Four Balls In A Bowl
This is a famous paradox probability riddle which has caused a great deal of argument and disbelief from many who cannot accept the correct answer.
Four balls are placed in a bowl. One is Green, one is Black and the other two are Yellow. The bowl is shaken and someone draws two balls from the bowl. He looks at the two balls and announces that at least one of them is Yellow. What are the chances that the other ball he has drawn out is also Yellow?
Four balls are placed in a bowl. One is Green, one is Black and the other two are Yellow. The bowl is shaken and someone draws two balls from the bowl. He looks at the two balls and announces that at least one of them is Yellow. What are the chances that the other ball he has drawn out is also Yellow?
Hint:
1/5
There are six possible pairings of the two balls withdrawn,
Yellow+Yellow
Yellow+Green
Green+Yellow
Yellow+Black
Black+Yellow
Green+Black.
We know the Green + Black combination has not been drawn.
This leaves five possible combinations remaining. Therefore the chances tbowl the Yellow + Yellow pairing has been drawn are 1 in 5.
Many people cannot accept tbowl the solution is not 1 in 3, and of course it would be, if the balls had been drawn out separately and the color of the first ball announced as Yellow before the second had been drawn out. However, as both balls had been drawn together, and then the color of one of the balls announced, then the above solution, 1 in 5, must be the correct one. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
There are six possible pairings of the two balls withdrawn,
Yellow+Yellow
Yellow+Green
Green+Yellow
Yellow+Black
Black+Yellow
Green+Black.
We know the Green + Black combination has not been drawn.
This leaves five possible combinations remaining. Therefore the chances tbowl the Yellow + Yellow pairing has been drawn are 1 in 5.
Many people cannot accept tbowl the solution is not 1 in 3, and of course it would be, if the balls had been drawn out separately and the color of the first ball announced as Yellow before the second had been drawn out. However, as both balls had been drawn together, and then the color of one of the balls announced, then the above solution, 1 in 5, must be the correct one. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Matching Socks Riddle
Mismatched Joe is in a pitch dark room selecting socks from his drawer. He has only six socks in his drawer, a mixture of black and white. If he chooses two socks, the chances that he draws out a white pair is 2/3. What are the chances that he draws out a black pair?
Hint: Three pairs of matching socks... maybe not!!!
He has a ZERO chance of drawing out a black pair.
Since there is a 2/3 chance of drawing a white pair, then there MUST be 5 white socks and only 1 black sock. The chances of drawing two whites would thus be: 5/6 x 4/5 = 2/3 . With only 1 black sock, there is no chance of drawing a black pair. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Since there is a 2/3 chance of drawing a white pair, then there MUST be 5 white socks and only 1 black sock. The chances of drawing two whites would thus be: 5/6 x 4/5 = 2/3 . With only 1 black sock, there is no chance of drawing a black pair. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
30 Sacks Of Coconuts
An intelligent trader travels from one place to another with 3 sacks having 30 coconuts each. No sack can hold more than 30 coconuts. On the way, he passes 30 check points. At each check point, he has to give one coconut for every sack he is carrying. What is the maximum number of coconuts that he can have with him at the end of his journey?
Hint:
He will have 25 coconuts with him at the end. The trick is to reduce the number of sacks as you pass checkpoints.
The first 10 checkpoints require 3 coconuts each, which empties his first sack. The next 15 checkpoints require 2 coconuts each, which will empty his second stack. Now, he is left with 1 sack and 5 more checkpoints. So, the 5 checkpoints will take 1 coconut each. Therefore, he will be left with 25 coconuts. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
The first 10 checkpoints require 3 coconuts each, which empties his first sack. The next 15 checkpoints require 2 coconuts each, which will empty his second stack. Now, he is left with 1 sack and 5 more checkpoints. So, the 5 checkpoints will take 1 coconut each. Therefore, he will be left with 25 coconuts. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
The Tenth Floor Elevator Riddle
A man lives on the tenth floor of a building. Every day he takes the elevator to go down to the ground floor to go to work. When he returns he takes the same elevator to the seventh floor and walks up the stairs to reach his apartment on the tenth floor. He hates walking so why does he do it?
Note that there is nothing wrong with the elevator or the design of the building. It's a perfectly normal elevator in a perfectly normal building.
Note that there is nothing wrong with the elevator or the design of the building. It's a perfectly normal elevator in a perfectly normal building.
Hint: The elevator is perfectly normal and the design of the building is perfectly normal, but there is something different about the man.
The man is very short (i.e. a little person).
Because of his short stature, the man is unable to reach any higher than the button for the 7th floor (elevator floor number buttons are laid out in descending floor order from top to bottom). Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Because of his short stature, the man is unable to reach any higher than the button for the 7th floor (elevator floor number buttons are laid out in descending floor order from top to bottom). Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
The 5,000 Dollar Bank Account
A guy has 5,000 in his bank on Monday.
On Tuesday, they guy had 4,000 dollars in his bank, but he didn't spend or take out any money.
By Sunday, his mortgage strangely went up and he had no money left in his bank. and he kept on getting his mortgage up every Sunday. On the Saturday before that Sunday, he threw out a working computer because he got a new one. The only way to make his mortgage go up and his money go down is through the computer. The guy goes to visit his friend every day and doesn't come home until 5:00. By the next week his mortgage went up higher. He was getting suspicious and narrowed down three victims.
The mailman
His arch enemy that killed his wife.
