Post by: RanVor on March 19, 2020, 05:51:04 PM
My riddle is as follows:
Let's suppose you have been diagnosed with a deadly illness and only have a few months left to live. You're offered a chance to participate in an experimental treatment that will save your life. You're given two jars, each containing a hundred pills. Both kinds of pills look, smell and taste exactly the same - there's no way to tell the difference. You have to take two pills from each jar every day until you run out of both, after which you will be cured. However, if you mix it up, you die. You do as you're told until, two days before the end of your treatment, you accidentally knock over both jars and the pills get mixed up. What do you do to complete your treatment and not die?
Post by: Alkia on March 19, 2020, 06:04:17 PM
Post by: RanVor on March 19, 2020, 06:10:02 PM
ooh, I've heard one like this before! I've never heard a definite correct answer, but my answer is this: take all the pills, grind them up, and mix the powder as well as possible. Then, either eat the powder or put it in water to make a paste and mix it more.There's a simpler way.
Post by: thegreyarea on March 20, 2020, 07:06:03 AM
Just remembered this really cool riddle and I figured I'll post it here for convenience...Great idea Ran!
...What do you do to complete your treatment and not die?
I know this is not the right answer, but I'd take those 8 pills (2 days left x 2 jars x 2 pills) and wait until midnight. Then I'll took all them together, even risking an overdose.
(Presuming there's no way to contact those guys that were so smart to devise a treatment for a deadly disease but not smart enough to make the damn pills in different colours!)
Post by: Grade E cat on March 20, 2020, 08:09:36 AM
Just remembered this really cool riddle and I figured I'll post it here for convenience. You can post your own riddles here, however, once there's more than one riddle, it might be a good idea to quote it while answering, to prevent confusion regarding which riddle is being answered.
My riddle is as follows:
Let's suppose you have been diagnosed with a deadly illness and only have a few months left to live. You're offered a chance to participate in an experimental treatment that will save your life. You're given two jars, each containing a hundred pills. Both kinds of pills look, smell and taste exactly the same - there's no way to tell the difference. You have to take two pills from each jar every day until you run out of both, after which you will be cured. However, if you mix it up, you die. You do as you're told until, two days before the end of your treatment, you accidentally knock over both jars and the pills get mixed up. What do you do to complete your treatment and not die?
Are we supposed to assume the pills were actually spilled out of their original bottles or not?
Post by: JoB on March 20, 2020, 02:28:24 PM
You have to take two pills from each jar every day until you run out of bothI shall assume that that means either a) to take 2 "left jar" + 2 "right jar" = 4 at one time every day, or b) 1+1 at one time ("morning") and 1+1 at another ("evening"), not that you have to take the two sorts at different times of the day (e.g., 2+0 in the morning and 0+2 in the evening).
Spoiler: in that case ... • show
Post by: RanVor on March 20, 2020, 07:47:50 PM
I shall assume that that means either a) to take 2 "left jar" + 2 "right jar" = 4 at one time every day, or b) 1+1 at one time ("morning") and 1+1 at another ("evening"), not that you have to take the two sorts at different times of the day (e.g., 2+0 in the morning and 0+2 in the evening).Spoiler: in that case ... • show
Ladies and gentleman, we have the correct answer. Congratulations!
Post by: thegreyarea on March 21, 2020, 06:02:51 AM
Ladies and gentleman, we have the correct answer. Congratulations!
Ok, but I still want to talk with those guys that made the pills-that-kill-you-if-mixed with the same colour!
But I liked this little play, so here's a new one. (Though some may find it to easy):
- What is seen in the middle of March and April that can’t be seen at the beginning or end of either month?
Post by: Róisín on March 21, 2020, 06:11:30 AM
Post by: thegreyarea on March 21, 2020, 06:49:13 AM
The letter ‘r’?
I said that some would find it too easy... Yes, we have a winner!
Now I'll be waiting for the next one :-)
Post by: JoB on March 21, 2020, 07:10:35 AM
Ok, but I still want to talk with those guys that made the pills-that-kill-you-if-mixed with the same colour!Now that's a "Holi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulal)er than thou" attitude if I've ever seen one! >:D
- What is seen in the middle of March and April that can’t be seen at the beginning or end of either month?Since I think that Róisín nailed that one, lemme try to come up with a new one ... hehe, I'll shamelessly steal/adapt something I heard on the radio lately ...
I'm hairy and I give milk, yet I'm not a mammal.
I cannot move away from my home region, and yet I appear near people pretty much all over the world.
Said people are usually delighted to see me - and then grab various blunt instruments to use on me.
What am I?
Post by: RanVor on March 21, 2020, 07:37:46 AM
I'm hairy and I give milk, yet I'm not a mammal.
I cannot move away from my home region, and yet I appear near people pretty much all over the world.
Said people are usually delighted to see me - and then grab various blunt instruments to use on me.
What am I?
A coconut?
Post by: Róisín on March 21, 2020, 09:54:52 AM
The answer to mine is one of the classic answers. Some of you may have seen it already in other contexts.
What spills through the hands like sand or water
Spills through the mind from grief to laughter
Dances a beat and the next beat after?
What is deeper than Death’s dark river,
Still as a shallow where bright leaves shiver
Gone every instant yet lives forever?
What can snuff out a star in the dark alone?
Crush a mountain to dust and that dust to a stone
And that stone in its turn into dust again?
What is all false and yet most true?
Old forever yet always new?
What is the water the soul swims through?
Post by: Keep Looking on March 21, 2020, 09:56:42 AM
Also, that is a beautifully written riddle.
Post by: Róisín on March 21, 2020, 09:58:18 AM
Post by: JoB on March 21, 2020, 01:06:06 PM
A coconut?Ayup. (The gag I heard in the radio essentially went, "since they have hair and milk, why don't we consider coconuts mammals?")
Post by: thegreyarea on March 21, 2020, 01:38:57 PM
Here is one of mine...
Róisín, that's truly a beautiful riddle! Well done! And Keep Looking beat me in the answer, but I got it right!
Ayup. (The gag I heard in the radio essentially went, "since they have hair and milk, why don't we consider coconuts mammals?")
I also got this on right, but was beaten again! :) And of course the vegetarian lobby does not want us to consider coconuts mammals. It's a conspiracy! ;)
Here's another, probably you experts will call it easy:
You see a boat filled with people. After some time you look better and the boat is intact, but you don’t see a single person on board. Why?
Post by: Mebediel on March 21, 2020, 01:51:22 PM
You see a boat filled with people. After some time you look better and the boat is intact, but you don’t see a single person on board. Why?The only thing I can think of is that the boat is on land and the people got out
Post by: thegreyarea on March 21, 2020, 01:57:53 PM
The only thing I can think of is that the boat is on land and the people got outbut I feel like that's not the answer the riddle is looking for
Could be. That's a good answer, :) but as you said this is not the expected one. So let's clarify that the boat is on water, away from the shore.
Post by: RanVor on March 21, 2020, 05:41:22 PM
Nobody wants to have me, but whoever has me, doesn't want to lose me. What am I?
Post by: thorny on March 21, 2020, 08:50:50 PM
You see a boat filled with people. After some time you look better and the boat is intact, but you don’t see a single person on board. Why?
Should I put it in a spoiler?
Spoiler: show
ETA: Ranvor:
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on March 21, 2020, 09:20:45 PM
ETA: Ranvor:Spoiler: show
Nope.
Post by: thegreyarea on March 21, 2020, 09:30:30 PM
Should I put it in a spoiler?Spoiler: show
And we have a winner! *raises thorny hand in the air* Well done!
I think that putting our answers on spoilers is a excellent idea.
As was your idea for this thread, Ran!
Nobody wants to have me, but whoever has me, doesn't want to lose me. What am I?
I'll give my try:
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on March 22, 2020, 06:42:03 AM
I think that putting our answers on spoilers is a excellent idea.
As was your idea for this thread, Ran!
I'll give my try:Spoiler: show
Still no.
Post by: yeethaw_gang on March 22, 2020, 07:33:58 AM
Nobody wants to have me, but whoever has me, doesn't want to lose me. What am I?
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on March 22, 2020, 09:15:14 AM
Spoiler: show
*grins devilishly* No.
Post by: thorny on March 22, 2020, 01:13:42 PM
And we have a winner! *raises thorny hand in the air* Well done!
I got one right, anyway!
Is 50% a passing grade?
Post by: thegreyarea on March 22, 2020, 03:28:07 PM
I got one right, anyway!
Is 50% a passing grade?
In my University we used to say that 50% (that was the minimum to pass) was a grade, everything beyond that was a luxury! So to me you're fine!
(the faculty had a tradition on "tight" grades (and still has, but a little less, so I've heard). Having an 80% in anything was considered almost-genius-level, 90% or 100% was definitively worth of general awe and small excursions of younger students to see which project could achieve such "miracle")
Post by: Gwenno on March 22, 2020, 06:03:44 PM
Nobody wants to have me, but whoever has me, doesn't want to lose me. What am I?
Oh man, I am very much enjoying trying to figure these ones out!
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on March 23, 2020, 07:19:19 AM
Oh man, I am very much enjoying trying to figure these ones out!Spoiler: show
No.
Post by: Mariiii on March 23, 2020, 07:47:49 AM
Nobody wants to have me, but whoever has me, doesn't want to lose me. What am I?
I have been thinking about it since you posted it and I finally have an idea !
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on March 23, 2020, 08:00:07 AM
I have been thinking about it since you posted it and I finally have an idea !Spoiler: show
Sorry, still no.
Post by: Mebediel on March 23, 2020, 11:31:06 AM
Nobody wants to have me, but whoever has me, doesn't want to lose me. What am I?I don't have an answer to this because the answer "the letter 'e'" doesn't make sense, and there isn't anything with Odysseus that makes sense either. But for the sake of guessing:
Spoiler: show
Post by: Clayres on March 23, 2020, 11:48:21 AM
I don't have an answer to this because the answer "the letter 'e'" doesn't make sense, and there isn't anything with Odysseus that makes sense either. But for the sake of guessing:Spoiler: show
This gave me an idea!
