Thread: Trick Questions

I admit that none of these are math related but I enjoy trick questions and short riddles.

1(almost everyone knows it) A plane crashes over the border of America and Canada. Where were the survivors buried? Survivors arent dead

2(much less known)Can a man marrie his widow's sister? If a man has a widow, he's dead

3(most closely related to math)how far can I dog go into a forest?Halfway

4(short riddle)What gets bigger and bigger the more you take out of it? Hole

5(short riddle)What drinks and drinks but if it eats it dies? Fire

6(somewhat well known riddle)What's greater than God and worse than the Devil (ThePerfectHacker)? The rich need it, the poor have it, and if you eat it you die. nothing

I always enjoy stumping my friends with good trick questions, anyone have any good ones?

Originally Posted by Quick

1(almost everyone knows it) A plane crashes over the border of America and Canada. Where were the survivors buried?

Old-skool riddle.

2(much less known)Can a man marrie his widow's sister?

Another old-skool riddle.

3(most closely related to math)how far can I dog go into a forest?

Half-way otherwise it is going out!

4(short riddle)What gets bigger and bigger the more you take out of it?

Footsetps, right? I heard of this one.

5(short riddle)What drinks and drinks but if it eats it dies?

6(somewhat well known riddle)What's greater than God and worse than the ThePerfectHacker? The rich need it, the poor have it, and if you eat it you die.

Nothing.

Originally Posted by Devil

Footsetps, right? I heard of this one.

I don't see how it could be footsteps...

Originally Posted by Devil

you should post your answers in white...

I forgot about this riddle:

What has a mouth, but does not speak? What has a bed but does not sleep? river

Originally Posted by Quick

I don't see how it could be footsteps...

The more you take the more you leave behind. That is the riddle.
----
When I was your age I was obssed with riddle, still am.

Here is an amazing one.
"A man walked into a bar and asks for a drink. The bartender instead takes out a gun and point it to him. Few seconds later the man says 'Thank you' and leaves." What happend!?!

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

The more you take the more you leave behind. That is the riddle.

hmm, it's not the same wording but I guess it works.

Another riddle (rumour says it drove Socrates mad )

Some greek sailors returned from the aegean and had come up with a riddle while fishing: "What we caught we left behind, what we didn't catch we brought back with us"
What are they talking about? lice

note:I still want to hear riddles from you guys.

Originally Posted by Quick

"What we caught we left behind, what we didn't catch we brought back with us"
What are they talking about?

The cold
But that cannot be an answer. Because "to catch a cold" is an idomatic expression, which cannot be translated into greek. I have difficultly imagining how can Socrates not answer a riddle.

note:I still want to hear riddles from you guys.

1)Here is my own riddle: "A group of friends are walking a a forrest during the night. Everyone is frightened because of the howling wolves and animals, except for one, why?

2)Another one I made up myself: "Everyone who exits this place cannot enter it again".

3)(Impossible) "He who has it does not want it. He who makes it sells it. He who needs it does not have it."

4)My own: "Can God destroy himself?" - in fact I have a very responsible answer. Instead of philosophical.

5)What is wrong with this (I posted it before to make a point):
Assume 2 = 6
Then subtract 4,
-2=2
Now square,
4=4
Thus,
2=6. What happend?

6)
$\displaystyle a=1$
$\displaystyle a^2=1$
$\displaystyle a^2-a=1-a$
$\displaystyle a(a-1)=-(a-1)$
$\displaystyle a=-1$
$\displaystyle -1=1$

7)When does, $\displaystyle 1+1=0$?

8)How can you get 4 gallons using 5 and 3 gallon cups.

9)You have 10 piles of 10 books. Each pile weighs diffrently .9 kilograms and one weighs 1 kilogram. Using a scale once find which pile is the 1 kilogram.

10)A man jumps out of the window then the phone rings and then he regretted his decision. Why?

11)Several man drink in a bar. Everyone has the same drinks. Everyone dies except for one, how? (Use this to assacinate people)

12)In a middle of field are lying a carrot and buttons, why?

13)A man takes an elevator downstairs but walks up stairs, why? (Cool answer)

14)How can you win in chess in 2 moves?

15)Here is a trick question: What is the tallest mountain in the world?

16)My favorite: "Napolean invites three smartest people in the world to prove they are the smartest. The people are Artistotle, Newton and CaptainBlank. He blindfolds everyone and places a hat on their head. Eveyone either has a black or white. Napolean announces that all 3 cannot be white and removes the blindfold. CaptainBlank sees Aristotle having a black and Newton having a black hat but he is thinking what do I have? Eventually after many hours he stand up and scream,...'My colour is...'. What was the color and how did CaptainBlank know?

I got hunderds more.

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

16)My favorite: "Napolean invites three smartest people in the world to prove they are the smartest. The people are Artistotle, Newton and CaptainBlank. He blindfolds everyone and places a hat on their head. Eveyone either has a black or white. Napolean announces that all 3 cannot be white and removes the blindfold. CaptainBlank sees Aristotle having a black and Newton having a black hat but he is thinking what do I have? Eventually after many hours he stand up and scream,...'My colour is...'. What was the color and how did CaptainBlank know?

Since nobody stands up immediately none can see two a white hats, so
the good Captain known his hat is black.

RonL

(not soving the problem, just remembering how it happened. Also if I
recall correctly it was not hours, I just waited minutes)

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

?

