Some questions to ponder:

1. How many four cents stamps in a dozen?
2. How many birthdays does the average person have?
3. Some months have 30 days, some have 31; how many months have 28 days?
4. I have in my hand 2 U.S. coins which total 55 cents in value. One is not a nickel. What are the two coins?
5. Is it legal in the United States for a man to marry his widow's sister?
6. Do they have a 4th of July in England?
7. How many animals of each species did Moses take into the ark with him?
8. If you had only one match, and entered a room with a kerosene lamp, an oil heater, and a candle, which would you light first?
9. A woman gave a beggar fifty cents. The woman is the beggar's sister, but the beggar is not the woman's brother. How can this be?
10. Why can't a man living in Winston-Salem, NC be buried west of the Mississippi?
11. How far can a dog run into the woods?
12. A rooster, facing north, lays an egg on a pointed roof. Which side would it roll down?

OOOOOOOOOO! I love these sort of thought teasers! Anyone have more?

I have several sets of these (translated for UK use) and I used them as revivers in my training courses.

And yes, I do know the answers to all those you post - but I'll let some others have a go first.

However, here's a special one, just for our US readers - how many clock faces are there on Big Ben?

Richard English

Oh, those are great! Here is one my father-in-law used to give my kids every time he saw them:

If a hen and a half laid an egg and a half in a day and a half, how many eggs would one hen lay in a day?

I also know all the ones LadyBeth posted but the first one is my favorite of your list.

Regarding R.E.'s, isn't Big Ben, technically, the name of the bell in the tower? This would render it, of course, faceless.

My favorite question of this sort would seem to favor U.S. posters but almost everyone's first guess is incorrect - Of all the 50 states, which one has the greatest percentage of its border as coastline? Not the longest coastline, mind you, but the greatest percentage.

NOTE: There is one person on this board who is prohibited from answering this one!! (And you know who you are!)

Is it jerry's state? why is this hard?

Ask around. You'll find almost everyone's first guess will be Florida or California.

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Originally posted by C J Strolin:
Ask around. You'll find almost everyone's first guess will be Florida or California.

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Wouldn't it be a tie. Hawaii and Rhode Island ?
Then again maybe not. My geography is notoriously bad. I'm just assuming from the name that the latter is an island, which might not of course be the case.

Purgamentum init, exit purgamentum

Read all about my travels around the world here.

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Wouldn't it be a tie. Hawaii and Rhode Island ?
Then again maybe not. My geography is notoriously bad. I'm just assuming from the name that the latter is an island, which might not of course be the case.

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Sorry to disappoint you, Bob. Rhode Island is not an island at all. It is however, the smallest state in the union, and also holds the official title of having the longest name. The correct name is: "The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." So, there is my little bit of Geography lesson for the day!

CJ is correct.

The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster is officially known as St Stephens tower (no apostrophe).

The bell of the Great Clock that strikes the hours is known as Big Ben.

Richard English

I just cannot get LadyBeth's number 4. I must be missing something--I am not good at these, but Shufitz does magnificently with them.

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
I just cannot get LadyBeth's number 4. I must be missing something--I am not good at these, but Shufitz does _magnificently_ with them.

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Only one of them isn't a nickel!

Why, why, why has St Stephens Tower no apostrophe??? Are there no grammar rules????

You'll find almost everyone's first guess will be Florida or California.
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I had no trouble with the correct answer, but I would assume the second in line would be Alaska. LOTS or little inlets, bays, and a very long coastline even without them.

As regards the rooster laying an egg, is the rooster a comedian who tells bad jokes?

As has been discussed many times previously, place names (and trade names too, for that matter) seem to follow their own rules. Usually the rule is that they are called what their orginal creator called them!

Thus, Hudson Bay (not Hudson's).

However, to clear up any uncertainty, I have checked again about the tower and find that some of the references have it apostrophised and some do not. Since the name is known by few and used by fewer (unlike the nearby St James's Park) it is rarely seen in print.

However, I now see that the BBC's website refers to it as St Stephen's Tower and their research is usually good.

I will therefore agree with them and call it St Stephen's Tower.

Richard English

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Only one of them isn't a nickel!

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That's why I hate these so much--they always make me feel like a fool! And, I was looking into old, never-used coins! Good grief.