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"A" Riddles - Next 10 of 4628.
Riddle:
I create my lair with earthen string, and dispatch my prey with a biting sting. What am I?
Answer: A spider.
Riddle:
What do u say when someone takes your nachos?
Answer: That's nach-os.
Riddle:
My dress is tranquil when I tread the earth, or dwell at home, or drift on the water. Sometimes my wings and this wide sky lift me over the dwellings of men, and then strong clouds carry me over the people. My ornaments echo loudly and melodiously, Illustriously sing when I am not near the earth and stream, a sailing spirit.
What am I?
Answer: A swan.
Riddle:
You have 52 playing cards, 26 red, and 26 black. You draw cards one by one. A red card pays you a dollar. A black one fines you a dollar. You can stop any time you want. Cards are not returned to the deck after being drawn. What is the optimal stopping rule in terms of maximizing your expected payoff? Also, what is the expected payoff following this optimal rule?
Answer: The solution to this problem is, in my opinion the most difficult to understand of all the puzzles. Indeed I was unable to solve it and didn't receive a complete solution until two years after originally posting it. The final solution, in the form of the spreadsheet was sent to me by Han Zheng. For this reason I have left on the page the thoughts i had before I had the final solution as they represent an easier to understand and more simplistic approach. Also the reasoning may help you arrive at the final solution by yourself or help you understand it. I would recommend reading that answer before you dive into the full answer. But an important thing to note are that as the player we can't lose this game as we can gamble till all the cards are drawn and our net position is zero. From our earlier analysis it is clear we need a dynamic quit rule. A singal value is not sufficent. We must, at each stage consider what cards are remaining, and therefor the probability of a positive or negative outcome from drawing again. For the explanation i will ask you first to consider a deck containing only 6 cards, 3 +ve & 3 -ve (note i'm no longer calling the cards black and red, it confuses me.)
Riddle:
What did the koala say to the bear on the phone?
Answer: I’ll koala you later.
Riddle:
There are eight people in the TSA line for inspection. Each one of them has a full 1 Pint bottle of water. All are the same brand of pure water and are unopened. The big sign says liquids over a few ounces are not allowed. The first seven people have to surrender their bottle of water and empty it. But after a brief discussion they let the eighth person go through with their bottle of water intact. Why did this happen?
Answer: The eighth bottle was frozen. The TSA permits completely frozen liquids to pass through.
Riddle:
I'm done to boats, to cargo, to loads;
When indoors I'm, in a way, a narrow road.
What am I?
Answer: Haul / Hall
Riddle:
I have one eye but cannot see. No teeth, and yet I bite. My voice can whisper softly or can keep you up all night. P.S. This riddle is meant to be heard, not read. As such, please read it aloud and figure it out from there, to grasp the answer. What am I?
Answer: "Wind" - Reasoning: "Eye" sounds like "i", and the fact that the answer "cannot see" hints that this is the case. Wind, especially high wind, can feel biting, and in literature, the wind is often said to bring a "biting cold", or similar. The voice of the wind is depicted as being quiet or loud, depending on how strong the wind is. Loud winds are often associated with keeping people up during the night.
Riddle:
I get fiercely hot. I vary in sizes. Without me, the moon is all we'll see. It's impossible to walk into a room without at least one of me in them. What am I?
Answer: A lightbulb.
Riddle:
Two people are standing on the bank of a river looking forward to crossing to the other side. There is one boat with a capacity for one person. The two people managed to cross the river safely. How did they do it?
Answer: The two were on opposite sides of the river.
