Snowball's Chance

0 = S C in H
2 = G for E B (BBS)
3 = H on the D C
4 = F on a P
26 = M in a M
76 = T in the M M
97 = P W
600 = C in the L B

200 D for P G in M

1 H in a D
3 V in a T
4 S on a V
8 P of S in the E L
8 D a W in the B S
9 J on the S C
9 S in T T T

90 Degrees in a Right Angle

3 B M (S H T R)
5 T on a F
9 L of a C
15 M on a D M C
23 P of C in the H B
26 L of the A
27 B in the N T
39 B of the O T
90 D in a R A

24 Hours in a Day

24 = B. B. in a P.
24 = B. B. to a C.
24 = D. P. to the I. for M. I.
24 = H. in a D.  
24 = S. Z. of I. T.

451 D F

435 = S. in the H. of R.
451 = D. F. at which B. B.
500 = F. F. H. C.
500 = M. in the I. F. H.
500 = S. in a R.

Lucky 13

13 = U for S
13 L in a B D
13 = S on the A F
54 = C in a D (with the J)
9 = P in the S S

Been A While Since I Did Some Statistics

How many 2 digit numbers can you make using the digits 1, 2, 3 and 4 without repeating the digits?

Imagine What They Would Do to the Linens

What always goes to bed with shoes on?

Commuters Nightmare

What kind of running means walking?

Can Climb Mountains

What can climb mountains,
cross streams,
handle hundreds of feet each day,
yet never moves?


I've been reading the Dresden series by taking the books out of the library.  It's been saving me a lot of money given how many books Butcher puts out.

Middle You Can See With

Another submission from a reader:


The middle you can see with,
The end is end's start,
The beginning I won't tell you,
But the whole stops your heart.

A Jeff Original (TM) 






Have your own riddle to post?  Send them in (use my e-mail in the About Me section in the sidebar).

For Others I'm Slow

For some I go fast
for others I'm slow.
To most people, I'm an obsession
relying on me is a well practiced lesson.


This question was posted by an anonymous reader who signed it : ~A.S.T. & Heidelberg High School~ 

Dagger Thrust to the Heart

A dagger thrust at my own heart,
Dictates the way I’m swayed.
Left I stand, and right I yield,
To the twisting of the blade.

What am I?

This one reminds me of Kingdom Hearts.

Five Women and Five Household Items

Five women each purchase a household item for use in a different room.  Can you work out the full name of each woman, her item and where she keeps it?

1. Mrs. Simpson does not keep her item in the bedroom.
2. Amy has a television; Mrs. Griggs has a radio.
3. Kylie does not keep her item in the bedroom.
4. Clara does not have a telephone.
5. Mrs. Williams does not keep her item in the kitchen.
6. Kylie keeps hers in the conservatory.
7. Michelle has a bookcase; Mrs. Dingle has a computer.
8. Michelle does not keep her in the living room.
9. Mrs. Pringle keeps hers in the study; Roxanne keeps hers in the kitchen.

First Names: Amy, Clara, Kylie, Michelle, Roxanne
Last Names: Dingle, Griggs, Pringle, Simpson, Williams
Items: Bookcase, Computer, Radio, Telephone, Television
Locations: Bedroom, Conservatory, Kitchen, Living Room, Study

Speaking of WOT series, anyone have an update on when the last book is due out?  I can't believe I've been reading this series for 20 years, now.

First Is Often at the Front Door

My first is often at the front door.
My second is found in the cereal family.
My third is what greed leads you to acquire.
My whole is one of the united states.

Seriously, is Angry Birds getting to be everywhere?

Pilgrims Trivia

Last year, I left you with some Thanksgiving trivia.  This year I think I'll post some trivia questions on the Mayflower and the Pilgrims.  Since I'll be gone until next week, the answers are posted below the questions.

Questions
1. You know about the Mayflower, but what was the name of the other ship the Pilgrims had planned on carrying then to the New World?
2.  What country did the Pilgrims leave from?
3. How many children were born on the Mayflower during the voyage?
4.  How many days did it take before the first land fall?
5.  John Carver was the first governor of the Plymouth Colony, how many terms did he serve?
6.  102 passengers set sail, 102 passengers made landing (one birth and one death).  But how many survived that first winter?
7.  What was the name of the tribe that helped the Pilgrims and later celebrated that first Thanksgiving with them?
8. Who was the captain of the Mayflower?








Answers
1. Speedwell was the name of the other ship.  After having trouble and having to turn around twice, the Pilgrims decided to travel on the Mayflower alone.
2. The Pilgrims had been living in the Netherlands but left from England on Sept 6, 1620.
3.  One, his name was Oceanus.
4.  66 days, for an average of 2 mph.
5. He was elected twice, the first time he was elected in November 1620, while aboard the Mayflower.  He was again elected in March 1621.  He died just one month later in April 1621.
6.  Only 51 survived the first winter in Plymouth.
7.  The Wampanoag tribe, which was led by Massassoit.
8.  The captain of this ship was Christopher Jones.   During that first winter, the Mayflower crew also suffered there in Plymouth, with almost half dying.  It did not leave until April 5, 1621.

Magnetic Bar of Iron

There are two bars of iron. One bar is magnetized along its length, while the other is not. Using just the two bars, without any other items, how can you tell which bar is magnetized and which bar is not?



I do like the Geronimo Stilton series.  The Kingdom of Fantasy series in particular has been enjoyable.

Counting Odd One Out

Which word is the odd one out: First Second Third Forth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth.



Has anyone tried the Kindle Fire? I'm wondering if it's as good as all the press.

Missing Gallows

An old parchment describes the location of buried treasure:”On the island there are only two trees, A and B, and the remains of a gallows. Start at the gallows and count the steps required to walk in a straight line to tree A. At the tree turn 90 degrees to the left and then walk forward the same number of steps. At the point where you top drive a spike into the ground.

Now return to the gallows and walk in a straight line, counting your steps, to tree B. When you reach the tree, turn 90 degrees to the right and take the same number of steps forward, placing another spike at the point where you stop. Dig at the point exactly halfway between the spikes and you will find the treasure.”

However, our hero when he gets to the island finds the gallows missing. Is there any way he can still get to the treasure?

Quick Logic on Bees and Flowers

In a pond there are some flowers with some bees hovering over the flowers. How many flowers and bees are there if both the following statements are true:

1. If each bee lands on a flower, one bee doesn’t get a flower.
2. If two bees share each flower, there is one flower left out.

Which Man Died?

There are five acquaintances. One of them shot and killed one of the other five. Which man is the murderer?
1. Dan ran in the NY City marathon yesterday with one of the innocent men.
2. Mike considered being a farmer before he moved to the city.
3. Jeff is a top-notch computer consultant and wants to install Ben's new computer next week.
4. The murderer had his leg amputated last month and has not recovered fully.
5. Ben met Jack for the first time six months ago.
6. Jack has been in seclusion since the crime.
7. Dan used to drink heavily.
8. Ben and Jeff built their last computers together.
9. The murderer is Jack’s brother; they grew up together in Seattle.

