Brain Teasers
Riddle: Sofia is a student in high school. Her professor, Ms. Davis, assigned her an essay that would be due in three days. Sofia, being the worst student in her class, procrastinates and doesn't even begin the essay. Three days later, Sofia begs Ms. Davis to push the essay date back by five more days, and Ms. Davis agrees. Five days go by, and still…no essay. Sofia begs Ms. Davis to push the essay date back by a week, and Ms. Davis agrees. One week later, Sofia comes to the class with a burning candle (How did she even bring it in there?), but no essay. Sofia asks Ms. Davis if she can push the essay back until the candle wick burns out, and Ms. Davis agrees once again. Sofia laughs because she doesn't have to ever worry about the essay again. Why?
Answer: Sofia blew out the candle. She said, "until the candle wick burns out", NOT, "until the flame burns out". Therefore, Sofia can keep the candle unburned forever and never submit her essay.
Riddle: Janet is a janitor of a large museum. One day, while cleaning the ladies' room, she spots a precious ring with red gems. When Janet leaves the ladies' room, three people–Sarah, Catherine, and Harold–show up to claim it. Sarah said that the ring belonged to her grandmother; emeralds fit her green eyes perfectly anyway. Catherine asked if the ring had an engraving etched inside, and if it was damaged in any way. Harold said that he lost the ring while washing his hands; he was going to propose to his girlfriend in a few days. Janet decided that the ring belonged to Catherine. Why?
Answer: If the ring belonged to Sarah, then she wouldn't have mentioned emeralds, because the stones on the ring are red, not green. And Harold wouldn't have been allowed in the ladies' room. Catherine was the only one who knew about the engraving on the ring, as well as how precious it is, so the ring must be hers.
Riddle: Which word is the odd one out: BAIL, FAIL, PAIL, RAIL, SAIL, TAIL?
Answer: FAIL is the odd one out because it does not have a homophone. BAIL has BALE (like a bale of hay), PAIL has PALE, SAIL has SALE, TAIL has TALE, and RAIL has RALE. FAIL has FALE, which is not a real word, and therefore cannot be a homophone.
Riddle: Paul called his detective friend to report a theft. The man suspected his neighbor, Ms. Andrews, whom he thought stole his favorite figure. Paul said, "I was vacuum cleaning my room upstairs when I heard footsteps downstairs. I ran downstairs in time to see Ms. Andrews running away with my figure,". Ms. Andrews denied everything. Who should the detective believe?
Answer: The detective should believe Ms. Andrews. Vacuum cleaners are usually very noisy, so Paul couldn't possibly hear anything, let alone any footsteps.
Riddle: One afternoon, Phoebe stopped by her favorite restaurant for lunch, but she saw a waitress and a client arguing. The waitress, Sandra, claims that the client, Dave, had ordered a breakfast special and was now refusing to pay. Dave said that he had only ordered a coffee. Phoebe knew who was lying instantly. Who was it?
Answer: Sandra was lying. You don't order breakfast in the afternoon.
Riddle: Every day, pilgrims make the journey to the temple of the wooden soldiers. Upon entering the temple, most of the pilgrims seek out a holey orb with which to do battle against soldiers who are dressed in red and white uniforms. Each orb is used to attack small groups of these passive soldiers — soldiers which have the unique ability to replicate themselves whenever their ranks are assaulted by the pilgrims. The mystic orbs, like boomerangs, have the uncanny ability to return to the hand of each pilgrim when cast at the soldiers during these skirmishes. What kind of a temple is this which promotes violence by allowing people to attack innocent soldiers?
Answer: Temples like this are known as Bowling Alleys.
Riddle: For his vegetable stew recipe, Adrian needs three tomatoes and three large carrots. He also needs less radishes than tomatoes, but more radishes than cucumbers. Assuming that Adrian only uses whole numbers of vegetables, how many of each other vegetable does he need?
Answer: Adrian needs two radishes and one cucumber.
Riddle: Ainsley was having breakfast at her favorite café. She went to the bathroom, leaving her smartphone near her food. When Ainsley returned to her seat, she realized that her device was gone; she also looked just in time to see a man rushing out of the café. When she reached the man, Ainsley asked him to give her her device, but the man said, "I know nothing about your smartphone!". As soon as Ainsley heard these words, she took her device back and called the police. Why?
Answer: How did the man know that Ainsley's device was a smartphone?
Riddle: One afternoon, Aaron, a cashier at a huge grocery store, called the police to report a robbery. He said that right above him, the fluorescent light started to malfunction, so he grabbed a chair to stand on while trying to fix it. As soon as Aaron touched the bulb, he burned his hand and fell down. And when he came to his senses, the money was gone. The police officer refused to investigate further. Why?
Answer: Aaron couldn't have burned his hand because fluorescent light bulbs don't heat up. Therefore, his story is fake.
Riddle: Robert and Emma are a couple living together. Robert is rich, while Emma is broke. One day, Robert places a $50 bill on the table in their living room and leaves to go to the bathroom. Emma sees the bill and takes it for herself. When Robert comes back, he doesn't see the $50 bill; he asks Emma what happened. The woman said that a gust of wind had blown into the room and the bill flew out of the window. Robert didn't believe Emma and asked her to give him the money back. Why?