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on March 23, 2020, 11:53:22 AM
Post by: Clayres on March 23, 2020, 12:37:32 PM
Clayres 😆 A lot of people want to have one, or even more! I know I did.
Sure but
Post by: Jitter on March 23, 2020, 03:01:03 PM
Post by: thorny on March 23, 2020, 03:04:31 PM
And the back of my head is telling me that this isn't the right answer, but let me try it anyway:
Spoiler: show
Post by: Alkia on March 23, 2020, 03:37:26 PM
Spoiler: show
Post by: Mariiii on March 23, 2020, 07:40:57 PM
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on March 23, 2020, 08:32:32 PM
Hint:
Spoiler: show
Post by: yeethaw_gang on March 23, 2020, 09:05:00 PM
Nobody wants to have me, but whoever has me, doesn't want to lose me. What am I?
Okay guessing again,
Spoiler: show
Post by: Purple Wyrm on March 24, 2020, 12:11:54 AM
Nobody wants to have me, but whoever has me, doesn't want to lose me. What am I?
How about...
Spoiler: show
)Post by: RanVor on March 24, 2020, 05:08:51 AM
Okay guessing again,Spoiler: show
And that... is... CORRECT! Congratulations!
Post by: yeethaw_gang on March 24, 2020, 08:41:49 AM
I shave everyday, yet my beard stays the same. Who am I?
Post by: Purple Wyrm on March 24, 2020, 09:07:14 AM
I shave everyday, yet my beard stays the same. Who am I?
Spoiler: show
Post by: JoB on March 24, 2020, 08:02:00 PM
I shave everyday, yet my beard stays the same. Who am I?
Spoiler: show
Post by: yeethaw_gang on March 24, 2020, 10:53:57 PM
Spoiler: show
Yes! That's correct!
Post by: Róisín on March 24, 2020, 11:25:08 PM
Post by: thegreyarea on March 25, 2020, 07:50:55 AM
You shave, but your beard (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beard_(companion)) doesn't?
I didn't knew the term. You keep your ability to show fascinating things, my friend.
(you don't mind me calling you a friend, do you? With many Minnions I have the feeling that I know you so well, and we "talk" so many times...)
Post by: RanVor on March 25, 2020, 09:02:50 AM
The one who makes me doesn't need me, the one who pays for me doesn't use me and the one who uses me doesn't know about it. What am I?
Post by: JoB on March 25, 2020, 03:29:48 PM
I didn't knew the term. You keep your ability to show fascinating things, my friend.I didn't, either, but when you're trying to answer a question with a twist, looking up the terms used for secondary meanings sorta is snark 101. ;)
(you don't mind me calling you a friend, do you? With many Minnions I have the feeling that I know you so well, and we "talk" so many times...)(Muahahaaa, another one fooled into putting in the extra "r" ... >:D )
The one who makes me doesn't need me, the one who pays for me doesn't use me and the one who uses me doesn't know about it. What am I?
Spoiler: show
Post by: Mebediel on March 25, 2020, 05:37:42 PM
(Muahahaaa, another one fooled into putting in the extra "r" ... >:D )A fiendr?
Post by: RanVor on April 08, 2020, 09:07:25 AM
What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?
What has many keys but can't open a single lock?
What has a bottom at the top?
I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
If two's company, and three's a crowd, what are four and five?
Post by: thegreyarea on April 08, 2020, 09:35:20 AM
What has many keys but can't open a single lock?
My guess:
Spoiler: show
What has a bottom at the top?
My guess:
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on April 08, 2020, 09:45:55 AM
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on April 08, 2020, 09:49:49 AM
My guess:Yes and no.Spoiler: show
My guess:Spoiler: show
I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?That is correct. Pretty easy, wasn't it?Spoiler: show
Post by: Mebediel on April 08, 2020, 01:52:23 PM
What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?
Spoiler: show
Quote
What has a bottom at the top?
Spoiler: show
Quote
If two's company, and three's a crowd, what are four and five?Silly guess but
Spoiler: show
Post by: thegreyarea on April 08, 2020, 02:15:25 PM
If two's company, and three's a crowd, what are four and five?
Completely silly guess, but...
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on April 08, 2020, 06:43:28 PM
Yes, no, but close and no, but close. Try again!Spoiler: showSpoiler: show
Silly guess butSpoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on April 09, 2020, 03:31:09 AM
"I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?"
Yes and no.
That is correct. Pretty easy, wasn't it?
It was, once I went engineer and starter systemically from square 1 :) Before that, I spent a while wondering in circles.
Post by: Mebediel on April 09, 2020, 06:58:34 PM
Yes, no, but close and no, but close. Try again!Alright trying again for the middle one:
What has a bottom at the top?
Spoiler: show
I'll have to think a bit longer on another answer to your last riddle!
Post by: RanVor on April 09, 2020, 07:06:13 PM
Alright trying again for the middle one:Yup.Spoiler: show
I'll have to think a bit longer on another answer to your last riddle!
Post by: LooNEY_DAC on April 09, 2020, 07:12:19 PM
If two's company, and three's a crowd, what are four and five?It's simple.
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on April 10, 2020, 05:52:49 AM
It's simple.Of course.Spoiler: show
Post by: Mebediel on April 10, 2020, 04:01:08 PM
I war oft against wave and fight against wind,
do battle with both, when I reach to the ground,
covered by the waters. The land is strange to me.
I am strong in the strife if I stay at rest.
If I fail at that, they are stronger than I
and forthwith they wrench me and put me to rout.
They would carry away what I ought to defend.
I withstand them then if my tail endures
and the stones hold me fast. Ask what my name is.
Post by: RanVor on April 10, 2020, 04:34:12 PM
fight against wind
Spoiler: show
(Sorry, I'mma go hide.)
Post by: Mebediel on April 10, 2020, 07:15:00 PM
heheheheSpoiler: show
(Sorry, I'mma go hide.)
Post by: Róisín on April 11, 2020, 03:18:04 AM
Post by: Purple Wyrm on April 11, 2020, 05:29:37 AM
Spoiler: show
Post by: Róisín on April 11, 2020, 06:28:51 AM
I have a head and I stand in a bed.
Rough is my root.
I bring tears to the eyes of many a tender maiden.
And:
There is a thing that hangs below his belt.
Stiff and stout, it swivels about.
When the man who owns it returns from a journey
Often it fills a well-known hole.
Now it fills it again.
And Wyrm, your answer to Mebediel’s riddle sounds more likely than mine!
Post by: Alkia on April 11, 2020, 08:11:39 AM
While on the subject of the Anglo Saxon riddle poems: I think I mentioned that some of them sound a lot more risqué than they actually are (don’t worry, the answers are actually quite decent).
And:
There is a thing that hangs below his belt.
Stiff and stout, it swivels about.
When the man who owns it returns from a journey
Often it fills a well-known hole.
Now it fills it again.
Spoiler: show
Post by: Róisín on April 11, 2020, 08:35:18 AM
Post by: Keep Looking on April 11, 2020, 09:11:57 AM
While on the subject of the Anglo Saxon riddle poems: I think I mentioned that some of them sound a lot more risqué than they actually are (don’t worry, the answers are actually quite decent).
I have a head and I stand in a bed.
Rough is my root.
I bring tears to the eyes of many a tender maiden.
And:
There is a thing that hangs below his belt.
Stiff and stout, it swivels about.
When the man who owns it returns from a journey
Often it fills a well-known hole.
Now it fills it again.
For the second riddle, would it be a key?
As for the first one, I'm not sure of the specifics, but it sounds maybe like some kind of root vegetable? Perhaps a radish - they can be a bit spicy and thus bring tears to a maiden's eye.
Post by: Keep Looking on April 11, 2020, 11:04:56 AM
Spoiler: show
Post by: Mebediel on April 11, 2020, 01:14:38 PM
Maybe kelp or some similar seaweed?
Maybe?Nope and nope, although you're both close in different ways!Spoiler: show
Post by: thorny on April 11, 2020, 01:17:43 PM
Spoiler: show
Róisín:
Spoiler: show
Post by: Róisín on April 11, 2020, 02:30:39 PM
And Mebediel, I just had another thought...would your answer perhaps be an anchor?
Post by: Mebediel on April 11, 2020, 07:56:47 PM
And Mebediel, I just had another thought...would your answer perhaps be an anchor?It is indeed! Although good guess, thorny, with the breakwater :)
Post by: Jitter on April 11, 2020, 09:34:23 PM
Post by: Róisín on April 12, 2020, 02:02:28 AM
Post by: RanVor on April 12, 2020, 05:01:28 AM
I was also thinking about a breakwater but didn’t know what that is called :) Róisín, the key riddle really is quite naughty:)I'm pretty sure it was on purpose, like "of course it's a key, what were you thinking of, pervert?" type of thing.
Post by: Róisín on April 12, 2020, 05:05:27 AM
Post by: RanVor on May 06, 2020, 08:18:07 AM
#1: During which month do people sleep the least?
#2: What is made of water but if you put it into water it will die?
#3: What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?
#4: There was a green house. Inside the green house there was a white house. Inside the white house there was a red house. Inside the red house there were lots of babies. What is it?
#5: Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly?
#6: If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me. What am I?
#7: A man is pushing his car along the road when he comes to a hotel. He shouts, "I'm bankrupt!" Why?
And that'll be enough for now. Have fun guessing, and if you've got some cool riddles, post them here too!
Post by: Róisín on May 06, 2020, 08:29:00 AM
Post by: Keep Looking on May 06, 2020, 08:32:21 AM
Post by: RanVor on May 06, 2020, 08:35:41 AM
Is 1 March?I'm afraid it is not. Good luck on your second try!
Post by: Jitter on May 06, 2020, 09:23:45 AM
Good of you to come up with more! I’m not very good with these but it’s a fun thread to follow!
Post by: Grade E cat on May 06, 2020, 09:24:01 AM
Post by: Jitter on May 06, 2020, 09:27:02 AM
Post by: RanVor on May 06, 2020, 09:30:58 AM
Is #5 ’incorrectly’?