Five Gates

A joy to hold or hold for joy
Windows out or maybe in
Never filled but too much may lessen
And sometimes to be, lost in the cold
 Whilst another finds the spice of life
But in truth.

Gates to the world?

A Time When They're Green

A time when they're green,
A time when they're brown.
But both of these times cause me to frown.
But just in between for a very short while,
They're perfect and yellow and cause me to smile!

What are they?


His Dark Materials is good so far.  I'm thrown off by the start of the second book, though.  To start off with a whole new main character is disturbing after focusing in so much on Lyra in the first.

Steps Into It

What does a dog do, that a man steps into?



And no, I'm not going for the obvious answer!

One is Sitting Down But Will Never Get Up

I give you a group of three,
One is sitting down but will never get up,
The second eats as much as is given to him,
yet is always hungry.
The third goes away and never returns...

What are they?



No one seems to be responding to my questions about what they're reading?

All About But Cannot Be Seen

All about but cannot be seen,
can be captured,
cannot be held,
no throat but can be heard.

What am I?

Exploding stones?  Who would have thought?

Run to the Water

Fifty people are standing on the beach. One of them pulls out a gun and says "I will shoot the last one that gets in the water."

There are two people left on the beach, one of them is running to the water, the other one is you.

What would you do?


Frustrated with my iRoomba lately.  I think it needs a new battery,  I hope it works.

Five Hundred, Five and One

Five hundred begins it, five hundred ends it,
Five in the middle is seen;
First of all figures, the first of all letters,
Take up their stations between.
Join all together, and then you will bring
Before you the name of an eminent king

Safe and Secure

As a whole I am both safe and secure,
Behead me, and I become a place of meeting.
Behead me again and I am the partner of ready.
Restore me and I become the domain of beasts.

 What am I?




I do like to watch Biggest Lose but I've never tried their cookbooks. Have you?

Work Smarter, Not Harder

What work is it that the faster you work,
the longer it is before your done
and the slower you work the sooner your finished?



Just started The Secret of Zoom. Good starting chapter and the girl is a funny observer.

Feeling Cold?

What traps warmth, sprays forth ice and water and slips through your fingers with ease?


Got George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones 4-Book Bundle on sale, but have never watched the show.

Long or Short, Round or Square

I can be long, or I can be short.
I can be grown, and I can be bought.
I can be painted, or left bare.
I can be round, or square.

What am I?

Still reading How Firm a Foundation (Safehold) by David Weber, how about you?

Bent or Broken

What can be made, bent, broken, changed and followed but not twisted?


 Book I'm reading right now: The Secret of Platform 13

Three Riddles for the Price of One

Which three things all have eyes but none can see?
Which two things have mouths but cannot speak?
What has ears but cannot hear?



 Currently, I'm reading How Firm a Foundation (Safehold)

Couple of Rebus

A couple of rebus, can you find the phrases hidden inside these two clues?

1.
Peace
Earth

2.
Jumping
Joy
Joy
Joy
Joy

From the book: Everything Brain Strain Book: Over 400 Puzzles, Riddles, And Mind-Benders To Flex Your Mental Muscles (Everything: Sports and Hobbies)

Prime Time Soccer

At the end of the soccer season, every player had scored a prime number of goals and the average for the eleven was also a prime number.  No player's tally was the same as anyone else's, and neither was it the same as the average.

Given that nobody had scored more than forty-five goals, how many goals did each player score?

Like yesterday, this puzzle comes out of The World's Biggest Book of Brainteasers & Logic Puzzles.

Shepherds on Hillsides

In every group of shepherds in Hyperborea, at least one is a Sororean, who always speaks truthfully, and at least one is a Nororean, who always speaks falsely.

A visitor approached four shepherds on a hillside and asked each how many of the four were Sororeans. These answers were given:

• Three of us are Sororeans.  
• One of us is. 
• There are two of us. 
• None of us are Sororeans. 

The visitor approached four more shepherds on another hillside and asked how many were Nororeans. Their answers follow:

• We are all Nororeans. 
• One of us is. 
• Three of us are. 
• The fourth shepherd declined to speak. 

How many of the shepherds on the two hillsides were Sororeans?

 This puzzle comes out of The World's Biggest Book of Brainteasers & Logic Puzzles

Letter Equation Competition

3 S and Y O
6 P for a T D
20 M in a P
4 R for a G S H R

Fly to Clouds of Heaven

I am a wingless bird, flying even to the clouds of heaven. I give birth to tears of mourning in pupils that meet me, even though there is no cause for grief, and at once on my birth I am dissolved into air. What am I?

Shift to Enter

You may enter, but you may not come in, I have space, but no room, I have keys, but open no lock. What am I?

Modern Day Riddle

I am always at your side. To a slab my tail is tied And my eyes are both inside my belly. Tickle my back, one/two/three! Wisdom and folly are yours to see. -http://catb.org/~esr/riddle-poems.html

Moon and Sea

The Moon is my father,
the Sea is my mother;
I have a million brothers,
I die when I reach land.

Old Time Riddle of Rings

A hoard of rings am I,
but no fit gift for a bride;
I await a sword's kiss.

Riddle on the Wave

A wonder on the wave / water became bone.

  - Book of Exeter

Shoulder a Gargantuan Wooden Rail

1. Perambulate in moccasins, and shoulder a gargantuan wooden rail. 2. Allow somnolent quadrupeds that are homo sapien's greatest comrades to remain reclining. 3. Lack of what is required is the matriarch of inspiration. 4. A maximum amount of purposeful activity and a minimum amount of disport and dalliance cause Jack to become a dim-witted, stagnant dunce of the male species. 5. That which is acquired without difficulty is dispersed with equal facility. 6. It is more desirable to arrive in the medium of time which constitutes a later than desirable hour or date than not to arrive at all.

Say What?

He who locks himself into the arms of Morpheus promptly at eventide, and starts the day before it is officially announced by the rising sun, excels in physical fitness, increases his economic assets and celebrates with remarkable efficiency. What common phrase is hidden in the complicated sentence above?

Friday Night Calls

The sun bakes them, the hand breaks them, the foot treads on them, and the mouth tastes them. What are they?

A Logic Master Party

I go to a party with my wife. When we get there, four other couples arrive at the same time. We all know each other, so we all greet each other. A greeting can be a handshake, a kiss, a hug, or whatever. When everyone is done I ask everyone how many times they shook another person's hand. All answers I get are different. Given that nobody greets their own spouse, how many hands did my wife shake?

Travel Over Cobblestone or Gravel

Used left or right, I get to travel, over cobblestone or gravel. Used up, I vie for sweet success, used down, I cause men great duress. What am I?

