this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2023
80 points (96.5% liked)

Asklemmy

43810 readers
1 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy πŸ”

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Tomorrow is a big event at my university. I'd like to make a fun thing where the people of the Board Game society I am in can try to find me for a riddle, kind of a Where is Waldo in a place where there is a crap tone of people to find the NPC that'll give them a Riddle (Maybe something to win? No idea how I could do that detail)

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Sunstream@lemmy.world 30 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (3 children)

'Tis a silly one, but it's hilarious when it stumps people. Best used verbally:

There are thirty cows in a field, and twenty-eight chickens. How many didn't?

AnswerTen. Ten didn't eat chickens!

[–] Kyoyeou@slrpnk.net 13 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Read it 5 times not understanding. Said it out loud, and instantly it came to my mind!

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] jayknight@lemmy.ml 8 points 2 years ago

My 8 year old daughter got me with this one just yesterday. She was so proud of herself.

[–] stepanzak@iusearchlinux.fyi 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

We have similar one in Czechia. John Doe bought twenty mice. The next day, he bought twenty-one mice. How many mice does he have? The solution is zero, because in czech, you can say twenty-one mice the same way as poison for twenty mice (jednadvacet myΕ‘Γ­ - jed na dvacet myΕ‘Γ­). Just thought it's interesting that this works in other languages too.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] not_woody_shaw@lemmy.world 25 points 2 years ago (3 children)

You're in a square room with a window in each wall. All the windows face south. Thru one of the windows you can see a bear. What colour is the bear?

[–] EvilBlackCat@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago (2 children)

How tf all windows face south if it's a square room ?

[–] ch00f@lemmy.world 21 points 2 years ago

TF North Pole bro

[–] stepanzak@iusearchlinux.fyi 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

North pole is in the middle of the room. That also indicates the color of the the bear, because polar bears actually live only on north pole if I'm not mistaken.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] Dukeofdummies@kbin.social 21 points 2 years ago (2 children)

What is the beginning of eternity, the end of time, the beginning of every end, and the end of every place?

E, it's a really mean one when delivered verbally

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] Kyoyeou@slrpnk.net 17 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Time Flies like an Arrow

Fruit Flies like Banana

But there is not like an Answer to find in that

[–] hansl@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

That’s called a β€œgarden path sentence”. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden-path_sentence Has more examples.

[–] CaptainBlagbird@lemmy.world 13 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

What usually has 4 letters, sometimes 9 letters, but never 5 letters.

!It's not a question, it's a statement: "what"=4, "sometimes"=9, "never"=5!<

[–] OurTragicUniverse@kbin.social 11 points 2 years ago

An ancient device for looking through walls?

Window.

[–] tfw_no_toiletpaper@feddit.de 11 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

What can run but never walks,

Has a mouth but never talks,

Has a bed but never sleeps,

Has a head but never weeps?

spoilerA river

[–] gezepi@lemmyunchained.net 10 points 2 years ago (5 children)

It doesn't lead to a destination, and maybe isn't even a riddle, but a sentence I like is:

Is your answer to this question the same as if I had asked you to give me a dollar?

[–] CeruleanRuin@lemmings.world 4 points 2 years ago

This is a fun one that can be adapted to all sorts of questions where you want a yes answer.

[–] Jordan_U@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 years ago (2 children)

For me, unless I'm missing something, that's an easy "Yes".

If someone randomly asks me for a single dollar they probably need it more urgently than I do. And if it's some kind of weird scam? I'm still only out $1.

(No, I will not be sending $1 to people that reply to this, but I pre-acknowlege that you're very clever for thinking of that)

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] Valkeerie@lemmy.nz 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)

When is a door not a door?

!when it's ajar!<

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] xilliah@beehaw.org 9 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (10 children)

I fly without wings, I cry without eyes, whenever I go, darkness flies.

Edit: Another one: The more you take the more you leave behind.

[–] BaumGeist@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 years ago (2 children)
[–] xilliah@beehaw.org 6 points 2 years ago

Right! Here's your banana

🍌

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (9 replies)
[–] stepanzak@iusearchlinux.fyi 8 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (4 children)

You are in a room with two doors. Each door has one guard. One door leads to heaven and the other leads to hell. You have to choose one door and once you choose it, you have to go there. Before you choose, you can ask one of the guards one question. One of them always lie and the other always tell the truth. You don't know which guard is the liar/truth teller and you don't know which door leads to hell/heaven. What's the question you ask the guard?

[–] Kyoyeou@slrpnk.net 6 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Dammit, I was actually rethinking about this one a few days ago. The Video that made me rethink about it

If I'm not wrong the answer is something a bit twisted lie "If I where to ask you if you are guarding the right door, would you say you are?" Which because it's a double lie, there is a way where they cross each other

Also xkcd post about this riddle

[–] stepanzak@iusearchlinux.fyi 6 points 2 years ago

You answer is right. I heard the solution as follows: Would the other guard say that you are guarding the right door? And then you revert it. Yours solution is better. The XKCD and the video made me laugh, thanks.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] TheButtonJustSpins 8 points 2 years ago

What runs faster uphill than down?

