Brainteasers: September 2007

Compiled by Julianne Scibetta-Messia

Let’s start the year off on a good foot together. Here, some questions to gently massage the mind into alertness.

1. If you put a coin in an empty bottle and insert a cork into the neck of the bottle, how could you remove the coin without taking the cork out or breaking the bottle?
2. I have two U.S. coins that add up to fifty-five cents. One is not a nickel. What coins are they?
3. You are a bus driver. At the first stop of the day, eight people get on board. At the second stop, four get off, and eleven get on. At the third stop, two get off, and six get on. At the fourth stop, thirteen get off, and one gets on. At the fifth stop, five get off, and three get on. At the sixth stop, three get off, and two get on. What color are the bus driver's eyes?
4. A certain five letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it. What is the word?
5. If a boy and a half could eat a hot dog and a half in a minute and a half, how many hot dogs could six boys eat in six minutes?

Please send your solutions, suggestions, grievances, and comments about the Brainteasers to messiaj@acp.edu.