Puzzles Archive
This is a list of the previous puzzles that have been sent out by E-mail.
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APR 1, 1998
Imagine a grid comprising 20 X 20 squares. How many squares in
total?
This is almost impossible if you are counting the individual squares.
There is, however, an easier way. Can you find it?
...2870 (20 squared + 19 squared + 18 squared etc).
APR 2, 1998
The Monty Hall game. You are presented with three doors. One has a
prize behind it, the others are empty. After choosing a door, the
host opens one of the other two to reveal that its empty. He then
gives you the option of switching. Do you switch?
...Yes, switch. There is a 2/3 probability of winning by switching doors. Take for example the case where the prize is behind door
number 1.
In the first scenario, you choose door #1. The host has to open an
empty door. He opens either #2 or #3. You switch, and lose.
In the second scenario, you choose door #2. The host opens #3
because he has to open an empty door. You switch, and win.
In the third and final scenario, you choose door #3. The host opens
#2 because he has to open an empty door. You switch, and win.
APR 3, 1998
You are given 50 white marbles and 50 black marbles along with two
jars. You are to put all 100 marbles into the jars in any way you
choose. Afterwards, you will be blindfolded, the jars will be shaken
and rearranged, and you will be asked to select one marble from
either jar. How would you arrange the marbles originally to maximize
the probability of drawing a white marble?
...Place one white marble in the first jar and place the remaining 49 white and 50 black in the second jar. This placement of marbles results in a 74.75% change of drawing a white marble. The probability of selecting either jar is 0.5, the probability of drawing a white marble from one jar is 1 and from the other jar is 49/99. Therefore, 0.5(1) + 0.5(49/99) = 0.74747
APR 6, 1998
If SIX is TEN, ONE is HIS, and FIVE is LEGS, what is SEVEN?
...TSGSI. This is a substitution cipher which has to be worked letter
by letter.
APRIL 20, 1998
George says, I'm innocent -- Jane is too." Jane
says, "Stan did it, and George is innocent." Stan says, "I'm
innocent and Jane did it." The guilty one lied, and the innocent
both told the truth. Who is the perpetrator of the puns?
...stan
APRIL 21, 1998
There are many English words to which you can add one s to make
plural nouns. There are very few that become singular again if you
add another s. Can you name two?
...Care, Cares, Caress
Prince, Princes, Princess
There are probably more, did you find any?
APRIL 22, 1998
You are given a 10x10x10 cube composed of 1x1x1 "mini-cubes" glued
together. If the outer most layer falls off, how many "mini-cubes"
would have fallen off?
...488
The volume of the cube orginally is 10^3. After the outer layer
falls off, the remaining volume is 8^3. The difference 1000 - 512,
or 488 is the number of cubes that have fallen off.
APRIL 23, 1998
(This one is easy, but it takes a little paper work.)
There is a number. If it is not a multiple of 4, then it is between
60 and 69; if it is a multiple of 3 it is between 50 and 59; if it is
not a multiple of 6 it is between 70 and 79. What is the number?
...The number is 76
APRIL 24, 1998
(How well read are you?)
1. Who put a girdle round about the earth in forty minutes"?
2. Which is the cathedral in Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral?
3. Whose wife was turned to salt?
4. In what game do you play a chukka?
5. Which Swiss river flows into the North Sea?
6. Which creature lives in an eyrie?
7. Who calls Muslims to prayer?
8. Who in the Bible was renowned for patience?
9. What is the English name for the country known to its natives as
Suomi?
10. Who created the film Citizen Kane?
(Extra credit for anyone who get ten right.)
1. Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream
2. Canterbury
3. Lot
4. Polo
5. Rhine
6. Eagle
7. Muezzin
8. Job
9. Finland
10. Orson Welles
APRIL 27, 1998
George Bernard Shaw said that fish could be spelled ghoti
(gh as in rough, o as in women, and ti as in nation).
Came you come up with the longest way of spelling SIGH, following the
same idea?
...The cleverest answer seems to be SCHEYE: SCH as is schism, and EYE
as is eye.
APRIL 28, 1998
There are 100 lightbulbs in a row each with their own switch, which is initially off. 100 people (numbered 1 - 100) will walk by the bulbs flipping the switches in this pattern: Number 1 will flip every switch (turning them all on); Number 2 will flip the switch on every second bulb (turning off 2, 4, 6, ...); Number 3 will flip the switch on every third bulb (changing the state of 3, 6, 9, ...); This continues until all 100 people have walked by. What is the final state of bulb number 64?
