New Riddles

Finally! That new brain teaser you have been waiting on to stump your mind and challenge your friends and family! Be the first “riddler” in your group to take a crack at these new puzzles! Check back often for new riddles!

An Eggy Deal

Steve woke up after a good night's sleep. He wanted to make a big breakfast for himself. He has a dozen eggs in a carton. He breaks two eggs, fries two, and eats two. How many eggs are there in the carton afterward?

Answer: Afterwards, there are 10 eggs in the carton. Steve broke, fried, and ate the same two eggs. This is because: 1) cooking the egg while it is still in its shell would be considered boiling the egg, not frying it; after all, you would need to break the egg into a pan before frying it, and; 2) you cannot eat a raw egg while it is still in the shell because of the risk of foodborne illnesses.

Simple Story, Simple Question

I have a story about my friend Billy, and his morning routine: Billy woke up after a long sleep. He opened his closet door and began to get dressed. Then, he opened his bedroom door and went to the bathroom. There, Billy brushed his teeth and combed his hair. Afterward, he went to the kitchen to make breakfast. He opened up his fridge and took out a carton of eggs, a jug of orange juice, and a carton of milk. Billy then opened his cabinet and took out a bowl, a plate, and a box of his favorite cereal. Next, he opened the jug of OJ and a carton of milk, took two glasses, and poured himself a glass of OJ and a glass of milk. Then, Billy opened the box of cereal and poured it, as well as some milk, into the bowl. Next, he opened the carton of eggs, cooked one, and put it on the plate. Lastly, Billy closed the carton of eggs, the jug of OJ, and the carton of milk; he went to the open fridge and put the three items back. Billy could not wait to enjoy his breakfast. The question is: what did Billy open FIRST?

Answer: Billy opened his eyes first. At the beginning of the story, Billy woke up, which meant that prior to the events of the story, he was sleeping. We don't sleep with our eyes OPEN; we sleep with them CLOSED, which means Billy woke up and opened his eyes first before doing anything else.

Mysterious Murder

Mr. Wilson was found unconscious in his bedroom on a Saturday evening. There were just five other people in his house at the time of the murder: Mr. Wilson's wife, their personal chef, a butler, a housemaid, and a gardener. They all told the detective what they were doing that evening. Mrs. Wilson: I was reading a book in the living room. The chef: I was cooking breakfast. The butler: I was giving instructions to several workers in the living room. The housemaid: I was in the kitchen, washing the dishes. The gardener: I was in the greenhouse, watering plants. The detective arrested the culprit right away. Who was it, and how did the detective know?

Answer: In fact, there wasn't just one culprit–there were TWO culprits: the personal chef and the butler. The personal chef is the first culprit; the murder happened in the EVENING. He couldn't be cooking breakfast so late in the day. The butler is the second culprit; there were only 5 other people in the house, including himself, and almost none of them were in the living room, except for the wife (but she is not a WORKER). He couldn't be supervising so many workers.

Stolen Cookies

Sheila baked a batch of delicious peanut butter cookies for dessert later in the day. She couldn't eat them while near her husband, though; he was severely allergic to all types of nuts. Plus, the couple's three kids–David, Amanda, and Frank–were all grounded and not allowed to eat sweets for a week. When Sheila went to get the cookies later in the day, she noticed that all of them were gone. She knew it must have been one of her kids who ate the cookies, so she interrogated them. David said that he was helping Dad to bake an apple pie in the kitchen. Amanda said that earlier in the day, she and Dad were eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. She didn't have time for cookies. Frank said that he was doing his homework upstairs. Sheila instantly knew who was lying, and grounded that child for another week. Who was the cookie thief?

Answer: Amanda stole the cookies. She couldn't be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with Dad earlier in the day; after all, Sheila's husband is severely allergic to all types of nuts.

Free From Homework

Ms. Dell is a math teacher at a high school. She always gives her students summer homework. One year, her students are SO tired of summer homework, and they want her to stop giving it to them. Ms. Dell promises a riddle to the students; whoever gets it right will not get summer homework. The riddle went like this: Add me to myself, and multiply me by four. Divide me by eight, and you will have me once more. What number am I? All of her students gave different answers, but nobody received any summer homework. How is that possible?

