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1500 questions
44
votes
3 answers

Secret of the universe

There once was a mythical stone tablet on which was said to be written the secret of the universe. If the secret was to fall within the wrong hands, it was said that the consequences would be catastrophic. This is why the message on the tablet…
stack reader
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44
votes
1 answer

About a man and a bee

A man walks out of his house and over to his flower garden. He holds out his right hand and a bee lands in it. What is in his eye?
Kevin Rock
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44
votes
9 answers

I last billions of years or a couple of milliseconds

Please help. I've given this riddle much thought and can't get anywhere. I last billions of years or a couple of milliseconds. I embody the Jurassic period and the Renaissance. I am composed of 24 letters of the English alphabet, and 116…
user28883
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44
votes
2 answers

Free Tickets to Rio!

I got an email from one of my friends in Brazil today morning: "Free tickets to the Rio Olympics if you can solve all these! Good luck!!" Clues: $\longleftarrow 8\;\bar{\uparrow} $ $10 n=$ $\text{log}_{\boxed{b}}a+\bigg\{x\in V\bigg|…
Ankoganit
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44
votes
2 answers

Neurotic frogs ought to relax in mud baths

What is the hidden message in this advertisement? Neurotic Frogs Ought To Relax In Mud Baths! Perpendicular lounging calms. A frog, a mud cap... bliss! Wallowing generates happiness. Amphibian spa isn't expensive--seventy dollars--cheap! That's not…
DLosc
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44
votes
7 answers

How many Chess Pieces are needed to control every square on the board? No Piece Restriction

You may use as many pieces as you like. Pieces do not control the square they occupy. Accepted Answer goes to the person that has the least score. Piece cost: Pawn - 1 Knight - 3 Bishop - 3 Rook - 5 Queen - 9 Note1: The king has no score, it was…
warspyking
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44
votes
6 answers

Hats and Aliens

Here's a neat little puzzle taken from a Google interview question: 10 humans are abducted by aliens; each represents 10% of the entire human population. The aliens give each abductee either a purple hat or a green hat. The 10 are lined up in a…
arshajii
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44
votes
6 answers

Deciphering an Alien Signal

I have a strange problem that you may be able to help me with. I was recently hired by company that manages several communications satellites, and I've gotten stuck with the overnight shift. Earlier this week I was getting some weird interference…
2012rcampion
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44
votes
6 answers

Burning ropes as timers

You have 2 identical ropes which burn at a specific rate, and an unlimited supply of matches. When you light one end of a rope, the fire will take exactly 1 hour to travel to the other end of the rope. You need to measure exactly 45 minutes. You…
Kendall Frey
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44
votes
9 answers

How did the police know?

One night, a man receives a call from the police. The police tell the man that his wife was robbed, murdered, and her body dumped in a remote location, and that he should reach the crime scene as soon as possible. The man drops his phone in shock,…
Aggie Kidd
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44
votes
1 answer

Moderation strike: a tired lunatic (4)

Which four-letter word fits the clue "Moderation strike: a tired lunatic"? Disclaimer: 1. I'm a Dutch native speaker, we have a cryptic crossword tradition as well, but I've never seriously tried an English one. I know they are different, please…
Glorfindel
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44
votes
5 answers

What fraction of the larger semicircle is filled?

What fraction of the larger semicircle is filled? The two smaller semicircles are of equal size. This is a puzzle originally set by Catriona Agg, who is a puzzle setting genius.
Simd
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43
votes
5 answers

How did the hit man miss?

Harry the hit man is hired to whack Vic the victim. Vic lives in the apartment complex illustrated below, and Vic parks overnight in the circled parking spot, and always leaves for work around 8am. At 7:50am, Harry begins walking back and forth in…
FlanMan
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43
votes
1 answer

Quick rebus – Blink and you'll miss it!

The answer is the name of a place.
Jafe
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43
votes
5 answers

A riddle I thought of on the bus

As the silhouette of a ball comes forth Sprouts an arrow pointing North To the left contains round borders To the right lies four corners The road is split between these three sections You need me to make connections What am I?
Jacky Wu
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