Good of you to come up with more! I’m not very good with these but it’s a fun thread to follow!
#6: A secret?
#3 a towel?
Yes to all three. I need to find some more difficult riddles, these are getting solved too quickly.
Post by: thegreyarea on May 06, 2020, 09:50:24 AM
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on May 06, 2020, 10:16:42 AM
I'll just add my guess to #1Yup. It's really obvious in hindsight, isn't it? Then again, answers to all good riddles are...Spoiler: show
Post by: thorny on May 06, 2020, 11:02:04 AM
Spoiler: show
#5: Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly?
Spoiler: show
#7: A man is pushing his car along the road when he comes to a hotel. He shouts, "I'm bankrupt!" Why?
Spoiler: show
ETA: whoops, fast moving thread.
Post by: RanVor on May 06, 2020, 11:13:37 AM
#1: During which month do people sleep the least?#1 and #5 are correct, but they've already been answered. #7 is absolutely correct.Spoiler: show
#5: Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly?Spoiler: show
#7: A man is pushing his car along the road when he comes to a hotel. He shouts, "I'm bankrupt!" Why?Spoiler: show
ETA: whoops, fast moving thread.
Post by: JoB on May 06, 2020, 01:46:27 PM
This thread is ours and keep it alive we shall! More riddles for you to take your brain off the COVID-19 related matters!
Spoiler: show
Yup. It's really obvious in hindsight, isn't it?Well, let me offer an upgrade </Neo voice>, then ...
All Europeans know that October is the longest month there, thanks to the EU (and some more nations around it) switching back from DST in October and thus adding an hour to it. But how long exactly can it get, as a theoretical maximum?
Post by: RanVor on May 06, 2020, 04:55:57 PM
'Tis correct.Spoiler: show
Well, let me offer an upgrade </Neo voice>, then ...
All Europeans know that October is the longest month there, thanks to the EU (and some more nations around it) switching back from DST in October and thus adding an hour to it. But how long exactly can it get, as a theoretical maximum?
Hmm, that would be all of them. You people are too good at this.
Post by: Vulpes on May 06, 2020, 07:50:50 PM
Nilly Nelly Netticoat
In a white petticoat
With a white nose.
The longer she stands
The shorter she grows.
Post by: thorny on May 07, 2020, 12:37:22 AM
#1 and #5 are correct, but they've already been answered. #7 is absolutely correct.
Yeehah! Three out of three; even if two of them were late.
(um. we'll ignore the four I didn't answer . . .)
Nilly Nelly Netticoat
In a white petticoat
With a white nose.
The longer she stands
The shorter she grows.
I'm pretty sure I've seen this one; maybe back in my childhood.
Spoiler: show
Post by: Róisín on May 07, 2020, 04:59:30 AM
Post by: Vulpes on May 11, 2020, 08:23:50 PM
I thought it might be candle, but the version I know says ‘red nose’ for the flame.
Hah, I said I probably botched it, didn't I? :-[
Yes, a candle. I'm so terrible at these I can't even pose them properly, let alone answer them! :'D
Post by: Róisín on May 11, 2020, 09:56:11 PM
Post by: RanVor on May 12, 2020, 07:25:46 AM
#1: I am something people love or hate. I change peoples appearances and thoughts. If a person takes care of themself I will go up even higher. To some people, I will fool them. To others, I am a mystery. Some people might want to try and hide me but I will show. No matter how hard people try I will never go down. What am I?
#2: Only one color, but not one size,
Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies.
Present in sun, but not in rain,
Doing no harm, and feeling no pain.
What is it?
#3: Who is that with a neck and no head, two arms and no hands? What is it?
#4: If eleven plus two equals one, what does nine plus five equal?
#5: Can you write down eight eights so that they add up to one thousand?
#6: What English word retains the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters?
#7: What is it that given one, you'll have either two or none?
Have fun solving these ones!
Post by: thegreyarea on May 12, 2020, 07:42:05 AM
...
Have fun solving these ones!
Thanks, Ran! A few guesses:
Spoiler: show
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on May 12, 2020, 07:44:28 AM
Thanks, Ran! A few guesses:No and yes. ;DSpoiler: showSpoiler: show
Post by: Róisín on May 12, 2020, 07:56:40 AM
6 Queue?
Post by: RanVor on May 12, 2020, 07:59:14 AM
3 A cross?Again, no and yes.
6 Queue?
Post by: thorny on May 12, 2020, 11:45:56 AM
Alright everybody, this time I looked specifically for hard riddles, so hopefully this one will not be a cakewalk. Let's go!
OK, let me try this without looking at any intervening posts first:
#1: I am something people love or hate. I change peoples appearances and thoughts. If a person takes care of themself I will go up even higher. To some people, I will fool them. To others, I am a mystery. Some people might want to try and hide me but I will show. No matter how hard people try I will never go down. What am I?
Spoiler: show
#2: Only one color, but not one size,
Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies.
Present in sun, but not in rain,
Doing no harm, and feeling no pain.
What is it?
Spoiler: show
#3: Who is that with a neck and no head, two arms and no hands? What is it?
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on May 12, 2020, 12:15:02 PM
OK, let me try this without looking at any intervening posts first:Yes, yes and yes. Congratulations!
#1: I am something people love or hate. I change peoples appearances and thoughts. If a person takes care of themself I will go up even higher. To some people, I will fool them. To others, I am a mystery. Some people might want to try and hide me but I will show. No matter how hard people try I will never go down. What am I?Spoiler: show
#2: Only one color, but not one size,
Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies.
Present in sun, but not in rain,
Doing no harm, and feeling no pain.
What is it?Spoiler: show
#3: Who is that with a neck and no head, two arms and no hands? What is it?Spoiler: show
Post by: JoB on May 12, 2020, 03:02:18 PM
#4: If eleven plus two equals one, what does nine plus five equal?
Spoiler: show
#7: What is it that given one, you'll have either two or none?
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on May 12, 2020, 03:18:40 PM
Yes and no.Spoiler: showSpoiler: show
Post by: JoB on May 12, 2020, 03:27:13 PM
#7: What is it that given one, you'll have either two or none?
Spoiler: show
Post by: thegreyarea on May 12, 2020, 03:32:33 PM
#7: What is it that given one, you'll have either two or none?
I know its not the answer, but that occurred to me:
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on May 12, 2020, 03:59:18 PM
I know its not the answer, but that occurred to me:It's good that you know it's not the answer.Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on May 12, 2020, 05:11:44 PM
J1: Narrow sounds, long capes, rock at every end. What is it?
J2: When I carry you, you get tired but I don’t. Who am I?
J3: I have no mouth yet I speak, no ears yet I hear, and answer in all language of the world. Who am I?
J4: It can fit in through the window, but won’t exit through the door. What is it?
J5: All day I lie on my back, at night I stand upright.
These are “Finnish riddles” translated by yours truly. I don’t think most are particularly Finnish though :)
Post by: lumilaulu on May 12, 2020, 05:37:15 PM
Spoiler: show
Post by: Noodles on May 12, 2020, 09:02:40 PM
Spoiler: show
Post by: thorny on May 12, 2020, 09:52:33 PM
Yes, yes and yes. Congratulations!
Woohoo!
-- however I have no clue, at least right now, on any of the rest of today's.
ETA: at least, unless J3 is
Spoiler: show
Post by: Keep Looking on May 12, 2020, 11:08:16 PM
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on May 13, 2020, 01:16:30 AM
J2: When I carry you, you get tired but I don’t. Who am I?
Noodles, good guess but not the correct one
J3: I have no mouth yet I speak, no ears yet I hear, and answer in all language of the world. Who am I?
Lumilaulu, yes
Thorny, haha ;D but no
J4: It can fit in through the window, but won’t exit through the door. What is it?
Keep looking yes
Post by: JoB on May 13, 2020, 06:23:24 AM
J1: Narrow sounds, long capes, rock at every end. What is it?I'm not sure that I even understand the question ... what is a "narrow sound", unless we're talking about this (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_(geography)) kind?
Spoiler: *IF* we do ... • show
J2: When I carry you, you get tired but I don’t. Who am I?
Spoiler: show
J5: All day I lie on my back, at night I stand upright.
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on May 13, 2020, 07:01:53 AM
In Finnish the “narrow sound” in the riddle clearly means geographic sound or bay. So that is not the giat of it.
Post by: Róisín on May 13, 2020, 07:21:32 AM
Post by: JoB on May 13, 2020, 08:01:42 AM
JoB yes, that kind of sound! But the answers aren’t correct :)Alright then [cracks skullknuckles] ...
J1: Narrow sounds, long capes, rock at every end. What is it?
Spoiler: show
J2: When I carry you, you get tired but I don’t. Who am I?
Spoiler: show
J5: All day I lie on my back, at night I stand upright.
Spoiler: show
]Post by: Keep Looking on May 13, 2020, 08:25:13 AM
Spoiler: show
Post by: thegreyarea on May 13, 2020, 09:06:49 AM
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on May 13, 2020, 09:18:24 AM
#7: What is it that given one, you'll have either two or none?
Post by: Jitter on May 13, 2020, 02:32:06 PM
J5 is a very Finnish thing, not necessarily something you are familiar with in your everyday life
Post by: Purple Wyrm on May 13, 2020, 08:14:29 PM
They mostly rely on bits of obscure knowledge and having a particularly twisted mind, so are likely largely insolvable, but take a shot anyway!
CC1: Franklin's examination of bears flags (3,8,3,8)
CC2: Men and lions follow the rules in London's haunted field (3,4,8)
CC3: How weird to fill up horrors with man-made affection (1,1,9)
CC4: Between 100 and 150 PO Box Babies (3,6)
CC5: The angelic son of the valley men heralds the printing press (11)
CC6: The least needed former Melinae (5,6)
CC7: Oh who commands the city of the half haired hog? (5)
Post by: Jitter on May 14, 2020, 07:52:22 AM
#7: What is it that given one, you'll have either two or none
I keep turning it around in my mind but can't even form a guess that I wouldn't immediately see as wrong!
