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"P" Riddles - Next 10 of 9910.
Riddle:
There was a plane crash in which every single person was killed. Yet there were 12 survivors. How?
Answer: The 12 survivors were married, not single.
Riddle:
I am young when tall, old when short. I can die anytime I want. What am I?
Answer: A lighted candle.
Riddle:
I am first on heaven second in earth I come two times in a week and year because I am in the middle of the sea. What am I?
Answer: The letter E.
Riddle:
There were five men walking along and it started to rain. The four that ran got wet and the one that stood still stayed dry. How come?
Answer: They are in a funeral procession when it starts to rain. The man in the coffin stays dry, while the men carrying the coffin get wet.
Riddle:
You are driving in your car when you spot a mansion. The mansion has three doors: one with treasure, one with statues, and one empty room. Which door do you open first?
Answer: The car's door
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:
I am as light as a feather, but I can't hold it for long. What am I?
Answer: Your breath.
Riddle:
There are ten fish in a tank. 2 drown, 3 swim away and 3 die. How many fish are still remaining in the tank?
Answer: Seven. Fish can't drown! They can't swim away if they are in the tank!
Riddle:
A man went for a walk. It started to rain. The man didn't have a hat. He wasn't carrying an umbrella. He kept on walking. His clothes got wet. His shoes got wet. But his hair didn't get wet. How come?
Answer: He was bald.
Riddle:
Why do tennis players never get tired?
Answer: Because they have many fans!
