Sequence 4, 2, 3, 4
What is the next number in this sequence:
4, 2, 3, 4, 6, 2, 4, ?
SOLUTION
The answer is 8. The numbers represent the lengths of the words in the question:
what → 4
is → 2
the → 3
next → 4
number → 6
in → 2
this → 4
sequence → 8
Category: Brain Teasers
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Canals on Mars Maze
Starting with the letter “T” at the bottom, visit all spots exactly once before returning to the beginning, so that the letters you pass through spell a complete sentence.
SOLUTION
The path goes through the letters “T”, “H”, “E”, “R”, “E”, “I”, “S”, “N”, “O”, “P”, “O”, “S”, “S”, “I”, “B”, “L”, “E”, “W”, “A”, “Y”, to spell the sentence “There is no possible way”.
The Next Letter
Which is the next letter in the following sequence:
S S E N T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T ?
SOLUTION
The answer is F. These are the first letters of the numbers Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-one, and so on.
Eight Sticks
You have 8 thin sticks; 4 of them have length 1 and the other 4 have length 2. Arrange the sticks so that they form exactly 3 identical squares, without any leftovers.
SOLUTION
The solution is shown below.
Find the Mistake
CAN YOU FIND THE
THE MISTAKE?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
SOLUTION
The word “THE” appears twice in the question. Read carefully!
Trotsky’s Killer
August 20, 1940
Leon Trotsky, an enemy of Josef Stalin, had been in exile for 11 years. On this day, a Soviet assassin entered Trotsky’s house in Mexico City and hit him in the head with an ice axe. He died the next day.
Here is a group of suspects who were rounded up. Each wrong suspect has one different feature from the correct suspect. Who killed Trotsky?
SOLUTION
The killer of Leon Trotsky was Ramón Mercader.
Canaries in Space
NASA was considering sending canaries into space to study them under zero gravity. The project was scrapped when someone realized that in spite of having sufficient water supplies, they could die of dehydration within a few hours. Why?
SOLUTION
Unlike humans, birds need gravity in order to swallow. Thus, in space they wouldn’t be able to drink and will die of dehydration.
53 Bicycles and a Dead Man
There is a room with a table, 53 bicycles, and four men. One of the four men is dead. How did he die?
SOLUTION
The “bicycles” are the (famous) Bicycle playing cards. The four men were playing poker, but one of them was cheating with an extra card, so he got killed.
The Ark
How many species of animals did Moses take on the Ark with him?
SOLUTION
None. It was Noah’s ark, not Moses’.
Plinks, Plonks, and Plunks
If all plinks are plonks and some plunks are plinks, which of these statements must be true?
- All plinks are plunks.
- Some plonks are plunks.
- Some plinks are not plunks.
Remark: “Some” means more than 0.
SOLUTION
The first statement says that the set of plonks contains the set of plinks, and the second statement says that there is at least one plunk-plink. Therefore, that plunk-plink must also be a plonk, and the second statement is true.
The first and the third statements, however, do not need to be true. Indeed, it is possible that there is a plink that is not a plunk, or that all plinks are plunks.