Brain Teasers (With Answers)

Brain teasers:

1.  Why is a manhole cover round?

2.  Which is heavier, a pound of feathers of a pound of gold?

3.  How do you feed seven people with only six potatoes?

4.  What color is a blackberry when it is green?

5.  AN UNUSUAL PARAGRAPH

How quickly can you find out what is so unusual about this paragraph?  It looks so ordinary that you would think that nothing is wrong with it at all ... and in fact nothing is.  But it is unusual.  Why?  If you study it and think about it, you may find out, but I am not going to assist you in any way.  You must do it without any coaching.  No doubt if you work at it for long it will dawn on you.  Who knows?  Go to work and try your skill.  Par is about half an hour.

Answers:

1.  A manhole cover is round because round is the only shape that cannot be lifted up, rotated in some direction, and then dropped back down through the hole.

2.  A pound of feathers is heavier.   The avoirdupois system of weights is used for most everyday items, including feathers.  Troy weight is used for gold, silver, other precious metals, and gemstones.  There are 16 avoirdupois ounces to the avoirdupois pound.  But, there are only 12 troy ounces to the troy pound.  In fact, a troy ounce is slightly heavier than an avoirdupois ounce, but still the feathers are heavier.

3.  Make mashed potatoes.

4.  Green here means not yet ripe.  So a green blackberry is red.

5.  The letter e never appears.

6.  What gets wetter as it dries?

7.  Why does a flamingo stand one one leg?

8.  A man is sitting in front of a mirror, painting what he sees on an egg.  What is his occupation?

9.  Why do elephants have large ears; giraffes long necks?

10.  WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHER DOLLAR?

It was a dark and stormy night.  Three traveling salesmen stopped at a motel at the same time and each asked for a room.  The bellboy informed them that there was only one vacant room and that it was $10 per person.  The three men agreed to share the room and each paid $10.

Later, the desk clerk returned.  He stated that the room cost $25 when shared by three people. He gave the bellboy $5 to return to the men.  The bellboy realized that it would be difficult to divide the $5 among the three men so he gave each man $1 and kept $2 for himself.

So, each man paid $9 for the room.  ($10 less the $1 returned.)  That makes $27.  The bellboy kept $2; that makes $29.  What happened to the other dollar? 

6.  A towel.

7.  A flamingo stands on one leg to conserve body heat.  Doing so decreases the heat lost to the water.

8.  The man is a clown.  Clowns International maintains an egg registry which is used to provide a clown a copyright on his/her likeness.

9.  Elephant ears and giraffe necks are used for thermoregulation, to get rid of excess body heat and maintain core internal temperature. 

10.  Each man paid $9 for the room.  ($10 less the $1 returned.)  That makes $27.  $25 went for the room and the bellboy kept $2.

11.  How much dirt is in a hole that is three feet long by four feet wide by five feet deep?

12.  If it takes three minutes to boil one egg, how long does it take to boil three eggs?

13.  A rope ladder hangs over the side of a boat in the harbor.  Rungs on the ladder are one foot apart and six rungs are above the water.  The tide comes in at six inches per hour.  After six hours how many rungs are above the water?

14.  How many Fs?

          FINISHED FILES ARE

          THE RESULT OF YEARS

          OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY

          COMBINED WITH THE

          YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

15.  A farmer heads home from the market with a fox, a goat, and a basket of cabbage.  He comes to a river and a small boat is there.  The boat will hold only the farmer and any one of his items.  But, if the farmer is not present the fox will eat the goat or the goat will eat the cabbage.  How does the farmer end up ferrying all three items and himself across the river?

11.  None.  It is a hole.

12.  Three minutes.

13.  Still six rungs.  The boat (and the rope ladder) rise as the tide comes in.

14.  Six.  Many people perceive small words, such as of, in their entirety without seeing the individual letters.

15.  First, ferry the goat across the river and return.  It is okay to leave the fox alone with the cabbage.  Second, ferry the fox (or the cabbage) across.  And return with the goat.  Third, ferry the cabbage (or the fox) across and return.  Fourth, finally, ferry the goat across the river and the farmer and the three items are all safely across the river.

16.  Name 10 three letter body parts; no slang words are permitted.

17.  What is the next letter in this sequence:  O T T F F S S ?

18.  What is the next letter in this sequence:  C C G G A A ?

19.  In a positional number system:

           12102

          +          1

           ---------

           12220

What is the base of the number system?

20.  Name a word that contains all five vowels, in alphabetical order!

16.  Arm, ear, (egg,) eye, gum, hip, jaw, leg, lip, rib, and toe.

17.  E.  One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight.

18.  G.  twinkle twinkle little star.  C C G G A A G musical notes.

19.  -3.  (38 + 1 = 39.)

20.  Facetious, or facetiously, with all five vowels plus Y.

21. What English language word contains three consecutive double letters?

21.  Bookkeeper (or bookkeeping).