Pete is a worker on a large ship with hundreds of other men. He is constantly making mistakes, tying ropes the wrong way, steering the ship the wrong way, and making other blunders. One time he accidentally caused the ship to get stuck in a shallow shore, causing thousands of dollars in damage.
However, when Steve, the captain of the ship, is asked about Pete, Steve says "I wish we had five men like Pete on this ship."
Why would he say this?
Unfortunately for the ship, there are dozens of men who are as inept as Pete is.
Captain Steve wishes there were FEWER men like Pete on the ship, since there are currently far more than five.
The Smith family is a very wealthy family that lives in a big, circular home. One morning, Mr. Smith woke up and found his gardener's body. He knew it was one of his employees who had killed him. So he asked them what they were doing in the morning and he got these replies.
Driver: "I was outside washing the car."
Maid: "I was dusting the corners of the house."
Cook: "I was starting to make lunch for later."
From the replies he knew who the killer was. Can you guess who it was?
The maid, because they lived in a circular house and she was apparently "dusting the corners" of the house at the time of the murder - the house is round, therefore it has no corners.
A man while looking at a photograph said, "Brothers and sisters have I none. That man's father is my father's son."
Who was the person in the photograph?
A woman shoots her husband, then holds him under water for five minutes. A little while later, they both go out and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. How can this be?
She shot her husband with a camera and then developed the photo.
A man entered his house and was about to hang up his coat when he heard his wife shout;
"No John! Don’t do it!"
There was a shot and he could hear his wife fall down. When he entered the kitchen he saw his wife and the gun lying on the floor. There was a police officer, a doctor, and a lawyer standing next to her. Peter immediately knew that the police officer had shot her.
But how did he come to know?
You are walking down a path when you come to two doors. Opening one of the doors will lead you to a life of prosperity and happiness, while opening the other door will lead to a life of misery and sorrow. You don't know which door leads to which life.
In front of the doors are two twin brothers who know which door leads where. One of the brothers always lies, and the other always tells the truth. You don't know which brother is the liar and which is the truth-teller.
You are allowed to ask one single question to one of the brothers (not both) to figure out which door to open.
What question should you ask?
Ask "If I asked your brother what the good door is, what would he say?"
If you ask the truth-telling brother, he will point to the bad door, because this is what the lying brother would point to.
Alternatively, if you ask the lying brother, he will also point to the bad door, because this is NOT what the truth-telling brother would point to.
So whichever door is pointed to, you should go through the other one.
The Wilson family is a very wealthy family that lives in a big, circular home. One morning, Mr. Wilson woke up and saw a strawberry jam stain on his new carpet. He figured out that everyone who was there that morning had a jam sandwich. By reading the following excuses, figure out who spilled the jam.
Son: "I was outside playing basketball."
The Maid: "I was dusting the corners of the house."
Chef: "I was starting to make lunch for later."
Who is lying?
It was the maid. The house is circular, it has no corners.