Answer: All numbers work with Ms. Dell's riddle! ((x + x) * 4) / 8 will always equal x.

The Twelve Tricky Sisters

Fiona's mother has 12 children. One day, the mother comes home and sees that all 12 children are busy. The first child, January, is reading a book. The second child, February, is cooking dinner. The third child, March, is playing chess. The fourth child, April, is tidying up her room. The fifth child, May, is taking a nap. The sixth child, June, is taking a shower. The seventh child, July, is gardening outside. The eighth child, August, is lighting the fireplace. The ninth child, September, is painting a picture. The 10th child, October, is doing yoga. The 11th child, November, is doing her homework. What is the name of the 12th child, and what is he/she doing?

Answer: The name of the 12th child is Fiona, and she is playing chess with March. Fiona is the name of the 12th child because this is FIONA'S mother. And Fiona is playing chess with March because most of the aforementioned activities require only one person to do, except for playing chess; that activity requires two players.

Four Friends And Tea

Four friends– Sam, Evan, Rachel, and Olivia– go out for lunch one Saturday morning. The friends order their food, as well as a big pot of blackberry tea. Sam and Rachel decide to drink the tea, but Evan and Olivia do not; Evan takes a large cup of coffee, and Olivia takes lemonade. After drinking the tea, Sam and Rachel feel sick and pass out. When police officers and paramedics arrive, the officers question Evan and Olivia–why did they order different drinks? Evan says, "I took a large cup of coffee because I didn't sleep well last night, and I needed a lot of caffeine to help me stay awake and alert,". Olivia says, "I took lemonade because I am terribly allergic to raspberries. Even one bite gives me a severe rash!". Who poisoned the tea?

Answer: Olivia poisoned the tea. She said she was allergic to raspberries, but the tea the friends ordered contained blackberries, not raspberries. Olivia lied about her allergy to have an alibi.

Learning Lots Of Languages

Mrs. Tatum assigned a massive summer assignment to her students–they each had to learn a new language. It could be any language they wanted to learn, though. After the summer break, Mrs. Tatum asked her students what languages they had been learning, and how it had been going. Christopher said, "I enjoy learning Mandarin!". Anthony said, "I've been learning Brazilian; it was really difficult but interesting!". Gianna said, "I chose to learn German because my ancestors are from Germany!". Mrs. Tatum did not believe one of her students. Who is lying?

Answer: Anthony is lying. He couldn't be learning Brazilian because this "language" doesn't exist; people speak Portuguese in Brazil.

Paradoxical Phrase

Jasmine was the worst student in her class. One day, her instructor, Mr. Collins, gave her a chance to stay in her class and not be expelled. He said, "Give me a statement. If the statement is true, you will not be expelled from the class. And if the statement is false, you will be expelled from the class. So, what do you say?". What should Jasmine say to stay in her class?

Answer: Jasmine should say, "I will be expelled from the class,". If we suppose that the statement is true, then Jasmine would not be expelled from the class. But then, it makes the statement false. And if we suppose that the statement is false, then Jasmine would be expelled from the class. But then, it makes the statement true. This phrase creates a paradox, as it cannot be true AND false at the same time.

Who Does She Like?

Victoria's best friend, Kayla, meets up with two guys whom Victoria likes: Andrew and Phillip. Both boys ask Kayla who Victoria likes more. Kayla didn't want to reveal her best friend's secret, but she gave the boys a hint: Victoria likes pizza, but she hates burgers. Her favorite color is green, but she doesn't like purple. She has a pet parakeet, but she avoids dogs. And Victoria always goes to the mall instead of the beach. Based on the hint, which boy does Victoria like more?

Answer: Victoria likes Phillip more than Andrew. We have to look for some pattern in the hint Kayla gave the boys. Things such as "mall", "parakeet", "green", and "pizza" contain double letters, whereas things like "beach", "dog", "purple", and "burger" do not. The name "Phillip" contains the double letter "L", but the name "Andrew" doesn't have any double letters. Therefore, Victoria likes Phillip.