Found In Tall Buildings
I have buttons but Im not a shirt
I have doors but Im not a house
I go up and down but Im not an umbrella
I need at least two stories but Im not a book of fairytales
Im found in tall buildings but Im not a penthouse
What am I?
I have doors but Im not a house
I go up and down but Im not an umbrella
I need at least two stories but Im not a book of fairytales
Im found in tall buildings but Im not a penthouse
What am I?
Hint:
Put It In A Glove
This is something you might hold
Of a person that you love
When it's really cold outside
You might put it in a glove
Of a person that you love
When it's really cold outside
You might put it in a glove
Hint:
Logs That Are Aflame
This can be found inside some homes
But can you work out its name?
Surrounded by a mantelpiece
It has logs that are aflame
Its...
But can you work out its name?
Surrounded by a mantelpiece
It has logs that are aflame
Its...
Hint:
Crossing The Desert Riddle
A camel driver has to cross the desert and get to the Nile River to transport his merchandise. It takes six weeks to cross the desert and get to the Nile River. He can only carry four weeks of food for himself and his camel at any time because the camel also has to carry his merchandise. If he can not get help from anyone else or get anymore camels, and there is an unlimited supply of food where he is at, how can he cross the desert and get to the Nile River?
Hint:
He takes four weeks of food and leaves two weeks of food supplies in the one week mark and goes back with the one week of food supply left. Then he goes back with four weeks of food and picks up one week of food supplies from the one week mark giving him four again in total, then he leaves two weeks of supply in the two week mark and goes back to the one week mark and picks up the one week food supply to go back. Then he leaves with the four weeks of food supply and goes to the two week mark and picks up the two week food supplies that were there giving him four weeks of food again, then he goes to the Nile River with the four weeks supply of food. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
An Area With Little Rain
This is an area with little rain
So youre unlikely to see many trees
Kalahari, Negev, Atacama
Gobi and Sahara what are all these?
So youre unlikely to see many trees
Kalahari, Negev, Atacama
Gobi and Sahara what are all these?
Hint:
By Yourself In A Graveyard
If youre by yourself in a graveyard
And you suddenly hear a moan
Just hope you dont see a zombies arm
Coming out from under a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
And you suddenly hear a moan
Just hope you dont see a zombies arm
Coming out from under a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Hint:
Orbiting The Earth
Hint:
Displayed In December
I have a baby boy but Im not a parent
I have animals but Im not a zoo
I have a star but Im not a solar system
I have angels but Im not heaven
I have shepherds but no fields
Im displayed in December but Im not a Christmas tree
What am I?
I have animals but Im not a zoo
I have a star but Im not a solar system
I have angels but Im not heaven
I have shepherds but no fields
Im displayed in December but Im not a Christmas tree
What am I?
Hint:
Under The Cup Riddle
You decide to play a game with your friend where your friend places a coin under one of three cups. Your friend would then switch the positions of two of the cups several times so that the coin under one of the cups moves with the cup it is under. You would then select the cup that you think the coin is under. If you won, you would receive the coin, but if you lost, you would have to pay.
As the game starts, you realise that you are really tired, and you don't focus very well on the moving of the cups. When your friend stops moving the cups and asks you where the coin is, you only remember a few things:
He put the coin in the rightmost cup at the start.
He switched two of the cups 3 times.
The first time he switched two of the cups, the rightmost one was switched with another.
The second time he switched two of the cups, the rightmost one was not touched.
The third and last time he switched two of the cups, the rightmost one was switched with another.
You don't want to end up paying your friend, so, using your head, you try to work out which cup is most likely to hold the coin, using the information you remember.
Which cup is most likely to hold the coin?
As the game starts, you realise that you are really tired, and you don't focus very well on the moving of the cups. When your friend stops moving the cups and asks you where the coin is, you only remember a few things:
He put the coin in the rightmost cup at the start.
He switched two of the cups 3 times.
The first time he switched two of the cups, the rightmost one was switched with another.
The second time he switched two of the cups, the rightmost one was not touched.
The third and last time he switched two of the cups, the rightmost one was switched with another.
You don't want to end up paying your friend, so, using your head, you try to work out which cup is most likely to hold the coin, using the information you remember.
Which cup is most likely to hold the coin?
Hint: Write down the possibilities. Remember that there are only three cups, so if the rightmost cup wasn't touched...
