Think it Through
Number Puzzles 1
Look Closely
Number Puzzles 2
Miscellaneous
100
A town has only two barbers. Everyone gets their hair cut by one of these two barbers.
Which barber should you choose to go to?
A. He must get his hair cut by B, so B is clearly terrible!
100
A salesman is selling a camera and case together for $310. He says the camera costs 300 dollars more than the case. You already have a camera, so you decide to buy the case by itself, and hand him a $100 bill.
How much change should you receive?
$95. If the camera costs $300 more, the camera costs $305 and the case costs $5.
100
Which of these arrows is sticking out from behind the banner? (All of the arrows are straight.)
It's Arrow B! This is a famous optical illusion -- people are bad at seeing how diagonal lines connect.
100
You bought a baby mouse from the pet store. "Be careful," the shop owner warns you, "those mice breed like crazy! They're ready to give birth after two months, and they have 12 babies every year from then on."
How many mice will you have in three years?
Still just one -- it takes two mice to breed! Poor, lonely mouse...
100
A special meeting is held between the town's tailors, winemakers, and furniture makers to plan for an upcoming party. Each group sits in a color-coded area of the room.
Where should each group sit?
Yellow: tailors, red: furniture makers, blue: winemakers. Look at the shapes the chairs are arranged in!
200
An old man lit 10 candles one night. However, his window was open, and it blew three of them out. Frustrated, he shut the window.
In the end, how many candles were left?
Three -- just the ones that blew out. The others melted.
200
Your mother's birthday is coming up, so you ask your father how old she is, but he won't give you a straight answer. He says "I used to be twice her age!", but your mother adds "but the next year, you were only 1.5 times older."
Your father is 44, so how old is your mother?
43.
When Dad was 2, Mom was 1. Then the next year, Dad was 3 and Mom was 2.
200
You're a wheat farmer looking to store some flour over the winter. You have three boxes to choose between buying.
To hold the most flour, which box should you choose?
Flip it upside down, and Box A clearly holds the most flour!
200
Detective Inspector Jenks mysteriously disappeared while trying to arrest the leader of an oil smuggling ring. He left behind this secret code that just might crack the case wide open.
There are three suspects; who should you arrest?
Bill. Flip the code upside down!
200
Suzy's best friend is in one of the pictures below. We're told she has blonde hair, no glasses, and a mole under her right eye.
Which of the people is Suzy's best friend?
E. You can't see her right eye, but you can rule everyone else out!
300
The town has just built a new rec center, and they will be putting on a play soon in the gymnasium. You are tasked with buying chairs that the rec center can use for such occasions.
Which style of chair should you buy?
Type E. Since you have to put the chairs away after the event, you should choose a type of chair that stacks.
300
You add a mystery two-digit number to the same number, except backwards.
Which of the options could be the answer?
44 is the only one that works! A number plus itself backwards adds up to a multiple of 11.
300
You're making jellies using the mold shown on the left.
Which of the options will your jelly look like?
Jelly D! The mold flips the eyes and smile.
300
Stacy, Maggie, and Gwen all put their umbrellas into a holding stand at the entrance of an ice cream place. When they leave, they each grab an umbrella at random.
What is the probability that exactly two people end up with the correct umbrella?
0% -- if two get the correct umbrella, the third one can't possibly mess it up!
300
Between these three fishermen, one caught a boot, one caught a tin can, and one landed a big catch. Here's what we know: the one who caught the boot is next to the one who made the big catch, but it wasn't B who caught the boot.
Who landed the big catch?
It was B! Turns out his "big catch" was an old car tire...
400
You're working at a high-class restaurant, and your boss asks you to design a display using fancy glasses. You submit multiple designs, but one in particular makes your boss furious -- "There's no way that would work!!"
Which arrangement is your boss mad about?
D. Cups don't work that way in 3D!
400
Two siblings are discussing their ages.
The boy says "If you gave me two of your years, I'd be twice your age!"
The girl says "But if you gave me three of your years, I'd be three times your age!"
How old are the siblings?
Both siblings are 6. They're twins!
400
You're looking for a hotel. You were told that it's on this street and that it should be easy to spot, but you can't see a sign on the buildings.
Which building should you try?
Building C. Look at the windows and door!
400
Bimmy and Jimmy are working on a farm. They split the field in half, so each will work separately. Bimmy tills twice as fast as Jimmy, but Jimmy sows seeds three times faster than Bimmy. Their boss splits their pay based on the area they work.
If the pay is $100 in total, how much will each worker get?
$50. They split the area in half, and they're paid by area, so no matter how long it takes, they each get half the pay.
400
Some kids were playing baseball in your yard, and your window got broken by a stray ball. You ask them one at a time to confess, and this is what they tell you:
A: "I didn't do it."
B: "A is telling the truth."
C: "D is lying."
D: "I swear it wasn't me."
Who is obviously lying?
C. You asked them one at a time, so C didn't even have a chance to hear what D said, but he claimed D was lying!
500
You're visiting Paris when your tour guide tells you a tall tale. "The Eiffel Tower is 324m tall, but you can fit it behind just two coins."
How is that possible?
Put the coins on your eyes!
500
You're deciding between two jobs. Job A pays you $100 000 a year, and gives you a $20 000 raise each year. Job B pays you $50 000 every six months, and gives you a raise of $5000 every six months.
Which job makes you the most money?
Job B. Every year, it stays slightly ahead of Job A.
500
These cube-shapes follow a visual pattern.
Which option goes in the fourth spot?
Option B. When you rotate the cubes 90 degrees, they form numbers!
500
A standard digital clock displays only 4 numbers for the minutes and hour. It's running normal 12-hour time, AM and PM.
How many times will the clock display three or more of the same number in a row over the course of one day?
34 times. It's easy to think of 3:33 and such, but don't forget 11:12 and others!
500
Mrs. Marple is reminiscing about her youth. Once upon a time, these three suitors are trying to show this woman their affection. Using what they have, only one of them was able to show her his heart.
Which suitor managed, and how?
Suitor A! He bent his book open to form a heart.
