There is a party of 100 politicians. All of them are either honest or liars. You walk in knowing two things: At least one of them is honest. If you take any two politicians, at least one of them is a liar. From this information, can you know how many are liars and how many are honest?
The captain of a ship was telling this interesting story: “We traveled the sea far and wide. At one time, two of my sailors were standing on opposite sides of the ship. One was looking west and the other one east. And at the same time, they could see each other clearly.” How can that be possible?
The houses on a street are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc., up one side of the street; then the numbers continue consecutively on the other side of the street and work their way back to be opposite number 1. If house number 12 is opposite house number 29, how many houses are there on both sides of the street?
Susie’s and Sally’s last names are Billingsley and Jenkins, but not necessarily in that order. Two of the following statements are false. What is the real name of each person? Susie’s last name is Billingsley. Susie’s last name is Jenkins. Sally’s last name is Jenkins.
A man was shot to death while in his car. There were no powder marks on his clothing, which indicated that the gunman was outside the car. However, all the windows were up and the doors locked. After a close inspection was made, the only bullet-holes discovered were on the man’s body. How was he murdered?
A man recently bought two aeroplanes, but afterwards found that they would not answer the purpose for which he wanted them. So he sold them for $600 each, making a loss of 20 per cent on one machine and a profit of 20 per cent on the other. Did he make a profit on the whole transaction, or a loss? And how much?
A detachment of soldiers must cross a river. The bridge is broken, the river is deep. Suddenly the officer in charge spots 2 boys playing in a rowboat by the shore. The boat is so tiny, however, that it can only hold 2 boys or 1 soldier. Still, all the soldiers succeed in crossing the river in the boat. How?
A bathtub has two taps and a plug hole. The cold tap on its own fills the bathtub in 18 minutes. The hot one on its own fills the bathtub in 15 minutes. The plug hole can drain the bathtub in 10 minutes with the taps off. How long will the bathtub take to fill if both taps are turned on and the plug left out?
James and Jonathan are liars, who lie on specific days. James lies on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, but he is honest on all other days. Jonathan lies on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, but he tells the truth on all other days. On what day of the week would they both say “Tomorrow, I will lie.”?
Below are four multiple-choice entrance exam questions. Can you find the answers? 1. The answer to Question 2 is: A. B B. A C. D D. C 2. The answer to Question 3 is: A. C B. D C. B D. A 3. The answer to Question 4 is: A. D B. A C. C D. B 4. The answer to Question 1 is: A. D B. C C. A D. B
In my neighbourhood lives a man who weighs 200 pounds. He has two sons. They both weigh 100 pounds each. On a festival day they decide to go across the river on a boat to visit some relations. But the boat could carry a maximum load of only 200 pounds. Yet they managed to get across the river by boat. How did they?
Water lilies grow extremely rapidly. In one pond, a water lily grew so fast that each day it covered a surface area double that of the area it had covered the previous day. At the end of the 30th day, it had covered the pond entirely. How long do you think it will take for two such water lilies to cover the whole pond?
Each morning Boris walks to school. At one-fourth of the way he passes the machine and tractor station; at one-third of the way, the railroad station. At the machine and tractor station its clock shows 7:30, and at the railroad station its clock shows 7:35. When does Boris leave his house, when does he reach school?
At school Joe has three friends: Tim, George and Paige. Two of them play football, two play tennis, and two play golf. The friend who doesn’t play golf doesn’t play tennis and the one who doesn’t play football doesn’t play golf. Paige doesn’t play tennis. Which sports does each person play?
There is a barrel with no lid and some water in it. “This barrel is more than half full,” said Tom. “No it’s not,” say John. “It’s less than half full.” Without any measuring implements and without removing any water from the barrel, how can they easily determine who is correct?