Answer: If a gust of wind flies into a room, nothing can possibly fly out of the window. The $50 bill would have just flown from the table to the floor, not the other way around.
Riddle: A man hosted a party and invited 25 people. Everyone was having fun—eating, drinking, dancing, and some were playing games. Suddenly, the host vanished. People searched for him and eventually found him dead in his room. They called the cops, and when the investigation began, they discovered that the man had written a name in his own blood before dying: “Frank.” Among the attendees, the police initially focused on five suspects: Francis, Roman, Amanda, Nji, and Kelvin. Who killed the host?
Answer: Frank , the killer is among the guests not among the suspects
Riddle: Suppose you want to send in the mail a valuable object to a friend. You have a box which is big enough to hold the object. The box has a locking ring which is large enough to have a lock attached and you have several locks with keys. However, your friend does not have the key to any lock that you have. You cannot send the key in an unlocked box since it may be stolen or copied. How do you send the valuable object, locked, to your friend - so it may be opened by your friend?
Answer: Send the box with a lock attached and locked. Your friend attaches his or her own lock and sends the box back to you. You remove your lock and send it back to your friend. Your friend may then remove the lock she or he put on and open the box.
Riddle: My first is a number, my second another, And each, I assure you, will rhyme with the other. My first you will find is one-fifth of my second, And truly my whole a long period reckoned. Yet my first and my second (nay, think not I cozen), When added together will make but two dozen. How many am I?
Answer: Four Score.
Riddle: I’m a day when truth takes a twist, and laughter is hard to resist. What am I?
Answer: April Fools' Day This directly references April Fools' Day, a time when people twist the truth with pranks to spark laughter.
Riddle: Two friends, from a very cold town in Minnesota, each had unusual life skills which helped them in their adventures together. The first of the friends was a tall, lanky individual who, at times, possessed almost super-human strength, had the ability to remember everything he ever ate, and could accurately forecast the weather by reading a bunion on his foot --- but he wasn't known for being very intelligent. The second of the friends, known for his higher intellect, made a lot of short, solo flights, but he never obtained his pilot's license. He usually wore a pair of aviation goggles on top of his head. Their arch enemies were two Russian-like spies who doggedly pursued them, and these spies were led by a man without fear. Can you name the two friends from this very cold Minnesota town?
Answer: Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose, otherwise known as Rocky and Bullwinkle. The two Russian-like spies (Boris and Natasha) were lead by the infamous Fearless Leader.
Riddle: Billy and Sally set out on a journey to visit a famous castle, but they both forgot to bring any food, water, or money with them. At the onset of their trip, they saw a beautiful rainbow in the sky which they considered to be a good omen. Fortunately for them, along the way, they found some friendly individuals who offered them some high-calorie treats to eat --- gumdrops and peanut brittle being two examples. At one dangerous point in their journey, they had to pass through a swamp, but fortunately, no alligators were seen. Finally, they arrived at the castle, and after a brief visit there, they left the castle, went to a nearby eatery, and had tuna fish sandwiches for lunch. Where in the world was this famous castle located?
Answer: Billy and Sally were children, playing a game of Candy Land.
Riddle: I Make Reading A Challenge, And That Can Cause Some Damage. I Am Difficult To Manage, But When That Happens, The Passage Is Much Less Savage. I Make Many People Frown, But The Answer Is Just To Slow Down. I Know This Is Not What You Had Planned, I Just Hope You Will Understand. What Am I?
Answer: I'm Dyslexia.
Riddle: I hang around all day and night keeping you safe. I might have only one arm, but it is very strong. Nevertheless, I can defend you and everything you care about without moving a muscle. What am I?
Answer: A padlock.
Riddle: Ryan and his son Ralph go to a pet store. Ralph sees a very cute rabbit, and asks Ryan to buy it for him. Ryan seems unsure about it, and tells Ralph, "Oh, Ralph, these rabbits can breed every two months, and each time, they will produce four bunnies. We're going to have so many rabbits in our house after a year, and I don't want to take care of them! They'll be too much to take care of!". Ralph laughs at Ryan and says,"Don't be so silly, Dad! We're not going to have that many rabbits in our house after that long!". Who is correct, and how many rabbits will Ralph and Ryan have in a year?
Answer: Ralph is correct; they will only have one rabbit after a year. Ralph and Ryan only saw one rabbit in the pet store, but a single rabbit simply can't breed on its own; it takes TWO rabbits to breed. Therefore, after one year, the two of them will only have that one rabbit…if they choose to buy it, that is.
Riddle: One night, Reyanna-a young and famous singer who recorded her first album just a half a year ago-was invited to perform at a concert. When it was her turn to sing, the audience was extremely excited…but Reyanna never appeared on the stage; she was found in her dressing room, unconscious. Police officers questioned three other singers who had to perform that night. Maria: I'm new to show business, so I came up to Reyanna to ask for some advice, but I didn't hit her! Christina: My cousin is one of Reyanna's biggest fans; she's been listening to her for years! I've even gotten her autograph for her! Erica: I didn't even see Reyanna-I was too nervous to leave my dressing room to go on stage! Who hit Reyanna?
Answer: It was Christina who hit Reyanna. She said that her cousin had been listening to Reyanna for YEARS, but the singer recorded her first album only six MONTHS ago.