RIDDLES & PUZZLES ?
INDEX LEVEL 1 FRIDAY RICE FINGERS ONE-WAY STREET  BLACKBIRDS E-RIDDLE 6 FROM 30 NEVER IN A DAY NAMES BIRTHDAYS 5 LETTER WORD FAMILY WORDS MALE CHILDREN HOUSE WEIGHT LARGE NUMBER 666,666 DOLLARS GOLD COINS IT MAY BE BLUE LEVEL 2 THE ACCIDENT TWO PLANES THE BELLE OF NEW YORK  AT THE STORE  THE ROWERS THE CLIMBERS COST OF WAR WATCHES MATCHING GLOVES THE ELEVATOR THE FARMER THE MISSING DOLLAR
FRIDAY A man went on a trip on Friday, stayed for 2 days  and returned on Friday.   How is that possible?
   Friday is a horse!!!
RICE Why do Chinese men eat  more rice than Japanese men  do ?
There are more Chinese men than Japanese men.
FINGERS What word describes a woman  who does not have all her fingers on one hand?
Normal. I wouldn’t be very happy if I had all my fingers (10) on one hand.
ONE-WAY STREET A girl who was just learning to drive  went down a one-way street in the wrong direction,  but didn't break the law.  Why?
Because she was walking!!!
BLACKBIRDS If 20 blackbirds are on a fence  and you shoot one, how many remain?
None, they would all fly away  from the sound of the shot.
E-RIDDLE What starts with “e” ends with “e” and contains only one letter?
An envelope!!!
6 from 30 How many times  can you subtract 6 from 30?
   Only once,  after that it is no longer 30.
NEVER IN A DAY What occurs twice in a lifetime,  but once in every year.  Twice in a week but never in a day?
The letter “E”.
NAMES Johnny's mother had three children.  The first child was named April.  The second child was named May. What was the third child's name?
It has to be Johnny.  He's the third child!
BIRTHDAYS How many birth days  does the average man have?
One, he may have many Birthdays, but only one  birth day !  
5 LETTER WORD What 5 letter word can have its last 4 letters removed  and still sound the same?
   QUEUE. Remove “UEUE”, say Q.  Q and queue are pronounced the same
FAMILY WORDS Someone at a party introduces you  to your mother's only sister's  husband's sister in law.   He has no brothers.  What do you call this lady? 
Mummy, Mum or Mother.
MALE CHILDREN A woman has 5 children  and half of them are male. How can this be?
   Only if the other half is male, too.
HOUSE WEIGHT What kind of house weighs the least?
A lighthouse.
LARGE NUMBER What is the largest possible number  you can write using only 2 numbers? Just “2 numbers”, no other mathematical symbols.
  9 9.   This is 9x9x9x9x9x9x9x9x9  or 387,420,489.
666,666 DOLLARS An Old friend of the family left $666,666 to 2 fathers and 2 sons to be split equally. After careful consideration they each happily received $222,222.  Why did all of them  get that amount of money?
Although it seems there are four people, there are only 3.  There are 2 fathers and 2 sons: a grandfather, his son ( who is also a father), and his son. 3 people to split the money!
GOLD COINS Which is more valuable –  one pound of $10 gold coins or half a pound of $20 gold coins?
   The pound of $10 coins has twice the amount of gold than the $20 coins.
IT MAY BE BLUE Born at the same time as the world, destined to live as long as the world, and yet never five weeks old.  What is it?
  The moon.
THE ACCIDENT A man and his son are driving home from a basketball game when they have a terrible accident. The man is taken to the emergency room for treatment and the boy is taken straight to the operating table.  The surgeon comes over to the operating table, sees the boy and says “ I can't operate on this patient, he's my son!”   How can this be? 
The surgeon is the boy's mother.
TWO PLANES Two planes take off at the  same exact moment.  They are flying across the Atlantic.  One leaves New York and is  flying to Paris at 500 miles per hour. The other leaves Paris and is flying to New York at only 450 miles per hour ( because of a strong head wind ).  Which one will be closer to Paris when they meet? 
They will both be the same distance from Paris when they meet !!!
THE BELLE OF NEW YORK My first wears my second;  my third might be what my first would acquire if he went to sea.  Put together my one, two, three, and the belle of New York is the girl for me.  What one word am I?
   Manhattan.