Is it Possible

Find a 5 digit number, as big as possible, that when you multiply it by a single digit number, you get a six digit number, in which all digits are identical.

Three Darts in One Hemisphere

You throw three darts onto the surface of a globe, each from a randomly chosen direction. What is the probability that all three darts are in one hemisphere?

A Bit More Complicated

You have 55 matches arranged in some number of piles of different sizes. You now do the following operation: pick one match from each pile, and form a new pile. You repeat this ad infinitum. What is the steady state? Is it unique? By steady state I mean the number of piles will remain unchanged or you create an unending loop.

Six Digits

You have a number that consists of 6 different digits. This number multiplied by 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 yields, in all cases, a new 6-digit number, which, in all cases, is a permutation of the original 6 different digits. What's the number?

Create Twenty-Four

Create the number 24 using (all of) 1, 3, 4, and 6. You may add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Parentheses are free. You must use each digit only once. Note that you may not "glue" digits together. (14 - 6) * 3 is not a solution. 13 * 4 * 6 is not a solution either (powers not allowed).

Feels Like Punctuation is Missing

Two friends mr and mr saw see one day mr see saw sea and mr saw didn't see sea see saw sea and jumped in sea saw didn't see sea but jumped in in sea See saw saw in sea and saw saw see in sea. see saw?

Eight Lab Rats Work on Their Logic

Eight lab rats (Nolan, Shorty, Spike, Evelyn, Herman, Dottie, Ruth, and George) are dispersed among an arrangement of ten boxes as represented above by the letters A to J. The boxes connect vertically and horizontally, but not diagonally. Eight boxes each have one rat, and two boxes are vacant. From the clues given, determine where each rat is and which boxes are vacant.

1. Herman is in the same horizontal row as either or both vacant boxes.
2. Shorty connects with Ruth.
3. Nolan connects with a vacant box but not with Dottie.
4. Shorty connects with a vacant box.
5. Evelyn is not in B or I but does connect with Spike.
6. Nolan has a corner box.
7. A vacant box connects only with George and Evelyn.
8. Dottie is in G.

 Found this one at Crad Kilodney.

Leads All in Victory

My first is foremost legaly. My second circles outwardly. My third leads all in victory. My fourth twice ends a nominee. What am I?

Is Never Falls Located in Never Land?

Iron roof, glass walls, burns and burns and never falls.

Feet Do Not Touch the Ground

No mouth, no eyes, yet a nose, two arms, two feet, and as it goes, the feet don’t touch the ground, but all the way the head runs round. What is it?

Steamed, Not Shaken

I run, though I have no legs to be seen. I possess no heat, yet I do have steam. I have no voice to let words out, but from far away you can still hear me shout. What am I?

I Take My Time

I move very slowly at an imperceptible rate, although I take my time, I am never late. I accompany life, and survive past demise, I am viewed with esteem in many women’s eyes. What am I?

Second is Performed

My second is performed by my first, and, it is thought, a thief by the marks of my whole might be caught. What am I?

Window and Lamp

I am a window, I am a lamp, I am clouded, I am shining, and I am coloured; set in white, I fill with water and overflow. I say much, but I have no words. What am I?

Always Feeling Old

Always old, sometimes new, never sad, sometimes blue. Never empty, sometimes full, never pushes, always pulls.

More is Less

The more you have of it, the less you see. What is it?

Green is the Color of Death

High born, my touch is gentle, purest white is my lace; silence is my kingdom, green is the colour of my death. What am I?

Bitterly Pressed

Two brothers we are, great burdens we bear, all day we are bitterly pressed; Yet this I will say – we are full all the day, and empty when we go to rest. What are we?

Blue as Blue Can Be

What is always blue?

Not an Egg

What falls but never breaks, what breaks but never falls?

Cannot Get Enough Number Equations

21 = D on a D 29 = D in F in a L Y 64 = S on a C B 5 = D in a Z C 90 = D in a R A

Equations or Songs?

9 N on the T C 21 N on the G S 76 T L the B P 99 B OF B on the W

A Little Bit Less Historic

31 = D in O =
31 = F of BRIC
31 = ICFABR
32 = DF at which WF
32 = T counting WT
33 = CQ for the IFH
36 = I on a YS
36 = IIAY
36 = N on a RW
36 = RM
37 = NBTDC
38 = N on a RW
39 = L in ML

How High Can You Go?

1805 = SFS
1854 = FNS in the CW
1863 = ALD the GA
1865 = PALA by JWB
1901 = FNPA
1943 = FECB
1945 = B of N and H
1953 = EHCE
1963 = PKA
1969 = NA and EAW on the M
1977 = EP, K of R, D
1989 = TSP in B

Letter Equations of 50 or More

50 = C in a HD
50 = R to T
50 = S on the AF
50 = S in the U
50 = W to LYL
50 = Y in a J
52 = C in a D
52 = W in a Y
54 = C in a D with the J
54 = S on a RC
55 = D at P
56 = SOTDOI
57 = HV

Teenagers

Mary, John and Pete have red, brown, and blonde hair, and are 13, 14, and 15 years old . Using the following clues determine the hair color, and age of each child.

1. The youngest has blonde hair.
2. John is older than Pete.
3. John does not have red hair and Pete does not have blonde hair.

Felis Catus Logic Puzzle

Five cats lived with their owners on Felis Street. The cats, including Ratchett, caused the local fire brigade to be called out five times one night last week. They all did that mad cat thing of becoming stuck up a tree.

Trees: Ash, Beech, Elm, Oak, Willow
Firemen: Ken, Jock, Boris, Dirk, Rick
Cats: Fluffy, Slater, Percy, Tiddles, Ratchett

Which fireman rescued which cat from which tree?


1. Fluffy, the giant ginger tom, became stuck up the willow tree; his rescuer was not Ken.

2. Jock did not rescue a cat from the willow tree, did Boris?

3. Slater, the tortoiseshell moggy, was rescued by Dirk.

4. Rick rescued the cat from the ash tree, this was not the adorable black and white kitten called Percy.

5. Tiddles was not stuck in the ash tree.

6. Ken did not rescue a black and white cat, but he climbed a tree whose first letter was directly after the initial of the name of the fireman that climbed the beech tree to rescue one defenceless little kitty.

Single Living Logic

An apartment building contains six apartments with three upstairs (201,202,203) and three downstairs (101,102,103), each with a single occupant.

Three of them are female - Sally, Denise, and Jenny. Three of them are male - Bob, John, and Tom.

Each person owns a vehicle - two U.S. cars - a Ford Escort, and a Chevy Impala, 3 foreign cars - a Zastava Yugo, a Honda Civic, and a Toyota Corrolla, and a bicycle.

With the clues below can you show which person lives in each apartment and what vehicle they own?

