Brain Teasers 8

A HANDFUL OF DOLLARS

Three cowboys stop at a hotel for the night. There's only one room available, and it costs 30 dollars a night. Each of the cowboys pays 10 dollars, and they proceed to the room. But the manager later decides that under the circumstances 30 dollars is a bit steep, and decides to reduce the price by 5 dollars, and sends the maid with that amount to refund to the cowboys. The maid, who does not enjoy a reputation for honesty, realises that 5 dollars cannot be divided by three, and decides to keep 2 dollars for herself and return only three dollars to the cowboys. The cowboys therefore ended up paying 9 dollars each for the room, or 27 dollars in all. If we add to this sum the two dollars pinched by the maid, we have a total sum of 29 dollars. What became of the missing dollar? Answer: Nothing is missing, of course. The room cost 27 dollars minus 2 dollars, or 25 dollars. The mistake is in adding 2 dollars to 27, instead of subtracting.

THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG?

Farmer Jones has 20 hens, which he keeps in three coops in his chicken house. Over a three-week period, the hens in the three coops hatch a total of 30 eggs. One fine day, Farmer Jones buys a fourth coop, and ten new hens. How long will it take for the forty hens in the four coops to hatch the same number of eggs ?

LIKE LAMS TO THE SLAUGHTER

A flock of one hundred sheep is happily grazing in a field, when suddenly one of them realises that the farmer has forgotten to close the gate. In a bold dash to freedom, he slips through the open gate, but attempting to cross the highway, he is run over by a car and killed. How many sheep are there left in the field ?

POTS N' PANS

You have two saucepans, one holds 4 litres and the other 3. Using only these two receptacles, how can you measure exactly two litres of water ?

FRIENDLY DASH

Seven friends get together and hold a foot race. The course is 1 kilometre long. All seven participate in the race. We know the following 4 things: - Joe came in third. - Andrew passed James just before the finish. - Hugh finished between Joe and Bertie. - Reggie was the third after Andrew to cross the finish line. In what position did Thomas finish ?

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