AT THE STORE   A woman goes into a hardware store to buy something for her house.    When asked the price, the clerk replies: “the price of one is twelve cents, the price of forty-four is twenty-four cents, and the price a hundred and forty-four is thirty-six cents”.  What does the woman want to buy? 
House numbers.
THE ROWERS Mom, Dad, and 2 kids have come to a river, and they find a boat. It is small and can only carry  one adult or 2 kids at a time. Both kids are good rowers, but how can the whole family reach the other side of the river? 
The kids row across.  One comes back. An adult goes over,  and the kid comes back.   Both kids row across again,  and one comes back.  The other adult rows across  and the kid comes back.   Both kids row across again.
THE CLIMBERS A party of eight mountain climbers had enough food for fifteen more days when they came upon two more climbers in need of help.  It seems that the two climbers lost their food when their rope broke.  So, they joined the party of eight .  The climbers decided that each of them should use the same amount of food each day as they had originally planned;  however, they will have to cut their trip short because the food will run out sooner. For how many more days do they have food?
Originally, there were 8 × 15,  or 120 shares of food.  Redistribute the 120 shares of food among 10 people. Each person has 12 days worth of food.
COST OF WAR A group of 100 soldiers suffered the following injuries in a battle:  70 soldiers lost an eye,  75 lost an ear, 85 lost a leg,  and 80 lost an arm. What is the minimum number of soldiers who must have lost all 4?
Add up all the injuries, and you find that 100 soldiers suffered a total of 310 injuries. That total means that, at a minimum, 100 soldiers lost 3 body parts, and 10 (the remainder when dividing 310 by 100) must have lost all  4 body parts.
WATCHES I started 2 watches at the same time. It turned out that one of them went two minutes per hour too slow,  and the other went one minute  per hour too fast. When I looked at them again, the faster one was exactly one hour ahead of the other.    How long had the watches been running?
The faster watch gains on the slower one at the rate of three minutes every hour. After 20 hours, the faster one will be ahead by one hour.
MATCHING GLOVES Cathy has six pairs of black gloves and six pairs  of brown gloves in her drawer. In complete darkness, how many gloves  must she take from the drawer in order to be sure  to get a pair that match?
13.  She could possibly take out 6 black left hand gloves and then 6 brown left hand gloves, the next one would have to be either the right hand or left hand match. 
THE ELEVATOR A man lives on the tenth floor of a building. Every morning he takes the elevator down to the lobby and leaves the building. In the evening, he gets into the elevator, and,  if there is someone else in the elevator - or if it was raining that day – he goes back to his floor directly.  Otherwise, he goes to the seventh floor and walks up three flights of stairs to his apartment. Can you explain why?
The man is not very tall.  He can't reach the upper elevator buttons, but he can ask people to push them for him.  He can also push them with his umbrella.
THE FARMER A poor farmer went to a market to sell some peas and lentils, however as he had only one sack and didn't want to mix peas and lentils, he poured in the peas at first, bound the sack up and than poured in the lentils. At the market a rich innkeeper wanted to buy the peas, but he did not want the lentils. How would you solve this problem if you had only the sack of the innkeeper, which he wants to keep (without devaluing the goods). Pouring the goods anywhere else than in sacks (on the ground, table etc.) is considered as devaluing. Trading sacks is not allowed.
The farmer should pour the lentils into the innkeeper’s sack, bind it and turn inside out.  Pour in the peas.  Then unbind the sack and pour the lentils back to his sack.
THE MISSING DOLLAR Three people check into a hotel.  They pay $30 to the manager and go to their room. The manager finds out that the room rate is $25 and gives $5 to the bellboy to return. On the way to the room the bellboy keeps $2 and gives $1 to each person. Now each person paid $10 and got back $1. So they paid $9 each, totalling $27. The bellboy has $2, totalling $29. Where is the remaining dollar?
This is a nice nonsense.  Each guest paid $9 because they gave $30 and they were given back $3. The manager got $25 and the difference ($2) has the bellboy. So it is nonsense to add the $2 to the $27, since the bellboy kept the $2.

Riddles and Puzzles

  • 1.
  • 2.
    INDEX LEVEL 1FRIDAY RICE FINGERS ONE-WAY STREET BLACKBIRDS E-RIDDLE 6 FROM 30 NEVER IN A DAY NAMES BIRTHDAYS 5 LETTER WORD FAMILY WORDS MALE CHILDREN HOUSE WEIGHT LARGE NUMBER 666,666 DOLLARS GOLD COINS IT MAY BE BLUE LEVEL 2 THE ACCIDENT TWO PLANES THE BELLE OF NEW YORK AT THE STORE THE ROWERS THE CLIMBERS COST OF WAR WATCHES MATCHING GLOVES THE ELEVATOR THE FARMER THE MISSING DOLLAR
  • 3.
