How smart are you?

When our first "How Smart Are You?" article came out last September 10, many of our readers wrote in to say how much they enjoyed it and literally begged for more.

In response to your numerous requests, here is a second serving of tricky and entertaining questions – a challenging compilation of puzzles, riddles, logic teasers, and mathematical problems from the Internet, sent in by readers.

So, have fun and check out just how smart you really are!

* * * 3 Math Questions

Answer these three simple questions. You can’t take your time; you have to answer really quickly. Okay?

1. You are participating in a race. You overtake the second. What position do you arrive in?

2. If you overtake the last, what place do you arrive as?

3. (This riddle must be done in your head only without the use of paper and a pen.) Take 1,000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1,000. Then, add 30. Add another 1,000. Now add 20. Then, add another 1,000. Now add 10. What is the total?

Answers:

1. If you answered that you arrive first, you are absolutely wrong! ’Cause if you overtake the second, you take his place so you arrive second.

2. If you answered that you arrive second to the last then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST? The question is wrong!

3. Did you get 5,000? The correct answer is actually 4,100. You don’t believe it? Check with your calculator! - Senders: Arnold B. Cadag & LNC Guevara

* * * Puzzling Riddles

1. Five hundred begins it, five hundred ends it,
Five in the middle is seen;
First of all figures, the first of all letters,
Take up their stations between.
Join all together, and then you will bring
Before you the name of an eminent king.

2. I build castles.
I tear down mountains.
I make some men blind,
I help others to see.
What am I?

3. What does man love more than life
Fear more than death or mortal strife
What the poor have, the rich require,
and what contented men desire,
What the miser spends and the spendthrift saves
And all men carry to their graves?

4. Whoever makes it, tells it not.
Whoever takes it, knows it not.
And whoever knows it wants it not.

5. Whoever makes it, wants it not.
Whoever buys it, uses it not. And whoever uses it, knows it not.

6. Two words, my answer is only two words.
To keep me, you must give me.

7. When young, I am sweet in the sun.
When middle-aged, I make you gay.
When old, I am valued more than ever.

8. I go around in circles
But always straight ahead,
Never complain
No matter where I am led.

9. Lighter than what
I am made of,
More of me is hidden
Than is seen.

10. At the sound of me, men may dream
Or stomp their feet
At the sound of me, women may laugh
Or sometimes weep.

Answers: 1. DAVID, in Roman numerals; 2. Sand; 3. Nothing; 4. Counterfeit money; 5. Nothing; 6. Your word; 7. Wine; 8. Wagon wheels or tires; 9. Iceberg; 10. Music.

* * * The Wise Man & The Sheik’s Two Sons

An Arab sheik tells his two sons to race their camels to a distant city to see who will inherit his fortune. The one whose camel is slower will win. The brothers, after wandering slowly and aimlessly for days, asked a wise man for advice. After hearing the advice they jumped on the camels and raced as fast as they could to the city. What did the wise man say? (Answer is at the bottom of the article.) - Sender: Jens Gerlhoff, Germany

* * * Tricky Treats

1. A lily doubles in number every day. In one month it would have covered the whole pond. If there were two such lilies, how long would it take to cover the pond?

2. Paul’s mother gave birth to triplets. She named one Tom and the other, Dick. What is the name of the third child?

3. A man dreamt of a secret cave. The woman in his dream told him to go to the place but bring only matches. The very next morning the man went to the place and voila, the cave was there. The cave was very dark. On the entrance the man saw a lamp, a torch, and a candle. What do you think he would light first?

Answers: 1. A month minus a day; 2. Paul. Didn’t I mention that in the beginning? 3. The matches, of course. - Sender: Norman Acibar

* * * The World’s Easiest Quiz (Or Is It?)

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?

2) Which country makes Panama hats?

3) From which animal do we get catgut?

4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?

5) What is a camel’s hairbrush made of?

6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?

7) What was King George VI’s first name?

8) What color is a purple finch?

9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?

10) How long did the Thirty Years War last?

