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
Selling Windows Riddle
Hint:
Cost Of A Ball Riddle
A bat and a ball cost $1.10. The bat costs one dollar more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
Hint:
The ball costs 5 cents. One dollar more than 5c is $1.05. The sum of which is $1.10. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Hosting A Game Show Riddle
The host of a game show, offers the guest a choice of three doors. Behind one is a expensive car, but behind the other two are goats.
After you have chosen one door, he reveals one of the other two doors behind which is a goat (he wouldn't reveal a car).
Now he gives you the chance to switch to the other unrevealed door or stay at your initial choice. You will then get what is behind that door.
You cannot hear the goats from behind the doors, or in any way know which door has the prize.
Should you stay, or switch, or doesn't it matter ?
After you have chosen one door, he reveals one of the other two doors behind which is a goat (he wouldn't reveal a car).
Now he gives you the chance to switch to the other unrevealed door or stay at your initial choice. You will then get what is behind that door.
You cannot hear the goats from behind the doors, or in any way know which door has the prize.
Should you stay, or switch, or doesn't it matter ?
Hint:
You better switch!
Your first choice has a 1/3 chance of having the car, and that does not change. The other two doors HAD a combined chance of 2/3, but now a Goat has been revealed behind one, all the 2/3 chance is with the other door. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Your first choice has a 1/3 chance of having the car, and that does not change. The other two doors HAD a combined chance of 2/3, but now a Goat has been revealed behind one, all the 2/3 chance is with the other door. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
The Robbery On The Third Floor Riddle
My wife and I took a much-needed holiday in England. It's a long flight from New York to London. We checked into a nice hotel. After a long day of sightseeing we just collapsed into bed. Just a few minutes ago, we were woken up by some noises outside. I looked out the window and the police were everywhere. They yelled up to me that there was a robbery and a murderer on the second floor. I'm on the third floor, and I can see and I can see that the cops have the stairs and elevators locked down. The murderer can't get up to our floor, so we're in no danger. My wife and I are tired, so we're going back to bed. I really hope they catch the guy.
Why did the police yell to the guy if he was on the 3rd floor?
Why did the police yell to the guy if he was on the 3rd floor?
Hint:
America and England have different ways of numbering floors. In America, it goes 1st floor, 2nd floor, 3rd floor. In England, it goes ground floor, 1st floor, 2nd floor. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Invited To Dinner Riddle
A few days ago, I was invited to dinner at a friend's house. The strange thing is, my friend recently got involved with some weird religious cult. While I was there, he served up some type of meat, but he wouldn't tell me what kind of meat it was. It kind of freaked me out. For a second, I wondered if it was human meat, but then, after I ate it, I knew it definitely wasn't human meat.
What's really going on?
What's really going on?
Hint:
The guy who was invited over was a cannibal. How else would he have known it wasn't human meat if he'd never had human meat to begin with? Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
A Boy At The Carnival
A young boy was at the carnival. He was walking past a kiosk where an old man was sitting.
"Do you want to play a game?" the old man said to him.The young boy was intrigued. "What kind of game?" he asked.
"It's a very simple game." said the old man. "I will tell you the rules. I have ten large metal boxes. Inside one of the boxes is the prize money. One thousand dollars."
"A thousand bucks, huh?" asked the boy. "What's the catch?"
"The boxes are sturdy and strong," said the old man. "Much too strong to be opened with your bare hands. They are also airtight and cannot be damaged by a hammer, an axe or even a chainsaw."
"So they're impossible to open?" said the boy.
"Not impossible." said the man. "I have a blowtorch which can be used to open the boxes."
"Is there a time limit?" asked the boy.
"You can take as much time as you want." said the old man. "When you find the prize money, it's all yours. So, do you want to play the game?"
"Well, I don't how I could possibly lose," said the boy. "OK. I'll play your game."
The old man smiled. "I'll make it very easy for you", he said. "There are ten metal boxes, but if you give me five dollars, I will start you right next to the prize money."
The boy happily took out his wallet and handed a crisp five dollar note to the old man. There was a mischievous grin on the old man's face.The game started.The prize money was right in front of the boy. He could see it. He could touch it.Even though he won the game, the boy was never able to spend the money. He died shortly after he won the game.
How did the boy die?
"Do you want to play a game?" the old man said to him.The young boy was intrigued. "What kind of game?" he asked.
"It's a very simple game." said the old man. "I will tell you the rules. I have ten large metal boxes. Inside one of the boxes is the prize money. One thousand dollars."
"A thousand bucks, huh?" asked the boy. "What's the catch?"
"The boxes are sturdy and strong," said the old man. "Much too strong to be opened with your bare hands. They are also airtight and cannot be damaged by a hammer, an axe or even a chainsaw."
"So they're impossible to open?" said the boy.
"Not impossible." said the man. "I have a blowtorch which can be used to open the boxes."
"Is there a time limit?" asked the boy.
"You can take as much time as you want." said the old man. "When you find the prize money, it's all yours. So, do you want to play the game?"
"Well, I don't how I could possibly lose," said the boy. "OK. I'll play your game."
The old man smiled. "I'll make it very easy for you", he said. "There are ten metal boxes, but if you give me five dollars, I will start you right next to the prize money."
The boy happily took out his wallet and handed a crisp five dollar note to the old man. There was a mischievous grin on the old man's face.The game started.The prize money was right in front of the boy. He could see it. He could touch it.Even though he won the game, the boy was never able to spend the money. He died shortly after he won the game.
How did the boy die?
Hint:
The man put the inside of the box since he said for five dollars, he'd put the boy next to the money. Since the box was airtight, he suffocated Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
A Walk In The Desert Riddle
Four men walk into the desert. Suddenly all four are simultaneously knocked out. They awake buried to their heads in the sand unable to look anywhere but straight ahead. They are positioned so that each man sees another's head before him. However between the first and second man there is a separating wall.