The best one I have is ARGUMENT, as in if somebody starts arguing with you you can either join them, and then you both are arguing, or not, and they can't really argue alone. But even then if you do go along with them, there's only one argument with two parties in it. Argh!
Post by: JoB on May 15, 2020, 04:55:24 PM
No on everything, but JoB is extremely close on J2 (carry/tired)
Spoiler: show
J5 is a very Finnish thing, not necessarily something you are familiar with in your everyday lifeThat starts to sound like something about the sauna ... :P
Spoiler: show
Could somebody please work out what Ran's final one (of the current ones) is?I'd already be happy if I could pinpoint what meaning the "given one" part is supposed to have ...
#7: What is it that given one, you'll have either two or none
I keep turning it around in my mind but can't even form a guess that I wouldn't immediately see as wrong!
- given the fact that there is one of it around
- assuming that you already have one of it
- if someone were to give one of it to you
- if you were to give one to someone else
- ... etc. ad nauseam
Spoiler: show
As for J1 ...
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on May 15, 2020, 05:30:22 PM
On J2 you are now getting farther from the correct answer than before :)
On J1 you are again practically on top of the right answer but give the wrong one (as my dad often says, if it were a dog it would bite you by now).
J5 is not about the sauna, but again you are onto something!
Post by: Mariiii on May 15, 2020, 06:56:39 PM
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on May 15, 2020, 07:29:59 PM
JoB, the boat carries you on top of the water :)
Post by: RanVor on May 15, 2020, 07:46:27 PM
I'd already be happy if I could pinpoint what meaning the "given one" part is supposed to have ...That is not, in fact, correct, but if I understood you correctly, you already know that, because you googled it. (Do I have to clarify that googling the answer is cheating?)
- given the fact that there is one of it around
- assuming that you already have one of it
- if someone were to give one of it to you
- if you were to give one to someone else
- ... etc. ad nauseam
Spoiler: show
(If it turns out I misunderstood you, given one means that you get it from someone.)
Post by: JoB on May 15, 2020, 10:08:17 PM
JoB, the boat carries you on top of the water :)Yes, and I'm not going to tire from that unless I make the independent decision to actually row it ...
(... which is maybe not a legit scenario in Saimaa, but anywhere there is enough of a current to take a boat downstream on its own ...)
if I understood you correctly, you already know that, because you googled it. (Do I have to clarify that googling the answer is cheating?)Yes; no. But I have to say that I find it surprising that nobody here (besides you, of course) seems to remember having seen it before ...
Post by: RanVor on May 16, 2020, 03:15:13 AM
Yes; no. But I have to say that I find it surprising that nobody here (besides you, of course) seems to remember having seen it before ...Well, I have to get those riddles from somewhere, don't you think?
Post by: Jitter on May 16, 2020, 05:54:55 AM
*188000 and then some lakes to be more exact
Post by: JoB on May 16, 2020, 05:57:47 AM
On J1 you are again practically on top of the right answer but give the wrong one (as my dad often says, if it were a dog it would bite you by now).German has that idiom, too. Can't say that I'm fond of nippy doggos, though. :-\
Spoiler: show
J5 is not about the sauna, but again you are onto something!
Spoiler: show
Spoiler: evil addendum • show
Post by: Jitter on May 16, 2020, 06:19:46 AM
And yea the other thing is something that gets put away for the night. Not a book though.
Post by: RanVor on May 16, 2020, 06:42:20 AM
Post by: JoB on May 16, 2020, 06:58:09 AM
JoB you are thinking of the right shape now with the sounds and capes. But this is a riddle, remember :)Well, if it's just about the shape ...
Spoiler: show
And yea the other thing is something that gets put away for the night. Not a book though.And you said that it's a "very Finnish" thing to do ...
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on May 16, 2020, 08:03:52 AM
JoB, it’s not a comb. Not entirely bad though! A further hint, you practically said it already, kind of like you mentioned the boat as part of your answer, which unfortunately was water :)
Post by: lumilaulu on May 16, 2020, 08:28:48 AM
But I have to say that I find it surprising that nobody here (besides you, of course) seems to remember having seen it before ...I know I've seen it before, but I can't for the life of me remember what the answer is.
Post by: JoB on May 16, 2020, 11:22:52 AM
A further hint, you practically said it already, kind of like you mentioned the boat as part of your answer, which unfortunately was water :)... palm trees!? :3
(If this continues, I'll have to rename my account to "SolvesEverythingAlmost" or "Mr. Close Shave" or somesuch ...)
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on May 16, 2020, 04:20:21 PM
Post by: RanVor on May 16, 2020, 04:52:40 PM
Palm tree is the thing where you almost say the right answer :) Keep at it, you’ll get it eventually! Or if ylu get bored and want me to give the amswer, do let me know. You deserve to get for trying so hard.COULD IT BE BORNHOLM?
Post by: Vulpes on May 16, 2020, 04:58:36 PM
COULD IT BE BORNHOLM?
:)) :)) :))
I was puzzling over the rocks... are they rocks as in geology or something else? Like rock candy? Although I can't imagine how that would relate to sounds and capes, even metaphorical ones.
Post by: JoB on May 16, 2020, 05:12:50 PM
Palm tree is the thing where you almost say the right answer :)?!?!?!?
As for J1 ...
... Palm Islands (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Islands)? I suppose that the rock used in building them is most prominent in the breakwaters at the ends of the sandy island strips ...
Spoiler: now what the ... ? • show
Post by: JoB on May 16, 2020, 05:20:32 PM
COULD IT BE BORNHOLM?Attributing "narrow sounds" to Bornholm (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bornholm#/media/File:Bornholm_luftaufnahme.jpg) might prove a wee bit difficult, and claiming it to be material of "traditional Finnish"ness ought to arrange for a boatload of visits to other islands (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmgang) for you. 8)
Post by: Jitter on May 16, 2020, 06:36:04 PM
That was trickier than I thought. Many on the list are like that, the description is quite far fetched. The first one is “black hen brooding on red eggs” which is a pot over fire.
Post by: Mebediel on May 22, 2020, 04:05:09 PM
#7: What is it that given one, you'll have either two or none?
An argument wasn't the correct answer, right?
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on May 22, 2020, 07:13:49 PM
#7: What is it that given one, you'll have either two or none?No, but somewhat close.
An argument wasn't the correct answer, right?Spoiler: show
Post by: Yastreb on May 22, 2020, 07:54:42 PM
No, but somewhat close.
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on May 22, 2020, 08:24:26 PM
Post by: RanVor on May 22, 2020, 08:32:26 PM
Ran, is it choice? Which is not a choice at all if you don’t have more than one possibilities? (But, you can have a choice of more than two alternatives so I don’t think it’s correct and I’ve abandoned it several times, but it being somewhat close to chance made me suggest this anyway)Yes, it is. Congratulations. I'll try to post some more riddles in the morning, but now I need to sleep.
Post by: Jitter on May 23, 2020, 06:40:11 AM
One of mine is still unsolved:
J5: All day I lie on my back, at night I stand upright.
I’ll a pdd a couple new ones. These all relate to a northern theme.
J6: The wingless one sits on a branch. The mouthless one comes and eats it.
J7: Old bucket, new lid every year.
J8: I’m alive in winter, dead in summer, I grow with my roots above me. Who am I?
Post by: RanVor on May 23, 2020, 06:47:54 AM
#1: There was a man who was born before his father, killed his mother, and married his sister. Yet, there was nothing wrong with what he had done. Why?
#2: It is a 5 letter word if you take away the first letter it is something you get from the sun, if you remove the second letter you will get something to eat, if you remove the third letter you get a word you use in pointing at and if you remove the fourth letter you get something to drink. What is it?
#3: Three playing cards in a row. Can you name them with these clues? There is a two to the right of a king. A diamond will be found to the left of a spade. An ace is to the left of a heart. A heart is to the left of a spade. Now, identify all three cards.
#4: What was never scared but became petrified, can't make a bird but can make a bat, can't live in a house but would die to have one. What is it?
#5: Which word is the odd one out: Seventy, Brawl, Clover, Proper, Carrot, Swing, Change, Travel, Sacred, Stone?
#6: What is significant about 3661 seconds past midnight on 1st January 2001?
#7: My thunder comes before the lightning; My lightning comes before the clouds; My rain dries all the land it touches. What am I?
I've chosen these riddles to be exceptionally difficult. Let me know how you find them. If they're too hard, I'll try to make the next batch a bit easier. Meanwhile, have fun solving!
Post by: JoB on May 23, 2020, 09:26:39 AM
J5: All day I lie on my back, at night I stand upright.Well, since my guessing around the concept of a book apparently was no good ...
Spoiler: show
J6: The wingless one sits on a branch. The mouthless one comes and eats it.... do I understand correctly that the same word, possibly with different meanings, is supposed to name both "the wingless one" and "the mouthless one"? (Because otherwise, there'd probably be like a bajillion possibilities, starting with a leaf / winter ...)
J7: Old bucket, new lid every year.That sounds like a question for people who go to hairdressers or hatters more often than I do. O0
Spoiler: show
J8: I’m alive in winter, dead in summer, I grow with my roots above me. Who am I?
Spoiler: show
#1: There was a man who was born before his father, killed his mother, and married his sister. Yet, there was nothing wrong with what he had done. Why?
Spoiler: show
#2: It is a 5 letter word if you take away the first letter it is something you get from the sun, if you remove the second letter you will get something to eat, if you remove the third letter you get a word you use in pointing at and if you remove the fourth letter you get something to drink. What is it?
Spoiler: show
#3: Three playing cards in a row. Can you name them with these clues? There is a two to the right of a king. A diamond will be found to the left of a spade. An ace is to the left of a heart. A heart is to the left of a spade. Now, identify all three cards.
Spoiler: show
#4: What was never scared but became petrified, can't make a bird but can make a bat, can't live in a house but would die to have one. What is it?
Spoiler: show
#5: Which word is the odd one out: Seventy, Brawl, Clover, Proper, Carrot, Swing, Change, Travel, Sacred, Stone?
