from the choices is the owner lost $100. The $100 bill that was stolen was then given back to the owner. What the owner loses is the $70 worth of goods and the $30 in change, which makes for a total of $70 + $30 = $100. The owner has lost $100.
Technically, the owner lost $30 plus the value, V, of the $70 of goods. Since stores typically sell goods at a markup, the value may be less than $70. But in the case of a loss leader, the owner may have lost more than $70. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Technically, the owner lost $30 plus the value, V, of the $70 of goods. Since stores typically sell goods at a markup, the value may be less than $70. But in the case of a loss leader, the owner may have lost more than $70. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Hunter Polar Bear Riddle
A bear hunter sets out from camp and walks one mile south.
He sees a bear and is about to shoot it.
The bear grabs his gun and eats it.
The hunter runs away one mile east.
He then walks one mile north and gets back to his camp and changes his underwear.
What color was the bear?
He sees a bear and is about to shoot it.
The bear grabs his gun and eats it.
The hunter runs away one mile east.
He then walks one mile north and gets back to his camp and changes his underwear.
What color was the bear?
Hint:
He starts at at the NORTH POLE.
This means he walks south for a mile, but when he heads east for a mile he's just walking round in part of a circle, and stays one mile from the North pole. Therefore he only has to walk a mile north to get back!
So what color is the bear? It has to be a polar bear, so it's WHITE! Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
This means he walks south for a mile, but when he heads east for a mile he's just walking round in part of a circle, and stays one mile from the North pole. Therefore he only has to walk a mile north to get back!
So what color is the bear? It has to be a polar bear, so it's WHITE! Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
A Sudden Knock On The Door Riddle
7.00am. You are asleep and there is a sudden knock on the door. Behind the door are your parents, who came to have breakfast. In your fridge: bread, milk(pasteurized), juice and a jar of jam. What will you open first?
Hint:
A Blind Man Named Grandpa Riddle
A blind man named Grandpa has boarded a train to his home. He underwent a successful operation on his eyes and the doctor asked him to open the bandages after 6 hours. On his train journey, he opened the bandages and within seconds commit suicide by jumping off the train.
Why did Grandpa commit suicide despite his eye operation was successful?
Why did Grandpa commit suicide despite his eye operation was successful?
Hint:
When blind man "Grandpa" opened his bandages, the train must be passing through the dark tunnel. The man thought he was still blind and hence commit suicide. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
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