    FRIDAY A manwent on a trip on Friday, stayed for 2 days and returned on Friday.  How is that possible?
  • 4.
      Fridayis a horse!!!
  • 5.
    RICE Why doChinese men eat more rice than Japanese men do ?
  • 6.
    There are moreChinese men than Japanese men.
  • 7.
    FINGERS What worddescribes a woman who does not have all her fingers on one hand?
  • 8.
    Normal. I wouldn’tbe very happy if I had all my fingers (10) on one hand.
  • 9.
    ONE-WAY STREET Agirl who was just learning to drive went down a one-way street in the wrong direction, but didn't break the law. Why?
  • 10.
    Because she waswalking!!!
  • 11.
    BLACKBIRDS If 20blackbirds are on a fence and you shoot one, how many remain?
  • 12.
    None, they wouldall fly away from the sound of the shot.
  • 13.
    E-RIDDLE What startswith “e” ends with “e” and contains only one letter?
  • 14.
  • 15.
    6 from 30How many times can you subtract 6 from 30?
  • 16.
      Onlyonce, after that it is no longer 30.
  • 17.
    NEVER IN ADAY What occurs twice in a lifetime, but once in every year. Twice in a week but never in a day?
  • 18.
  • 19.
    NAMES Johnny's motherhad three children. The first child was named April. The second child was named May. What was the third child's name?
  • 20.
    It has tobe Johnny.  He's the third child!
  • 21.
    BIRTHDAYS How manybirth days does the average man have?
  • 22.
    One, he mayhave many Birthdays, but only one birth day !  
  • 23.
    5 LETTER WORDWhat 5 letter word can have its last 4 letters removed and still sound the same?
  • 24.
      QUEUE.Remove “UEUE”, say Q. Q and queue are pronounced the same
  • 25.
    FAMILY WORDS Someoneat a party introduces you to your mother's only sister's husband's sister in law.  He has no brothers.  What do you call this lady? 
  • 26.
  • 27.
    MALE CHILDREN Awoman has 5 children and half of them are male. How can this be?
  • 28.
      Onlyif the other half is male, too.
  • 29.
    HOUSE WEIGHT Whatkind of house weighs the least?
  • 30.
  • 31.
    LARGE NUMBER Whatis the largest possible number you can write using only 2 numbers? Just “2 numbers”, no other mathematical symbols.
  • 32.
      9 9. This is 9x9x9x9x9x9x9x9x9 or 387,420,489.
  • 33.
    666,666 DOLLARS AnOld friend of the family left $666,666 to 2 fathers and 2 sons to be split equally. After careful consideration they each happily received $222,222. Why did all of them get that amount of money?
  • 34.
    Although it seemsthere are four people, there are only 3. There are 2 fathers and 2 sons: a grandfather, his son ( who is also a father), and his son. 3 people to split the money!
  • 35.
    GOLD COINS Whichis more valuable – one pound of $10 gold coins or half a pound of $20 gold coins?
  • 36.
      Thepound of $10 coins has twice the amount of gold than the $20 coins.
  • 37.
    IT MAY BEBLUE Born at the same time as the world, destined to live as long as the world, and yet never five weeks old.  What is it?
  • 38.
  • 39.
    THE ACCIDENT Aman and his son are driving home from a basketball game when they have a terrible accident. The man is taken to the emergency room for treatment and the boy is taken straight to the operating table.  The surgeon comes over to the operating table, sees the boy and says “ I can't operate on this patient, he's my son!”  How can this be? 
  • 40.
    The surgeon isthe boy's mother.
  • 41.
    TWO PLANES Twoplanes take off at the same exact moment. They are flying across the Atlantic. One leaves New York and is flying to Paris at 500 miles per hour. The other leaves Paris and is flying to New York at only 450 miles per hour ( because of a strong head wind ). Which one will be closer to Paris when they meet? 
  • 42.
    They will bothbe the same distance from Paris when they meet !!!
  • 43.
    THE BELLE OFNEW YORK My first wears my second; my third might be what my first would acquire if he went to sea.  Put together my one, two, three, and the belle of New York is the girl for me.  What one word am I?
