Brain Teasers
Riddle: They can trickle down, They can tickle too. Or make you sneeze, Or comfort you. Their rustling sound, you've rarely heard, Unless you're a pillow or a bird! What are they?
Answer: They are feathers.
Riddle: What comes once in a year, twice in a month, thrice in a week, and 4 times in a day?
Answer: The letter 'R'.Once in YEAR. Twice in the month: FEBRUARY. Three times in the days of a week: SUNDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY Four times in the times of a day: ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, TEN, ELEVEN, and TWELVE (X2 for AM & PM).
Riddle: You need me to see me, I can be quite pretty; I come in different shades, But no shapes or sizes; What am I?
Answer: An eye.
Riddle: Two women sit staring and glaring at each other across a small table. Although the two women don't appear to be friendly toward each other, they do eventually hold each other's hands. A man approaches, puts his hand on top of theirs, and says to them, "I hope I don't have to use the strap on you two." A few seconds later he quickly removes his hand, and shouts out one word to the women. Both women immediately become very tense. What is the word the man shouts to the women, and what in the world is going on here?
Answer: The word the man shouts to the women is, "Go!" This is the way most women's arm wrestling competitions start, and hopefully the wrist straps, to keep their hands from slipping apart, won't have to be used.
Riddle: Sally Johnson called 911 when she first noticed Theodore was missing, but the operator told her there was nothing the police could do until Theodore was missing for at least 24 hours. The 911 operator told Miss Johnson that Theodore would probably be found because, based on the description Sally had given of Theodore, the operator felt Theodore was not the type to run away from home. However, Miss Johnson wasn't willing to wait that long, so she sent her German shepherd dog out to look for him, after she had first let the dog have a sniff of the tiny sweater she had dressed Theodore in earlier that day. However, when the dog returned without Theodore, Sally considered calling the F.B.I., as she started thinking little Theodore might have been kidnapped. No ransom note or telephone call was received by Miss Johnson that day, however, so Sally began to systematically search her house. After frantically searching, Miss Johnson finally found Theodore in her basement --- in the washing machine --- still wet, after apparently having gone through a complete washing cycle! Why was the 911 operator so cavalier about the missing Theodore? Should D.C.F.S. be notified to investigate? Where was the adult supervision; or is there a simpler explanation for these events?
Answer: Miss Sally Johnson was a seven-year-old child who watched a lot of T.V (especially police and detective shows), and had a vivid imagination. When she lost her teddy bear (Theodore), she never considered the possibility her mother had put him in the washing machine for a much-needed cleaning, as it had become soiled from Sally’s frequent use.
Riddle: A young woman enjoys riding around on a large machine which has huge tires on the back and smaller tires on the front. She rarely carries any passengers. At times, she takes her machine on the highway, but she prefers to drive off-road to accomplish her missions. Her machine is not built for speed, as she can only reach a top speed of 25 mph. The strange thing about this woman is her hatred of grass --- she allows only a small patch of grass to exist on her property. To accomplish this, the young woman loves to use her large machine to tear up the ground on her property, until only a small portion of grass remains around her home. What is this woman's occupation, and what is the machine she uses in her profession?
Answer: The young woman is a farmer, and the machine she uses is a tractor.
Riddle: Four men sat down to play, They played all night till the break of day. They played for gold and not for fun, With separate scores for every one. When they had come to square accounts, They all had made quite fair amounts. Can you the paradox explain, If no one lost, how all could gain?
Answer: The men were musicians..
Riddle: Ralph is a very controlling person who totally dominates his partner, Sam. When Sam is in Ralph's presence, Sam is never allowed to speak, eat, or drink anything without Ralph's permission. Perhaps this is because Ralph is 6 feet six inches tall, and Sam, being less than 5 feet tall, is intimidated by Ralph's stature. Whatever the cause, most people hearing these facts would think this situation is nearly criminal; but not Sam. In fact, there are certain times when Ralph gives him permission, that Sam speaks some very sarcastic words right to Ralph's face, and sometimes even verbally abuses Ralph. In retaliation, Ralph once again silences Sam, deciding when and if Sam should ever be allowed to speak. Ralph, when in the presence of others with Sam, appears to put on a good front by putting his hand on Sam's back, hoping to show his friendship and concern for Sam. Why hasn't anyone called DCFS on behalf of poor Sam --- and what about Sam's right to free speech; or are things not quite what they appear to be? Just what is going on here?
Answer: Ralph is a ventriloquist, and Sam is his dummy.
Riddle: If someone says to you, "I'll bet you $1 that if you give me $2, I will give you $3 in return", would this be a good bet for you to accept?
Answer: No. This is a situation where you lose even if you win. Assuming the other person is being wise, they would take your $2 and say, "I lose", and give you $1 in return. You win the bet, but you're out $1.
Riddle: Monica took part in a furiously competitive race, which she won due to her speed and agility. Despite this, she was not allowed to collect the winning trophy. Why?
Answer: Monica is the name of the horse that won the race.
Riddle: A bottle costs a dollar more than a cork. Together they cost 110 cents. How much does the bottle cost and how much does the cork cost?
Answer: The right answer is that the bottle costs 105 cents, and the cork costs 5 cents.
Riddle: The fight is almost coming to an end after a five minute battle. Team one lost all of the members, except for leader Joe who carries a big hammer, which is very dangerous and strong. Team two had two remaining people with no leader but one person who uses a bat and one person that uses an axe. Team two tried cornering Leader Joe, who then surrendered. Despite the fact that leader Joe had a bigger and much more dangerous weapon than the two on the other team, why did he surrender?
