Good Riddles for Ages >15: Brain Teasers & Puzzles

[georgeio]

Hi,
I need some good riddles which need a lot(not too much ) of thinking, some writing on paper stuff like that. Something in the lines of Einsteins riddle about who has the fish for the pet. It also needs to be able to be solved by people in the ages of >15yrs old.

any help appreciated, thanks

 

[AntonVrba]

The Bus Conductor

Here's one:

Once there was a bus conductor, who was very rude to his passengers.

One day a beautiful young girl, of around 18 years,tried to board the bus, but he didn't stop the bus. Unfortunately the beautiful young girl came under the bus and died on the spot.

Angry passengers took the conductor to the police station, who in turn took him to the court.

The judge was not at all impressed with him and gave him capital punishment.

He was taken to the electrocution chamber. There was a single chair in the center of the room and a single banana peel at one corner of the room. The conductor was strapped to the chair and high voltage current
was given to him. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

But to everyone's amazement, he survived. The judge decided to set him free, and he returned to his profession.

After a few months, this time, a good looking middle aged woman tried to board the bus but the conductor didn't stop the bus. Unfortunately, this time also,the good looking middle aged woman came under the bus
and died on the spot.

Again angry passengers took him to the police station, who in turn took him to the court. The judge took one look at the conductor and gave him capital punishment.

The conductor was taken to the same electrocution chamber where there was single chair in the center of the room and a single banana peel at one corner of the room. He was strapped to the chair and high voltage current was given to him. This time also to everyone's amazement, he
survived. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The judge decided to set him free, and he returned to his profession.

A couple of months later, an elderly gentleman tried to board the bus. This time the conductor, remembering his earlier experiences, stopped the bus.

Unfortunately the elderly gentleman slipped and died due to his injuries.

The conductor was taken to the police station and then to the court, to the same judge. Though he hadn't done anything wrong, but considering his past record the judge decided to set an example and gave him capital punishment.

The conductor was again taken to the same electrocution chamber where there was a single chair in the center of the room and a single banana peel at one corner of the room. He was strapped to the chair and high voltage current was given to him. Bzz

This time he died instantly !

The question is why didn't he die on the first two occasions ,but died instantly the third time??

 

[georgeio]

thanks, can I please get the answers to the riddles as well.

 

[El Hombre Invisible]

Is it something to do with being a good conductor or a bad conductor?

 

[ArielGenesis]

[white]because he was so frightened at the first two punishment that he sweat a lot. and the electricity passes trough his sweat instead of his body, and he survive. the third one, he know he is right and so not scared. and the electricity passed willingly trough his body.[white]

 

[Rahmuss]

Is this some big setup? Because I sense a joke coming on...

 

[Rahmuss]

I don't see that anyone has posted Einstein's Riddle about the fish here, so I'll post it for those of you who want to have some fun.
==============================================


Einstein's Riddle!

There are 5 houses in 5 different colors. In each house lives a person with a different nationality. The 5 owners drink a certain type of beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigar, and keep a certain pet. No owners have the same pet, smoke the same brand of cigar, or drink the same beverage.
The question is: Who owns the fish?

Hints:

The Brit lives in the red house.
The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
The Dane drinks tea.
The green house is on the left of the white house.
The green homeowner drinks coffee.
The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.
The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill.
The man living in the center house drinks milk.
The Norwegian lives in the first house.
The man who smokes Blend lives next to the one who keeps cats.
The man who keeps the horse lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.
The owner who smokes Bluemaster drinks beer.
The German smokes prince.
The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
The man who smokes Blend has a neighbor who drinks water.

Einstein wrote this riddle early during the 19th century. He said 98% of the world could not solve it.

 

[El Hombre Invisible]

"The green house is on the left of the white house."

Does this mean right nextdoor to, or there could be another house in between?

 

[El Hombre Invisible]

Got it: the Norwegian who lives in the first house which is yellow smokes Dunhills, and keeps fish.

 

[georgeio]

the Norwegian guy has the cat for a pet...

 

[El Hombre Invisible]

Oh bloody hell! I'll be back in a minute.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I know the answer because I was told. I will provide a clue by repeating below one part of the puzzle:
98% of the world can't solve it. 98% percent is a lot. If this puzzle is nothing more than a simple constraint problem, then why is that figure so high?

 

[El Hombre Invisible]

As you know the answer, can you clarify that in "The Norwegian lives in the first house", the first house could be on the right or left side (I was assuming it was the left-most house, but it could be the right)?

Even more terrifying, might these houses not be in a line? Is it something harder like a circle or a plus sign? Can't figure out what "first house" means then...

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I don't like constraint puzzles. They are mechanical and can be solved with a simple computer program. So after doing the first couple I encountered, I never did one again. I learned of the answer to this one without ever having tried it. That being the case, I can't say if the constraints are well posed or not.

 

[Rahmuss]

As you know the answer, can you clarify that in "The Norwegian lives in the first house", the first house could be on the right or left side (I was assuming it was the left-most house, but it could be the right)?

Even more terrifying, might these houses not be in a line? Is it something harder like a circle or a plus sign? Can't figure out what "first house" means then...

Circular would make no difference ultimately; but it's not a plus sign or anything strange, it really is just a line of houses on a street, and house #1 is the one on the far left.

 

[El Hombre Invisible]

Circular might make a difference... for instance, if green is to the left of white, then in a line, #1 can't be white and #5 can't be green, but they can in a circle. But thanks for clarification. I will ponder some more and then give up and feel depressed. Cheers!

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

In view of the question of whether the constraints were well posed, I broke down and solved the constraint problem. I was able to come up with a solution under the following interpretation:

1. As Rahmuss says, assume that the houses are arranged in a line.
2. As Rahmuss says, assume that 'first house' means 'first house on the left'.
3. Assume that 'neighbor' means 'next door neighbor'
4. Assume that 'to the left of' means 'next to, on the left'

It may be that the contraint problem has a different solution under a different set of assumptions. I did not bother to find out. By the way, here is the solution to the constraint problem:

The Brit has the bird, the Norwegian has the cats, the Swede has the dog, the Dane has the horse, and the German has a pet which is neither bird, nor cat, nor dog, nor horse. As to whether the German has a fish, you would need one more constraint for that. 98% of people will not see the need for such a constraint just as 100% of people failed to see the need to question the absolute nature of space and time.

For this reason, it is good to ascribe the puzzle to Einstein. However, in the 19th century, Einstein was not yet 'Einstein', and Pall Mall was just recently marketed in the United States. My guess is that he probably was not the first to pose this puzzle if indeed he ever posed it at all and that it was first posed in the 20th century, not the 19th. But as I said, that's just a guess. Does someone have evidence one way or the other on the true origins of this puzzle?

 

[ArielGenesis]

if it doesn't work with far left, then try it with far right, isn't that obvious ^^ j/k

 

[georgeio]

umm... sorry to break the Einstein discussion but does anyone have good riddles? which are LIKE Einsteins riddle. Riddles which need some working on paper and hard thinking.
thanks.