(Fire)

[–] stepanzak@iusearchlinux.fyi 7 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

This one is kinda hard to describe, so I'm including an image. Four people are standing in a row and all are looking to the right (EDIT: On the image, the fourthperson is looking left. That doesn't matter, because nobody can see through the wall). First and third person have blue hat, second and fourth have red hat. There's a wall between third and fourth person. Nobody knows what color is their hat. Everybody can only see hats of people on their right side (left/right sides are from the perspective of us, seeing them from the side). Nobody can see through the wall. For example first person can see the second and the third person. The second can only see the third person. They know that two of them have red hat and two of them have blue hat. They are told that if anybody says aloud the color of their hat, they are free to go. (They are captives or something). If anybody says the wrong color, they are all gonna be killed. They can't obviously turn around, talk to each other or something like that. They can't guess. Are any of them going to tell his hat's color? Image of four people standing as described.

[–] bugsmith@programming.dev 11 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Let's number the dudes in your image form left to right: 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Dudes 3 and 4 have no useful information. They stay silent.

Dude 1 can see one of each hat colour on the dudes in front, but cannot determine their own colour without knowing the hat colour of dude 4. They stay silent.

Dude 2 can see the hat colour of dude 3. They can determine that either they themself or the dude behind must have a different hat colour. The dude behind - dude 1 - can see both of the hat colours in front, but stays silent. This lets dude 2 know that they and dude 3 must be different colours (otherwise dude 1 would have known their own hat colour).

Therefore, dude 2 knows their own hat colour must be different to the dude in front and announces the colour of their own hat.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Kyoyeou@slrpnk.net 7 points 2 years ago (23 children)

Seeing the Proposition from RagnarokOnline@reddthat.com I've got a similar one I know in French that can be translated:

I am a king, taking presents from strangers to get into my kingdom. Propose me Gifts and I will tell you if you can enter my Kingdom

load more comments (23 replies)
[–] RagnarokOnline@reddthat.com 6 points 2 years ago (18 children)

How easy should it be to solve?

My favorite longer puzzle is β€œthere’s a naked man lying dead in a field with a stick in his hand. Asking me only yes/no questions, tell me why he is in the field and how did he die?”

[–] Kyoyeou@slrpnk.net 5 points 2 years ago (14 children)

I'm ok with having some hards! It's a Board Game Society some of them can like a bit of challenge!

Hmmmm Did you have to fight sir?

load more comments (14 replies)
[–] CaptainBlagbird@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I love Black Stories, this was the first one I have solved/played years ago.

I won't give away the answer, that would not be f air

[–] RagnarokOnline@reddthat.com 4 points 2 years ago

I love them as well! I only know a couple, but I first heard them at a summer camp and they’re a great way to pass time with new friends while traveling.

[–] angrystego@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Did he die right where he's lying now0?

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago (30 children)

Was his death from natural causes?

load more comments (30 replies)
load more comments (14 replies)
[–] _TK@lemmy.antemeridiem.xyz 6 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Okay, so if I build a bridge from X to Y, it's a great bridge.

If I build a bridge from A to B it's a terrible bridge.

Do you want to build a bridge?

(If the person says Okay as a part of their bridge proposal, it is good. If not, then the bridge is bad)

This is a great way to make everyone at a gathering hate you.

[–] ediculous@feddit.nl 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I don't get it. What's happening here?

[–] _TK@lemmy.antemeridiem.xyz 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It's a prank riddle. Basically you make two statements about building bridges. They can be from anywhere and to anywhere else. My nose to your forehead, Baltimore to Seattle, it makes no difference. In one sentence, you use the word "okay" and in the other you don't. The sentence with "okay" in it produces a good bridge. The sentence that doesn't, doesn't.

When you ask a person to build their own bridge, if they say "okay" in the sentence, it's a good bridge. If they don't, it's a bad bridge and it falls down. This setup is built to make people frustrated because "okay" is one of those filler words that people don't really pay attention to in sentences.

I've also heard of a similar setup where a person hands an object to another person (again, the object doesn't matter) and says "This is a bean, okay?" And if the recipient says "okay" then they have done the task correctly and can pass it along to another person, declaring the object is something else. If the receiver doesn't say "okay," then something went wrong and one of the people who is in on the joke interrupts and starts the process again. with a new object.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Kyoyeou@slrpnk.net 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Okay, so the correctness of the bridge is there because there is okay at the beginning of the sentence am I right?

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments
view more: next β€Ί