15)Here is a trick question: What is the tallest mountain in the world?

Olympus Mons - on Mars?

RonL

Originally Posted by CaptainBlack

Since nobody stands up immediately none can see two a white hats, so
the good Captain known his hat is black.

RonL

(not soving the problem, just remembering how it happened. Also if I
recall correctly it was not hours, I just waited minutes)

If you solved that by yourself in a few minutes. I stand up and applaud from the other side of the world. Nice job.

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

If you solved that by yourself in a few minutes. I stand up and applaud from the other side of the world. Nice job.

You know I have won prizes for solving puzzles, don't you?

(The puzzle is vagely familiar, but I didn't know the answer. With
experience you learn what key words to look for in puzzles, then
solving them becomes much easier)

RonL

Originally Posted by CaptainBlack

You know I have won prizes for solving puzzles, don't you?

RonL

No. What prizes, what problems, math problems?

Originally Posted by CaptainBlack

Olympus Mons - on Mars?

RonL

I do not remember how to spell the name correctly. It is in Hawaii. "Mana Kea" something like that. The reason why the answer is not Everest. Is because this mountain is submerged underwater. It has 36,000 feet approximately but Everest is 28,000.

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

The cold

1)Here is my own riddle: "A group of friends are walking a a forrest during the night. Everyone is frightened because of the howling wolves and animals, except for one, why?

One friend is deaf.

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

2)Another one I made up myself: "Everyone who exits this place cannot enter it again".

The uterus

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

5)What is wrong with this (I posted it before to make a point):
***ume 2 = 6
Then subtract 4,
-2=2
Now square,
4=4
Thus,
2=6. What happend?

You showed a falsity implying a truth, which demonstrates nothing. I could say "if there's an elf in my backyard, then I have a backyard, then I have a home." I do have a home, but it doesn't mean there's an elf in my backyard.

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

6)
$\displaystyle a=1$
$\displaystyle a^2=1$
$\displaystyle a^2-a=1-a$
$\displaystyle a(a-1)=-(a-1)$
$\displaystyle a=-1$
$\displaystyle -1=1$

You divided by (a-1), but this is defined to be zero.

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

7)When does, $\displaystyle 1+1=0$?

In mod 2 arithmetic

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

8)How can you get 4 gallons using 5 and 3 gallon cups.

Fill the 3. Pour it into the 5. Fill the 3 again. Pour it into the 5, which will leave 2 in the 3. Pour the 5 into the 3, which will leave 4 gallons in the 5.

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

10)A man jumps out of the window then the phone rings and then he regretted his decision. Why?

He thought nobody cared about him?

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

12)In a middle of field are lying a carrot and buttons, why?

Frosty melted

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

13)A man takes an elevator downstairs but walks up stairs, why? (Cool answer)

I've heard this one before, so I'll p*** it on for someone else. It is a cunning answer though

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

14)How can you win in chess in 2 moves?

Twenty moves in when you're about to mate.

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

15)Here is a trick question: What is the tallest mountain in the world?

Why not Everest?

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

16)My favorite: "Napolean invites three smartest people in the world to prove they are the smartest. The people are Artistotle, Newton and CaptainBlank. He blindfolds everyone and places a hat on their head. Eveyone either has a black or white. Napolean announces that all 3 cannot be white and removes the blindfold. CaptainBlank sees Aristotle having a black and Newton having a black hat but he is thinking what do I have? Eventually after many hours he stand up and scream,...'My colour is...'. What was the color and how did CaptainBlank know?

He has black. Suppose he had white - then Aristotle would have seen his white and Newton's black and made this conclusion: "if I had a white hat then Aristotle would instantly know his hat is black. Since Aristotle is not concluding this, then my hat must be black." -- upon this reasoning, Aristotle would cry out that his hat was black. Since he did not in a reasonable amount of time, then CaptainBlank knows his hat can't be white to have initiated that train of logic. So his hat must be black.

EDIT: I just read RonL's response, which is MUCH more efficient than mine. . but along the same lines.

Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker

No. What prizes, what problems, math problems?

NewScientist Enigma, and the Sunday Times (UK newspaper) magazine
(three times).

They are math/logic puzzles.

RonL

Originally Posted by Soltras

One friend is deaf.
The uterus

What did you think of my n00bish riddles.

You showed a falsity implying a truth, which demonstrates nothing. I could say "if there's an elf in my backyard, then I have a backyard, then I have a home." I do have a home, but it doesn't mean there's an elf in my backyard.

I call it proving the converse.

You divided by (a-1), but this is defined to be zero.

In mod 2 arithmetic

Fill the 3. Pour it into the 5. Fill the 3 again. Pour it into the 5, which will leave 2 in the 3. Pour the 5 into the 3, which will leave 4 gallons in the 5.

You are a smart one, eh?

He thought nobody cared about him?

Ask me tomorrow. It is a strange answer but it rocks.

Twenty moves in when you're about to mate.

I mean 2 moves in total.

Why not Everest?

Look at my other post.

He has black. Suppose he had white - then Aristotle would have seen his white and Newton's black and made this conclusion: "if I had a white hat then Aristotle would instantly know his hat is black. Since Aristotle is not concluding this, then my hat must be black." -- upon this reasoning, Aristotle would cry out that his hat was black. Since he did not in a reasonable amount of time, then CaptainBlank knows his hat can't be white to have initiated that train of logic. So his hat must be black.

Stealing CaptainBlank's answers?