Bob lives on the lower floor.
Sally lives between John and Denise.
John owns an American car.
The person in Apartment 203 owns a bicycle.
Jenny lives directly below John.
The Yugo owner lives in Apartment 103.
Bob lives between Tom and Jenny.
Tom owns a foreign built car.
The person in apartment 101 drives a foreign built car.
The Impala owner lives on the lower floor.
The Escort owner lives upstairs.
A female owns the bicycle.
A male owns the Escort.
The person in apartment 101 owns the Toyota.

Starts with ne

What starts with "Ne,"
And is one of nine,
And ends with "ne,"
And is eighth in line?

Last Carrol Puzzle

(a) No interesting poems are unpopular among people of real taste.
(b) No modern poetry is free from affectation.
(c) All your poems are on the subject of soap-bubbles.
(d) No affected poetry is popular among people of real taste.
(e) No ancient poem is on the subject of soap-bubbles.

I pulled the three Lewis Carrol puzzles from here.

More Lewis Carrol Logic

What can you conclude from the following four statements?

(a) None of the unnoticed things, met with at sea, are mermaids.
(b) Things entered in the log, as met with at sea, are sure to be worth remembering.
(c) I have never met with anything worth remembering, when on a voyage.
(d) Things met with at sea, that are noticed, are sure to be recorded in the log.

Lewis Carrol, Three Statements

What can you conclude from Lewis Carrol's logic puzzle:

(a) All babies are illogical.
(b) Nobody is despised who can manage a crocodile.
(c) Illogical persons are despised.

Word Puzzles You Can Count On

1.
123456789
US

2.
t___i___m___e
abde

3.
learning <-----

learning
learning
learning

4.
UWIN+
ULOSE+

Rebus Brain Teasers

1.
hi way
pass

2.
chawhowhorge

3.
camping
night

4.
playshort


5.
1,000,000 air

Does this make sense to you?

There is a field with sheep and cows.
Each sheep can see twice as many cows as it can see sheep.
Each cow can see the same number of sheep as it can see cows.
How many cows and how many sheep are there?

Longfellow

Half-way up the hill, I see thee at last, lying beneath me with thy sounds and sights -- A city in the twilight, dim and vast, with smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights.

Two Bodies in One

Two bodies have I
Though both joined in one.
The more still I stand,
The quicker I run...

Take as Much as You Like

I am nothingness, and the more you take from me, the bigger I get.

A Counting Problem

How many terms are contained in (a + b + c)²⁰ .

Your Daily Dose of Word Puzzles

1.
DAYDAYOUT

2.
THOUGHT AN

3.
SEARCH

AND

4.
222222222day

5.
VIT_MIN

1 END 3 END 5 END 7 END 9 END

Can you tell what each of these five word puzzles mean?


1.
soiudte


2.
S   M
E   U
O   S
G   T
T   C
A   O
H   M
W   E


3.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWYZ
QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ


4.
oz
e


5.
1 END 3 END 5 END 7 END 9 END 

Tick-Tack-Toe Game

Tick-Tack-Toe

David and Angela play a game of tick-tack-toe. In this game, the players try to get three circles or three crosses in a row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal).

They follow the following rules:

A player always tries to win: if a player can place his own symbol (X or O) in a row which already contains two of his own symbols, he will do so.

A player always tries to avoid that his opponent wins: if a player can place his own symbol (X or O) in a row which already contains two of the symbols of his opponent, he will do so.

Of course, the first rule has precedence over the second rule, because the game can be won in this way.

In the game shown on the right, 6 moves have been done. David plays with crosses (X) and Angela plays with circles (0). However, we don't know who started the game.

Who will win this game?



If you're like me, you may be having trouble seeing the image of the board I tried to create. So here's a more basic image:
O | O |
----------
O | X |
----------
X | X |

Moon Cable

A large space agency has decided to build a base on the moon. For this purpose, a cable must be laid around the moon's equator. When the cable is laid, it turns out to be 1 meter short. In a quickly arranged meeting, it is decided to investigate the possibility to lay the whole cable in a groove.

How deep does the groove need to be to make this work?

The agency's director considers digging a groove, no matter how deep, around the entire circumference is too expensive. He suggests to lay the whole cable just a bit north of the equator. How many meters north of the moon's equator should the cable be laid to settle the problem of the lacking 1 meter of cable?

Golden Opportunity

It has a golden head
It has a golden tail
but it hasn't got a body.

What is it?

Help Win an iPad2

Hi all,
I never do this, but I'd like to make a personal appeal.  My daughter was entered into a contest to win an iPad2.  She painted a pottery piece at PYOP for her teacher at school.  The lady who runs it liked it enough to enter it into her summer contest to win an iPad2.  At six years old, that would be quite a prize.

If you have a facebook account, please head on over to the PYOP album (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150194490771739.307688.40310146738) and like here photo (the one with the butterfly).  In case you're wondering, it's a dunk mug.  You can put cookies down at the bottom, for dunking!

Thanks for helping out!  We'll be back to our puzzles on Monday.  Happy father's day to all the dads out there!

Ants on a Board

There are 100 ants on a board that is 1 meter long, each facing either left or right and walking at a pace of 1 meter per minute.

The board is so narrow that the ants cannot pass each other; when two ants walk into each other, they each instantly turn around and continue walking in the opposite direction. When an ant reaches the end of the board, it falls off the edge.

From the moment the ants start walking, what is the longest amount of time that could pass before all the ants have fallen off the plank? You can assume that each ant has infinitely small length.

Reindeer Line

There are nine reindeer, all in a line.  Can you figure out the order?

Comet behind Rudolph, Prancer and Cupid. Blitzen behind Cupid and in front of Donder, Vixen and Dancer. Cupid in front of Comet, Blitzen and Vixen. Donder behind Vixen, Dasher and Prancer. Rudolph behind Prancer and in front of Donder, Dancer and Dasher. Vixen in front of Dancer and Comet. Dancer behind Donder, Rudolph and Blitzen. Prancer in front of Cupid, Donder and Blitzen. Dasher behind Prancer and in front of Vixen, Dancer and Blitzen. Donder behind Comet and Cupid. Cupid in front of Rudolph and Dancer. Vixen behind Rudolph, Prancer and Dasher.

This one is from Kevin.

Generous Buzz

When Buzz gathered his 2001 records for his CPA, he found that he had made six donations, each for a different amount of money and totaling $1500, to six local youth sports teams, including a softball team. Given the data below, can you find how much in sports deductions Buzz has for 2001: the contribution to each team and the sport the team plays?

1. Buzz donated twice as much to the basketball team as he did to the Knights.
2. The contribution to the Comets was less than that to the football team.
3. For his donation to the soccer team, which was $50 more than he gave the Rovers, the soccer team advertised Buzz's gas station on the back of their jerseys.
4. The Lions got $150 more from the service station operator than the baseball team did.
5. The smallest donation of the six was for $50.
6. The Hawks received twice as much money from Buzz as the soccer team.
7. Before actually seeing the receipts again, Buzz thought that his largest donation had been $600 and that he had given the hockey team $250; he found that the largest contribution was for less than $600 and that the hockey donation was for less than $250.
8. Buzz gave the Knights $50 more than he gave the Devils.
9. The largest donation wasn't the one to the youth basketball team.

