“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 result of years of scientific 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).
fasab 
These are always fun and a good reminder.
epic!
Fun challenge!
Glad you enjoyed it. I still can’t do the colored words one 😦