“Fight Against Stupidity And
Bureaucracy”
Okay, so
you called in anyhow, despite yesterdays warning that a test was imminent. Well
done. I applaud your courage. If you haven’t read yesterday’s post, then you
now know how I used to feel in school when then had surprise tests.
But don’t
worry, most of the questions aren’t difficult, maybe a little tricky here and
there. There’s no pressure, no pass rate, no minimum score you have to get, or
any of that sort of stuff. And you may have seen some of them before. It’s just
a bit of what I hope will be entertainment. (If you can answer them all
correctly I might issue a certificate – because although they aren’t difficult
questions, they aren’t easy either.)
Keep your
thinking time to a minimum, the funniest results happen when you answer as
quickly as possible.
For best
results write your answers down on a piece of paper and then look at the
answers (shown below) when you’ve finished.
Okay, here
we go:
Q1. Johnny’s mother had three children.
The first child was named April. The second child was named May. What was the
third child’s name?
Q2. Before Mt. Everest was discovered,
what was the highest mountain in the world?
Q3. How much dirt is there in a hole
that measures two feet by three feet by four feet?
Q4. Some months have 30 days, some have
31; how many months have 28 days?
Q5. Do they have a 4th of July in
England?
Q6. Is half of two plus two equal to
two or three?
Q7. A farmer has 17 sheep. All but 9
died. How many did he have left?
Q8. Three travelers register at a hotel
and are told that their rooms will cost $10 each so they pay $30. Later the
clerk realizes that he made a mistake and should have only charged them $25. He
gives a bellboy $5 to return to them but the bellboy is dishonest and gives
them each only $1, keeping $2 for himself. So the men actually spent $27 and
the bellboy kept $2. What happened to the other dollar of the original $30?
Q9. If you had a ton of feathers and a
ton of stones which would be heavier?
Q10. Take two apples from three apples
and what do you have?
Q11. Imagine you're alone in a boat with
a large hole in the bottom. Sharks are swimming around you on all sides and the
boat is sinking fast. How do you survive?
Q12.
Read this sentence.
Finished files are the re-
sult of years of scientif-
ic study combined with
the experience of years.
How many
times does the letter F appear?
Q13.
Two boys weighing 50 pounds each and their older brother weighing 100
pounds wish to cross a river. Their boat will only hold 100 pounds. How can
they all cross the river in the boat?
Q14.
What is the only anagram of Springiest? (as far as I know)
Q15.
A plane crashed on the border or US and Canada. Where do they bury the
survivors?
Q16.
A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms.
The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded
guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room
is safest for him?
Q17.
You are the bus driver.
At your
first stop, you pick up 29 people.
On your
second stop, 18 of those 29 people get off, and at the same time 10 new
passengers arrive.
At your
next stop, 3 of those 10 passengers get off, and 13 new passengers come on.
On your
fourth stop 4 of the remaining 10 passengers get off, 6 of those new 13
passengers get off as well, then 17 new passengers get on.
What is the
color of the bus driver's eyes?
Q18.
Divide 30 by 1/2 and add ten. What is the answer?
Q19.
What is the significance of the following: The year is 1978, thirty-four
minutes past noon on May 6th.
Q20.
Is it legal in the State of California for a man to marry his widow's
sister?
Q21.
If you were running a race and you passed the person in 2nd place, what
place would you be in now?
Q22.
What do you put in a toaster?
Q23.
What word in the English language is always spelled incorrectly?
Q24.
Say "silk" five times. Now spell "silk". What do
cows drink?
Q25.
How many animals of each species did Moses take aboard the Ark with him?
Q26.
A boat has a ladder that has six rungs. Each rung is one foot apart. The
bottom rung is one foot from the water. The tide rises at 12 inches every 15
minutes. High tide peaks in one hour.
When the
tide is at its highest, how many rungs are under water?
Q27.
You're riding a horse. To the right of you is a cliff and in front of
you is an elephant moving at the same pace and you can't overtake it. To the
left of you is a hippo running at the same speed and a lion is chasing you. How
do you get to safety?
Q28.
Perform this calculation in your head, mentally adding the numbers as
quickly as you can. Start with 1000 and add 40.
Now add
1000.
Add 30 to
that, then add another 1000.
Now add 20
to that result.
Add another
1000 and finally, add 10 to that.
What is the
total?
Q29.
Two fathers and two sons go fishing together in the same boat. They all
catch a fish but the total catch for the day is 3 fish. How is this possible?
Q30.
In British Columbia you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden
leg. Why not?
And
finally,
Look at the
picture below and say aloud what color the word is written in, not what the
word says, but the color it is written in. There is not a right or wrong answer
to this, but try it anyway. Personally I find this one very difficult.
Why is this
so difficult? Apparently it’s because the right half of your brain is trying to
say the color, while the left side of your brain is trying to say the word. I
suppose how well you get on will depend on which side is dominant.
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THE ANSWERS:
Q1. Johnny’s mother had three children.
The first child was named April. The second child was named May. What was the
third child’s name?
A1. Johnny, of course. The brain tends to focus on
the sequence and a lot of people answer “June” so if you did you are not alone.
Q2. Before Mt. Everest was discovered,
what was the highest mountain in the world?
A2. Mt
Everest. Just because it wasn’t discovered, it was still there and still the
biggest.
Q3. How much dirt is there in a hole
that measures two feet by three feet by four feet?
A3. None!
There ain’t no dirt in the hole. That’s why they call it a hole.
Q4. Some months have 30 days, some have
31; how many months have 28 days?
A4. If
you answered “1” then you were wrong by “11”. All the months of the year have
28 days, at least.
Q5. Do they have a 4th of July in
England?
A5.
Yes indeed they do. And a 1st,
2nd, 3rd and 5th as well.
