Riddle: Lisa and Lola are operating two different vehicles, but both of them fell asleep. Lisa is driving her car to work, while Lola is flying in an airplane. Whose decision is less wise?
Answer: Lisa's decision is less wise. Lola most likely has a copilot flying with her, but there's no such thing as a co-driver, so Lisa will most likely get into a car accident.
Riddle: A mad chef forces you to cook breakfast for him; if he likes it, he'll set you free, but if not, you'll stay with him forever. While you're at the stove cooking something up, the chef dumps an entire container of salt into the pot you're cooking with. But when you serve breakfast, the chef realizes he'll have to let you go. What did you cook for him?
Answer: You cooked some boiled eggs. No matter how much salt is added to the pot, the boiled eggs won't be salty.
Riddle: There are five doors in front of you in the following order: black, blue, black, black, blue. Only one door will lead you to freedom, and you only have one chance to pick it. Assuming that all three hints are true, can you pick the correct door? 1) The correct door is black. 2) The correct door is not next to the leftmost or the rightmost door. 3) The correct door is not in the middle.
Answer: The leftmost door is the correct door. There are only three black doors, so it's one of them (we can eliminate doors two and five because they are blue and not black). The fourth door should be eliminated next because it's next to the rightmost door, which contradicts the second hint (we can't eliminate the first door because it's not correct to say that the leftmost door is next to itself). And the middle door is a trap, too. Therefore, the first door is the best choice.
Riddle: Three hens lay three eggs in three days. How many eggs do 15 hens lay in 15 days?
Answer: If three hens lay three eggs in three days, then one hen lays one egg in three days. In 15 days, one hen will lay five eggs. Therefore, 15 hens will lay 75 eggs in 15 days.
Riddle: Claudia invented a game for her friends to play at her birthday party. Here is how it goes: she will place two marbles into a box– one yellow marble, and one purple marble. The player will have to pull out one of the marbles from the box. If the marble is yellow, the player will win $100.00, but if the marble is purple, the player will have to pay $10.00. Claudia decided to trick the players by putting two purple marbles into the box, rather than one yellow and one purple. Brian watched the other players lose the game one by one. But when it was his turn, he won $100.00! How did he do it?
Answer: Brian pulled out one of the marbles, and, without showing it to anyone, quickly put it in his mouth, being careful not to swallow it. Then, he pulled out the remaining marble, which was purple, and showed it to everybody. According to the rules, it meant that the marble Brian had chosen was yellow. Claudia had to admit it, otherwise, everyone at the party would know that she was a liar.
Riddle: Zane is a big boss in a hugely successful company. Every week, however, he finds out that one of his worst employees has been stealing his documents. After a whole year of stolen documents, Zane rounds up his three worst employees– Kelly, Raymond, and Natalia– and questions them. Kelly says, "Raymond has been stealing your documents!". Raymond says, "I haven't been stealing your documents!". Natalia says, "I haven't been stealing your documents, either!". Only one of the employees is telling the truth. Who has been stealing the documents, and which employee is telling the truth?
Answer: Natalia has been stealing the documents. Raymond is telling the truth. If Kelly was the one stealing the documents, then she would be lying, and Raymond would be telling the truth. But then, Natalia would also be telling the truth, which goes against the condition that only one employee is telling the truth. If Raymond was the one stealing the documents, then he would be lying, Kelly would be telling the truth, and Natalia would also be telling the truth. This also contradicts that only one employee is honest. If Natalia was the one stealing the documents, then she is lying. But then, who is telling the truth? It's not Kelly, because if it was so, both she and Natalia would be telling the truth, and Raymond would be lying, which doesn't meet the requirements. Therefore, Raymond is telling the truth, Kelly and Natalia are both lying, and Natalia is the one stealing the documents.
Riddle: Zoe wants to do a science experiment where she drops two tennis balls into two buckets. She will drop the first tennis ball into a bucket filled with water at a temperature of 20°C, and she will drop the second tennis ball into a bucket at 20°F. Assuming that both tennis balls are completely identical and that they are both dropped into the buckets simultaneously, which ball will reach the bottom of its bucket first?
Answer: The tennis ball dropped into the second bucket will reach the bottom first. The water in the first bucket will slow down the first tennis ball, and thus, it will take longer for that ball to reach the bottom of the bucket. Did you think the "water" in the second bucket had to be frozen at 20°F? Well, I didn't say that there was water in the second bucket–the bucket ITSELF was at 20°F. Therefore, there is no water or ice to slow the first tennis ball down.
Riddle: Dillon, Brandon, and Jacob are brothers. Assuming that all three of the following statements are true, which of them is the youngest? 1) Dillon is the oldest. 2) Brandon is not the oldest. 3) Jacob is not the youngest.
Answer: Brandon is the youngest brother. Dillon cannot be the youngest brother because the first statement says that he is the oldest; he can't be the oldest brother and the youngest one at the same time. Jacob cannot be the youngest brother either, because the third statement says that he is NOT the youngest; he can't be the youngest brother and NOT the youngest one at the same time. This leaves us with Brandon.
Riddle: Irene and her friend Mark were walking down the street when they saw two houses. Mark wanted to play a game with Irene. He said, "One family lives in each house. And each family has two pets: either dogs or cats. The first family has a dog who likes dry food, while the other pet likes canned food. The second family has a 6-year-old dog and a newborn pet. If you can guess which family has a cat, I'll take you out for lunch." Irene manages to get the riddle right, and the two of them go out for lunch. Which family did she choose?
Answer: Irene chose the first family. There are three different possibilities for the pets that the first family has: 1) an older dog and a younger cat; 2) a younger dog, and an older cat, and; 3) two dogs. Two of these options involve a cat, and all of them are equally possible, so the chance of the first family having a cat is 2/3. There are two different possibilities for the pets that the second family has: 1) a 6-year-old dog and a newborn dog, and; 2) a 6-year-old dog and a newborn cat. One of these options involves a cat, and both of them are equally possible, so the chance of the second family having a cat is 1/2. Irene's odds of winning will be higher if she chooses the first family.