Losing A New York Bet
You are hanging around in NYC when a person approaches you.
"Leaving the bald people aside, I can bet a hundred bucks that there are two people living in NYC who have same number of hairs on their heads," he says to you.
You say that you will take the bet. After talking to the man for a couple of minutes, you realize that you have lost the bet.
What did the person say to you that proved his statement ?
"Leaving the bald people aside, I can bet a hundred bucks that there are two people living in NYC who have same number of hairs on their heads," he says to you.
You say that you will take the bet. After talking to the man for a couple of minutes, you realize that you have lost the bet.
What did the person say to you that proved his statement ?
Hint:
This problem can be best solved using the pigeonhole principle.
The argument will go like this:
Assume that all the non-bald people in NYC have different number of hairs on their head. The population is about 9 million and let us assume that there are 8 million among them who are not bald.
Now, those 8 million people need to have different number of hairs. On an average, people have just 100, 000 hairs on their head. If we keep on assuming that there is someone with just one hair, someone with two, someone with three and so on, there will be 7, 900, 00 other people left who will have more than 100, 000 hairs on their head and need different number of hairs.
Now, as per this assumption, if we keep increasing one hair for each person, to make everybody hair different in numbers, we will come across someone with 8, 000, 000 hairs. But that is practically impossible (even 1, 000, 000 is impossible). Thus there must be two people who are having same number of hairs. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
The argument will go like this:
Assume that all the non-bald people in NYC have different number of hairs on their head. The population is about 9 million and let us assume that there are 8 million among them who are not bald.
Now, those 8 million people need to have different number of hairs. On an average, people have just 100, 000 hairs on their head. If we keep on assuming that there is someone with just one hair, someone with two, someone with three and so on, there will be 7, 900, 00 other people left who will have more than 100, 000 hairs on their head and need different number of hairs.
Now, as per this assumption, if we keep increasing one hair for each person, to make everybody hair different in numbers, we will come across someone with 8, 000, 000 hairs. But that is practically impossible (even 1, 000, 000 is impossible). Thus there must be two people who are having same number of hairs. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Talking Tennis Balls Riddle
Hint:
Rungs Of A 10 Foot Ladder
The rungs of a 10 foot ladder attached to a ship are 1 foot apart. If the water is rising at the rate of one foot an hour, how long will it take until the water covers over the ladder?
Hint:
It will never cover the ladder because as the water rises, so will the floating ship. 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
Sick Pirate Riddle
Hint:
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
Sailing The Seas For Money
I sail the seas for money
As I attack another ship
Then I take the spoils of the battle
The enemy is in my grip
What am I?
As I attack another ship
Then I take the spoils of the battle
The enemy is in my grip
What am I?
Hint:
Sinking Submarine
There is a submarine that will only operate if there are exactly 20 passengers on the ship. If the first 19 seats were taken by averaged sized men and the last seat was taken by a fat over weighted lady, how come the submarine sank?
Hint:
The Rising Tide Riddle
Hint:
The water level never changes...it remains at 4. The ship rises with the tide. The "water marks" on the side of a ship designates load and weight capacity. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Fired Missiles
Two ships are in the water. They each fire one missile at the other. Neither missile hit its target. But there were no counter measures launched. And nothing entered the airspace during the time. and radar showed the misses were destroyed. How is that so?
Hint:
The Greatest Waves Riddle
Hint:
This Item You Will Drop Riddle
If youre getting close to land
And you need your ship to stop
Youll take down all your sails
And this item you will drop
I am?
And you need your ship to stop
Youll take down all your sails
And this item you will drop
I am?
Hint:
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
Hidden Realms I Shelter
I look flat, but I am deep,
Hidden realms I shelter.
Lives I take, but food I offer.
At times I am beautiful.
I can be calm, angry and turbulent.
I have no heart, but offer pleasure as well as death.
No man can own me, yet I encompass what all men must have.
What am I?
Hidden realms I shelter.
Lives I take, but food I offer.
At times I am beautiful.
I can be calm, angry and turbulent.
I have no heart, but offer pleasure as well as death.
No man can own me, yet I encompass what all men must have.
What am I?
Hint:
Lakes And Boats Riddle
There is a lake with shores A and B. Two motorboats M and N are standing on the opposite sides (A and B respectively). M leaves A and N leaves B and start moving with constant speeds. They meet for the first time 500 yards away from A. After touching the shores, they return back to the previous shore point without taking any break. This time they meet at 300 yards away from B.
Can you determine how wide the lake is? What is the relation between the speeds of boats?
Can you determine how wide the lake is? What is the relation between the speeds of boats?
Hint:
When the boats meet for the first time, they have sailed a combined distance that is equal to one length of the lake. When they meet the second time, they have sailed 3 lengths. The elapsed time and the distance for each is three times.
When they meet for the second time, the boat M has sailed 500 x 3 = 1500 yards. Now, this is 300 yards longer than the length of the lake, it must be 1200 yards wide.
The ration between the speed of boat M and boat N is equal to the ratio of the distance that they have sailed before they meet the first time. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
When they meet for the second time, the boat M has sailed 500 x 3 = 1500 yards. Now, this is 300 yards longer than the length of the lake, it must be 1200 yards wide.
The ration between the speed of boat M and boat N is equal to the ratio of the distance that they have sailed before they meet the first time. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Add Your Riddle Here
Have some tricky riddles of your own? Leave them below for our users to try and solve.