Spoiler: show
#6: What is significant about 3661 seconds past midnight on 1st January 2001?
Spoiler: show
#7: My thunder comes before the lightning; My lightning comes before the clouds; My rain dries all the land it touches. What am I?
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on May 23, 2020, 10:18:25 AM
Post by: thorny on May 23, 2020, 11:13:14 AM
Spoiler: show
#2: It is a 5 letter word if you take away the first letter it is something you get from the sun, if you remove the second letter you will get something to eat, if you remove the third letter you get a word you use in pointing at and if you remove the fourth letter you get something to drink. What is it?
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on May 23, 2020, 11:56:30 AM
Post by: JoB on May 23, 2020, 01:43:08 PM
almostIt's the last part I goofed up, right?
Spoiler: show
#2: It is a 5 letter word if you take away the first letter it is something you get from the sun, if you remove the second letter you will get something to eat, if you remove the third letter you get a word you use in pointing at and if you remove the fourth letter you get something to drink. What is it?(I suspected that it'd be something along the lines that thorny's answer follows, too, and simultaneously it shows that my English vocabulary's not up to the task, so I'll step out of this one for now.)
#5: Which word is the odd one out: Seventy, Brawl, Clover, Proper, Carrot, Swing, Change, Travel, Sacred, Stone?
Spoiler: show
#7: My thunder comes before the lightning; My lightning comes before the clouds; My rain dries all the land it touches. What am I?
Spoiler: show
J6 is close (it’s two things).Now I'm "close" without even making an attempt at a guess? O_o
I should add J5 relates to the same common theme, and it’s not plates... growf??
J5: All day I lie on my back, at night I stand upright.
J6: The wingless one sits on a branch. The mouthless one comes and eats it.
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on May 23, 2020, 08:20:57 PM
#1: There was a man who was born before his father, killed his mother, and married his sister. Yet, there was nothing wrong with what he had done. Why?No changing punctuation and yes.Spoiler: show
#2: It is a 5 letter word if you take away the first letter it is something you get from the sun, if you remove the second letter you will get something to eat, if you remove the third letter you get a word you use in pointing at and if you remove the fourth letter you get something to drink. What is it?Spoiler: show
It's the last part I goofed up, right?Yes, yes and no.Spoiler: show
(I suspected that it'd be something along the lines that thorny's answer follows, too, and simultaneously it shows that my English vocabulary's not up to the task, so I'll step out of this one for now.)Spoiler: showSpoiler: show
All but one of my hardest riddles have been cracked in less than a day. I really am too stupid for this thread.
Post by: wavewright62 on May 24, 2020, 04:03:05 AM
Post by: Róisín on May 24, 2020, 07:21:57 AM
Post by: RanVor on May 24, 2020, 07:52:07 AM
Post by: Jitter on May 24, 2020, 09:14:25 AM
Post by: thorny on May 24, 2020, 10:31:30 AM
And note that some of us aren't posting any at all. It's harder to come up with them than it is to solve them.
And also note that no one person has gotten the whole batch. You're dealing with a lot of different guessers who know a lot of different things; so of course the batch of us together are going to get more riddles than any one of us could alone.
Post by: thegreyarea on May 24, 2020, 06:08:13 PM
I'm enjoying a lot this thread and your riddles, even if I just managed a few guesses. :)
Post by: Mebediel on May 24, 2020, 07:58:44 PM
#7: My thunder comes before the lightning; My lightning comes before the clouds; My rain dries all the land it touches. What am I?Okay I have literally no idea what this is so I'm going to throw spaghetti on the wall:
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on May 25, 2020, 04:01:47 AM
Post by: thegreyarea on May 25, 2020, 06:07:47 AM
You see, from my perspective, harder riddles are better because they take longer to solve, meaning I don't have to spend as much time keeping track of this thread. But that's a moot point as it currently stands because even my hardest riddles get solved at a pace I simply cannot keep up with, not without spending hours every other day looking for new riddles to post. It would be easier if more people posted their own riddles, but as it is now, I might be soon forced to abandon this thread, at least for a time.
Ran, just because you started it doesn't mean that you have to keep feeding it with new riddles every day. Just do that when you find some time to search for more and you are in the mood for it.
Meanwhile Jitter and Róisín had already posted some, and I'll try to find a few.
Anyway I'm sure that, however hard they are, our bunch of smart people will solve them. But that's one of the reasons for us to enjoy each other, right? :)
Post by: Róisín on May 25, 2020, 06:57:44 AM
‘Bunched up in a safe circle, curled up beneath a stone, or above the stone on a sunny day, or in a disc at the foot of a stump. Who is this?’
Post by: Keep Looking on May 25, 2020, 08:03:12 AM
Spoiler: show
And Ran, I know I haven't been the most active person on this board, but your riddles are good, and the fact that you started this board is also really cool! Anyway, the speed at which they are solved is probably helped by the number of people working on them.
Post by: JoB on May 25, 2020, 09:48:33 AM
Spoiler: show
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Post by: thorny on May 25, 2020, 12:23:12 PM
Ran, just because you started it doesn't mean that you have to keep feeding it with new riddles every day. Just do that when you find some time to search for more and you are in the mood for it.
This, exactly.
For one thing, other people can post some. For another, if the thread goes quiet for a while from time to time when nobody's thought of anything to post, it can always be revived when somebody, whether RanVor or somebody else, does think of something. This is supposed to be fun, not work!
Post by: Jitter on May 25, 2020, 03:39:06 PM
If it’s not a snake, is it a lizard? We have one species, the viviparous lizard (Zootoca vivipara). They are lovely!
Oh in addition to the viviparous lizard (which has a nice name in Finnish: sisilisko) we also have one species of legless lizard or slowworm (Anguis fragilis) which looks like a snake but isn’t.
Post by: wavewright62 on May 25, 2020, 06:09:12 PM
One I have heard from Estonian, Finnish and oddly, Highland Scots people in various forms is:
‘Bunched up in a safe circle, curled up beneath a stone, or above the stone on a sunny day, or in a disc at the foot of a stump. Who is this?’
Man, I hate when people leave litter anywhere, but especially in natural places. Apropos of nothing really, certainly not a stab at guessing.
And I echo the delight of others; thread
Post by: Keep Looking on May 25, 2020, 07:46:15 PM
Post by: Jitter on May 26, 2020, 03:55:59 AM
Wave this is nit thread recycling though, the thread was started by Ran just a while ago just to keep us entertained!
Post by: Róisín on May 26, 2020, 09:46:43 AM
Post by: thegreyarea on May 26, 2020, 11:56:23 AM
Here are a few riddles to feed Minnions insatiable hunger (all call then G+number to help differentiate if more people puts riddles simultaneously):
G1: Turn me on my side and I am everything. Cut me in half and I am nothing. What am I?
G2: What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs?
G3: What instrument can you hear but never see?
G4: What word begins and ends with an E but only has one letter?
G5:
“If you break me, I’ll not stop working.
If you can touch me, my work is done.
If you lose me, you must find me with a ring soon after. What am I?”
“Wizard and Glass” by Stephen King
G6:
“First think of the person who lives in disguise,
Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies,
Next tell me what’s always the last thing to mend,
The middle of middle and end of the end?
And finally give me the sound often heard,
During the search for a hard-to-find word.
Now string them together, and answer me this,
Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?”
“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” by J.K. Rowling
I bet you guys will solve then all in less than 24h! :)
Post by: JoB on May 26, 2020, 12:18:49 PM
G1: Turn me on my side and I am everything. Cut me in half and I am nothing. What am I?
Spoiler: show
G4: What word begins and ends with an E but only has one letter?
Spoiler: show
Post by: thegreyarea on May 26, 2020, 01:02:20 PM
Let me limit myself to those I feel like sorta-kinda taking personal ...Spoiler: showSpoiler: show
Ah ah! Actually when I saw that you had answered the first that came to mind was "Well, JoB probably already solved them all. Let's get back on the search...".
Problems of dealing with very smart people (way better, believe me, than dealing with stupid people) :)
Post by: Róisín on May 26, 2020, 01:29:50 PM
Grey, I have never been bitten by a croc, though I have been cut on the edges of the scales of one I was helping to butcher for eating up in PNG. The lizard that bit me was a stumpytail, one of those things that looks like a squashed pine cone with a bulbous tail, somewhat similar in appearance to a bluetongued lizard. They don’t have teeth but bite very hard.
Post by: Mebediel on May 26, 2020, 01:33:52 PM
G3: What instrument can you hear but never see?
Spoiler: show
Post by: thegreyarea on May 26, 2020, 02:25:54 PM
Spoiler: show
Róisín is correct on G1 and G2!
Spoiler: show
Mebediel is correct on G3!
Spoiler: show
Congratulations! It seems that it won't take more than 2 or 3 hours... As I said, a bunch of smart people! :D
Róisín, I check that stumpytail. It looks nice until it bites you... And I didn't knew that croc scales were sharp enough to cut...
Post by: RanVor on May 26, 2020, 02:34:20 PM
Post by: thegreyarea on May 26, 2020, 02:39:05 PM
Sorry, I'm not going to answer anything now, I'm too tired and not really in the mood for riddles. I just wanted to say that I'm really glad to see the sudden surge of activity. Thank you, Grey!
I'm happy that you like it! :) Get some rest, and I'll go hunting for more riddles to feed the
Post by: Jitter on May 26, 2020, 04:51:49 PM
J5: All day I lie on my back, at night I stand upright.
J6: The wingless one sits on a branch. The mouthless one comes and eats it.
J7: Old bucket, new lid every year. - Pond with ice cover (JoB)
J8: I’m alive in winter, dead in summer, I grow with my roots above me. Who am I? - Icicle (JoB)
All four relate to the same theme.
Post by: thegreyarea on May 26, 2020, 06:59:09 PM
J6:
Spoiler: show
I had guessed right on J7 and J8, but JoB arrived first...
But I still don't have anything for J5
Post by: Jitter on May 27, 2020, 02:09:42 AM
J5 still to go. With the hints of it being a Finnish (and Nordic) thing and the theme, you guys should be able to get it :)
Post by: Róisín on May 27, 2020, 03:01:15 AM
Post by: thegreyarea on May 27, 2020, 04:17:18 AM
Could J5 be a rifle? Or a sled?
