Fun Riddles I Learned from Shad

1. Snaps: send message in code.

The first letter of each thing said spells out the secret word or phrase. Except for vowels - they are communicated by the sender snapping his fingers. A is one snap, E is two, I is three, O is four, U is five snaps.

For example, if the secret word were "George Washington", the sender may say the following:
"The name of the games is snaps"
"Give me a second" (G)
(snap twice) (E)
(snap four times) (O)
"Ready?" (R)
"Got it yet?" (G)
(snap twice) (E)
"Wait a second" (W)
(snap once) (A)
and so on.

If a spectator gets wise and gives the sender a difficult word, like one starting with an "X", or something that may be difficult to send without giving away the code, the sender can begin by saying, "Snaps is NOT the name of the game", and that tells the receiver that the word that will be spelled is NOT the word he has to guess, but rather a clue to what the word is. For example, to send ZEBRA in this way, the sender might spell out, "black striped horse", and avoid having to send the letter "Z".

source: http://www.partyplan.co.uk/asp/game_299.asp

2.  You are standing at a fork in the road. Next to each of the two forks, there stands a guard. You know the following things: 1) One path leads to Paradise, the other to Death. From where you stand, you cannot distinguish between the two paths. Worse, once you start down a path, you cannot turn back. 2) One of the two guards always tells the truth. The other guard always lies. Unfortunately, it is impossible for you to distinguish between the two guards.

You have permission to ask one guard one question to ascertain which path leads to Paradise. Remember that you do not know which guard you're asking -- the truth-teller or the liar -- and that this single question determines whether you live or die. The question is: What one question asked of one guard guarantees that you are led onto the path to Paradise, regardless of which guard you happen to ask?

Answer here.

3. If one is three, two is three, zero is four, what is ten?

Answer here.

4. A family has newly moved into the area. A neighbor asks the parents how old their three girls are. The father answers that the product of their ages is 36 and, pointing to his car, adds that the sum of their ages equals the first two digits in his license plate number. After a short struggle with pen and paper the neighbor says he needs more information. He is then told that the oldest daughter loves strawberry ice cream. "Oh, now I understand," says the neighbor, who promptly comes up with the right answer. What are the ages of the three children?

Answer here.


(there are more riddles in my shad monthbook)
 
source: http://www.calpoly.edu/~mcarlton/riddles.html