PUZZLE AND PROBLEM PARADISE

Students seem to enjoy brainteasers more than we do and there seems to be no end of books, textbooks and compilations of them, including cryptic crosswords, word searches, optical illusions, mind mazes, riddles and mental meltdowns.


Here´s just a sample of what you can find on the web and in many puzzle compendiums:

"Twenty-questions" riddles are designed for oral practice.In order to solve them students have to ask you 20 questions to which you may only reply "yes" or "no"

A) During an expedition  to the furthest icy reaches of Scandinavia, an archeologist comes across two bodies, entombed in a perfectly preserved state. After examining the bodies, he declares:"These are the corpses of Adam and Eve"  Why is he so sure?

B)A spice merchant enters a tavern in Bordeaux and orders the chef´s special, a cormorant stew. As soon as the dish is served, the merchant takes a mouthful and immediately bursts into tears. Why?

 

C) Henry Plantagenet and Eleanor of Aquitaine are in love and have been married for 15 years. However, when Eleanor tells Henry she wants a divorce, Henry is delighted. Why?

 

(From the Big Book of Paradoxes, Puzzles and Problems by Fabrice Mazza Carlton Books2010)

 

D) A carrot, a pile of pebbles, and a pipe are lying together in the middle of a field. Why?

E) How can you prove that a man has three heads?

 

(From The most enormous book of Brainteasers ever. Sevenoaks 2002)

Answer to E:No man has two heads.A man has one head more than no man. Therefore a man has three heads. Remember my name is "heads"

F) Charlie went for a walk without an umbrella. He did not wear a hat and he did not take refuge under a shelter; yet, not one hair on his head got wet. How was this possible?


G) In the "Left" family, each daughter has the same number of brothers as she has sisters.
    Each son has twice as many sisters as he has brothers.
    How many sons and daughters are there in the family?

 

 I could go on and on ad lib and ad infinitum....

For more examples see the Reader´s Digest Compendium of Puzzles and Brain teasers 2000.