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
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
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
The Blue And Red Dice Riddle
Timothy and Urban play a game with two dice. But they do not use the numbers. Some of the faces are painted red and the others blue. Each player throws the dice in turn. Timothy wins when the two top faces are the same color. Urban wins when the colors are different. Their chances are even.
The first die has 5 red faces and 1 blue face. How many red and how many blue are there on the second die?
The first die has 5 red faces and 1 blue face. How many red and how many blue are there on the second die?
Hint:
Each die has 6 faces. When two dice are thrown, there are 36 equally possible results. For chances to be even, there must be 18 ways of getting the same color on top. Let X be the number of red faces on the second die. We have: 18 = 5X + 1(6 - X)
X = 3
The second die must have 3 red faces and 3 blue faces. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
X = 3
The second die must have 3 red faces and 3 blue faces. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Little Billy's Calculator
Little Billy has a calculator with 15 buttons. He has 10 keys for 0-9, a key for addition, multiplication, division, and subtraction. Finally, he has an = sign. However, Mark the Meanie messed up the programming on Billy's calculator. Now, whenever Billy presses any of the number keys, it comes up with a random single-digit number. The same goes for the four operations keys (+,-,x, /). So whenever Billy tries to press the + button, the calculator chooses randomly between addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division. The only key left untouched was the = sign.
Now, if Billy were to press one number key, one operation key, then another number key, then the = button, what are the chances the answer comes out to 6?
Now, if Billy were to press one number key, one operation key, then another number key, then the = button, what are the chances the answer comes out to 6?
Hint: Think about how many ways he could possibly get 6.
There is a 4% chance.
There are 16 possible ways to get 6.
0+6
1+5
2+4
3+3
6+0
5+1
4+2
9-3
8-2
7-1
6-0
1x6
2x3
6x1
3x2
6/1
There are 400 possible button combinations.
When Billy presses any number key, there are 10 possibilities; when he presses any operation key, there are 4 possibilities.
10(1st#)x4(Operation)x10(2nd#)=400
16 working combinations/400 possible combinations= .04 or 4% Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
There are 16 possible ways to get 6.
0+6
1+5
2+4
3+3
6+0
5+1
4+2
9-3
8-2
7-1
6-0
1x6
2x3
6x1
3x2
6/1
There are 400 possible button combinations.
When Billy presses any number key, there are 10 possibilities; when he presses any operation key, there are 4 possibilities.
10(1st#)x4(Operation)x10(2nd#)=400
16 working combinations/400 possible combinations= .04 or 4% Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Blue Eyes Riddle
Both of my parents have brown eyes, as do I. My brother and my wife have blue eyes. Using the simple brown-blue model (two genes; a brown gene dominates blue gene), what are the chances of my first child having blue eyes?
Hint: Given my brother's blue eyes, what are the odds on my pair of eye-color genes?
1 in 3.
Since my brother has blue eyes (bb), both of my parents carry one brown and one blue gene (Bb). The three possibilities for my genotype, equally likely, are BB, Bb, and bB. Thus, there is a 2/3 chance that I carry a blue gene.
If I carry a blue gene, there is a 50% chance I will pass it on to my first child (and, obviously, 0% if I carry two brown genes).
Since my child will certainly get a blue gene from my wife, my gene will determine the eye color.
Multiplying the probabilities of those two independent events, there is a chance of 1/2 x 2/3 = 1/3 of my passing on a blue gene. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Since my brother has blue eyes (bb), both of my parents carry one brown and one blue gene (Bb). The three possibilities for my genotype, equally likely, are BB, Bb, and bB. Thus, there is a 2/3 chance that I carry a blue gene.
If I carry a blue gene, there is a 50% chance I will pass it on to my first child (and, obviously, 0% if I carry two brown genes).
Since my child will certainly get a blue gene from my wife, my gene will determine the eye color.
Multiplying the probabilities of those two independent events, there is a chance of 1/2 x 2/3 = 1/3 of my passing on a blue gene. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Days Of The Week
Hint:
Literature That Describes Imaginary Events
Hint:
The Word Candy Riddle
Hint:
Just One Word Riddle
Hint:
Turn A Girl Into A Woman Riddle
Hint:
We Turn It Off In The Morning Riddle
We turn it off in the morning, turn it on in the evening, it glows at night. It's not connected to electricity. It fits in the palm of your hand. Five letters. There is one in every house and we carry with us. If it's thrown away, you have to buy it again. What is it?
Hint:
I Am Normally Below You Riddle
Im a 5 letter word.
I am normally below you,
If you remove my 1st letter you will find me above you,
If you remove my 1st & 2 letters, you cant see me.
What am I?
I am normally below you,
If you remove my 1st letter you will find me above you,
If you remove my 1st & 2 letters, you cant see me.
What am I?
Hint:
Add Your Riddle Here
Have some tricky riddles of your own? Leave them below for our users to try and solve.