Answer: It was a checkmate!
Riddle: A group of boys and girls are out after dark, stalking people in their homes in a Chicago neighborhood. The intimidation starts with the bravest of the youths ringing the bell or knocking at the door. When the homeowner answers the door, the children, in unison, begin to verbally threaten that person with a three-word threat, which often results in their demands being met. All of the boys and girls have chosen to disguise themselves so they can't be identified. It is hard to believe, but there are even a few adults who are walking along with the group, who actually encourage this brash behavior. Do these adults have no shame? Are these boys and girls being trained to be the criminals of the future? What exactly is going on here, and what is the three-word threat this group of ruffians use to intimidate people in their neighborhood?
Answer: It is Halloween night, and this group of boys and girls, accompanied by a few adults, are out in their neighborhood seeking candy and other goodies. The three-word threat they used at each house: “Trick or treat.”
Riddle: Three men, three women, and six young children are all seated around a table, staring at a dead body. This is neither a wake nor a funeral, and no one at the table appears to be distressed or sad. In fact, everyone appears to be smiling. The oldest of the three men, an elderly man with a grizzled, white beard, stands up and instructs everyone at the table to lower their heads, as he proceeds to say a few words over the deceased. The old man then says one final word, picks up a long, sharp knife, and plunges it into the corpse on the table --- much to the delight of the onlookers! Will the evils of this world never cease?! Must children be forced to watch these types of twisted, warped proceedings; or are these events less horrid than they appear? What is the one final word said by the old man with the white beard, and just what exactly is going on here?
Answer: The family members are all sitting around a table waiting for the man with the white beard to say his prayer of thanks for all of God’s blessings to them. The last word of his prayer is, “Amen”, after which, he proceeds to carve the Thanksgiving turkey, which is the dead body laying on the table.
Riddle: I can be shouted to claim, dug for riches, or buried to maim, three meanings packed in one short word. What am I?
Answer: Mine.   “Mine” carries three distinct meanings that match each clue: Shouted to claim: someone yells “Mine!” to assert ownership. Dug for riches: a mine is a place where minerals, coal, or gems are extracted. Buried to maim: a land mine is an explosive device concealed underground. The riddle packs these homonyms into one word, making “mine” the perfect answer.
Riddle: What is dark but made by light?
Answer: A shadow. A shadow is a dark area or shape produced by an object coming between rays of light and a surface.
Riddle: Once upon a time, in a temple, there were three deities: Truth, Lie, and Wisdom. The Truth Deity always told the truth. The Lie Deity always told the lie. The Wisdom Deity sometimes told the truth, sometimes told the lie. Unfortunately, those three deities looked exactly the same, so no one could distinguish them. One day, a sage came by and he differentiated them by the following trick: He asked the deity sitting on the left: "Who is the middle deity?"- "Truth", said the deity. He asked the deity sitting in the middle: "Who are you?"- "Wisdom", replied the deity. He asked the deity sitting on the right: "Who is the middle deities?"- "Lie", the deity answered. How could the sage distinguish the three deities?
Answer: The left deity is Wisdom; the middle one is Lie, and the right one is Truth. Explain: The left deity (L) said that the middle one (M) is Truth; therefore, L cannot be Truth (because there cannot be two Truth Deities!). M said he was Wisdom; therefore, he cannot be Truth. Thus, R is Truth. According to him, M is Lie and as a result, L is Wisdom.
Riddle: A husband and wife are seated facing each other with a barrier between them. Each one takes turns communicating with the other, each speaking only two words at a time. After each two-word message is conveyed, the other person answers with a one-word response. This goes on for some time, until at last, either the husband or his wife suddenly shouts out a four-word phrase which ends this scenario; however, this often causes either the husband or the wife to become angry or frustrated with the person who shouted the four-word phrase. What is going on here?
Answer: The husband and wife are playing the old game of BATTLESHIP. The two-word communications consist of a letter and a number for the coordinates of where the ships are hidden, and the one-word responses are either, "Hit" or "Miss". The final four word phrase which ends the game is, "You Sank My Battleship!"
Riddle: A group of men is suddenly awakened by a loud, piercing, continuous sound. They all scramble out of their beds, get dressed, grab a pole, and disappear into a hole. What in the world are these men doing?
Answer: The men are firemen who were on night-shift duty at their firehouse. When they heard the fire alarm, they got dressed, slid down the fire pole, and got in the fire truck.
Riddle: Little William Dilly, a five-year-old kindergarten student, approached his mother after school one day and related the following story: "Today in school I saw a man-eating lion! Then I saw a man-eating tiger! Then I saw a man-eating panther!" "That’s nice," his mother replied, only half listening to him. William continued; "And then I saw a man-eating camel and a man-eating zebra, and a man-eating sheep!" This caught his mother’s attention. "Did your class go to the zoo today? I sent no permission slip; or is your wild imagination exposing itself again --- because there are no camels, zebras, or sheep that eat people," his mother replied. "Honest, mom! I really did see everything I just told you!" Indeed, young William had seen everything he had reported to his mother. How could it be possible for William to have actually seen all he claimed to see?
Answer: Little William’s kindergarten teacher was a man who enjoyed having fun with his students. At lunchtime that day, he took out a box of animal crackers, and holding up one animal at a time he would announce to the class, “You are now seeing a man eating lion, or a man eating sheep,” etc., and then proceed to eat each cracker, much to the children’s amusement. Little William was just reporting what he had seen his teacher doing and saying that day.