So the first man sees only desert. The second man sees only wall. The third man sees another's head and a wall. The fourth man sees two heads and a wall. On top of each mans head is a hat. The underside of each cap is black, but the outside of each cap is either blue or white. Before any of the men can speak, their captors tell them if they speak, they die. However, if any of them can guess the color of their cap on the first try they go free. The captors tell them that there are two blue caps and two white caps.
Being an omniscient observer of the situation, we know that the order of the caps are: blue, white, blue, white. So knowing the perspective of each man in the sand, and that they can only see the color of caps/wall/desert in front of them, which of the four men knows for certain the color of his own cap. More importantly: why?
So the first man sees only desert. The second man sees only wall. The third man sees another's head and a wall. The fourth man sees two heads and a wall. On top of each mans head is a hat. The underside of each cap is black, but the outside of each cap is either blue or white. Before any of the men can speak, their captors tell them if they speak, they die. However, if any of them can guess the color of their cap on the first try they go free. The captors tell them that there are two blue caps and two white caps.
Being an omniscient observer of the situation, we know that the order of the caps are: blue, white, blue, white. So knowing the perspective of each man in the sand, and that they can only see the color of caps/wall/desert in front of them, which of the four men knows for certain the color of his own cap. More importantly: why?
Hint:
The third man. This is because he knows there are only two of each color cap. If the man behind him (the fourth man) saw two caps that were the same color in front of him, he would know that his own must be the opposite. However, because the caps alternate in color. The fourth man has only a 50% chance of getting his hat color correct, so therefore he stays quiet. The third man realizes that the fourth man is quiet because he must not see two caps of the same color in front of him, otherwise the fourth man would say the opposite of the caps in front of him. Therefore, the third man presumes his own cap must be the opposite of the mans in front of him, and his presumption is correct. Under this same logic, after the third man speaks his color hat, the second man, even though he sees only wall, would be the next to go free, because he knows his cap must be the opposite of whichever color the third mans cap was. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Panning Gold Riddle
Before dying, a father left a will to his two sons telling of a gold-panning stream that had supported his father's family long and hard. The will said that the two sons could make one, only one trip to the stream to pan for gold, but for as long as they wanted, and that whoever carried the gold back got it. On their way to the stream, the two sons lost a big fraction of their supplies, reducing their stay to two months. All they had now were some food, a mule, and panning supplies. During their stay, they managed to pan and smelt a gold bar 5 inches in diameter and 5 inches in height. Back in their hometown, the two sons disputed long and hard in court over who should get the gold bar. Now, the judge was a wise one. Who did he say got the gold bar?
Hint:
The mule. A gold bar 5 inches in diameter and 5 inches in height would have weighed far too much for either of the sons to carry, only the mule could have. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
A Large Box Of Money Riddle
I have a large money box, 48 centemeters square and 42 centemeters tall. Roughly how many coins can I place in my empty money box?
Hint:
The 4th Of July Flame Riddle
Hint:
The 4th Of July Picnic Riddle
Hint:
Crossing The Bridge Riddle
There are two villages separated with a river. Each day, four people cross the river through a bridge to work on the other side and earn for their families. On one night when they were returning from work, they noticed that the bridge was about to collapse. Now all of them wanted to cross the bridge before it collapsed as no one wanted to be stuck on that end without their families.
They had just one torch with them and since it was the night time, they could not see without it. The bridge had become weak and it could only accommodate two people at a time. It was going to collapse in just 17 minutes.
The four people took different times to cross the bridge. First one took only a minute, second one took 2 minutes, third one took 5 minutes and the last one took 10 minutes.
How would all of them have managed to cross the bridge in time?
They had just one torch with them and since it was the night time, they could not see without it. The bridge had become weak and it could only accommodate two people at a time. It was going to collapse in just 17 minutes.
The four people took different times to cross the bridge. First one took only a minute, second one took 2 minutes, third one took 5 minutes and the last one took 10 minutes.
How would all of them have managed to cross the bridge in time?
Hint:
Let us denote the four people with A, B, C and D.
A takes 1 minute to cross, B takes 2, C takes 5 and D takes 10.
A and B cross first spending 2 minutes.
A comes back with torch taking 1 minute.
C and D cross taking 10 minutes.
B comes back with torch taking 2 minutes.
Finally, A and B cross the bridge taking 2 minutes.
2 + 1 + 10 + 2 + 2 = 17 minutes
Thus, this is the way they all managed to cross that bridge that night. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
A takes 1 minute to cross, B takes 2, C takes 5 and D takes 10.
A and B cross first spending 2 minutes.
A comes back with torch taking 1 minute.
C and D cross taking 10 minutes.
B comes back with torch taking 2 minutes.
Finally, A and B cross the bridge taking 2 minutes.
2 + 1 + 10 + 2 + 2 = 17 minutes
Thus, this is the way they all managed to cross that bridge that night. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Ernie's Ice Cream Riddle
Hint:
Sweet 16 Riddle
There is a man who is very rich. He has a daughter who is turning 16 and he wants to throw a party for her. He invited all the men in the kingdom. At the party the man invites everyone out to the pool. The pool is infested with salt water crocodiles. The rich man says, "Whoever can swim across this pool and come out alive, can either have 1 million dollars or marry my daughter." Then there was a splash! They looked over to see a man swimming across the pool with his clothes getting ripped apart. He gets to the end and jumps out. "Congratulations! Do you want to marry my daughter or $1,000,000! What did the man say?
Hint:
Neither. He wanted the name of the person that pushed him in. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
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