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"Any" Riddles - Next 10 of 557.
Riddle:
From a tent, with my band, a sickness I induce. Not a camper, not a musician, not an illness. With my paint, wearing tailored clothes, my remedy heals all. Not an artist, not a tailor, not a doctor. Along follow sharp knives and teeth, to some a gift and others a nightmare. Not a cop, not a zookeeper, not a dream. What am I?
Answer: A clown. performes in a tent with other performers(clowns,animals,knife jugglers), makes people laugh, many find clowns funny or frightening.
Riddle:
I'm two for one, I speckle and I sparkle, I give and I take, and I come in many forms. Who or what can I be?
Answer: The riddle "Opposition of permanence" is unanswered. Do you know the answer? If so, click and add your answer in the comments section.
Riddle:
Shirley grew up in a family that loved desserts ------ especially one dessert! Many arguments occurred during dessert time in Shirley's family, and on a few occasions, these disputes nearly led to blows. The person serving the dessert was usually the one accused of creating the contentious atmosphere. The accusations usually centered around the color distribution allotted to each family member. People were always o.k. with the amount of orange, white, light green, and yellow they received, but the distribution of the red was always a major point of contention. God help anyone who dared to pass out more of the red part of the dessert to any one person sitting at the table, for if they did, all hell would break loose! It's amazing to think a simple canned desert could cause such an uproar, but it did, and in certain families, still does today. What is this common dessert which caused such a commotion in Shirley's family?
Answer: Fruit cocktail. If the red cherry pieces are not evenly distributed, people sometimes get upset. The Del Monte company actually had to add a separate can to their lineup of fruit cocktails to appease their customers due to this problem. They call it Very Cherry, and it contains more cherries than their original can.
Riddle:
In the home where Mabel resides, she has a reputation for walking very slowly, even though she is only 40 years old. Her slowness doesn't appear to be related to arthritis or to other medical ailments, but is more likely due to heredity, as her parents both had the same condition. Mabel does not use a walker or a cane to move about, and a wheelchair would be out of the question. Mabel is an extreme introvert who basically stays in her home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Although it sounds a bit strange, you could say, even when Mabel leaves her home --- she stays at home. Although she frequently leaves the front door to her home open, she is easily frightened, causing her to immediately shut that front door when she feels threatened in any way. Mabel's caretakers frequently laugh at her and sometimes point their fingers at her as she struggles to move along. The caretakers allow Mabel only small rations of food and water each day, and they never give her a shower. Where are the abuse investigators? Where is the justice? Or are things not as bad as they appear to be for Mabel?
Answer: Mabel is a Box Turtle who is the house pet of a family with several children. She is well cared for, but instinctively closes the front door of her shell and pulls her legs in if she senses danger, which includes inquisitive children.
Riddle:
If someone were to write a biography about us, the following could be reported: #1 - Every basketball player needs a good one. #2 - we can be seen on most Christmas trees. #3 - One of us is a famous Captain. #4 - We are often delivered in square rings. #5 - We often accompany a line and a sinker. Based on the biographical information above --- Who/what are we?
Answer: We are Hooks/hook.
Riddle:
I Look peaceful and lovely without, Yet dangerous and harmful within; The flies come around me, for I am colorful and beautiful; But none dares to touch me; For if any does touch me, I make an end of life for such; for I'll will feed on it. What am I?
Answer: I am the sundew flower.
Riddle:
Irene is an amazing artist. She can draw anything and everything, and draw them all well. The unique thing about Irene's art is she uses both of her hands to draw her pictures, even though she is not ambidextrous. Holding a round piece of plastic in each of her hands, she is able to create magnificent works of art. Irene, however, has one great fear in her life --- Earthquakes!!! Now, Irene is a mentally healthy person with a stable personality, so why in the world should this talented artist have a constant fear of earthquakes, which rarely happen in the state of Florida where she resides? Does her fear of earthquakes have anything to do with her type of artwork, and if so, exactly what type of art does Irene create?
Answer: Irene is an Etch-a-Sketch artist who keeps her completed pictures on the walls of her home. One good shake from an earthquake, and all of her pictures could be erased.
Riddle:
Place three piles of matches on a table, one with 11 matches, the second with 7, and the third with 6. You are to move matches so that each pile holds 8 matches. You may add to any pile only as many matches as it already contains. All the matches must come from one other pile. For example, if a pile holds 6 matches, you may add 6 to it, no more or less.
You have three moves. How can you do it?
Answer: First pile to second; second to third; third to first:
| Pile | Initial number | First move | Second move | Third move |
| First | 11 | 11-7=4 | 4 | 4+4=8 |
| Second | 7 | 7+7=14 | 14-6=8 | 8 |
| Third | 6 | 6 | 6+6=12 | 12-4=8 |
Riddle:
You have 52 playing cards, 26 red, and 26 black. You draw cards one by one. A red card pays you a dollar. A black one fines you a dollar. You can stop any time you want. Cards are not returned to the deck after being drawn. What is the optimal stopping rule in terms of maximizing your expected payoff? Also, what is the expected payoff following this optimal rule?
Answer: The solution to this problem is, in my opinion the most difficult to understand of all the puzzles. Indeed I was unable to solve it and didn't receive a complete solution until two years after originally posting it. The final solution, in the form of the spreadsheet was sent to me by Han Zheng. For this reason I have left on the page the thoughts i had before I had the final solution as they represent an easier to understand and more simplistic approach. Also the reasoning may help you arrive at the final solution by yourself or help you understand it. I would recommend reading that answer before you dive into the full answer. But an important thing to note are that as the player we can't lose this game as we can gamble till all the cards are drawn and our net position is zero. From our earlier analysis it is clear we need a dynamic quit rule. A singal value is not sufficent. We must, at each stage consider what cards are remaining, and therefor the probability of a positive or negative outcome from drawing again. For the explanation i will ask you first to consider a deck containing only 6 cards, 3 +ve & 3 -ve (note i'm no longer calling the cards black and red, it confuses me.)
Riddle:
How many black beans will make five white ones?
Answer: Five when peeled.