Six of One

The expression, "Six of one, half a dozen of another," is commonly used to indicate that two alternatives are essentially equivalent, because six and a half dozen are equal quantities. But are "six dozen dozen dozen" and "a half dozen dozen dozen" equal?

There are 5 ships in a port

The greek ship leaves at six and carries coffee.
The ship in the middle has a black chimney
The English ship leaves at nine.
The French ship with a blue chimney is to the left of a ship that carries coffee.
Right to the ship carrying cocoa is a ship going to Marseille.
The Brazilian ship is heading for Manila.
Next to the ship carrying rice is a ship with a green chimney.
A ship going to Genoa leaves at five.
The Spanish ship leaves at seven and is to the right of the ship going to Marseille.
The ship with a red chimney goes to Hamburg.
Next to the ship leaving at seven is a ship with a white chimney.
The ship on the border carries corn.
The ship with a black chimney leaves at eight.
The ship carrying corn is anchored next to the ship carrying rice.
The ship to Hamburg leaves at six.


Which ship is going to Port Said?
Which ship is carrying the tea?

Teacher is so Smart

After studying roman numerals for a short time, the teacher had given the class some free time.  Sally's teacher walked up to her desk and saw that she had written:

XI + I = X

on her paper.

He was quick to point out her mistake.  Sally protested, saying she had it right.  After demonstrating what she meant, the teacher apologized and moved on.

What did Sally point out?

Helen and Who Are Not Very Close

Yesterday evening, Helen and her husband invited their neighbours (two couples) for a dinner at home. The six of them sat at a round table. Helen tells you the following:

1. Victor sat on the left of the woman who sat on the left of the man who sat on the left of Anna.
2. Esther sat on the left of the man who sat on the left of the woman who sat on the left of the man who sat on the left of the woman who sat on the left of my husband.
3. Jim sat on the left of the woman who sat on the left of Roger.
4. I did not sit beside my husband.

What is the name of Helen's husband?

Random Walk

A drunk leaves a bar (rather forcefully).  After standing up and dusting himself off (rather unsuccessfully), he decides to walk home.  Unfortunately for him, he has no idea where home is and has no way of deciding which way to go.  He is on a street traveling east-west only, making things simpler for him.

With each step, he's just as likely to turn around and walk back in the direction he came from.  After 20 steps, how likely is it he will be back where he started from (right in front of the bar)?

Time to Play

It goes up, but at the same time goes down. Up toward the sky, and down toward the ground. It's present tense and past tense too, come for a ride, just me and you.

What is it?

Split the Tab

You've been out to a restaurant with a group of people from work. The bill is now on it's way. Time for either a bit of philosophy/game theory. What's the best way to handle the bill? You have three choices: Split the bill evenly, pay for what you ordered, or got to the trouble of asking for separate checks?

For a good write up on the problem, try mindyourdecisions.

Not Exactly Chicken Nuggets

On a nice summer day, two tourists visit the Dutch city of Gouda. During their tour through the center they spot a cosy terrace. They decide to have a drink and, as an appetizer, a portion of hot bitterballs. The waiter tells them that the bitterballs can be served in portions of 6, 9, or 20.

What is the largest number of bitterballs that cannot be ordered in these portions?

Class is Almost Over

The gentlemen Dutch, English, Painter, and Writer are all teachers at the same secondary school. Each teacher teaches two different subjects. Furthermore:

• Three teachers teach Dutch language
• There is only one math teacher
• There are two teachers for chemistry
• Two teachers, Simon and mister English, teach history
• Peter doesn't teach Dutch language
• Steven is chemistry teacher
• Mister Dutch doesn't teach any course that is taught by Karl or mister Painter.

The Question: What is the full name of each teacher and which two subjects does each one teach?

In case anything has been missed:
The four first names are Karl, Peter, Simon, and Steven
The last four names are Dutch, English, Painter and Writer.
The classes are Chemistry, Dutch, History and Math.

Usual Suspects

Four suspects; A, B, C and D have been arrested for possibly stealing the car of the chief of police. They were all interviewed personally by the chief, and were hooked up to the lie detector.

Each suspect gave three statements during the examinations, that are listed below:
Suspect A:
In high-school I was in the same class as suspect C.
Suspect B has no driving license.
The thief didn't know that it was the car of the chief of police.

Suspect B:
Suspect C is the guilty one.
Suspect A is not guilty.
I never sat behind the wheel of a car.

Suspect C:
I never met suspect A until today.
Suspect B is innocent.
Suspect D is the guilty one.

Suspect D:
Suspect C is innocent.
I didn't do it.
Suspect A is the guilty one.

Unfortunately, there was a lightning strike and the machine went haywire. After the recovery process, the machine only reported that exactly four of the twelve statements were true, but not which ones. And now all four suspects have gotten lawyers and are refusing to be re-interviewed.

Can you figure out which suspect did it?

There are four cards lying on the table. In order, the cards show: E V 2 7. Each card has a digit on one side and a letter on the other side.

Which cards should you turn around to test the following statement: "when there is a vowel on one side of a card, then there is an even digit on the other side"?

Only One True Answer

There is only one true answer.

Here are three answers:
A. Answer A
B. Answer A or B
C. Answer B or C

Which of the following statements are true?

1. Precisely one of these statements is untrue.
2. Precisely two of these statements are untrue.
3. Precisely three of these statements are untrue.
4. Precisely four of these statements are untrue.
5. Precisely five of these statements are untrue.
6. Precisely six of these statements are untrue.
7. Precisely seven of these statements are untrue.
8. Precisely eight of these statements are untrue.
9. Precisely nine of these statements are untrue.
10. Precisely ten of these statements are untrue.

How Good Are You at Adding

   ABCABA
   BBDCAA
   ABEABB
+ ABDBAA
--------------
AAFGBDH

Each letter represents one digit.  No two letters represent the same digit.

What's the sum equal to?

Socks Again

So, here you are, packing your socks up again in the dark. You would think you would have learned your lesson from the whole 'cat incident', but no. You still have 2 red, 4 yellow, 6 purple, 8 brown, 10 white, 12 green, 14 black, 16 blue, 18 grey, and 20 orange socks (see yesterdays post on sock packing). But on your last trip you were embarrassed to find you had ended up packing three pairs of orange socks. You certainly stood out in that crowd. And when your boss asked you on the third day if you even bothered to change your socks... well!

This time, you want to guarantee you have three different pairs, to make it clear, without having to say so, that yes... you do indeed change your socks once a day.

So how many socks do you have to pull out before you know for sure you have three different colored pairs?

