Long Riddles in 2023

This is an unusual paragraph. I’m curious as to just how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so ordinary and plain that you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is highly unusual though. Study it and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out. Try to do so without any coaching.

I weaken all men for hours each day. I show you strange visions while you are away. I take you by night, by day take you back, None suffer to have me, but do from my lack.

A man who made spears and shields once came to Akbar’s court.

“Your Majesty, nobody can make shields and spears to equal mine,” he said. “My shields are so strong that nothing can pierce them and my spears are so sharp that there’s nothing they cannot pierce.”

“I can prove you wrong on one count certainly,” said Birbal suddenly.

“Impossible!” declared the man.

How Did Birbal Proved him wrong ?

In a one-story house at the corner of the road, the bedrooms were yellow, the kitchen was orange, the living room was red, the garage was blue, the entry hall was green and the sitting room was purple. What color were the stairs?

I spend most of my day eating white, but when I am quick enough I get to eat fruit and sometimes some blue things. I’m in a dark room, where the walls are blue, I run from a ghost that roams the halls and haunts me all the time. What am I?

I’m the beginning of ideas, since nearly the start of time. I’m a simple object but what you use me for can often be quite frustrating. You can make me beautiful or a complete mess. I can help you solve problems and tell people you love them. I have some of the most valuable things in the world on me, but most people own me. You can use me to make anything. What am I?

James ordered a fishing rod, priced at $3.56. Unfortunately, James is an Eskimo who lives in a very remote part of Greenland and the import rules there forbid any package longer than 4 feet to be imported. The fishing rod was 4 feet and 1 inch, just a little too long, so how can the fishing rod be mailed to James without breaking the rules? Ideally James would like the fishing rod to arrive in one piece!

I dig out tiny caves, and store gold and silver in them.
I also build bridges of silver and make crowns of gold.
They are the smallest you could imagine.
Sooner or later everybody needs my help,
yet many people are afraid to let me help them.

What am I?

Once upon a time, in the West Lake village, a servant lived with his master. After service of about 30 years, his master became ill and was going to die.

One day, the master called his servant and asked him for a wish. It could be any wish but just one. The master gave him one day to think about it. The servant became very happy and went to his mother for discussion about the wish. His mother was blind and she asked her son for making a wish for her eye-sight to come back. Then the servant went to his wife. She became very excited and asked for a son as they were childless for many years. After that, the servant went to his father who wanted to be rich and so he asked his son to wish for a lot of money. The next day he went to his master and made one wish through which all the three (mother, father, wife) got what they wanted. You have to tell what the servant asked the master.

A father told his three sons he would die soon and he needed to decide which one of them to give his property to. He said, “Go to the market and buy something that is large enough to fill my bedroom, but small enough to fit in your pocket. From this, I will decide which of you is the wisest and worthy enough to inherit my land.” They all went to the market, and each came back with a different item. The father told his sons to come into his bedroom one at a time and try to fill up his bedroom with their item. The first son came in and put some pieces of cloth he bought and laid them across the room, but it barely covered the floor. The second son came in and laid some hay on the floor, but there was only enough to cover half the floor. The third son came in and showed his father what he bought. He wound up getting the property. What did the third son show his father?

There’s a girl who has a large family. She has an equal amount of brothers and sisters, but each brother only has half as many brothers and sisters. What’s the correct amount of brothers and sisters?

A girl says this to her best friend: “I was born in 1955, and I celebrated my 17th birthday last weekend.” Her best friend thinks she’s lying, but she’s actually correct. How is that possible?

A thief enters a store and threatens the clerk, forcing her to open the safe. The clerk says, “The code for the safe is different every day, and if you hurt me you’ll never get the code.” But the thief manages to guess the code on his own. How did he do it?

What does man love more than life, and hate more than death or mortal strife; that which satisfied men want; the poor have, and the rich require; the miser spends, the spendthrift saves, and all men carry to their graves?

Consider this: Arnold Schwarzenegger has a big one. Michael J. Fox has a small one. Prince doesn’t have one. The Pope has one but never uses it. Bill Clinton has one and uses it all the time. What is it?

One night, a woman receives a call from the police. They tell her that her husband was murdered, and she should come to the crime scene as soon as possible. The woman drops the phone, shocked, and drives 20 minutes to the crime scene. As soon as she reaches the crime scene, the police arrest her and she is convicted of murder. How do the police know she committed the crime?

In a cave there is a treasure within a big metal box with a lock on it. There is also a monster in the cave that has two keys with him; one gold and the other silver. The monster will give you only one chance to open the lock using one of the keys. If the box doesn’t open, the monster will kill you. Since the monster is a bit helpful it would give you a clue in finding out the correct key. Can you choose the correct key by deciphering the below clue?

A GKOY OEPD LYEO DCNO EAAR NNN

A homicide team enters a crime scene where a dead body of a fat old man lies there on the floor with blood oozing out of his head. The victim is holding a gun and a tape recorder lies there by his side. One of the detective picks up the recorder and plays it “I am tired of this life and hence I have decided to relieve myself from the worldly pains”. A gunshot follows the message.