...Number 64 is on.
The only people to flip the switch on bulb 64 are those who are
factors of 64: 1,2,4,8,16,32,64. Number 1 turns it on, 2 turns it
off, etc. In fact, there are only 10 bulbs that left on : 1, 4, 9,
16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, and 100 (1^2, 2^2, 3^2, 4^2, 5^2, 2, 7^2,
8^2, 9^2, 10^2).
How can you throw a ball so that it goes a short distance, comes to a
dead stop, reverses its motion, and then goes the opposite way. You
are not allowed to bounce it against anything, hit it with anything,
or tie it to anything.
...Throw the ball up in the air.
1.There is one word in the English language that is always pronounced
incorrectly. What is it?
...Incorrectly.
2.A man gave one son 10 cents and another son was given 15 cents. What
time is it?
...1:45. The man gave away a total of 25 cents. He divided it betweentwo people. Therefore, he gave a quarter to two.
3.A boat has a ladder that has six rungs, each rung is one foot apart.
The bottom rung is one foot from the water. The tide rises at 12
inches every 15 minutes. High tide peaks in one hour. When the tide is
at it's highest, how many rungs are under water?
...None, the boat rises with the tide. Duh.
4.Is half of two plus two equal to two or three?
...Three. Well, it seems that it could almost be either, but if you
follow the mathematical orders of operation, division is performed
before addition. So... half of two is one. Then add two, and the
answer is three.
5.There is a room. The shutters are blowing in. There is broken glass
on the floor. There is water on the floor. You find Sloppy dead on the
floor. How did sloppy die?
...Sloppy is a goldfish. The wind blew the shutters in, which knocked
his goldfish-bowl off the table, and it broke, killing him.
6.How much dirt would be in a hole 6 feet deep and 6 feet wide that
has been dug with a square edged shovel?
...None. No matter how big a hole is, it's still a hole: the absence of
dirt. (And those of you who said 36 cubic feet are wrong for another
reason, too. You would have needed the length measurement too. So you
don't even know how much air is in the hole.)
7.If I were in Hawaii and dropped a bowling ball in a bucket of water
which is 45 degrees F, and dropped another ball of the same weight,
mass, and size in a bucket at 30 degrees F, and dropped them at the same time,
which ball would hit the bottom of the bucket first? Same question,
but the location is in Canada?
...Both questions, same answer: the ball in the bucket of 45 degree F
water hits the bottom of the bucket last. Did you think that the water
in the 30 degree F bucket is frozen? Think again. The question said
nothing about that bucket having anything in it. Therefore, there is
no water (or ice) to slow the ball down...
8.What is the significance of the following: The year is 1978,
thirty-four minutes past noon on May 6th.
...The time and month/date/year are 12:34, 5/6/78.
9.What can go up a chimney down, but can't go down a chimney up?
...An umbrella.
10.If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the
other field, how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all
in the center field?
...One. If he combines all of his haystacks, they all become one big stack.
11.What is it that goes up and goes down but does not move?...The temperature.
12.Paul is 20 years old in 1980, but only 15 years old in 1985. How is
this possible?
...The years are in B.C., not A.D. as you probably assumed. Based on the system we use to number the years, the years counted down in B.C.
(but they weren't counting backwards back then).
13.What has four legs but only one foot?
...A bed.
14.Kindly old Grandfather Lunn
Ý Ý ÝIs twice as old as his son
Ý Ý ÝTwenty-five years ago
Ý Ý ÝTheir age ratio
Ý Ý ÝStrange enough was three to one
Ý Ý ÝWhen does Grandfather celebrate his centenary?
...This year. He is 100, and his son is 50.
15.Said a certain young lady named Gwen
Ý Ý ÝOf her tally of smitten young men
Ý Ý Ý"one less and three more
Ý Ý ÝDivided by four
Ý Ý ÝTogether give one more than ten"
Ý Ý ÝHow many boyfriends had she?
...Gwen had forty-two boyfriends. 42-1A. 41+3D. 44/4 . 11-1 .
16.There was a young fellow named Clive
Ý Ý ÝWhose bees number ten power five
Ý Ý ÝThe daughters to each son
Ý Ý ÝWere as nineteen to one,
Ý Ý ÝA truly remarkable hive.
Ý Ý ÝHow many sons (drones) were in the hive?
...Five Thousand. Ten power five = 100,000. Divide that out (it was a
19:1 ratio) and you get a ratio of 95,000:5,000 (daughters:sons).
