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1.) Where's the dollar?
Three men want a hotel room, but there's only one left. It rents for
$10. The men agree to pay $10 apiece to share the room. Afterward the
desk clerk has a change of heart: "I really overcharged those guys.
I'll refund 'em five bucks and only charge them 25." He gives the bellboy
five $1 bills and says. "Give this to the men in 301 as a refund." On the
way upstairs, the bellboy thinks. "it's going to be difficult to split $5
three ways. I'll just slip $2 in my pocket and give them $3-- one apiece."
Now each man has paid $9 for his room: Three times nine is 27. plus $2 in the
bellboy's pocket makes 29. Where's the other dollar?
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A= The problem is that the question is meaningless.
You have been led to add the $27 that the men have spent and the $2
in the bellboy's pocket, which is a completely useless operation
and tells you nothing. What if the clerk gave the bellboy $10
and the boy gave $3 to each man and pocketed $1?
Would you now say, "The men have paid $7 each for the room, for $21
total. Plus the bellboys $1 makes $22. Where's the other eight dollars?"
Of course not. It's because the numbers are so close and the argument
seems to make so much sense that makes it interesting.
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2.) What colour is the bear?
A man builds a house with four sides to it, and it is rectangle in shape.
Each side has a southern exposure. He sees a bear walk by a window.
Question: What colour is the bear?
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A= White. The only place you can build a house with all-southern exposure
is the exactly on the North Pole. The bear must be a polar bear.
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3.) The reluctant surgeon.
A father is driving his son to school when they have a terrible accident.
The father is killed, and the boy is rushed to the emergency room.
A surgeon comes in, takes one look, and says. "I cannot operate on this
boy; he is my son." How is this possible?
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A= The surgeon is the boy's mother.
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4.) Lily pads, Amoebas, and Rats.
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A.) There is a species of lily pad that doubles in size every day.
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A single lily pad can be placed in a lake, and 60 days later
the lake is completely covered.
How long would it take a single lily pad to cover half the lake?
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A= 59 days
(This took me a while to figure out why the answer was 59 days,
but if look at it a read the question again it must be one big
lily pad to cover half the a lake.)
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B.) In the first version of this theme,
An amoeba splits itself every three seconds. When one amoeba is
placed in a jar, it takes 60 seconds to fill the jar.
How long would it take to fill the jar,
if you started with two amoebas?
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A= 57 seconds
All you have eliminated was the three seconds.
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C.) If it takes 16 hours for a pair of amoebas, splitting at the rate of
once every hour, to fill a quart jar, how long would it take one
amoeba, splitting at the same rate, to fill a similar jar?
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A= 17 hours
(Look at the previous answer)
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D.) A certain species of rat doubles its population every 30 days.
If you start with one rat in a room with ample air, water, nutrients,
and space, how many rats will be in the room after 360 days?
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A= The same one you put in, all alone, a year ago. Or his/her
skeleton.
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5.) What are your credentials?
A man went to the hospital to visit another man in intensive care. A nurse
stopped him at the door and told him only family members could visit, and
asked the man how he was related to the patient. The visitor replied in rhyme:
"Brothers and sisters have I none, but that man's father is my fathers son."
The nurse immediately gave him permission to enter.
What was the relationship?
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A= A father visiting his son.
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Aptitude Test.
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1.) Spare change.
I have two U.S. coins that total 55 cents in value. One is not a nickel!
What are the two coins?
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A= A 50c piece and a nickel. One coin isn't a nickel but the other one is.
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2.) Ancient Artifact.
An archaeologist claims to have found the oldest Roman coin-- dated 6 B.C.
His colleagues want him expelled from the Archaeology Club. Why?
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A= The date must be a fake how could they know it was before Christ?
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3.) Thirty days hath....
Some months have 30 days and some months have 31. How many have 28 days?
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A= All 12 month's have 28 days in them.
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4.) Forest Dash.
How far can a dog run into the woods?
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A= Halfway. After that the dog is running out.
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5.) Expected total.
How many birthdays does the average man have?
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A= One, you are only born once.
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6.) Herd remaining.
A farmer had 17 sheep. All but nine died. How many sheep did he have left?
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7.) Baseball knowledge.
Three strikes are out and four balls are a walk. How many outs in an inning?
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8.) Prescription.
A doctor gives you three pills and tells you to take one every half hour.
How long will the pills last?
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9.) Math problem.
Divide 30 by one half and add 10. What's the answer?
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10.) Cherry picker.
How can you remove the cherry from the matchstick "Old-fashioned Glass"
buy moving only two matches?

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11.) Tired.
If you went to bed at eight o'clock at night and set your grandfather's
favourite alarm clock to wake you at nine in the morning,
how many hours sleep would you get?
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A= One hour.
(Old alarm clocks can't tell the defence between A.M and P.M.)
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12.) You see them every day.
What four words have appeared on every denomination of U.S. coins?
(Hint: They aren't "In God We Tryst")
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A= United States of America
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13.) Weigh-Off.
Charlie is a butcher. He is 50 years old, five feet six inches tall,
and has a 36-inch waist. By your best estimate, what does Charlie weigh?
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A= If you answered with a number your weigh-off was way off.
Charlie is a butcher. He weighs meat.
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14.) Double purchase.
A boy buys a bat and ball for $1.10.
If the bat costs a dollar more than the ball, how much does the ball cost?
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A= Five cents. $1.10 - .05ç = $1.05 for the bat
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15.) Special Date.
Two days ago, my son was three years old. Next year, will be six years old.
What is my son's birth date?
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A= December 31
Two days ago was December 30 and my son was age three.
One day ago One day ago he was age four. The boy was asked on
January 1, when he was still four . On his birthday that year, he
will be five. On his birthday next year, he'll be six.
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16.) Get it out.
There is a 5ç in a wine bottle, which is corked shut.
How can you get the money out without taking the cork out
or breaking the bottle?
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17.) The Hen Problem.
If a hen and a half lays an egg and a half in a day and a half,
Then answer these questions:
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A.) How long would it take ten hens to lay ten eggs?
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A= One and half days. The rate is equivalent to saying that a hen
lays an egg every one and half days. So ten hens will lay their ten
eggs in a day and a half, too.
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B.) How many eggs will six hens lay in seven days?
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A= Twenty-eight eggs. Each hen lays only one egg in a day and a half,
or two-thirds of an egg in a day and a half, or two-thirds of an egg
in a day.
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C.) How much does a pound of cheese weigh?
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18.) Hole diggers.
If it takes six men six minutes to dig six holes,
how long will it take for ten men to dig ten holes?
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19.) Killer Cats.
If three cats kill three rats in three minutes,
how long will it take 100 cats to kill 100 rats?
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A= Three minutes, since it takes each cat three minutes to kill each rat.
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20.) Omelette.
If eggs are selling for 12 cents a dozen, how much will 100 eggs cost?
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A= $1.00 1ç for each egg.
See ya.
Ta :))