I guess Róisín got it!
So, nobody has any guesses on G5 and G6?
(now it looked like we were playing Battleship... :) )
Post by: RanVor on May 27, 2020, 06:01:28 AM
I guess Róisín got it!I feel G6 would be a...
So, nobody has any guesses on G5 and G6?
(now it looked like we were playing Battleship... :) )
Spoiler: show
Post by: thegreyarea on May 27, 2020, 06:54:30 AM
I feel G6 would be a...Spoiler: show
:sparkle: Well done!!! :sparkle:
Now what about G5? Any guesses?
Post by: JoB on May 27, 2020, 07:54:06 AM
G5:
“If you break me, I’ll not stop working.
If you can touch me, my work is done.
If you lose me, you must find me with a ring soon after. What am I?”
“Wizard and Glass” by Stephen King
Now what about G5? Any guesses?Well, if you insist on triggering a heated discussion ...
Spoiler: parental advisory • show
[edited for typo]
Post by: thegreyarea on May 27, 2020, 09:05:44 AM
Well, if you insist on trigging a heated discussion ...Spoiler: parental advisory • show
I see your point... but that's not an exact fit, neither is the right answer, according to Mr. King. ;)
Post by: Jitter on May 27, 2020, 10:02:34 AM
Post by: RanVor on May 27, 2020, 10:10:57 AM
J5 is not a sled but now it's really really close!
Spoiler: show
Post by: JoB on May 27, 2020, 11:19:55 AM
J5 is not a sled but now it's really really close!
Spoiler: show
Spoiler: reply • show
Spoiler: more musings • show
Post by: Jitter on May 28, 2020, 10:17:31 AM
Funnily enough, for me a sled doesn't lie on its "back" when in use, but for the skis clearly the bottom is the "back". May have to do with the standing, whenever you put the skis upright the top side is facing forward, so it's the "front" and therefore the bottom is the "back". Also the top has all the features (the locks as well as the patterns if there are any) so again makes it seem like the "front". The sled in turn can be facing whichever way when stored upright.
Now most Finns wouldn't use their skis all day nowadays, but I think I mentioned earlier that these are traditional riddles :) So way back when the winter was spent lumbering and hunting in the woods, they would have been in use a lot! Also the highways, i.e. the lakes, were travelled by skis after the
Post by: thegreyarea on May 28, 2020, 11:29:35 AM
I'll try to find some more. Meanwhile, one is yet to be solved...
G5:
“If you break me, I’ll not stop working.
If you can touch me, my work is done.
If you lose me, you must find me with a ring soon after. What am I?”
“Wizard and Glass” by Stephen King
Post by: JoB on May 28, 2020, 03:33:41 PM
G5:That third line still loses me, but lemme make a guess based on the first two ...
“If you break me, I’ll not stop working.
If you can touch me, my work is done.
If you lose me, you must find me with a ring soon after. What am I?”
“Wizard and Glass” by Stephen King
Spoiler: show
Post by: thegreyarea on May 28, 2020, 06:25:30 PM
That third line still loses me, but lemme make a guess based on the first two ...Spoiler: show
Sorry for the delay in answering, JoB. I'm afraid that's not the right answer. It could be, if the third line didn't exist...
Post by: Lenny on May 29, 2020, 02:59:30 AM
Spoiler: show
Post by: thegreyarea on May 29, 2020, 04:55:15 AM
I'll take a shot /o/ Not completely sure about it, but hey, worth trying :3Spoiler: show
Nice try, Lenny. But that's not the right answer...
(don't be mad at me, be mad with Mr. King, but beware of irritating the man, because he has quite an imagination to create frightening things...)
Post by: wavewright62 on May 29, 2020, 06:26:37 AM
Perhaps, given your clue that Stephen King specialises in the frightening and macabre, G5 is an electrical circuit in an electric chair?
How about *ahem* intestinal gas, aka breaking wind? (You really don't want me to explain the part about the ring after this is lost, do you?)
Post by: thegreyarea on May 29, 2020, 07:00:08 AM
Dammit, I was going to say that the thing that lies on my back all day and stands at night was a jacket. Ah well.
Perhaps, given your clue that Stephen King specialises in the frightening and macabre, G5 is an electrical circuit in an electric chair?
How about *ahem* intestinal gas, aka breaking wind? (You really don't want me to explain the part about the ring after this is lost, do you?)
I'm sorry, Wave, but none of those are correct. The answer in, indeed, frightening... evident, when you know it. :)
Post by: RanVor on May 29, 2020, 07:30:51 AM
G5:My guess is...
“If you break me, I’ll not stop working.
If you can touch me, my work is done.
If you lose me, you must find me with a ring soon after. What am I?”
“Wizard and Glass” by Stephen King
Spoiler: show
I tried to take a more metaphorical approach and even then it's more of a hunch than any solid reasoning, but maybe...?
Post by: thegreyarea on May 29, 2020, 07:54:19 AM
My guess is...Spoiler: show
I tried to take a more metaphorical approach and even then it's more of a hunch than any solid reasoning, but maybe...?
Sorry my friend, but this time the hunch isn't correct. Keep trying! :)
Post by: JoB on May 29, 2020, 09:23:37 AM
I tried to take a more metaphorical approachMight be a good idea ... my next guess is:
Spoiler: show
Sorry for the delay in answering, JoB.(It's not really a race, is it? ;) )
Post by: thegreyarea on May 29, 2020, 12:25:54 PM
Might be a good idea ... my next guess is:Spoiler: show
(It's not really a race, is it? ;) )
Sorry again for the delay, JoB. Of course it's not a race, but it's nice that your answer is validated, or not, in the shortest time.
So I'll keep checking this thread often in the coming times, because your answer is not the right one. It's quite metaphorical, but don't work that well with the two initial lines...
Let me just add that it's not that hard, it just needs to be looked in the right way. (this is not a hidden tip, OK?). I'm sure you guys will solve it soon. :)
Post by: Jitter on May 29, 2020, 02:41:35 PM
J9: First we skin the hide, then we shear the wool. What are we doing?
J10: Five brothers go first, the bald one chasing them
J11: I go far, yet I don’t move. Who am I?
J12: Tiny flea gors to the forest, even a thousand horses can bring it back home. What is it?
J13: The longer I am, the better. The thicker I am, the better. Mostly I’m used at night. Who am I?
Post by: JoB on May 29, 2020, 03:56:54 PM
J10: Five brothers go first, the bald one chasing them
Spoiler: show
J11: I go far, yet I don’t move. Who am I?
Spoiler: show
J12: Tiny flea gors to the forest, even a thousand horses can bring it back home. What is it?(Any chance that that ought to read "goes" and "cannot"?)
J13: The longer I am, the better. The thicker I am, the better. Mostly I’m used at night. Who am I?
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on May 29, 2020, 05:06:44 PM
J12 A tiny flea goes to the forest, even a thousand horses cannot bring it back home. What is it?
As for your guesses JoB, very good but not the answers we were looking for.
Post by: RanVor on May 29, 2020, 05:57:28 PM
J10: Five brothers go first, the bald one chasing themFive brothers fleeing from a skinhead.
(Yes, it's a joke.)
Post by: Jitter on May 29, 2020, 06:20:24 PM
Post by: phocena on May 29, 2020, 06:31:13 PM
J11:
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on May 29, 2020, 07:14:58 PM
Post by: JoB on May 30, 2020, 06:09:50 AM
J9: First we skin the hide, then we shear the wool. What are we doing?
Spoiler: show
J10: Five brothers go first, the bald one chasing them
Spoiler: show
J12 A tiny flea goes to the forest, even a thousand horses cannot bring it back home. What is it?
Spoiler: show
J13: The longer I am, the better. The thicker I am, the better. Mostly I’m used at night. Who am I?
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on May 30, 2020, 07:00:51 AM
On J10 you were much closer the first time.
Post by: phocena on May 30, 2020, 12:56:45 PM
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on May 30, 2020, 02:19:23 PM
Post by: Mirasol on June 09, 2020, 09:19:28 AM
Not a new answer or a new riddle but: I showed J6 to my mom and apparently the riddle exists in traditional Germany too with a slightly different wording:
"the bird, featherless, sits on the tree, leafless. Comes the woman, mouthless, eats the bird, featherless."
Solution is of course the same. I thought that was a fun coincidence :)
#7: My thunder comes before the lightning; My lightning comes before the clouds; My rain dries all the land it touches. What am I?
And to actually answer one (from way way back, but as far as I saw nobody answered correctly yet):
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on June 09, 2020, 09:40:10 AM
And to actually answer one (from way way back, but as far as I saw nobody answered correctly yet):No. But it's closer than other answers.Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on June 09, 2020, 10:43:34 AM
A couple of mine remain unanswered too:
J9: First we skin the hide, then we shear the wool. What are we doing?
J10: Five brothers go first, the bald one chasing them
Post by: Mirasol on June 09, 2020, 11:53:16 AM
No. But it's closer than other answers.
Oh my god... I showed the riddle to my mom now too and she didn't even think about it for two seconds and said
Spoiler: show
She told me she didn't know the riddle before. I feel very stupid right now... At least with Jitters riddles she's just as lost as me.
Edit:
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on June 09, 2020, 02:40:56 PM
Oh my god... I showed the riddle to my mom now too and she didn't even think about it for two seconds and saidDon't worry, you're not the only one who couldn't get it for a long time... In fact, I've chosen this riddle specifically because I couldn't solve it myself.Spoiler: show
She told me she didn't know the riddle before. I feel very stupid right now... At least with Jitters riddles she's just as lost as me.
Edit:Spoiler: show
Post by: wavewright62 on June 10, 2020, 12:20:28 AM
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on June 10, 2020, 02:43:49 PM
Post by: thegreyarea on June 10, 2020, 04:13:27 PM
G5:
“If you break me, I’ll not stop working.
If you can touch me, my work is done.
