Problem of the Week

A riddle problem is a question or statement intentionally phrased so as to require ingenuity in ascertaining its answer or meaning, typically presented as a game. Below is a list of the past problem of the week riddles in descending chronological order.

How Many Plums?

POW: 03-20-2023

A farmer in California owns a beautiful pear tree. He supplies the fruit to a nearby grocery store. The store owner has called the farmer to see how much fruit is available for him to purchase. The farmer knows that the main trunk has 24 branches. Each branch has exactly 12 boughs and each bough has exactly 6 twigs. Since each twig bears one piece of fruit, how many plums will the farmer be able to deliver?

Answer: None. A pear tree does not bear plums.

What About Circles

POW: 03-13-2023

How many sides does a circle have?

Answer: Two. The inside and the outside.

How Old Am I?

POW: 03-06-2023

When my father was 31 I was 8. Now he is twice as old as me. How old am I?

Answer: The difference in age is 23 years, so I must be 23 if my father is twice as old as me.

Subtraction Riddle

POW: 02-27-2023

How many times can you subtract the number 5 from 25?

Answer: Once, because after you subtract 5 from 25 it becomes 20.

Be On Point

POW: 02-20-2023

A sphere has three, a circle has two, and a point has zero. What is it?

Answer: Dimensions.

Rungs Of A Ladder

POW: 02-13-2023

The rungs of a 10-foot ladder attached to a ship are 1 foot apart. If the water is rising at the rate of one foot an hour, how long will it take until the water covers the ladder?

Answer: It will never cover the ladder because as the water rises, so will the floating ship.

The Pattern?

POW: 02-06-2023

One is to three as three is to five and five is to four and four is the magic number. What is the pattern?

Answer: One has three letters in the word three has five letters in it five has four letters and four has four letters in it (if you try more numbers they will always come back to the number four: so four is the magic number)