  • 44.
  • 45.
    AT THE STORE  A woman goes into a hardware store to buy something for her house.   When asked the price, the clerk replies: “the price of one is twelve cents, the price of forty-four is twenty-four cents, and the price a hundred and forty-four is thirty-six cents”.  What does the woman want to buy? 
  • 46.
  • 47.
    THE ROWERS Mom,Dad, and 2 kids have come to a river, and they find a boat. It is small and can only carry one adult or 2 kids at a time. Both kids are good rowers, but how can the whole family reach the other side of the river? 
  • 48.
    The kids rowacross.  One comes back. An adult goes over, and the kid comes back.  Both kids row across again, and one comes back.  The other adult rows across and the kid comes back.  Both kids row across again.
  • 49.
    THE CLIMBERS Aparty of eight mountain climbers had enough food for fifteen more days when they came upon two more climbers in need of help. It seems that the two climbers lost their food when their rope broke. So, they joined the party of eight . The climbers decided that each of them should use the same amount of food each day as they had originally planned; however, they will have to cut their trip short because the food will run out sooner. For how many more days do they have food?
  • 50.
    Originally, there were8 × 15, or 120 shares of food. Redistribute the 120 shares of food among 10 people. Each person has 12 days worth of food.
  • 51.
    COST OF WARA group of 100 soldiers suffered the following injuries in a battle: 70 soldiers lost an eye, 75 lost an ear, 85 lost a leg, and 80 lost an arm. What is the minimum number of soldiers who must have lost all 4?
  • 52.
    Add up allthe injuries, and you find that 100 soldiers suffered a total of 310 injuries. That total means that, at a minimum, 100 soldiers lost 3 body parts, and 10 (the remainder when dividing 310 by 100) must have lost all 4 body parts.
  • 53.
    WATCHES I started2 watches at the same time. It turned out that one of them went two minutes per hour too slow, and the other went one minute per hour too fast. When I looked at them again, the faster one was exactly one hour ahead of the other.   How long had the watches been running?
  • 54.
    The faster watchgains on the slower one at the rate of three minutes every hour. After 20 hours, the faster one will be ahead by one hour.
  • 55.
    MATCHING GLOVES Cathyhas six pairs of black gloves and six pairs of brown gloves in her drawer. In complete darkness, how many gloves must she take from the drawer in order to be sure to get a pair that match?
  • 56.
    13. Shecould possibly take out 6 black left hand gloves and then 6 brown left hand gloves, the next one would have to be either the right hand or left hand match. 
  • 57.
    THE ELEVATOR Aman lives on the tenth floor of a building. Every morning he takes the elevator down to the lobby and leaves the building. In the evening, he gets into the elevator, and, if there is someone else in the elevator - or if it was raining that day – he goes back to his floor directly. Otherwise, he goes to the seventh floor and walks up three flights of stairs to his apartment. Can you explain why?
  • 58.
    The man isnot very tall. He can't reach the upper elevator buttons, but he can ask people to push them for him. He can also push them with his umbrella.
  • 59.
    THE FARMER Apoor farmer went to a market to sell some peas and lentils, however as he had only one sack and didn't want to mix peas and lentils, he poured in the peas at first, bound the sack up and than poured in the lentils. At the market a rich innkeeper wanted to buy the peas, but he did not want the lentils. How would you solve this problem if you had only the sack of the innkeeper, which he wants to keep (without devaluing the goods). Pouring the goods anywhere else than in sacks (on the ground, table etc.) is considered as devaluing. Trading sacks is not allowed.
  • 60.
    The farmer shouldpour the lentils into the innkeeper’s sack, bind it and turn inside out. Pour in the peas. Then unbind the sack and pour the lentils back to his sack.
  • 61.
    THE MISSING DOLLARThree people check into a hotel. They pay $30 to the manager and go to their room. The manager finds out that the room rate is $25 and gives $5 to the bellboy to return. On the way to the room the bellboy keeps $2 and gives $1 to each person. Now each person paid $10 and got back $1. So they paid $9 each, totalling $27. The bellboy has $2, totalling $29. Where is the remaining dollar?
  • 62.
    This is anice nonsense. Each guest paid $9 because they gave $30 and they were given back $3. The manager got $25 and the difference ($2) has the bellboy. So it is nonsense to add the $2 to the $27, since the bellboy kept the $2.