Packing Socks in the Dark

Image via Wikipedia

In your bedroom you have a drawer with 2 red, 4 yellow, 6 purple, 8 brown, 10 white, 12 green, 14 black, 16 blue, 18 grey, and 20 orange socks. The socks are all jumbled together in the drawer. It is dark in your bedroom, your partner is still asleep and so you don't want to turn on the light to see. So you cannot see which sock is which in the dark.

You are packing for a trip that will take you three days, so you need three pairs of socks.

How many socks do you need to take out to be sure that you have at least three pairs of socks of the same color?

Lucky Or Not

Image by cliff1066™ via Flickr

You are a card shark, thrown in jail after you were caught dealing from the bottom of a deck. The sheriff, who has a reputation for being honest, has told you the swinging judge is on his way to town for the trial. You plead for him to let you out promising never to return to his territory again.

He says, "Sure, but let's see how lucky you truly are."

He shows you a special deck with 23 cards in it. One side of each cards has an X, while the other side has on O. He throws the cards behind you (you cannot turn around and look, yet). He tells you 14 of them have landed with the X side up (which means the other nine landed with the O up).

He pushes you into the cell and closes the door, leaving you without any light at all. Calling through the door, he sets the challenge. "Put the cards into two stacks, so that both stacks have the same number of X's facing up! I'll be back in one hour."

You can hear him laughing as he walks away.

You spend the next 55 minutes gathering the cards together. One had fallen behind the cot's leg, making it especially hard to find in the dark. You made sure not to flip any of them over so that there are still 14 cards with the X side up, assuming the sheriff wasn't lying to you about that.

You have five minutes left to meet the challenge. What do you do?

No One Volunteered to Put an Apple on Their Head

Image via Wikipedia

William is playing archery blindfolded. The first arrow he shoots, unfortunately misses the bulls eye. The second arrow misses the bulls eye by an even wider margin. William shoots his third and final arrow.

How likely is it William's third shot is also worse than his first shot?

Bring Out Your Dead!

What can bring back the dead,
make us cry,
make us laugh,
make us young,
born in an instant,
yet lasts a lifetime?

Boy Wakes Up

A man wakes up in the morning, but it is still dark out.  He lights 10 candles throughout his house as he gets ready to go out for the day.   A strong wind comes through the front window, blowing out two of the candles.  So he shuts the window.   He notices a wind blows through the back door, blowing out another candle, so he shuts the door.

He goes out for the day and comes back that evening.  How many candles does the man still have?

Can You Trust the Delivery Guy

Image via Wikipedia

An undercover cop was shocked by what he had overheard. The gang he had infiltrated was planning on murdering his old partner Jake. He knew the gang had bribed someone else at the police dept, but he didn't know who. He had to get a message out to his partner so they could meet.

Quickly, he wrote out a message and got it delivered. Since he didn't know who to trust at the department, it was in code.

At the dept, Jake opened up the letter and read: "Flame mate weighty soak shave. comedy debut stake scared.", glanced at the clock on the wall and realized he still had time to make the meet.

How did Jake know when and where to meet?

Seen But Not Heard

What can be seen even though you cannot see it?

Twist and Shout

You can spin, wheel and twist, but this thing can turn without moving.

What is it?

Need Want a Some Hint Help

2 9 3 1 8 4 3 6 5 7 ?

What's the next number in this sequence?

Why Money is Important

A horse is worth as much as two bulls and one sheep.
A bull is worth as much as two cows.
Two cows are worth as much as five donkeys.
A donkey is worth as much as four sheep.
How many sheep is a horse worth?

Net Figures

The numbers 1 up to and including 8 must be put in the circles of the depicted net. However, numbers in neighbouring circles must differ more than 1. So, for example, circles connected to a circle with a 4 may not contain a 3 or a 5.



Think that one was easy? Try this one.
The numbers 1 up to and including 9 must be put in the circles of the second figure in such a way that the sum of the corners of each of the 7 triangles (4 small ones and 3 large ones) is equal.

To answer in the comments, give the numbers in order for each row of the two figures.

Make Just One Move

26 - 63 = 1

The above equation is wrong, but can you fix it with just one move?

Anyone Else Back From Vacation?

Image via Wikipedia

In a contest, four fruits (an apple, a banana, an orange, and a pear) have been placed in four closed boxes (one fruit per box). People may guess which fruit is in which box. 123 people participate in the contest. When the boxes are opened, it turns out that 43 people have guessed none of the fruits correctly, 39 people have guessed one fruit correctly, and 31 people have guessed two fruits correctly

How many people have guessed three fruits correctly, and how many people have guessed four fruits correctly?

In My Opinion, This is Hard to Do

This is a famous problem from 1882, to which a prize of $1000 was awarded for the best solution. The task is to arrange the seven numbers 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0, and eight dots in such a way that an addition approximates the number 82 as close as possible. Each of the numbers can be used only once. The dots can be used in two ways: as decimal point and as symbol for a recurring decimal. For example, the fraction 1/3 can be written as
   .
. 3

The dot on top of the three denotes that this number is repeated infinitely. If a group of numbers needs to be repeated, two dots are used: one to denote the beginning of the recurring part and one to denote the end of it. For example, the fraction 1/7 can be written as
  .               .
. 1 4 2 8 5 7

Note that '0.5' is written as '.5'.

How close can you get to the number 82?

The Tax Man Cometh

(1) Everyone is afraid of the tax man.

(2) The tax man is afraid of only me.

Who am I?

Twice the Fun at Half the Price

Someone shows you two boxes and he tells you that one of these boxes contains two times as much as the other one, but he does not tell you which one this is. He lets you choose one of these boxes, and opens it. It turns out to be filled with $10. Now he gives you the opportunity to choose the other box instead of the current one (and give back the $10 from the first box), because the second box could contain twice as much (i.e. $20).

The Question: Should you choose the second box, or should you stick to your first choice to maximize the expected amount of money?

Letter Blocks

Molly has a set of four alphabet blocks. Each side of these blocks is printed with a different letter, making 24 in total. Molly notices that by rearranging the blocks, she can spell each of the following words:

BOXY, BUCK, CHAW, DIGS, EXAM, FLIT,
GIRL, JUMP, OGRE, OKAY, PAWN, ZEST

What letters are on each block?

Riddle of Bilbo

An eye in a blue face
Saw an eye in a green face.
"That eye is like to this eye"
Said the first eye,
"But in low place
Not in high place."

So Here On Every Stop

Summer days make me want to play.
Hello, weather! What a beautiful day!
On the ground I see my bare feet.
Everyone knows it's time for a treat!
So, what is the answer to this riddle?

Riddle Behind You

The more you take, the more you leave behind.

What is it?

Not Trying to Fool You, But Who Turned on the Snow?

I am used to bat with, yet I never get a hit.
I am near a ball, yet it is never thrown.

What am I?