If you lose me, you must find me with a ring soon after. What am I?”
From “Wizard and Glass” by Stephen King
And a new batch for your amusement!
G7: A very ancient one, from the Sumer Civilization
“There is a house. One enters it blind and comes out seeing. What is it?”
G8: From Jane Austen's "Emma"
“My first displays the wealth and pomp of kings,
Lords of the earth! their luxury and ease.
Another view of man, my second brings,
Behold him there, the monarch of the seas!”
G9: A long one, allegedly written by Albert Einstein (but there's no hard evidence of it)
There are five houses in a row. Each house is painted a different color and has a person of a different nationality living in it. Each person drinks a different beverage, smokes a different type of cigar, and owns a different animal as a pet. Using these 15 clues, which person owns the pet fish?
The Brit lives in the red house.
The Swede has a pet dog.
The Dane drinks tea.
The green house is directly to the left of the white house.
The person in the green house drinks coffee.
The person who smokes Pall Mall has a pet bird.
The person in the yellow house smokes Dunhill cigars.
The person in the center house drinks milk.
The Norwegian lives in the first house.
The person who smokes Blends lives next to the person with the pet cat.
The person with the pet horse lives next to the one who smokes Dunhill.
The person who smokes BlueMaster drinks beer.
The German smokes Prince.
The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
The person who smokes Blends has a neighbor who drinks water.
G10: It's said to be Theodore Roosevelt's preferred:
I talk, but I do not speak my mind
I hear words, but I do not listen to thoughts
When I wake, all see me
When I sleep, all hear me
Many heads are on my shoulders
Many hands are at my feet
The strongest steel cannot break my visage
But the softest whisper can destroy me
The quietest whimper can be heard.
Post by: Mirasol on June 10, 2020, 05:33:02 PM
Spoiler: show
This thread is fun :D
Post by: wavewright62 on June 10, 2020, 05:47:36 PM
Post by: thegreyarea on June 10, 2020, 07:26:00 PM
I can´t do Interpretation, but I can do logic (I hope). So for G9:Spoiler: show
This thread is fun :D
So you can, Mirasol! Well done!
Post by: Mebediel on June 10, 2020, 09:24:09 PM
G7: A very ancient one, from the Sumer Civilization
“There is a house. One enters it blind and comes out seeing. What is it?”
Spoiler: show
Post by: thegreyarea on June 10, 2020, 09:51:33 PM
Spoiler: show
Sorry, Mebediel. It's a nice try, but that sumerian guy set a different answer 4000 years ago...
Post by: Róisín on June 10, 2020, 09:52:32 PM
Post by: wavewright62 on June 10, 2020, 10:17:17 PM
I love logic puzzles, but I will not peek at Mirasol's answer. I want to work that one out over my lunch break.
Yay! Accomplished .
Post by: thegreyarea on June 11, 2020, 03:55:45 AM
Wave, well done! Wanna try the others? It's free! :)
Post by: JoB on June 11, 2020, 12:47:20 PM
G5:(FWIW, I looked that one up - yeah, sometimes my impatience gets the better of me - and found that I'm one of those who "still don't get it"
“If you break me, I’ll not stop working.
If you can touch me, my work is done.
If you lose me, you must find me with a ring soon after. What am I?”
Spoiler: show
so I shall step out of this one.)
G7: A very ancient one, from the Sumer Civilization
“There is a house. One enters it blind and comes out seeing. What is it?”
Spoiler: show
G8: From Jane Austen's "Emma"
“My first displays the wealth and pomp of kings,
Lords of the earth! their luxury and ease.
Another view of man, my second brings,
Behold him there, the monarch of the seas!”
Spoiler: show
G10: It's said to be Theodore Roosevelt's preferred:
I talk, but I do not speak my mind
I hear words, but I do not listen to thoughts
When I wake, all see me
When I sleep, all hear me
Many heads are on my shoulders
Many hands are at my feet
The strongest steel cannot break my visage
But the softest whisper can destroy me
The quietest whimper can be heard.
Spoiler: show
Post by: thegreyarea on June 11, 2020, 02:21:59 PM
Spoiler: contains solution for G5 • show
As for G7 your answer is correct! Congratulations! And the others are fine too, particularly the last one. :D
As for G8,
Spoiler: show
As for G10 all I can say is that's a good answer, but not the right one according to the source.
Post by: JoB on June 11, 2020, 07:29:28 PM
Spoiler: contains solution for G5 • show
Spoiler: mention *and* discussion of said solution • show
As for G7 your answer is correct! Congratulations! And the others are fine too, particularly the last one. :D
Spoiler: show
Post by: thegreyarea on June 11, 2020, 08:43:59 PM
(And yes, your first answer on G7 is the correct one. The others and pretty good, tough)
Post by: LooNEY_DAC on June 12, 2020, 02:05:57 PM
Spoiler: mention *and* discussion of said solution • show
Spoiler: more discussion • show
Post by: Vulpes on June 26, 2020, 07:25:15 PM
A man and his son are in a terrible accident. They are both rushed to the nearest emergency room, and whisked into adjacent operating rooms. The surgeon comes into the boy's room, looks at him and says, "I can't operate on this child, he is my son." How is this possible?
I quite enjoyed all the riddles even if I am entirely hopeless at figuring them out!
Post by: thegreyarea on June 26, 2020, 07:57:49 PM
It's been a couple of weeks, I guess riddle-mania is wearing off, but a post by Jitter reminded me of this one so here it is.I guess riddle-mania is something that comes and goes like the wind. :)
A man and his son are in a terrible accident. They are both rushed to the nearest emergency room, and whisked into adjacent operating rooms. The surgeon comes into the boy's room, looks at him and says, "I can't operate on this child, he is my son." How is this possible?
I quite enjoyed all the riddles even if I am entirely hopeless at figuring them out!
I'm also terrible at solving them, but I'll try yours:
Spoiler: show
Post by: muidole on June 26, 2020, 08:18:11 PM
It's been a couple of weeks, I guess riddle-mania is wearing off, but a post by Jitter reminded me of this one so here it is.
A man and his son are in a terrible accident. They are both rushed to the nearest emergency room, and whisked into adjacent operating rooms. The surgeon comes into the boy's room, looks at him and says, "I can't operate on this child, he is my son." How is this possible?
I quite enjoyed all the riddles even if I am entirely hopeless at figuring them out!
(I hope it's ok to guess before the previous guess was confirmed/denied...)
Spoiler: show
Post by: thegreyarea on June 26, 2020, 08:26:45 PM
(I hope it's ok to guess before the previous guess was confirmed/denied...)I did said that I'm terrible at solving them! My guess is that your guess is better than mine! ;)Spoiler: show
Post by: wavewright62 on June 27, 2020, 03:14:06 AM
Post by: Jitter on June 27, 2020, 05:12:16 AM
I’m confident I can confirm because I know what Vulpes mentions as bringing this to his mind :) (Also I may have heard it before but not sure)
Post by: Yastreb on June 27, 2020, 08:03:40 AM
Je suis le chef de vingt-cinq soldats, et sans moi Paris serait pris. Qui suis-je?
Post by: Vulpes on June 27, 2020, 02:58:43 PM
It's an interesting reminder of our strong unconscious biases. Not a whole lot we can do about them, but it does help to be reminded they're there.
Post by: Vulpes on June 27, 2020, 03:03:52 PM
This is the only riddle in French that I know, and it's damn' clever.
Je suis le chef de vingt-cinq soldats, et sans moi Paris serait pris. Qui suis-je?
Je peux le comprendre, mais je n'ai aucune idée de la réponse.
(Edit for dumb typo introduced while trying to remember how French works)
Post by: Mirasol on June 27, 2020, 03:13:27 PM
Post by: JoB on June 28, 2020, 04:56:04 AM
Je comprends aussi, but I tried to solve it with my mom nearby, who of course solved it immediately again... I don´t think it counts if I write her answers all the time. :'D
Spoiler: show
Post by: Róisín on June 28, 2020, 05:33:28 AM
Post by: Yastreb on June 28, 2020, 06:47:34 AM
Post by: Róisín on June 28, 2020, 08:18:14 AM
Post by: Mebediel on July 17, 2020, 09:19:16 PM
And to warrant posting in this thread, have a late medieval riddle (lifted from a dissertation on riddles by a scholar named Jessica Jane Lockhart):
Latin:
Ligneus est lectus nulla tamen arbore sectus;
Solvere qui poterit solvat et eius erit.
English translation (slightly modified by me):
A wooden/tough thing is gathered/read, but cut off no tree;
Crack it who can, and his it will be.
There are two solutions to this one!
Post by: Jitter on July 23, 2020, 04:00:07 PM
J9: First we skin the hide, then we shear the wool. What are we doing?
Post by: Mirasol on July 23, 2020, 04:38:58 PM
While I´m clueless about Mebediel´s midieval riddle and most of Jitter´s, let me try anyway:
latin riddle: (though I highly doubt this is the answer)
Spoiler: show
J17:
Spoiler: show
This time actually "solved" by me. :'D
Post by: LooNEY_DAC on July 23, 2020, 04:56:58 PM
Spoiler: show
J16:
Spoiler: show
Post by: muidole on July 23, 2020, 05:06:18 PM
J9
Spoiler: show
J15
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on July 23, 2020, 05:17:37 PM
CeilingFan, no, J9 isn’t quite that literal. And you don’t have a key.
Post by: wavewright62 on July 23, 2020, 08:38:04 PM
Spoiler: j9 • show
I think Mirasol got the medieval one.
Post by: Yastreb on July 23, 2020, 09:57:06 PM
Grytpype: Lad, we have perfected a method of getting a man off the ground under his own power. He needs no other means of propulsion.
Seagoon: ... Has it been successful?
Grytpype: Successful? Do you hear that, Count? Why, even last night, the dear Count here, went up on the heath, and unaided, elevated himself into space to the height of twenty feet.
Seagoon: Gad! What’s this invention called?