The teams starts investigating a murder investigation.

Why?

A man needs to send important documents to his friend across the country. He buys a suitcase to put the documents in, but he has a problem: the mail system in his country is very corrupt, and he knows that if he doesn’t lock the suitcase, it will be opened by the post office and his documents will be stolen before they reach his friend.

There are lock stores across the country that sell locks with keys. The only problem is that if he locks the suitcase, he has no way to send the key to his friend so that the friend will be able to open the lock: if he doesn’t send the key, then the friend can’t open the lock, and if he puts the key in the suitcase, then the friend won’t be able to get to the key.

The suitcase is designed so that any number of locks can be put on it, but the man figures that putting more than one lock on the suitcase will only compound the problem.

After a few days, however, he figures out how to safely send the documents. He calls his friend who he’s sending the documents to and explains the plan.
What is the man’s plan?

You are standing next to three switches. You know these switches belong to three bulbs in a room behind a closed door – the door is tight closed, and heavy which means that it’s absolutely impossible to see if any bulb is on or not. All three switches are now in position off.

You can do whatever you want with the switches and when you are finished you open the door and go into the room. While in there you have to tell which switch belongs to which bulb.

How will you do that?

A young peasant wanted to marry the king’s daughter. The king didn’t like the idea of his daughter marrying a peasant, but he wanted to appear fair in front of his subjects. The king said that he would put two pieces of paper into a hat, one reading “exile” and the other reading “marriage”. Later that day, the peasant overheard the king saying that both pieces of paper would read “exile”, thus ensuring that the peasant would be out of his way for good. The peasant remained undaunted and, as arranged, arrived at the king’s court where a large crown gathered for the big event. The peasant then did something that assured him the hand of the king’s daughter. What did he do?

A man comes to a small hotel where he wishes to stay for 7 nights. He reaches into his pockets and realizes that he has no money, and the only item he has to offer is a gold chain, which consists of 7 rings connected in a row (not in a loop).

The hotel proprietor tells the man that it will cost 1 ring per night, which will add up to all 7 rings for the 7 nights.

“Ok,” the man says. “I’ll give you all 7 rings right now to pre-pay for my stay.”

“No,” the proprietor says. “I don’t like to be in other people’s debt, so I cannot accept all the rings up front.”

“Alright,” the man responds. “I’ll wait until after the seventh night, and then give you all of the rings.”

“No,” the proprietor says again. “I don’t like to ever be owed anything. You’ll need to make sure you’ve paid me the exact correct amount after each night.”

The man thinks for a minute, and then says “I’ll just cut each of my rings off of the chain, and then give you one each night.”

“I do not want cut rings,” the proprietor says. “However, I’m willing to let you cut one of the rings if you must.”

The man thinks for a few minutes and then figures out a way to abide by the proprietor’s rules and stay the 7 nights in the hotel. What is his plan?

A man was in a small town for the day, and needed a haircut. He noticed that there were only two barbers in town, and decided to apply a bit of logical deduction to choosing the best one. Looking at their shops, he saw that the first one was very neat and the barber was clean shaven with a nice haircut. The other shop was a mess, and the barber there needed a shave and had a bad cut besides. Why did the man choose to go to the barber with the messy shop?

A boy was at a carnival and went to a booth where a man said to the boy, “If I write your exact weight on this piece of paper then you have to give me $50, but if I cannot, I will pay you $50.”

The boy looked around and saw no scale so he agrees, thinking no matter what the carny writes he’ll just say he weighs more or less. In the end the boy ended up paying the man $50. How did the man win the bet?

A poor miller living with his daughter comes onto hard times and is not able to pay his rent. His evil landlord threatens to evict them unless the daughter marries him.

The daughter, not wanting to marry the landlord but fearing that her father won’t be able to take being evicted, suggests the following proposition to the landlord. He will put two stones, one white and one black, into a bag in front of the rest of the townspeople. She will pick one stone out of the bag. If she picks the white stone, the landlord will forgive their debt and let them stay, but if she picks the black stone, she will marry the landlord, and her father will be evicted anyway.

The landlord agrees to the proposal. Everybody meets in the center of the town. The landlord picks up two stones to put in the bag, but the daughter notices that he secretly picked two black stones.

She is about to reveal his deception but realizes that this would embarrass him in front of the townspeople, and he would evict them. She quickly comes up with another plan. What can she do that will allow the landlord save face, while also ensuring that she and her father can stay and that she won’t have to marry the landlord?

Consider the following explanation for why 1=2:

1. Start out Let y = x
2. Multiply through by x xy = x2
3. Subtract y2 from each side xy – y2 = x2 – y2
4. Factor each side y(x-y) = (x+y)(x-y)
5. Divide both sides by (x-y) y = x+y
6. Divide both sides by y y/y = x/y + y/y
7. And so… 1 = x/y + 1
8. Since x=y, x/y = 1 1 = 1 + 1
8. And so… 1 = 2

How is this possible?