Feasting Bright Upon the Eyes

I know a thousand faces, and count the tailed heads, feasting bright upon the eyes, of many who have died. Wielding well a mighty power, who hath but humble stature.

What am I?

Riddle Without Weapons

I defend without weapons, stand without legs, wound without force, and am harder to fight than to kill. What am I?

Keys Made by Jake

Image via Wikipedia

Mary and Linda were two of the first five people who came into Jake's Hardware yesterday. Each of the five, including Jones and Silkwood, wanted to have a key duplicated. From this information and the clues, can you determine the full names of Jake's first five customers, the order in which they visited the store, and what type of key each had copied?

1. None of the five has the same first and last initial.
2. The first customer duplicated a key to her boat and the fifth duplicated her car key.
3. Sam was Jake's customer before John, but not just before.
4. One customer, not John, duplicated a house key.
5. Smith is not the one who got a key to a garage duplicated.
6. Susan got a copy of her office key made.
7. Mills got a key after the one who got a garage key made.
8. Larkin isn't the one who got an office key.

In no particular order:
Order: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
First Name: Sam, John, Susan, Mary, Linda
Last Name: Jones, Silkwood, Smith, Mills, Larkin
Type of Key: Boat, Car, House, Garage, Office

A Plumber, a Carpenter and an Electrician Walk Into a Bar

A plumber, a carpenter, and an electrician applied for jobs with a famous construction firm. From the information given below can you identify each worker's full name, job, and age?

1.
Names: Federer, Nadal, Agassi.
Surnames: Tim, John, Bjorn.
Ages: 25, 30, 35 (but not respectively).

2. Tim, the electrician, is older than Federer.

3. Nadal is the carpenter.

4. The plumber is 30 years old.

5. The youngest worker of the three is not called Bjorn.

Lady or the Tiger

The king explained to the prisoner that in Room 1, if a lady is in it, then the sign on the door is true. But if a tiger is in it, the sign is false. In the Room II, the situation is the opposite: a lady in the room means the sign on the door is false, and a tiger in the room means the sign is true. It is possible that both rooms contain ladies or both rooms contain tigers, or that one room contains a lady and the other a tiger.

Room 1 Sign: Both rooms contain ladies
Room 2 Sign: Both rooms contain ladies

Pointing to the signs, the king asked the prisoner which room did he wish to choose?

This puzzle comes from the Lady or the Tiger

Dancing Partners

Image via Wikipedia

At the annual dancer's ball a number of very experienced dancers performed their favourite dance with their favourite partners. Alan danced the tango, whilst Becky watched the waltz. James and Charlotte were fantastic together. Keith was magnificent during his foxtrot and Simon excelled at the rumba. Jessica danced with Alan, but Laura did not dance with Simon.

Can you determine who danced with whom and which dance they each enjoyed?

Which Spy Did the Deed

- First Name - Surname - Code Name
1. Nick - Hing - Hadenov
2. Choo - Anfit - Fingsarov
3. Hans - Errs - Nodapov
4. Baz - Teale - Tikelikov

At the Spy-of-the-Year competition, the results had just been announced. The problem was, someone had tampered with the paper they were written on, altering the order, so that although each item was in the correct column, only one item in each column was correctly positioned. The judges could only remember the following facts about the correct order.

1) Hing was not second
2) Nodapov was one place above Teale
3) Neither Fingsarov nor Nodapov was first
4) Hing was one place below Nick
5) Neither Hans nor Nick were third.

I Can See Clearly

What builds up castles, tears down mountains, makes some blind, helps others to see?

Emeralds and Diamonds

I am emeralds and diamonds, lost by the moon. I am found by the sun and picked up soon. What am I?

One Two Four

Some have one. Some have two. Some have four. None have three.


What are they?

EDIT: Sorry for those who tried to answer this as it was originally written. I've fixed it so that it says none have three.

A Little Scrabble Help, Please

What 5 letter word can be rearranged 3 different times to get 3 different words each containing 1 more syllable than the last?

Hint: The word has no duplicates of letters.

A woman owns a pie shop and the first day she had 13 customers, the second day she had 14 customers, the third 95, and the fourth 62. Following the sequence, how many customers will she have tomorrow?

How to Jog

Jenn picked a book off the highest shelf in her room. On the spine she read "How to Jog". She ran out of the room and opened the book but found it had absolutely nothing to do with jogging.

What was the book about?

Liar!

Image via Wikipedia

A boy and a girl are talking.

"I am a boy" - said the child with black hair.

"I am a girl" - said the child with white hair.

At least one of them lied. Who is the boy and who is the girl?

Five Gears

Image via Wikipedia

There are five gears connected in a row, the first one is connected to the second one, the second one is connected to the third one, and so on.

How much faster would the last gear be if the second gear was twice the size of the first gear, and all the other gears were the same size as the first gear?

Words in Common

What do these words have in common: age, blame, curb, dance, evidence, fence, gleam, harm, interest, jam, kiss, latch, motion, nest, order, part, quiz, rest, signal, trust, use, view, win, x-ray, yield, zone?

Hiking Through the Forest

I got it in a forest but didn't want it. Once I had it, I couldn't see it. The more I searched for it, the less I liked it. I took it home in my hand because I could not find it. What was it?

Rain rain go away

1.
Head Shoulders
Rest

2.
Passed
Again

take pets

1.

otwone

2.

r

g rose e i

n

3.

e

k

a

m

4.

podpodpod

5.

take pets

Two Riddles to Enjoy

1. I have 24 keys, but they can't open any locks.

2. Many people own a copy of me. Without me the world would fall. Who am I?

Does Anyone Buy Analog Clocks Anymore?

If we follow the hour and minute hands of a clock for 24 hours how many times will they form a right angle?

Good at Picturing Solutions?

1.

N N N N N N N

A A A A A A A

C C C C C C C

2.

AALLLL

3.

i4i

4.

Math The

Ring Around the Marbles

A boy has four red marbles and eight blue marbles. He arranges his twelve marbles randomly, in a ring. What is the probability that no two red marbles are adjacent?

Free Tickets

At a movie theater, the manager announces that a free ticket will be given to the first person in line whose birthday is the same as someone in line who has already bought a ticket. You have the option of getting in line at any time. Assuming that you don't know anyone else's birthday, and that birthdays are uniformly distributed throughout a 365 day year, what position in line gives you the best chance of being the first duplicate birthday?

DDDWESTDDD

The rebus are back again.  If you look carefully, you can see the words or common phrases hidden in the arrangement of letters and words below.  For example, the title represents West Indies (West in D's).
1.

lem

ade

2.

job I'm job

3.

Eye e

See Except

4.

dox

dox

Biggest Loser

In the most recent Biggest Loser competition, the contestants had to arrange the order of five dishes from least calories to most.  If they did it blind-folded, how many different ways could the food be arranged?

