S E K O J <--use a miRRor

R I D D L E S

*You'll need to discover a little trick for riddles for which the answer has been given.

Annoying Short Riddles
Light Bulbs
Short Riddles
Flight Plight
Stranded?

That is the Question
Fair Race
To Freedom
Heads Up
Truth-teller



Annoying Short Riddles
1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?
2) Which country makes Panama hats?
3) From which animal do we get catgut?
4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?
6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?
7) What was King George VI's first name?
8) What color is a purple finch?
9) What country do Chinese gooseberries come from? (aka kiwifruit (keeweefruit) and zespri (zespree))
10) How long did the Thirty Years War last?

ANSWERS: If your know how, you can view them below.
01. 116 years, from 1337 to 1453.
02. Ecuador.
03. From sheep and horses.
04. November. The Russian calendar was 13 days behind ours.
05. Squirrel fur.
06. The Latin name was Insularia Canaria - Island of the Dogs.
07. Albert. When he came to the throne in 1936 he respected the wish of Queen Victoria that no future king should ever be called Albert.
08. Distinctively crimson.
09. New Zealand.
10. Thirty years, of course. From 1618 to 1648.



Light Bulbs
There are two rooms - one room with three light bulbs, the other with three light switches. Each switch turns on one light. If you can only travel to each room once, how can you tell which switch controls which light?

In the room with the switches, turn one switch on for five minutes. After time expires, turn the switch off and turn another switch on and go into the room with the lightbulbs in it. The lightbulb which is on belongs to the switch you just turned on. The lightbulb that is off but hot belongs to the switch you initally turned on. The final lightbulb is connected to the switch you didn’t touch.



Short Riddles
01. Sometimes our first impression is right, but occasionally it isn't. Is the following equation correct? If so, how? 8 + 8 = 91

02. On a sunny afternoon in the park, two friends sat down to play some chess. They played a total of five games, yet each person won three times. How is that possible?

03. What can run but never walks, has a mouth yet never talks. It has a head but never weeps, plus has a bed but can not sleep?

04. I am the beginning of eternity, and the end of time and space. I am the beginning of every end, even the end of every race. What am I?

05. The maker doesn’t want it. The buyer doesn’t use it. The user doesn’t know it. What is it?
Notes:

  • There are merely three premises that need to be satisfied, yet there’s only one clear answer.
  • The last premise can also be worded, The user doesn’t see it.

    06. How could you rearrange the letters in the words "new door" to make one word?
    Note: There is only one correct answer.

    07. Find a simpler way to write the following expression: (x - a)(x - b)(x - c) ... (x - z)
    Zero; since (x-x)=0
    08. You're trapped in an un-penetrable room. Inside this room with you is a table and a mirror. How do you get out?
    Note: Play with the words of the riddle.

    09. There are only four words in the English language that end in 'dous': tremendous, horrendous, stupendous and?
    hazardous



    Flight Plight
    You're at an airport that is home to an unlimited number of identical airplanes. Each airplane has a fuel capacity to allow it to fly exactly 1/2 way around the world (along a great circle). What makes these identical planes unique is that they have the ability to refuel in flight without loss of speed or spillage of fuel. Though the fuel is unlimited, the island is the only source of fuel.

    What is the minimum amount planes necessary for one plane to fly around the world given that all of the planes must return to the airport. assuming that all of the aircrafts must return safely to the airport?

    Notes:

  • Ignore extra fuel consumption as a result of acceleration, evaporation of fuel, bleeding-heart-liberal fiscal policies, etc.
  • All the planes have to make it back safely, so you can't give all your fuel away to another plane.



    Stranded?
    A man is alone on his sail boat when an incredible storm develops. He tries to keep his boat afloat but the storm is too strong and he eventually crashes the boat on a deserted island. Unfortunately, during the crash the boat catches on fire and he has to get off immediately or risk death. To make matters worse, he salvaged nothing from the boat as it turned into ash and he doesn't have the ability to swim/float.

    Furthermore, the island is a barren rock without trees, plants etc. to make a raft (or any other floatation device). No one found him to take him back to civilization, but he himself returned back to civilization, HOW?