Grytpype:
Spoiler: show
Post by: JoB on July 24, 2020, 05:54:52 AM
J15: Imagine you are at a store at closing time. Suddenly the lights go out - you have accidentally been locked in! All doors and windows are locked and there’s also a locked grille over them. You have no phone. How do you get out?
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on July 24, 2020, 01:37:39 PM
JoB, you don't have any phone at all and emergency exits don't open either (they are locked for the night because there's nobody in!). Try again :)
Yastreb, you are supposed to let others try first :) (I thought it was legs, climbing up the hill would do the elevation)
Post by: JoB on July 25, 2020, 05:24:42 AM
J15: Imagine you are at a store at closing time. Suddenly the lights go out - you have accidentally been locked in! All doors and windows are locked and there’s also a locked grille over them. You have no phone. How do you get out?
JoB, you don't have any phone at all and emergency exits don't open either (they are locked for the night because there's nobody in!). Try again :)... let me work through a couple edge conditions, just in case:
- I'm not the night guard and going to get out after my shift, and "just wait 'til the store opens again" isn't the solution otherwise, either?
- I'm not a cat or otherwise going to fit through the grille/vents/mail slot, and there's no trapdoor or skylight or other nonorthodox exit I can use?
- The store getting closed indicates that the surroundings are pretty much deserted as well? No parade with marching bands and whatnot taking place right in front of the shop widows?
- I'm not myself, i.e., a technician who carries enough tools all the time to get the occasional lock open without a key (but I shall keep hold of the flashlight that makes "the lights go out" mostly a nonproblem! >:D )?
- ... much less am I pulling a Rififi and going to dig a tunnel into a nearby bank with the three metric tons of power tools I somehow snuck into the shop?
Edit to add:
- I'm not staff of the shop and the dingus who locked the doors and shut the lights (in that order ... ?) just forgot me announding to do some after-hours work?
- The shop wouldn't happen to sell something I can use for my escape (tools, cars, jetpacks, teraport cages, explosives, ...), would it?
(Maybe I could ask JoB - that's also locked inside with the rest of us - if he also carries matches in his utility belt :D )(Nope. Never smoked, never found a lighter that would promise to still work after months or years on a keychain or somesuch, never had any other need for fire that would've prompted me to carry a stash of matches. By now, I have a standard lighter in the car for my weekly visit to the graveyard, but that's it.)
Post by: thegreyarea on July 25, 2020, 06:05:42 AM
J15: Imagine you are at a store at closing time. Suddenly the lights go out - you have accidentally been locked in! All doors and windows are locked and there’s also a locked grille over them. You have no phone. How do you get out?All things considered I'd say, as others before, that...
Spoiler: show
But since that's not the right answer, and if you really need to get out fast and has no way to force your exit, then...
Spoiler: show
)Post by: Jitter on July 25, 2020, 06:54:59 AM
Post by: thorny on July 25, 2020, 08:37:17 AM
Spoiler: show
Post by: JoB on July 25, 2020, 02:08:10 PM
Sorry guys you are still in the shop... or am I? (As a mathematician, I can define my side of the walls to be "the outside", as they're topologically equivalent. >:D )
(As a more serious sidenote, considering that real shops will sometimes keep a professional burglar from getting back out until the police arrives and helps him out, I seriously doubt that there is any realistic universal get-out-of-a-locked-shoppe method.)
Spoiler: in other news ... • show
Post by: muidole on July 25, 2020, 02:52:11 PM
Spoiler: show
Post by: scottishnottish on July 25, 2020, 05:50:03 PM
J15:Spoiler: show
I was about to say this same thing.
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on July 25, 2020, 08:09:48 PM
Post by: scottishnottish on July 25, 2020, 08:46:03 PM
CeilingFan and Scottish, congratulations! You have saved the Minnions from the Shop of Doom!
Hah I only knew because I heard a very similar riddle growing up
Spoiler: show
Post by: Yastreb on July 25, 2020, 11:31:21 PM
I rub my hands until they're sore.
I use the saw to cut a table in half.
Two halves make a whole, so I crawl through the hole.
(Of course it's better verbally, but hey...)
Post by: scottishnottish on July 25, 2020, 11:35:25 PM
I was thinking of using the age-old method.
I rub my hands until they're sore.
I use the saw to cut a table in half.
Two halves make a whole, so I crawl through the hole.
(Of course it's better verbally, but hey...)
Ahh, I'm from the U.S. so it took me a minute to figure out sore/saw must be an accent thing, here they're pronounced very differently! Our version includes a mirror in the room, and the answer is "I look in the mirror to see what I saw"
Post by: Mirasol on July 27, 2020, 06:05:00 AM
M1: Shopping
On the counter of a mall, five friends are waiting in line (Dana, Ingo, Jessica, Sören, Valerie). They are all of different ages (26, 27, 30, 33 and 35 years) and want to buy different kinds of shirts (button-up shirt, turtleneck, pullover, sweatshirt, regular shirt) for themselves. They all have different colors (blue, yellow, green, red, black) and different sizes (XS, S, M, L, XL).
Who is standing in what order, how old are they, what are they buying and in what color and size? ("first" person is the one standing the closest to the counter. Nobody else is waiting in line.)
- Dana wants to buy a shirt in the size XL, and stands closer to the counter as the person who wants to buy a black shirt.
- Jessica stands directly in front of the person who wants to buy a turtleneck.
- The second person in line wants to buy a yellow shirt.
- The regular shirt isn´t red.
- Sören wants to buy a sweatshirt. The person right in front of him is older than the person right behind him.
- Ingo wants to buy a shirt in the size L.
- The last person in line is 30 years old.
- The oldest person wants to buy the shirt in the smallest size.
- The person directly behind Valerie wants to buy a red shirt, bigger than size S.
- The youngest person wants to buy a yellow shirt.
- Jessica wants to buy a button-up shirt.
- The third person in line wants to buy a shirt in the size M.
- The turtleneck is either red, yellow or green.
M2: trapped at the stake (this one might be quite popular, I think I heard it before...)
Three people got kidnapped and handcuffed to three stakes while blindfolded. The stakes are standing in a line. Now, the blindfolds are removed. Their kidnapper tells them:
the first one of you sees no other stake, the one in the middle only the stake of the first one, and the last one only the stakes of those in front of him. I have five stakes in total, two of them are red, and three of them are black. Those of you who can correctly guess their stake´s color will be set free. If your guess is wrong, you will be killed.
After five minutes, the person right in the front shouts: "My stake is black!" He is released. How did he know his stake´s color?
M3: The princess in the lake (this one´s a little mathmatical)
One day, a princess decided to go for a swim in the circular lake far away from her father´s castle. As soon as she was in the water, a witch appeared to try and kidnap the girl.
The princess quickly swam into the middle of the lake to think of an escape-plan. She noticed four things:
- The witch can´t go into the water (but I can´t stay in the water, or else I will drown)
- The witch can walk four times as fast as I can swim
- The witch always tries to stay as close to me as possible
- On land I am faster than the witch
How did the princess escape?
Post by: RanVor on July 27, 2020, 07:27:41 AM
M2: trapped at the stake (this one might be quite popular, I think I heard it before...)
Three people got kidnapped and handcuffed to three stakes while blindfolded. The stakes are standing in a line. Now, the blindfolds are removed. Their kidnapper tells them:
the first one of you sees no other stake, the one in the middle only the stake of the first one, and the last one only the stakes of those in front of him. I have five stakes in total, two of them are red, and three of them are black. Those of you who can correctly guess their stake´s color will be set free. If your guess is wrong, you will be killed.
After five minutes, the person right in the front shouts: "My stake is black!" He is released. How did he know his stake´s color?
Just to get it out of the way, am I correct to assume that "betting on the 60% chance of guessing correctly" is not a valid answer?
Post by: Mirasol on July 27, 2020, 08:27:35 AM
Just to get it out of the way, am I correct to assume that "betting on the 60% chance of guessing correctly" is not a valid answer?
You are correct, it is not a valid answer. :D
Post by: Jitter on July 27, 2020, 12:19:26 PM
Spoiler: show
Post by: Mirasol on July 27, 2020, 02:13:42 PM
Post by: Mebediel on July 27, 2020, 07:34:17 PM
latin riddle: (though I highly doubt this is the answer)Yes! And there is one more possible answer!Spoiler: show
Post by: afreude on August 29, 2020, 07:44:44 PM
Is the other answer to the Latin riddle
Spoiler: show
Here's one:
There exists an infinite hotel with rooms numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 ... and so on forever. All of the rooms are occupied. An infinite tour bus arrives with another [countably] infinitely many guests. Can the hotel accommodate them? How?
(I did read through the whole thread to see the riddles, and I see that there is at least one member who probably already knows the answer to this.)
Post by: wavewright62 on August 29, 2020, 08:54:27 PM
I just joined the forum and immediately was intrigued by this riddles thread!
Is the other answer to the Latin riddleSpoiler: show
Here's one:
There exists an infinite hotel with rooms numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 ... and so on forever. All of the rooms are occupied. An infinite tour bus arrives with another [countably] infinitely many guests. Can the hotel accommodate them? How?
(I did read through the whole thread to see the riddles, and I see that there is at least one member who probably already knows the answer to this.)
I don't know, but our quarantine facilities would love to know the answer!
Post by: Groupoid on July 15, 2021, 02:39:31 AM
Spoiler: A solution • show
Post by: SkyWhalePod on July 16, 2021, 09:07:52 PM
Post by: catbirds on July 16, 2021, 11:13:12 PM
I'm glad this sort of thing doesn't exist! If I were unfortunate enough to be in room, say, a million, I'd probably be a pile of dust before I got to room two million…
Post by: afreude on July 18, 2021, 06:07:08 PM
I always thought it was a really clever and accessible way to help explain countably infinite sets. It's pretty easy to take that idea and say: okay, everyone in the hotel is a positive integer, and everyone on the tour bus is a negative integer, and just line them up the same way so now we see that natural numbers and integers are sets of the same size.
What prompted your username? I'm assuming topology or category theory/logic type interests?
Post by: Groupoid on July 24, 2021, 01:18:04 AM
Sorry, only saw your question today and am going on holidays (with little internet) right now.