Problem of the Week

A riddle problem is a question or statement intentionally phrased so as to require ingenuity in ascertaining its answer or meaning, typically presented as a game. Below is a list of the past problem of the week riddles in descending chronological order.

Rungs Of A Ladder

POW: 03-24-2025

The rungs of a 10-foot ladder attached to a ship are 1 foot apart. If the water is rising at the rate of one foot an hour, how long will it take until the water covers the ladder?

Answer: It will never cover the ladder because as the water rises, so will the floating ship.

Even Seven

POW: 03-17-2025

How do you make the number 7 even without addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division?

Answer: Drop the "S" and "seven" becomes "even".

Nuts And Bolts Riddle

POW: 03-10-2025

A box of hardware contains nuts and bolts. The bolts account for 25 percent of the number of items in the box. What percentage are the bolts of the entire box?

Answer: 20 percent. For example, there are 10 bolts. Since the number of bolts is 25 percent of the number of items, there must be 40 nuts. The total number of items = 10 bolts + 40 nuts = 50. So, 10/50 = 1/5 = 20%.

Forty-Five

POW: 03-03-2025

Find four numbers, the sum of which is 45, so that if 2 is added to the first number, 2 is subtracted from the second number, the third number is multiplied by 2 and the fourth number is divided by 2, then the four numbers so produced are all the same. What are the four numbers?

Answer: 8 + 2 = 10 12 - 2 = 10 5 x 2 = 10 20 ÷ 2 = 1045

Pawn Shop Ponzi Scheme

POW: 02-24-2025

Jack had only $2, but he needed $3 for his cab fare home. He went to a pawn shop and pawned his $2 for $1.50. Jack then bumped into Don and told him that he would sell him his $2 pawn ticket for $1.50. Don agreed. Jack started out with $2 and he ended up with $3. Who is out the extra dollar and why?

Answer: Don is out the extra dollar. Before the pawn broker will return the $2 to the ticket holder, he will want the $1.50 which he advanced returned to him. Don will give the pawn broker the ticket and the $1.50, and the pawn broker will then return the $2.

How Do Eight Eights Add Up To One Thousand

POW: 02-17-2025

How can you write down eight eights so that they add up to one thousand?

Answer: 888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 1000.

Odd Brick Out

POW: 02-10-2025

Jack has 8 bricks, 7 of them weigh the same but one is slightly heavier. Using a balance scale, how can Jack find the heavier brick in two weighings?

Answer: First, he splits them into piles of 3, 3, and 2 bricks. Then, he weighs both groups of 3 with each other. If they balance he knows the brick is one of the 2 unweighed bricks and he can weigh them to find the heavier one. If the stacks of 3 bricks do not balance, he will weigh 2 of the 3 bricks. If they balance he will know the brick left unweighed is heavier, or if they do not balance, he will find the heavier one.

Doubling

POW: 02-03-2025

A tree doubled in height each year until it reached its maximum height over the course of ten years. How many years did it take for the tree to reach half its maximum height?

Answer: Nine Years.

When Asked How Old She Was Suzie Replied In Two Years

POW: 01-27-2025

When asked how old she was, Suzie replied, "In two years I will be twice as old as I was five years ago." How old is she?

Answer: She's 12!

Math Equation Riddle

POW: 01-13-2025

81 x 9 = 801. What must you do to make the this equation true?

Answer: Turn it upside down. 108 = 6 x 18.

Rungs Of A Ladder

Even Seven

Nuts And Bolts Riddle

Forty-Five

Pawn Shop Ponzi Scheme

How Do Eight Eights Add Up To One Thousand

Odd Brick Out

Doubling

When Asked How Old She Was Suzie Replied In Two Years

Math Equation Riddle

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