    That is the Question
    While on an expedition into ancient ruins, you fall in a trap door that leads you to a dark room under ground. Being the educated person you are, you stay calm even though the temperature is exceedingly hot. You estimate that its around 105°F (45.6°C) when you hear a voice... "Trespasser, to save your life before you perish from dehydration, you must prove your worth. In this dark chamber there are two doors. You may choose to open either one - if you choose correctly, you will go free. If you choose incorrectly, instead of a slow death you will be mercilessly eaten alive by army ants.

    "To help you choose a door, you may ask ONE question. However, you should realize that one of the two entities who are listening will answer, One of the entities always lies and the other one always speaks the truth. One of them will answer your question, but you will not know which one. Each of them knows which door leads to freedom."

    What question do you ask so you'll know which door will lead to your freedom?



    Fair Race
    An aged and somewhat eccentric king wants to pass his throne on to one of his two sons. He decrees that a his sons shall compete for the throne through a horse race. However, the King states that the son who owns the SLOWER horse shall become king.

    A king's advisor fears that the King's sons will cheat by having their horses go less fast than they are capable of, and asks an old wise man for advice. With a mere sentence, the wise man gives a solution that will ensure a fair race. What advise did he give?
    The old wise man informs the King's advisor to have the sons switch horses when they race.



    To Freedom
    A woman who lived in Germany during World WarII wanted to cross the German/Swiss border in order to escape Nazi persuers. The bridge which she is to cross is a half mile across, over a large canyon.

    Every three minutes a guard comes out of his bunker and checks if anyone is on the bridge. If a person is caught trying to escape German side to the Swiss side they are shot. If caught crossing the other direction without papers they are sent back.

    She knows that it takes at least five minutes to cross the bridge, in which time the guard will see her crossing and shoot her. How does she get across?



    Heads Up
    You're thirsty and need just one more quarter for the pop machine in front of you. The problem is that no one is around to give you any change to purchase a soda.

    Incredibly, to your left is a line of quarters right there on the ground. The line is further than your sight can make out. "There must be thousands of them!" you exclaim.

    "Infinite, to be exact." says a man who appears to be the owner of the coins. "And you can have them all if you divide them into two piles which have the same number of heads."

    "Really! Thanks, How much time do I have?" you say.

    "One day. You can pick up as many quarters as you want and even flip them over, just as long as you wind up with two piles that have the same number of heads. I happen to know that there are 20 heads, the rest are all tails."

    "Do the piles need to have the same total number of quarters?" you ask observantly.

    "No, just the same number of heads. If you're ready to begin, I'll start the watch."

    Question: Given infinte coins, only 20 of which are heads, how can you divide the coins into two piles, each with the same number of heads?



    Truth-Teller
    You are walking in a forest minding your business when a snare suddenly grabs your foot and yanks you upside down 30 feet off the ground. When you stop swinging you realize you won't be able to just climb up the rope, because you are right beneath a large platform with no holds on the bottom. You examine the rope and see that there is no way to untie it.

    "If only I had a knife..." Then you notice slight movement at the underneath edges of the platform and see that the movement is actually thousands of army ants beginning to move down over the platform to the underside and towards you. They look exceedingly hungry and don't appear to be vegetarians.

    When things look hopeless, you notice a couple sitting on a huge branch. One of them throws a knife into the air and when it comes back down, they both reach for it. You cannot tell which one actually grabbed it. All you know is that you need that knife to cut yourself down.

    The husband says "The sphynx with the knife always tells the truth."

    But the wife counters, "He's wrong, the one with the knife always lies." As luck would have it, one of them always lies and one of them always tells the truth. Using ONLY THESE TWO STATEMENTS as data, you get one chance to guess who has the knife.

    The ants are approaching, who has the knife?

    Note: The point of the riddle is to reason the correct answer (hence being called a riddle). There's no point in just saying "the Wife/Husband has it!". You need to justify your answer.

    The man says: The one with the knife tells the truth. The woman says: The man lies, one with the knife lies.
    Therefore, if the man has the knife, he is telling the truth and the woman is lying. And if the woman has the knife, then the man would be saying that the woman tells truth. The woman would also say that she lies.
    In both situations, the woman is lying so the man is telling the truth and thus, THE MAN HAS IT!