Animals and Things
Things that crawl are not my favourite, but I can’t promise they won’t be included. This is not too tricky
and is rather fun if you ask me. Think like an animal and enjoy these riddles.
"The Rainbow Fish shared his scales left end right. And the more he gave away, the
more delighted he became. When the water around him filled with glimmering scales,
he at last felt at home among the other fish."
Marcus Pfister, The Rainbow Fish
1. Where can you find cities, towns, shops, and streets but no people?
(Answer) A map
2. A house of wood in a hidden place. Built without nails or glue. High
above the earthen ground It holds pale gems of blue.
(Answer) A nest
3. I am not alive, but I grow; I don't have lungs, but I need air; I don't have a
mouth, but water kills me. What am I?
(Answer) A fire
4. What goes up and down without moving?
(Answer) Stairs
5. What has to be broken before it can be used?
(Answer) An egg
6. What building has the most stories?
(Answer)
7. I have a thousand needles but I do not sew.
What am I? A Porcupine
(Answer)
8. What has wheels and flies, but it is not an aircraft?
(Answer) A garbage truck？！
9. No matter how little or how much you use me, you change me every
month. What am I?
(Answer) Calendar
10. I run all around the pasture but never move. What am I?
(Answer) The fence
11. A very pretty thing am I, fluttering in the pale-blue sky. Delicate, fragile
on the wing, indeed I am a pretty thing. What am I?
(Answer) A butterfly
12. What has a head and a tail but no body?
(Answer) A coin
13. I weaken all men for hours each day.
I show you strange visions while you are away.
I take you by night, by day take you back,
None suffer to have me, but do from my lack.
(Answer) A window
14. What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?
(Answer) A palm
15. I come in many different colours and I get bigger when I’m full. I
will float away if you don’t tie me down and I will make a loud sound if I
break.
What am I?
(Answer) A balloon
16. What has hands, but is not flesh, bone or blood?
(Answer) Clock
17. White and thin, red within, with a nail at the end. What is it?
(Answer) Finger
18. What is black and white and is red all over?
(Answer) Newspaper
19. The one who made it didn’t want it. The one who bought it didn’t need it.
The one who used it never saw it. What is it?
(Answer) Coffin
20. What needs an answer but doesn’t ask a question?
(Answer) A telephone
21. What two keys can’t open any door?
(Answer) A monkey and a donkey
Math Riddles
1 + 2 = 3 - I wish that is as simple as it could be. Math though, can get a little complicated; but I believe you
are up for it. Figure out these mathematic problems or ask for some help.
“The only way to learn Mathematics
is to do Mathematics.”
Paul Halmos
1. The ages of a father and son add up to 66. The father's age is the son's age
reversed. How old could they be?
(Answer) There are three possible solutions for this: the
father-son duo could be 51 and 15 years old, 42 and 24 years
old or 60 and 06 years old.
2. I am an odd number; take away a letter in the alphabet and I become even.
What number am I?
(Answer) Seven (Take away “s” and it becomes “even”)
3. I am a three-digit number. My second digit is 4 times bigger than the third
digit. My first digit is 3 less than my second digit. Who am I?
(Answer) 141
4. You are given a telephone and asked to multiply all the numbers on the
device’s number pad. What will be the answer?
(Answer) Zero. The keypad on a calculator contains a 0, and
anything multiplied by 0 is 0.
5. There are 100 pairs of dogs in a zoo. Two pairs of babies are born for
every dog. Unfortunately, 23 of the dogs have not survived. How many
dogs would be left in total?
(Answer) 977 dogs (100 x 2 = 200; 200 + 800 = 1000; 1000 – 23
= 977).
6. How many sides does a circle have?
(Answer) Two – the inside and the outside.
7. What do the numbers 11, 69, and 88 all have in common?
(Answer) They all read the same upside down.
8. If four people can repair four bicycles in four hours, how many bicycles
can eight people repair in eight hours?
(Answer) 16 bicycles
9. It takes 12 men 12 hours to construct a wall. Then how long will it take
for 6 men to complete the same wall?
(Answer) No time! There is no need of constructing it again
as the job is already done.
10. Tom and Peter live in different parts of city but study at the same high
school. Tom left for school 10 minutes before Peter, and they happened to
meet at a park. At the time of their meeting, who was closer to the
school?
(Answer) They are both at the same distance from school as
they met in the same place.
11. Seven boys met each other in a party. Each of them shakes hands only
once with each of the other boys. What is the total number of handshakes
that took place?
(Answer) 21
12. When my dad was 31 years old, I was just 8 years. Now his age is twice
as old as my age. What is my present age?
(Answer) When you calculate the difference between the ages,
you can see that it is 23 years. So, you must be 23 years
old now.
13. Suppose 8 monkeys take 8 minutes to eat 8 bananas. How many minutes
would it take 3 monkeys to eat 3 bananas? How many monkeys would it
take to eat 48 bananas in 48 minutes?
(Answer) If 8 monkeys take 8 minutes to eat 8 bananas, then 1
monkey takes 8 minutes to eat 1 banana. 3 monkeys will take
8 minutes to eat 3 bananas.1 monkey can eat 1 banana in 8
minutes, so 1 monkey can eat 6 bananas in 48 (8 x 6)
minutes. Therefore, 8 monkeys can eat 48 bananas in 48
minutes.
14. Find a 10-digit number where the first digit (most significant digit)
indicates how many zeros are in the number, the second digit indicates
how many 1s are in the number etc. till the tenth digit which indicates how
many 9s are in the number.
(Answer) 6210001000
15. A boy saw a shirt for $97 but does not have enough cash. So, he borrowed
$50 from his mom and another $50 from his dad.
He bought the shirt, and got back $3 as change. He gave his dad $1 and
his mom $1 and kept the other $1 for himself.
Now mom and dad paid $50 each and got back $1 each. So, they paid $49
each, totalling $98. The boy has another $1, adding up to $99. Where is
the missing dollar?
(Answer)Let ’ s see what happens to that $100. The shirt
costs $97, the boy keeps $1 and mom and dad get $1 back.
That adds up fine.
Now let’s look at the second way. How much money did they
end up paying? Well $98 dollars, and $97 of it went for the
shirt and $1 to the boy. Now, that adds up too.
The problem with the question is that the $1 that the boy
keeps is contained in the $98 that they end up paying so we
shouldn’t expect them to add to anything meaningful.