17.A team's opening batter named Nero
Ý Ý ÝSquared his number of hits, the big hero!
Ý Ý ÝAfter subtracting his score
Ý Ý ÝHe took off ten and two more
Ý Ý ÝAnd the final result was a "zero".
Ý Ý ÝHow many hits did Nero make?
...Four. If you square it, you get 16. Subtract his number of hits and you get 12. Subtract 10 and then 2 more and you get 0.
18.Some freshman from Trinity Hall
Ý Ý ÝPlayed hockey with a wonderful ball;
Ý Ý ÝTwo times its weight
Ý Ý ÝPlus weight squared, minus eight,
Ý Ý ÝGave "nothing" in ounces at all.
Ý Ý ÝWhat was the weight of the ball?
...Two ounces. (Beach ball, or ping-pong ball?) 2x2=4. 4+2^2=8. 8-8=0.
19.The Bar Z ranch was a dude ranch. One day a new "dude" asked one of
the stable hands how many men were tending the horses in the corral.
Having a mischievous sense of humor, he replied, "I saw eighty-two
feet and twenty-six heads". He then walked away, leaving the dude
scratching his head trying to figure it out. How many men were tending
the horses?
...Eleven men (and 15 horses). 11 (men) x 2 (feet per man)", 15 (horses) x 4 (feet per horse)`, and 22 (men's feet) * 60 (horse's feet) = 82 feet. Also, 11 (men) + 15 (horses) = 26 (total heads).
20.One morning as Paul was getting his newspaper, he noticed on his
new house something that needed to be fixed. Heading over to the
hardware store, he spoke to the manager, describing his problem. The
manager said, "I know just what you need". He led Paul down some
aisles and stopped in front of some bins. Digging down into some of
the bins, he set something up on the shelf. "I saw your house when it
was built", the manager said. "Here's all that you'll need and how
much it'll cost... five will be 15 cents while fifty will be 30 cents,
250 will be 45 cents, while 2507 will only cost you 60 cents. One
lady, about 20 blocks from your house, bought 30247 and only paid 75
cents! These are black, but they also come in gold and silver." What
was the manager selling?
...House numbers. Each digit costs 15 cents.
21.If it takes 3 people to dig a hole, how many does it take to dig
half a hole?
...It's impossible to dig a half of a hole. Either you have a hole, or
you don't.
22.What is the beginning of eternity. The end of time and space.The
beginning of every end. And the end of every place?
...The letter E.
May 6, 1998
I am a country. My 1st, 2nd, and 7th letters form an external point. My 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th is what you will be when you solve this puzzle. My 5th, 2nd, 3rd, 1st, and 4th is in heaven. My 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th is on earth. What country am I?
...England
May 7, 1998
If two hours ago it was as long after one o'clock in the afternoon as it was before on o'clock in the morning, what time would it be now?
...Nine o'clock
May 8, 1998
What's greater that God, and worse than the devil -- you can't eat it, but if you did you would surely die?
...Nothing!
May 11, 1998
What is the significance of this date?
January 1, 2001
...The date that day will be 01/01/01.
In fact, at 3661 seconds past midnight local time, the date and time will be 01:01:01 01/01/01.
May 12, 1998
Create two numbers, composed only of ones, which when added or multiplied together give the same result.
...11 and 1.1
11 * 1.1 = 12.1
11 + 1.1 = 12.1
May 13, 1998
Given a well-shuffled deck, if you were to deal out one hand to yourself, what is the probability of being dealt a royal flush?
...0.00000154 (or about one in 650,000)
A royal flush consists of the Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten of the same suit. There are 2,598,960 possible distinct five-card combinations in a deck of cards. Of those, only four will result in a royal flush (one for each suit). Therefore, the probability of being dealt a royal flush is 4 / 2598960 or 0.00000154.
May 14, 1998
The next two are palindromes. A palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same backward as forward, such as: The first man introducing himself to the first woman. "Madam, I'm Adam." The following two palindromes are more difficult, but not impossible. Word divisions are shown,
A zookeeper announces that he has captured two fewer than a dozen beasts by hitting them hard with a reticulated object and putting them inside it.
...Ten animals I slam in a net.
Spoiled children of performing luminaries.
...Star Brats
May 18, 1998
What is the difference between a cat and a comma?
...One has claws at the end of its paws, the other is a pause at the end of a clause.
What is the difference between a wounded elephant and a really wet day?
...One roars with pain and the other pours with rain.
May 19, 1998
One term has been omitted from the following series. What is the missing term, and how was the series constructed?