And his computer hacking friend that lived in another state.
What happened and how? Who did it?
On Tuesday, they guy had 4,000 dollars in his bank, but he didn't spend or take out any money.
By Sunday, his mortgage strangely went up and he had no money left in his bank. and he kept on getting his mortgage up every Sunday. On the Saturday before that Sunday, he threw out a working computer because he got a new one. The only way to make his mortgage go up and his money go down is through the computer. The guy goes to visit his friend every day and doesn't come home until 5:00. By the next week his mortgage went up higher. He was getting suspicious and narrowed down three victims.
The mailman
His arch enemy that killed his wife.
And his computer hacking friend that lived in another state.
What happened and how? Who did it?
Hint:
The mailman did it. There is no mail on Sunday and the mailman fruaded the guys info. every Sunday the mailman would come at 4:00 and mess with his money and mortgage. After plunging the computer into his truck and turning it on. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
The Broken Window
Wesleys mom discovered a broken window in the living room and went to ask Wesley about it. Wesley told her he had been playing Monopoly with his friend Cindy. She asked him what his last roll had been and he said, A one. She immediately knew he was lying.
How?
How?
Hint:
Monopoly has two dice, and the lowest number two dice can roll is 2. The window repair came out of Wesleys allowance and he stopped throwing his baseball in the house. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
The Office Window
Brad stared through the dirty soot-smeared window on the 22nd floor of the office tower. Overcome with depression he slid the window open and jumped through it. It was a sheer drop outside the building to the ground. Miraculously after he landed he was completely unhurt. Since there was nothing to cushion his fall or slow his descent, how could he have survived the fall?
Hint:
Brad was so sick and tired of window washing, he opened the window and jumped inside. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Sailing On The Ocean
Once there was a man and his wife and son. They were out sailing on the ocean when they got ship wrecked on an island. There was little on the island, few coconuts, small amount of clean water, and some pineapple. There were also quite a few pelicans, which the man thought was strange cause there was so little food on the island. Well one day his son died. They were devastated. The man and his wife tried to survive by eating the pineapples and trying to catch a pelican but never could catch one. When the man was close to death his wife had brought him some meat from a pelican that she had caught. He loved it and that saved his life. He was rescued by a helicopter and brought back to his city without his wife cause she had died before. So one day back in the city he went into a bar and he ordered a pelican sandwich to remind him of his wife. He took one bite and he went outside and shot himself. Why did he kill himself?
Hint:
He took one bite of it but it was not the same meat that his wife had given to him on the island. He realized that the meat she had given him on the island was really her dead son. So he went out and killed himself because he couldn't live with himself after he ate his own son. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Crossing The Equator
Susy is traveling by ship from south of the equator to the north. She has a nice little cabin with a bathroom, but no window. Sally has no compass nor other instruments. Just the general luggage one brings on board a long cruise. Yet, without leaving her room or talking with anyone, Susy will be able to tell when the ship has crossed the equator. How?
Hint:
Susy can fill the sink and watch it drain. When the water reverses direction when going down the drain, she will know they have crossed the equator. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Sinking Ship Riddle
On a fine sunny day a ship was in the harbor. All of a sudden the ship began to sink. There was no storm and nothing wrong with the ship yet it sank right in front of the spectators eyes.
What caused the ship to sink?
What caused the ship to sink?
Hint:
A Fortune Cookie Riddle
A man says that every time he has gotten a fortune cookie his lucky numbers have always been the same, how is this possible???
Hint:
For The Love Of Sugar
Jessy was an average girl that LOVED sugar. One day she decided to make a batch of cookies. She looked in her cabinet and saw that there was only one cup of sugar in there. Jessy went to the store and bought three cups of sugar. She put them ALL on the table. Jessy takes one. How many does she have?
Hint:
If you guessed one... you are absolutely right. There were some of the best tricks in this quiz. I will only tell one. But first I will tell you why you should have got that answer. In the beggining it says "She looked in her cabinet and saw that there was only one cup of suger in there." Many people forget about that part. Also, some people think that the riddle says that she takes away one. She doesn't. she TAKES ONE. She has ONE. One trick used in this was that I used many extra things in it that didn't have to do with the riddle. It just makes you examine them harder and gets you more confused. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Fox Rabbit Cabbage
A merchant has a fox, a rabbit, and a head of lettuce and sits on the edge of a river. He has a small raft capable of carrying only himself and one item at a time, but without his supervision the fox will eat the rabbit, and the rabbit will eat the lettuce. How can he successfully transport all goods from one side of the river to the next without losing the lettuce or rabbit? The dilemma, of course, is true regardless of which side of the river they are on and there is no other way across.
Hint:
First the farmer takes the rabbit across and returns to the fox & cabbage. Next, the farmer takes the cabbage, but when he arrives to the other side with the rabbit, he leaves the cabbage and takes the rabbit back on the raft with him to return and get the fox. He exchanges the rabbit for the fox and returns to drop the fox off with the cabbage, and finally goes back to get the rabbit. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Nun, Gimel, Heh, And Shin
Nun, gimel, heh, and shin,
See the wooden play piece spin.
Nes gadol hayah shin,
If I'm lucky I will win!
What is it?
See the wooden play piece spin.
Nes gadol hayah shin,
If I'm lucky I will win!
What is it?
Hint:
The Hatter In Love
Hint:
Add Your Riddle Here
Have some tricky riddles of your own? Leave them below for our users to try and solve.