Geekery

Riddle me this…

Posted on 01. Dec, 2009 by Jake.

This week’s riddles are actually quite easy so go on, have a stab at the following.

Problem A

How would you measure 2 litres of water if you had:

1. 4 and 5-liter bowls
2. 4 and 3-liter bowls?

Problem B

If you have 2 sandglasses: one 7-minute and the second one 4-minute, how can you correctly time 9 minutes?

Answer to last week’s riddle:

The Empty Triangle

Which figure should be placed in the empty triangle?

The top number minus the bottom left-hand number is multiplied by the bottom right-hand number to give the number inside the triangle.

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Riddles: The Really, Really, Really Big Number

Posted on 16. Sep, 2009 by Jake.

The Really, Really, Really Big Number

When you divide 12 by 5, the remainder is 2; it’s what’s left over after you have removed all the 5s from the 12.  When you raise 4 to the fifth power (that is, 45), you multiply four by itself five times: 4×4×4×4×4, which equals 1,024.

What is the remainder when you divide 100100 by 11?

The Unkindest Cut of All, Part 1 of 2

The area of a square is equal to the square of the length of one side. So, for example, a square with side length 3 has area (32), or 9. What is the area of a square whose diagonal is length 5?

Answers will be published on Tuesday the 29th of September

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Riddles: phone numbers and test yourself

Posted on 05. Aug, 2009 by Jake.

Riddle: phone numbers

There is a town in Texas where 5% of all the people living there have unlisted phone numbers. If you selected 100 names at random from the town’s phone directory, on average, how
many of these people would have unlisted phone numbers?

 Answer: None. You will not find unlisted phone numbers in a phone directory.

Riddle: mental test

It doesn’t hurt to take a hard look at yourself from time to time. This little test should help you get started.

During a visit to a mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director what the criteria is that defines if a patient should be institutionalized.

“Well,” said the Director, “we fill up a bathtub. Then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup, and a bucket to the patient and ask the patient to empty the bathtub.”

Okay, here’s your test:
1. Would you use the spoon?
2. Would you use the teacup?
3. Would you use the bucket?

“Oh, I understand,” said the visitor. “A normal person would choose the bucket, as it is larger than the spoon.”
What was the director’s response?

Answer: ”No,” answered the Director. “A normal person would pull the plug.”

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Riddles:Horses and Guesses

Posted on 24. Jul, 2009 by Jake.

Riddle: Travelling horse

A horse travels a certain distance each day. Strangely enough, two of its legs travel 30
miles each day and the other two legs travel nearly 31 miles. It would seem that two of the horse’s legs must be one mile ahead of the other two legs, but of course this can’t be true. Since the horse is normal, how is this situation possible?

Answer:

The horse operates a mill and travels in a circular clockwise direction. The two outside legs will travel a greater distance than the two inside legs.

Riddle: What am I?

My first is in blue, but not in glue,
My second in old, but not in new.
My third in look, but not in see,
My last in ask, but not in plea.
My whole has leaves but not a flower,
I’ll help you pass an idle hour.
What am I?

Answer:   A Book

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