Answers to the quiz:

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last? 116 years

2) Which country makes Panama hats? Ecuador

3) From which animal do we get catgut? Sheep and Horses

4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? November

5) What is a camel’s hairbrush made of? Squirrel fur

6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal? Dogs

7) What was King George VI’s first name? Albert

8) What color is a purple finch? Crimson

9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from? New Zealand

10) How long did the Thirty Years War last? Thirty years - Sender: Jefferson P. Tan

* * * Magic Numbers

Work this out as you read – it only takes 30 seconds. Make sure you don’t read the bottom until you’ve worked it out!

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to have sex. (Try for more than once.)

2. Multiply this number by 2 (Just to be bold)

3. Add 5. (for Sunday)

4. Multiply it by 50. (Okay, you may use a calculator!)

5. If you’ve already had your birthday this year add 1750. If you haven’t, add 1749.

6. Now subtract the four-digit year that you were born. (Hey, stop cheating and put in the correct number!)

Answer: You should now have a three-digit number. (Do you?) The first digit of this was your original number (i.e., how many times you want to have sex each week). The second two digits are your age and it shows. - Sender: Audrey L. Tan

* * * Check Your Logic

Don’t look at the answers! Try first and write down your answers.

1. There is a man who lives on the top floor of a very tall building. Every day, he takes the elevator down to the ground floor to leave the building to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can only travel halfway up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the way unless it’s raining! Why?

2. A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on the scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital, where the surgeon says, "I can’t operate on this boy, he is my son!" How can this be?

3. A man is wearing black. He had black shoes, socks, trousers, jumper, gloves, and Balaclava. He is walking down a black street with all of the street lamps off. A black car is coming towards him with its lights off but somehow manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?

4. One day Kerry celebrated her birthday. Two days later her older twin brother, Terry, celebrated his birthday. How?

5. Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?

6. A man went to a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early. Everyone else at the party who drank the punch died of poisoning. Why did the man not die?

7. A man died and went to Heaven. There were thousands of other people there. They were all naked and all looked as if they died at the age of 21. He looked around to see if there was anyone he recognized. He saw a couple and he knew immediately that they were Adam and Eve. How did he know?

8. A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year. But they were not twins. How could this be so?

9. A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says, "Thank you," and walks out.

Answers:

1. The man is very, very short and can only reach halfway up the elevator buttons. However, if it is raining, then he will have his umbrella with him and can press the higher buttons with it.

2. The surgeon was his mother.

3. It was daytime.

4. At the time she went into labor, the mother of the twins was traveling by boat. The older twin, Terry, was born first early on March 1st. The boat then crossed a time zone and Kerry, the younger twin, was born on February the 28th. Therefore, the younger twin celebrates her birthday two days before her older brother during a leap year.

5. A square manhole cover can be turned and dropped diagonally down the manhole. A round manhole cannot be dropped down the manhole. So, for safety and practicality, all manhole covers should be round.

6. The poison in the punch came from the ice cubes. When the man drank the punch, the ice was fully frozen. Gradually it melted, poisoning the punch.

7. He recognized Adam and Eve as the only people without navels. Because they were not born of women, they had never had umbilical cords, and therefore, they never had navels. This one seems perfectly logical but it can sometimes spark fierce theological arguments.

8. They were two of a set of triplets (or quadruplets, etc.). This puzzle stumps many people. They try outlandish solutions involving test-tube babies or surrogate mothers. Why does the brain search for complex solutions when there is a much simpler one available?

9. The man had hiccups. The barman recognized this from his speech and drew the gun in order to give him a scare. It worked and cured the hiccups so the man no longer needed the water. This is a simple puzzle to state but a difficult one to solve. It is a perfect example of a seemingly irrational & incongruous situation having a simple and complete explanation. - Sender: Norvie R. Narra

Answer to Jens’ puzzle: The wise man told them to switch camels!

* * *

I’d love to hear from you! E-mail deeperdoor@yahoo.com or deropedero@hotmail.com. Should you want to pass on portions of this particular article, please acknowledge The Philippine STAR Lifestyle Section, LIVING ALIVE by Dero Pedero. Reprinting or duplication in any form requires permission from the author. My book, Jewels for the Mind, a collection of thoughts, formulas and affirmations for success, prosperity and fulfillment, is available at National Book Store, Powerbooks and PageOne, Rockwell.