Logic Puzzles
Riddle: I am the center of gravity, hold a capital situation in Vienna, and as I am foremost in every victory, am allowed by all to be invaluable. Though I am invisible, I am clearly seen in the midst of a river. I could name three who are in love with me and have three associates in vice. It is vain that you seek me for I have long been in heaven yet even now lie embalmed in the grave. What am I?
Answer: The letter V.
Riddle: Test Mars. What is the anagrammed word?
Answer: Smartest.
Riddle: I can be shouted to claim, dug for riches, or buried to maim, three meanings packed in one short word. What am I?
Answer: Mine.   “Mine” carries three distinct meanings that match each clue: Shouted to claim: someone yells “Mine!” to assert ownership. Dug for riches: a mine is a place where minerals, coal, or gems are extracted. Buried to maim: a land mine is an explosive device concealed underground. The riddle packs these homonyms into one word, making “mine” the perfect answer.
Riddle: With a little detective work and deep thought, the following facts can make an accurate statement. 11 is a racehorse 12 is 12 1111 race 12112. Can you figure it out?
Answer: 11 is a racehorse 12 is one too 11 won one race 12 won one too
Riddle: How high would you have to count before you would use the letter A in the English language spelling of a whole number?
Answer: One thousand.
Riddle: There is a lamp inside a photography darkroom. When the darkroom door is closed, it is impossible to tell from outside the room whether or not the lamp is on. There are two switches outside the door of the darkroom. One or both of the switches may control the lamp. It also could be that neither of the switches controls the lamp. All you know is that the light bulb is currently off and that the lamp and bulb are in working condition. The darkroom door is closed and once you open the door you cannot touch either of the switches. If you can only open the dark room door one time, how can you tell which switches, if any, control the lamp?
Answer: Turn the first switch on and leave it on for ten minutes. After ten minutes, turn that switch off and turn the second switch on. Open the darkroom door, and lightly (in case it is hot) touch the bulb. If the lamp is on, and the bulb is quite hot, both switches work the lamp. If the lamp is on, and the bulb is cool, the second switch controls the lamp. If the lamp is off, and the bulb is hot, switch one controls the lamp. If the lamp is off, and the bulb is cool, neither switch controls the lamp.
Riddle: An apple costs 5¢, a banana costs 6¢, and a pear costs 4¢. How much would a strawberry cost?
Answer: A strawberry would cost 10¢ because for each letter needed to spell out the name of the fruit, you would pay 1¢.
Riddle: Ronald is a chef. He is going to cook a meal. He has three stoves in front of him-a gas stove, a wood stove, and a coal stove–but he only has one match. What should Ronald light first?
Answer: Ronald should light the match first because the match needs to be lit up before he can light up anything else. After all, I never said that the match was lit in the first place!
Riddle: I hold countless voices that never speak, countless journeys that never move, and ask for quiet to share them all. What am I?
Answer: Library. "I hold countless voices that never speak": This refers to the vast number of books in a library. Each book contains the "voice" (ideas, stories, knowledge) of its author, but the physical book itself is silent. "countless journeys that never move": Books describe "journeys" (adventures, travelogues, fictional quests), but the books remain stationary on the shelves. The reader takes the journey through their imagination. "and ask for quiet to share them all": Libraries traditionally require a quiet atmosphere so that patrons can read, study, and focus on the material within the books without distraction.
Riddle: Looks like water, But it's heat. Sits on sand, Lays on concrete. People have been known, To follow it everywhere. But it gets them no place, And all they can do is stare. What is it?
Answer: A mirage.
Riddle: Walker has to unlock his locker to get his uniform and get dressed for his basketball game. However, his lock requires a three-digit code to be unlocked. Walker doesn't know the exact code, but here are some clues. A) 8-6-5 One number is correct and in the right position. B) 8-4-0 One number is correct but in the wrong position. C) 3-5-0 Two numbers are correct but in the wrong positions. D) 3-6-9 Nothing is correct. E) 7-6-9 One number is correct but in the wrong position. What is the code?
Answer: The code is 0-7-5. Starting with Clue D, we can eliminate 3, 6, and 9, and all instances of those numbers, because none of them are in the final code. 8 cannot be in the final code because Clues A and B would contradict each other if it was in the code. This means that 5 is in the code, and it takes the third position; we can therefore eliminate 4, too. From Clue C, we can conclude that 5 and 0 are part of the code, because 3 is not (we already eliminated it based on Clue D). And based on Clue E, the last digit we need is 7, because we already eliminated 6 and 9 based on Clue D. We do not know the positions of 0 and 7, however, but we know that 5 takes the third position, which leaves us with just two options for the code: either 7-0-5 or 0-7-5. 7-0-5 cannot be the code because it would contradict Clue E since 7 cannot go in the first position; it can only go in the second position, while 0 goes in the first position. This means that the correct code is 0-7-5.
Riddle: What has wings, But can not fly. Is enclosed, But can outside also lie. Can open itself up, Or close itself away. Is the place of kings and queens, And doggerel of every means. What is it upon which I stand? Which can lead us to different lands. What is it?
Answer: The stage.
Riddle: I am a strange creature, Hovering in the air, Moving from here to there, With a brilliant flare. Some say I sing, But others say I have no voice. So I just hum - as a matter of choice. What am I?
Answer: A hummingbird.
Riddle: Under no circumstances compute the number of your barnyard fowl previous to their incubation. What is the proverb?
Answer: Do not count your chickens before they hatch.
Riddle: This thing is a most amazing thing. For it can be both as sharp as a knife, Or as flat as a floor. And yet, for all that it can be, It is as natural as a bee. What is it?
Answer: Music.
Riddle: What is it you have to answer? But to answer you have to ask? And to ask you have to speak? And to speak you have to know, The answer.
Answer: A riddle.
Riddle: A grandfather clock chimes the appropriate number of times to indicate the hour, as well as chiming once at each quarter hour. If you were in another room and heard the clock chime just once, what would be the longest period of time you would have to wait in order to be certain of the correct time?
Answer: You would have to wait 90 minutes between 12:15 and 1:45. Once you had heard seven single chimes, you would know that the next chime would be two chimes for 2 o'clock.
Riddle: A football player is running to get a net under a lady who looks like she might jump off the balcony of her 20 story apartment building. There is nothing below her except a 20 story fall. The player is still 100 yards away when she falls and can't nearly get there in time. The woman is not hurt more than a bruise. How is that possible?
Answer: She fell back into her apartment!
Riddle: Almost everyone needs it, asks for it, gives it, but almost nobody takes it. What is it?
Answer: Advice
Riddle: A feathered Biped in the terminal part of the arm equals in value a pair of feathered bipeds in densely branched shrubbery. What is the proverb?
Answer:  A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.