Riddle: Mr. Martinez is a philosophy teacher at a prestigious university. One day, he places a pencil onto his desk and gives his students an assignment: to write a short essay on the following topic- why the pencil does not exist. The student with the most convincing argument would get an A, while everyone else would get a D. An hour later, all of the students handed in their papers; most of them filled up the front and back of their papers, but one boy wrote just two words and he got the A. What words did he write?
Riddle: Serena made a cake for her husband's birthday. She wanted to save it for the evening, but at that time, Serena found that someone had eaten the cake! The woman concluded that it must have been one of her kids–either Justin, Theodore, or Mia–so she questions them. Justin says, "It was Theodore!". Theodore says, "It was Mia!". And Mia says, "Theodore is lying!". Assuming that only the culprit lies, and that the innocent kids tell the truth, who ate the cake?
Answer: Theodore ate the cake. If Justin was the thief, then he and Theodore would be lying, and Mia would be telling the truth, which contradicts the conditions. And if Mia was the thief, then she and Justin would be lying, and Theodore would be telling the truth; this also goes against the rules. Therefore, Justin and Mia are telling the truth, and Theodore is lying, which means that Theodore is the thief.
Riddle: Imagine that you have three eggs. Now, I give you four eggs. And your rooster lays two more eggs. How many eggs do you have now?
Answer: You have four eggs–the ones I gave you. Those three eggs from the start don't count because they're imaginary (IMAGINE that you have three eggs). And those two eggs your rooster lays don't count either because roosters don't lay eggs.
Riddle: There are two species of citizens on a foreign planet: Hamburgs and Helphands. There are 10,000 Hamburgs, and Helphands make up 50% of the population. How many Helphands are on the foreign planet?
Answer: There are 10,000 Helphands on the foreign planet. If there are only two species of citizens on the planet, and Helphands make up 50% of the population, then Hamburgs must make up the other 50% of the population, with 10,000 of them. If there are 10,000 Hamburgs, then there are also 10,000 Helphands.
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: Five friends-Albert, Brenda, Carl, Diana, and Eric–raced around a track. Albert finished before Brenda but after Carl. And Diana finished before Eric but after Brenda. In what order did each friend finish?
Answer: From first to last, the order in which the friends finished is: Carl, Albert, Brenda, Diana, and Eric.
Riddle: There are two rooms in front of you. On the door to each room, there is a sign; only one of the signs tells the truth. The sign on the door to the first room says, "There is treasure here. A monster lurks in the other room,". And the sign on the door to the second room says, "The treasure and the monster are in different rooms,". Where is the treasure?
Answer: The treasure is in the second room. If the first sign is true, then the second sign is true, too. This contradicts the terms of the game. Therefore, the first sign is false, and the second sign is truthful.
Riddle: Angela had a disease that required her to take pills. One day, her doctor prescribed her three pills that would help to cure her of her disease. She needed to take one pill every 30 minutes. How much time will pass before Angela takes all of the pills?
Answer: One hour will pass. Once Angela takes the first pill, she'll wait 30 minutes. After that, she will take the second pill and wait another 30 minutes. And then she will take the last pill after that. After all, the first pill doesn't take 30 minutes to take.
Riddle: I have a certain number of candies, X. If I divide them into groups of three, then two candies will be left. If I divide them into groups of five, then three candies will be left. And if I divide them into groups of seven, then two candies will be left. How many candies do I have?
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.