Riddles & Brain Teasers

[MrKaplansGlasses]

Does anyone know any good ones? DH and I live an exciting life and have been trying some brainteasers out on each other. I appear to have run out now but I want some really tricky ones to get him with tomorrow if anyone can help!

The train one: did the train enter a tunnel just as the man was removing bandages from his eyes? If he hadn't seen the glow of cigarettes he would have assumed he had gone blind and thrown himself from the train in despair. Bit of a stretch but it's the kind of answer these questions seem to like

You were extremely close!

The man was returning from an operation that restored his sight, which he had spent a considerable amount of money on. The train didn't have internal lighting, so when the train entered a tunnel he would have assumed that he had gone blind again.

Hmm, I think my solution is better, as surely it would be obvious to him if he saw the train entering the tunnel...

Here's one: a thread on riddles was started in Chat, but more than 90 days later it was still available to read on MN. How so?

It was moved to another board.

I've just reported this to MNHQ to see if they could move this somewhere else so that it doesn't go poof after 90 days.

Smiling Indeed it was inkstand!

@DadDadDad

The bridge one. She leaves just as the guard goes back into his hut. Walks half way across, turns round. Guard comes out and sends her where he thinks she came from - which is where she wanted to go.

What is the value of the following product?
(x - a)(x - b)(x - c).....(x - y)(x - z)

A teacher asked a pupil where his homework was; he said he had hidden it between pages 125 and 126 of his textbook. How did the teacher know he was lying?

Also (I know someone who's done this for real with their teenage children): the birthday girl has to work out where her birthday money is hidden. She is blindfolded, told she can move about, and that she can ask as many questions (with yes/no answers) as she needs to. Most of these don't help her, but when she asks "is it in front of me?", the answer is always yes. Where is it hidden? (She didn't find it for a long time, to the amusement of everyone else! She had to pose for a photo holding a sign with the answer.)

A teacher asked a pupil where his homework was; he said he had hidden it between pages 125 and 126 of his textbook. How did the teacher know he was lying?

Pages 125 and 126 are the same piece of paper.

(x - a)(x - b)(x - c).....(x - y)(x - z)

0
Multiplying by x-x (0) will always give 0.

If I work, it works, and even when I stop working, it carries on working. What is it?

The brain/heart?

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?

Here's one very fitting for MN:

A boy needing an operation has a surgeon for a father, but his father says he can't operate on his own son. So the boy is given another surgeon, who on seeing the boy, says: "I can't operate on this boy: he is my son." How is this possible?

@wanderings She's his mother.

@VenezuelanBeaverCheese Precisely. I remembered that riddle when I recently saw the advert "there are no female surgeons", and then in smaller print, "only surgeons".

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

0 people have guessed three correctly, and 10 have guessed four correctly. Once you've guessed three, you also know the last one.

Correct @MongerTruffle!

Monger - my "riddle" was meant to hint that we should nominate this thread for Classics.

You are on an elevator on the 16th floor of a building when the cable breaks. As you plummet towards the ground, you recall that by jumping up at the instant of impact, you can supposedly escape death. You also recall that the floor are 4 metres apart and that the acceleration of a falling object is 9.8 m/s². When should you jump?

Monger - my "riddle" was meant to hint that we should nominate this thread for Classics.

I realised that.

April's mum has 4 daughters
Summer Autumn Winter. What's the name of her 4th daughter.

If Billy is 6 and his sister Emma is half of his age. How old will show be when Billy is 100.

What is wrong with this sentence.
"I love Paris in the the spring time".

1. April
2. 97
3. The word "the" is repeated. It works better when arranged in a triangle, as it's more difficult to recognise the repeated "the".

April...
97
The the

Can you spot the letter that is different to all the rest. Which letter is it
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnmnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

I used Ctrl+F to find the "m" in the middle, as it is the only letter that looks similar enough to n for it to be hidden.