Q6. Is half of two plus two equal to two or three?
A6.
Three. (2 x 0.5) = 1 +2 = 3
Q7. A farmer has 17 sheep. All but 9 died. How
many did he have left?
A7.
Nine. All but nine died, so nine
were still alive.
Q8. Three travelers register at a hotel
and are told that their rooms will cost $10 each so they pay $30. Later the
clerk realizes that he made a mistake and should have only charged them $25. He
gives a bellboy $5 to return to them but the bellboy is dishonest and gives
them each only $1, keeping $2 for himself. So the men actually spent $27 and
the bellboy kept $2. What happened to the other dollar of the original $30?
A8.
Nothing. There is no missing
dollar from the original $30 it can just seem that way. When they got $1 back,
the three travelers had paid a total of $27 for their room ($9 each), not $30.
Out of that $27, the hotel has $25 and the clerk kept the remaining $2. If you
still want to work from the original $30, the travelers have $3, the hotel has
$25 and the bellboy has $2. The misleading part is adding the bellboy's $2 to
the $27, when in fact it should be subtracted.
Q9. If you had a ton of feathers and a ton of
stones which would be heavier?
A9.
A ton ,is a ton, is a ton. They’d
both weigh the same.
Q10. Take two apples from three apples
and what do you have?
A10. Well,
you took two, so you have two. A lot of people say one, were you one?
Q11. Imagine you're alone in a boat with a large
hole in the bottom. Sharks are swimming around you on all sides and the boat is
sinking fast. How do you survive?
A11.
Don’t worry. You’re in no real
danger. Just stop imagining!
Q12.
Read this sentence.
Finished files are the re-
sult of years of scientif-
ic study combined with
the experience of years.
How many
times does the letter F appear?
A12.
There are six. But most people
skip the word 'of' and only count three, especially when reading quickly.
Q13.
Two boys weighing 50 pounds each and their older brother weighing 100
pounds wish to cross a river. Their boat will only hold 100 pounds. How can
they all cross the river in the boat?
A13.
Two 50lb boys cross, one comes
back.
100lb boy crosses, other 50lb boy
returns
Both 50lb boys cross again.
Q14.
What is the only anagram of Springiest? (as far as I know)
A14. Persisting -
unless of course you know different???
Q15.
A plane crashed on the border or US and Canada. Where do they bury the
survivors?
A15.
Well, unless you are complete
psycho and like to bury people alive then you wouldn’t bury the survivors at
all!
Q16.
A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms.
The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded
guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room
is safest for him?
A16.
He should choose the third room.
If the lions haven’t eaten for 3 years I’d say they probably be dead and
couldn’t do him any harm.
Q17.
You are the bus driver.
At your
first stop, you pick up 29 people.
On your
second stop, 18 of those 29 people get off, and at the same time 10 new
passengers arrive.
At your
next stop, 3 of those 10 passengers get off, and 13 new passengers come on.
On your
fourth stop 4 of the remaining 10 passengers get off, 6 of those new 13
passengers get off as well, then 17 new passengers get on.
What is the
color of the bus driver's eyes?
A17.
I don’t know the answer. But you
do, since you are the bus driver!
Q18.
Divide 30 by 1/2 and add ten. What is the answer?
A18.
The answer is 70. It’s the
dividing bit at the beginning that gets most people on the wrong track.
Q19.
What is the significance of the following: The year is 1978, thirty-four
minutes past noon on May 6th.
A19.
The time/month/date/year of an
American style calendar are 12:34, 5/6/78.
Q20.
Is it legal in the State of California for a man to marry his widow's
sister?
A20.
The answer is probably “Yes”, it
is legal. But it is also impossible since the man would be dead!
Q21.
If you were running a race and you passed the person in 2nd place, what
place would you be in now?
A21.
Well, since you just passed the
person in 2nd place that would put them in 3rd place and
you in 2nd place. So “2nd” is the right answer.
Q22.
What do you put in a toaster?
A22.
You didn’t say “toast” did you?
That’s what comes out of the toaster, the right answer Is “bread”.
Q23.
What word in the English language is always spelled incorrectly?
A23. The
clue is in the question here. The answer is ‘incorrectly”, except of course
where it is mishspeeled.
Q24.
Say "silk" five times. Now spell "silk". What do
cows drink?
A24.
Did you say “milk”? Most people
do. But think about it, a cow drinks “water”.
Q25.
How many animals of each species did Moses take aboard the Ark with him?
A25.
None. Maybe you were thinking
about Noah???
Q26.
A boat has a ladder that has six rungs. Each rung is one foot apart. The
bottom rung is one foot from the water. The tide rises at 12 inches every 15
minutes. High tide peaks in one hour.
When the
tide is at its highest, how many rungs are under water?
A26.
None. It’s a boat. It floats.
Q27.
You're riding a horse. To the right of you is a cliff and in front of
you is an elephant moving at the same pace and you can't overtake it. To the
left of you is a hippo running at the same speed and a lion is chasing you. How
do you get to safety?
A27.
Just get off the merry-go-round,
you’re too old for that sort of thing anyway.
Q28.
Perform this calculation in your head, mentally adding the numbers as
quickly as you can. Start with 1000 and add 40.
Now add
1000.
Add 30 to
that, then add another 1000.
Now add 20
to that result.
Add another
1000 and finally, add 10 to that.
What is the
total?
A28. If you
said 5000 you be along with 96% of people who try this, but you’d also be
wrong. The correct answer is 4100.
Q29.
Two fathers and two sons go fishing together in the same boat. They all
catch a fish but the total catch for the day is 3 fish. How is this possible?
A29.
They are Grandfather, Father and
Son.
Q30.
In British Columbia you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden
leg. Why not?
A30.
Because there ain’t a camera in a
wooden leg (not a normal one anyhow).