But let's say they have some knowledge about a couple of the dishes.  They know the plate of hamburger (loaded with everything) and chips should be near the top, while the plate of broccoli should be near the bottom of the scale.  How does that affect the number of choices?

Not Mine But Not Your Own

1.

belt

hitting

2.

flubadence

3.

settle

4.

----------

read

________

Some Title is Better Than No Title

Rebus are phrases hidden inside word pictures. Can you solve them all?

1.

heasicknessandlth

2.

on

it all

3.

stafornce

4.

way

wrong way

I Am So Tired of Getting Snowed In

5 children in this puzzle had a bowl of cereal for breakfast with one drink and another bowl of cereal (different than breakfast) as an after-school snack.
The children were:
Dean, Emma, Julia, Patrick, Thomas
The cereals were:
Brownies, Cococrunch, Crumbler, Krispo & Wheeties
The drinks were:
Coffee, Milk, Orange Juice(OJ), Tea & Water.

Hints:
1.The child who ate Wheeties for breakfast had a bowl of Krispo after school.
2.Emma wasn’t the child who drank coffee in the morning & ate a bowl of Brownies in the afternoon
3.The child who drank a glass of water with his/her Brownies at breakfast time is either Patrick of Thomas
4.Emma didn’t eat Cococrunch or Crumbler for breakfast
5.The child who had a glass of milk ate Cococrunch for breakfast, but not Crumbler as an after-school snack
6.Patrick drank either milk or tea for breakfast.
7.The child who drank coffee (decaf!) didn’t eat a bowl of Crumbler for breakfast.
8.Dean (who never drinks coffee) didn’t have a bowl of Crumbler for his breakfast.

Feeding Time

Joe Stevens was in charge of feeding all of the animals in the morning. He had a regular schedule that he followed every day.

• The giraffes were fed before the zebras but after the monkeys.
• The bears were fed 15 minutes after the monkeys.
• The lions were fed after the zebras.
• Joe always began feeding the animals at 6:30 AM.
• It takes 15 minutes for him to finish feeding and move on to the next cage.
• The five types of animals are bears, giraffes, lions, monkeys, and zebras.

Digging Away

It takes one day for ten workers to dig ten holes.
It takes two days for five workers to dig ten holes.

How much does it take for one man to dig HALF a hole?

Another Carroll Riddle

'First, the fish must be caught.'

That is easy: a baby, I think, could have

caught it.

'Next, the fish must be bought.' That is easy: a penny, I think, would have

bought it.

'Now cook me the fish!'

That is easy, and will not take more than a minute.

'Let it lie in a dish!'

That is easy, because it already is in it.

'Bring it here! Let me sup!'

It is easy to set such a dish on the table.

'Take the dish-cover up!'

Ah, that is so hard that I fear I'm unable!

For it holds like glue-

Holds the lid to the dish, while it lies in the

middle:

Which is easiest to do,

Un-dish-cover the fish, or dishcover the

riddle?

Ravens and Desks

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

                                                           - Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll Box

John gave his brother James a box:
About it there were many locks.
James woke and said it gave him pain;
So gave it back to John again.
The box was not with lid supplied
Yet caused two lids to open wide:
And all these locks had never a key
What kind of box, then, could it be?

Back in School Counting

Image via Wikipedia

Of 28 students taking at least one subject, the number taking Math and English but not History equals the number taking Math but not History or English. No student takes English only or History only, and six students take Math and History but not English. The number taking English and History but not Math is 5 times the number taking all three subjects.

If the number taking all three subjects is even and non-zero, how many are taking English and Math but not History?

Can You Solve the Pattern

7	4	8
3	9	7
6	5	10
?	8	4

Can you figure out the pattern? What is the missing number?

River Crossing

I have posted more complicated crossing problems before, but with another six inches of snow to shovel outside, this seems good enough to me.

A dad and two sons needed to cross the river.  They have a canoe and paddles, but no other equipment.  The canoe has a weight limit of 150 lbs.  Luckily, dad weighs 150 lbs.  The two sons weigh 75 lbs each.  How can the all get across the river using the canoe?

Snowed In

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

It snowed last night! Four couples woke up to a winter wonderland this morning. Due to the high winds during the storm, the snow drifted as it fell. The plows were out early but still, it took awhile to get all the streets in town cleared. Determine the full name of each couple, how much snow they got form the storm (between 6 and 10 inches), and what time the road they lived on was plowed out (between 8:30 am and 10:00 am).

1. Rebecca, whose last name isn’t Heart, was plowed out before Greg but after the couple who got eight inches of snow.

2. Mr. and Mrs. Shephard have two inches more snow than the couple who were plowed out at 8:30 am.

3. Karl and Debbie weren’t plowed out at 9:00 am though they were plowed out before Peter.

4. Stan Grant, who isn’t married to Martha, got one inch more snow than Greg did.

5. The couples were plowed out, from earliest to latest, in the following order: the couple who got eight inches of snow, Alice, Peter, Mr. and Mrs. White.

(ice)^3

Rebus are puzzles you need to solve by looking at the words, their relationships to each others and trying to imagine how it represents a common phrase.

For instance,  BIRD can mean Big bird or pa per can mean paper cut.

1.

dinner dinner

table

2.
wosteplf

3.
ware
mholey

4.
(ice)^3

I'M you

1.
Dribble Dribble

2.
long
do

3.
Math The

4.
my own heart a person

5.
Must get here
Must get here
Must get here

injury + insult

1.
search

and

2.
injury + insult

3.
welieight

4.
belt
hitting

5.
EZ
iii

Image via Wikipedia

During the recent Fast Track Cup, the first four horses did well to finish ahead of the field. After Dinner was not last and the horse wearing blue was not third. Bitter Twist was before the horse in green. Dare Devil came first. Bitter Twist finished before After Dinner. Catch Me wore red but Bitter Twist did not wear yellow.

Can you determine where each horse finished and the colours they wore?

Corn Can Be Fractionalized

Image by kairoinfo4u via Flickr

Ahmes's Papyrus
About 1650 B. C., Egyptian scribe Ahmes, made a transcript of even more ancient mathematical scriptures dating to the reign of the Pharaoh Amenemhat III. In 1858 Scottish antiquarian, Henry Rhind came into possession of Ahmes's papyrus. The papyrus is a scroll 33 cm wide and about 5.25 m long filled with funny math riddles. One of the problems is as follows:

100 measures of corn must be divided among 5 workers, so that the second worker gets as many measures more than the first worker, as the third gets more than the second, as the fourth gets more than the third, and as the fifth gets more than the fourth. The first two workers shall get seven times less measures of corn than the three others.

How many measures of corn shall each worker get? (You can have fractional measures of corn.)

May Not See it For a While

I am around long before dawn.
But by lunch I am usually gone.
You can see me summer, fall, and spring.
I like to get on everything.
But when winter winds start to blow;
Burr, then it's time for me to go!
What am I?








Oh, and Happy New Year everyone!