The rightmost cup.
The rightmost cup has a half chance of holding the coin, and the other cups have a quarter chance.
Pretend that Os represent cups, and Q represents the cup with the coin.
The game starts like this:
OOQ
Then your friend switches the rightmost cup with another, giving two possibilities, with equal chance:
OQO
QOO
Your friend then moves the cups again, but doesn't touch the rightmost cup. The only switch possible is with the leftmost cup and the middle cup. This gives two possibilities with equal chance:
QOO
OQO
Lastly, your friend switches the rightmost cup with another cup. If the first possibility shown above was true, there would be two possibilities, with equal chance:
OOQ
QOO
If the second possibility shown above (In the second switch) was true, there would be two possibilities with equal chance:
OOQ
OQO
This means there are four possibilities altogether, with equal chance:
OOQ
QOO
OOQ
OQO
This means each possibility equals to a quarter chance, and because there are two possibilities with the rightmost cup having the coin, there is a half chance that the coin is there. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
The rightmost cup has a half chance of holding the coin, and the other cups have a quarter chance.
Pretend that Os represent cups, and Q represents the cup with the coin.
The game starts like this:
OOQ
Then your friend switches the rightmost cup with another, giving two possibilities, with equal chance:
OQO
QOO
Your friend then moves the cups again, but doesn't touch the rightmost cup. The only switch possible is with the leftmost cup and the middle cup. This gives two possibilities with equal chance:
QOO
OQO
Lastly, your friend switches the rightmost cup with another cup. If the first possibility shown above was true, there would be two possibilities, with equal chance:
OOQ
QOO
If the second possibility shown above (In the second switch) was true, there would be two possibilities with equal chance:
OOQ
OQO
This means there are four possibilities altogether, with equal chance:
OOQ
QOO
OOQ
OQO
This means each possibility equals to a quarter chance, and because there are two possibilities with the rightmost cup having the coin, there is a half chance that the coin is there. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
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
The Same Birthday Riddle
How many people must be gathered together in a room, before you can be certain that there is a greater than 50/50 chance that at least two of them have the same birthday?
Hint:
Only twenty-three people need be in the room, a surprisingly small number. The probability that there will not be two matching birthdays is then, ignoring leap years, 365x364x363x...x343/365 over 23 which is approximately 0.493. this is less than half, and therefore the probability that a pair occurs is greater than 50-50. With as few as fourteen people in the room the chances are better than 50-50 that a pair will have birthdays on the same day or on consecutive days. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Knights Of The Round Table Riddle
King Arthur, Merlin, Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, and Guinevere decide to go to their favorite restaurant to share some mead and grilled meats. They sit down at a round table for five, and as soon as they do, Lancelot notes, "We sat down around the table in age order! What are the odds of that?"
Merlin smiles broadly. "This is easily solved without any magic." He then shared the answer. What did he say the odds were?
Merlin smiles broadly. "This is easily solved without any magic." He then shared the answer. What did he say the odds were?
Hint: Does it matter if they are sitting clockwise or counterclockwise? Or where the oldest sits?
The odds are 11:1. (The probability is 1/12.)
Imagine they sat down in age order, with each person randomly picking a seat. The first person is guaranteed to pick a seat that "works". The second oldest can sit to his right or left, since these five can sit either clockwise or counterclockwise. The probability of picking a seat that works is thus 2/4, or 1/2. The third oldest now has three chairs to choose from, one of which continues the progression in the order determined by the second person, for a probability of 1/3. This leaves two seats for the fourth oldest, or a 1/2 chance. The youngest would thus be guaranteed to sit in the right seat, since there is only one seat left. This gives 1 * 1/2 * 1/3 * 1/2 * 1 = 1/12, or 11:1 odds against. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Imagine they sat down in age order, with each person randomly picking a seat. The first person is guaranteed to pick a seat that "works". The second oldest can sit to his right or left, since these five can sit either clockwise or counterclockwise. The probability of picking a seat that works is thus 2/4, or 1/2. The third oldest now has three chairs to choose from, one of which continues the progression in the order determined by the second person, for a probability of 1/3. This leaves two seats for the fourth oldest, or a 1/2 chance. The youngest would thus be guaranteed to sit in the right seat, since there is only one seat left. This gives 1 * 1/2 * 1/3 * 1/2 * 1 = 1/12, or 11:1 odds against. 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
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 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
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