Find words to fit the clues, all the words end in the same three letters.

_ _ _ _ _ _ Eat quickly

_ _ _ _ _ _ Unverified story

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ An outline

My first is in chocolate but no in ham. My second is in cake and also in jam. My third at tea-time is easily found. Altogether, this is a friend who is often around. What is it?

The captain of a ship is telling you an interesting story, and then poses a question. He says, “I have traveled the oceans far and wide. One time, two of my sailors were standing on opposite sides of the ship. One was looking west and the other one east. And at the same time, they could see each other clearly. Can you tell me how that was possible?”

The person who makes it has no need for it. He who purchases it does not use it. The person who does use it does not know they are. What is it?

A red house is made out of red bricks. A yellow house is made out of yellow bricks. And, a blue house is made out of blue bricks. So, what is a green house made of?

I am never exactly what I appear to be. I may seem straight forward, but I’m afraid that is only skin deep. Mystery most often lies beneath my simple words. Sharpen your wits, and open your eyes. Read me backwards, forwards, upside down. Look beyond my exteriors and answer this simple question. What am I?

There were once 3 brothers, one day on the way to their grandmothers funeral their car broke down.
Oh great, they all thought, and tried to fix the car but finally decided they had no idea what they were doing.
The middle and youngest brother teamed up and forced the eldest to walk in search of a house where they could use a telephone to call a local tow truck.
They were literally stranded out in the middle of nowhere-the landscape was barren and nondescript.
The eldest brother walked for ages until suddenly he appeared before a large Victorian home. Everything was pink.
Thinking that this was a little strange, the brother peered down the road for possible neighbors, but he could see nothing at all.
The picket fence lining the yard was pink, as was the gate. The path to the house was pink, the porch was pink. The door was pink. The shudders were pink. EVERYTHING was pink.
He opened up the fence gate which screeched ‘Piiiinnnkkk!!’ as he walked the path his footsteps barked ‘Pi-Pink Pi-Pink P-Pink!!’. As he walked the porch steps they groaned ‘PPPink PPPink PPPink!!’
Finally, with many ‘Pink’ statements he made it to the door and knocked loudly, the door shouted back ‘PINK PINK’
He waited a minute or two but no one answered the door. He decided it was best to go inside anyway, they still needed to make a phone call. He grabbed the doorknob and turned it- it whispered softly ‘ppinkkk’.
He shouted into the home ‘Hello? Im just here to use your phone!’
When he looked around the home, once again everything was pink. Pink furniture, Pink carpeting, Pink drapes, Pink walls.
He figured the phone was in the kitchen so he walked in there, pink tile, pink cupboards, pink fridge, pink everything.
He heard his stomach growl and decided to steal some food, plus the phone call could wait. When he opened the pantry there sat Bread Brand and Rice Flakes. He chose the Rice Flakes and ate it happily.

Back at the stranded car, the two brothers became angry, they both decided to search for their brother and for a phone. They walked for what seemed hours and soon discovered the giant pink house and figured their brother had gone there, as there was no other neighbors.

The picket fence lining the yard was pink, as was the gate. The path to the house was pink, the porch was pink. The door was pink. The shudders were pink. EVERYTHING was pink.
They opened up the fence gate which screeched ‘Piiiinnnkkk!!’ as they walked the path their footsteps barked ‘Pi-Pink Pi-Pink P-Pink!!’. As they walked the porch steps they groaned ‘PPPink PPPink PPPink!!’
Finally, with many ‘Pink’ statements they made it to the door and knocked loudly, the door shouted back ‘PINK PINK’
They waited a minute or two but no one answered the door. They decided it was best to go inside anyway, they still needed to make a phone call. One brother grabbed the doorknob and turned it- it whispered softly ‘ppinkkk’.
The other brother shouted into the home ‘Hello? We’re just here to use your phone!’
When they looked around the home, once again everything was pink. Pink furniture, Pink carpeting, Pink drapes, Pink walls.
They figured the phone was in the kitchen so they walked in there, pink tile, pink cupboards, pink fridge, pink everything.
The brothers both heard their stomachs growl and decided to steal some food, plus the phone call could wait. When they opened the pantry there sat Bread Brand and Rice Flakes. Both of them chose the Bread Brand at ate it happily.
They waited some time for their brother to show up, but he was strangely missing. The two brothers decided he had gotten a ride, so they used the phone to call a tow truck which took the two of them to their grandmothers funeral.
Still they saw no sign of their brother, and never did again after that day.

Whats the moral of the story??

*HINT* the house wasn’t their grandmothers, and the eldest brother wasn’t brutally murdered or anything like that.

You have two jugs, one that holds exactly 3 gallons, and one that holds exactly 5 gallons. Using just these two jugs and a fire hose, how can you measure out exactly 4 gallons of water?