4 -- 9 -- 28 -- 125 -- ??? -- 5047 -- 40328
...The missing term is 726. The series comprises the value of the factorials plus the factorial, i.e. (1 X 2) + 2; (1 X 2 X 3) + 3; (1 X 2 X 3 X 4) + 4; etc.
May 20, 1998
Identify a four-letter word from the following clues. This
Stowaway's quarters is a command to halt; you can do it in, out, off and on; if you do it forth you are loquacious.
...HOLD.
May 21, 1998
There are three types of computer -- Truthers, Liars, and Wobblers
(which are alternately truthful and untruthful). I was faced with
three such computers, named "Love", "Hate", and "War", and needed to
to know which computer was of which type. My Questioning went as
follows --
Q. Computer Love, which sort are you?
A. I am a Truther.
Q. Computer Hate, What are you?
A. I am a Liar.
Q. So, computer Hate, was Love lying?
A. No.
Q. Computer War, what sort are you?
A. I am a Truther.
Q. What is Love?
A. Love is a Wobbler.
Which is which?
...Love is a Truther, Hate is a Wobbler, and War is a Liar.
(Kinda appropiate, don't you think?)
May 22, 1998
What is the next line in this series?
1
11
21
1211
111221
312211
13112221
...1113213211
May 25, 1998
With potent, flowery words speak I,
Of something common, vulgar, dry;
I weave webs of pedantic prose,
In effort to befuddle those,
Who think I wile time away,
In lofty things, above all day
The common kind that linger where
Monadic beings live and fare;
Practical I may not be,
But life, it seems, is full of me!
Who or what am I?
...A Riddle
May 27, 1998
The following cryptogram is a simple substitution of an unusual sort. Each letter or symbol represents one letter, the same one each time. Decipher the sentence.
JS[[OMRDD OD S DYPVL YJSY D[;OYD YJTRR
GPT PMR YJR FSU SGYRT UPI NIU OY.
...
HAPPINESS IS A STOCK THAT SPLITS THREE FOR ONE THE
DAY AFTER YOU BUY IT.
This crytogram could be figured out through word structure and trial
and error, or you could simply look at the characters on a keyboard.
Each letter was replaced with the one to its right.
May 28, 1998
You have an old-fashioned refrigerator with a small freezer
compartment which could hold seven ice cube trays stacked vertically,
but there are no shelves to separate the trays. You have an unlimited
supply of trays, each of which can make a dozen cubes, but if you
stand one on top of another before it's frozen, it will nest part way
into it and you won't get full cubes from the bottom tray. So, what
is the fastest way to make (full) ice cubes?
...By using frozen cubes as spacers to hold the trays apart, you can make
84 cubes in the time it takes to freeze two trays. Fill one tray,
freeze it and remove the cubes. Place two cubes in the opposite corners of six trays, and fill the rest with water. Freeze all six, plus a seventh you put on top, at the same time.
June 8, 1998
General Knowledge
1. What is the capital of Uganda?
2. Who was Arthur Haynes' straight man?
3. Who said: "The end justifies the means"?
4. Name the two French impressionist artists who had the same name
but for one letter?
5. What is named after Amerigo Vespucci?
6. Who was Spandau Prison's last inmate?
7. Name Thomas Hardy's most obscure character?
8. What is Australia's most southerly state?
9. Which 1963 epic film cost $23 million?
10. Whish war ended the Austrian monarchy?
...1. Kampala
2. Nicholas Parsons
3. Niccolo Machiavelli
4. Manet and Monet
5. America
6. Rudolph Hess
7. Jude
8. Tasmania
9. Cleopatra
10. World War 1
JUNE 9, 1998
Here are four anagrams for you to solve. How quickly can you do it?
DRISEGRAD
GUFLAUNIL
ITRACEBAF
TABALRULY
...DISREGARD
GAINFULLY
FABRICATE
TABULARLY
JUNE 12, 1998
Can you fill in the missing terms in the following series?
Q1A ? S4D T8F U16G V32H W64J ? Y256L
...The missing terms are R2S and X128K. The first item in each term are the letters in sequence from Q, the second item is successive powers of 2, and the third item is the letters of the second row of the standard keyboard from left to right.
JUNE 15, 1998
What is the 5-digit number in which the sum of the first two digits
is one less than the third, the third is double the fourth, the
fourth is double the last, the third is the product of the fourth and
fifth, the second is five more than the first, and the first is
one-eighth the third and also one-fourth of the fourth?
...The 5 digit number is 16,842
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