Kibuli Secondary School


Fun Brain Teasers - A must Try!

A brainteaser is a type of riddle that makes one think outside the box. Some brainteasers are easy, some are a little harder, and some can really make you ponder for a while. Often, when you finally hear the answer, you feel ignorant or silly, because it should have been obvious to you. However, brainteasers are fun. Therefore, we keep testing ourselves and hoping we get better at solving them.

Monthly Quote : Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing. -- Barry Finlay, Kilimanjaro and Beyond

Brain Teaser : 1

You have a 3-gallon jug and a 5-gallon jug. You need to measure out exactly 7 gallons of water. How can you do it?


Fill the 5-gallon jug, pour it into the 3-gallon jug until the 3 gallon is full, and leaving 2 gallons in the 5-gallon jug. Now pour the 3-gallon jug out. Pour the remaining 2 gallons from the 5 gallon into the empty 3-gallon jug. Now fill the 5 gallon from the faucet. You now have exactly 7 gallons.


Brain Teaser : 2

How can a man go eight days without sleep?


By sleeping during the night time


Brain Teaser : 3

A girl who was just learning to drive went down a one-way street in the wrong direction, but didn't break the law. How come?


She was walking.


Brain Teaser : 4

If there are 3 apples and you take away 2, how many do you have?


If you take 2 apples, then you have of course 2.


Brain Teaser : 5

To tease Leonard Hofstadter, Sheldon cooper gave him 10$ and ask him to buy - Something their friend Howard can eat. - Something their neighbor penny can drink. - Something their friend Raj's cow can eat. - Something his girlfriend Amy can plant in her garden. Also, he can buy only one thing. Leonard buys something that silenced Sheldon. What did he buy?


Watermelon Explanation: - Something their friend Howard can eat: watermelon - Something their neighbor penny can drink: juice of watermelon - Something their friend Raj's cow can eat: Watermelon rinds - Something his girlfriend Amy can plant in her garden: the seeds of a watermelon


Brain Teaser : 6

What has a head and a tail but no body?


A coin


Brain Teaser : 7

What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?


A palm


Brain Teaser : 8

A poor farmer went to the market to sell some peas and lentils. However, as he had only one sack and didn't want to mix peas and lentils, he poured in the peas first, tied the sack in the middle, and then filled the top portion of the sack with the lentils. At the market a rich innkeeper happened by with his own sack. He wanted to buy the peas, but he did not want the lentils. Pouring the seed anywhere else but the sacks is considered soiling. Trading sacks is not allowed. The farmer can't cut a hole in his sack. How would you transfer the peas to the innkeeper's sack, which he wants to keep, without soiling the produce?


Pour the lentils into the innkeeper's sack, bind it and turn inside out. Pour in the peas. Then unbind the sack a pour the lentils back to your sack.


Brain Teaser : 9

Is it legal for a man in Uganda to marry his widow's sister? Why?


No, it is not legal to get married if you are dead.


Brain Teaser : 10

You can start a fire if you have alcohol, petrol, kerosene, paper, candle, coke, a full matchbox and a piece of cotton wool. What is the first thing you light?


A match, of course.


Brain Teaser : 11

If there are 12 fish and half of them drown, how many are there?


12, fish don’t drown!


Brain Teaser : 12

How many times can you subtract the number two from the number fifty?


After that, you would be subtracting from 48.


Brain Teaser : 13

In a year, there are 12 months. Seven months have 31 days. How many months have 28 days?


They all do.


Brain Teaser : 14

Some months have 31 days, others have 30 days. How many have 28 days?


All months have 28 days.


Brain Teaser : 15

What invention lets you look right through a wall?


A window


Brain Teaser : 16

What is always coming but never arrives?


Tomorrow.


Brain Teaser : 17

Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I?


Forward I am ton, backwards I am not.


Brain Teaser : 18

Feed me and I live, yet give me a drink and I die.


Fire.


Brain Teaser : 19

A man is headed to a mountain along with a lion, a goat, and a basket of vegetables. On the way, he needs to cross a river and the boat can only carry two things at a time. If he takes the vegetables, the lion will eat the goat. If he takes the lion, the goat will eat the vegetables. How does he cross the river?


Trip 1: He takes the goat with him, leaving the lion and the vegetables behind. On reaching the other riverbank, he drops off the goat. Trip 2: He then comes back for the lion, leaving the vegetables behind. On reaching the bank this time, he drops the lion, and again takes the goat along. Trip 3: He drops off the goat again and takes the vegetables with him to the other shore. Trip 4: Lastly, he comes back alone for the goat.


Brain Teaser : 20

There are a few trees in a garden. On one of them, a pear tree, there are pears (quite logical). But after a strong wind blew, there were neither pears on the tree nor on the ground. How come?


At first, there were 2 pears on the tree. After the wind blew, one pear fell on the ground. So there where no pears on the tree and there were no pears on the ground.


Brain Teaser : 21

How many times can you subtract 10 from 100?


Once! after the initial subtraction, you're left with 98


Brain Teaser : 22

A ladder hangs over the side of a ship anchored in a port. The bottom rung touches the water. The distance between rungs is 20 cm and the length of the ladder is 180 cm. The tide is rising at the rate of 15 cm each hour. When will the water reach the seventh rung from the top?


If the tide is raising water, then it is raising the ship on water, too. So water will reach still the first rung.


Brain Teaser : 23

What is at the end of a rainbow?


No, not clouds or the grounds. It is the letter w.


Brain Teaser : 24

When you have me, you immediately feel like sharing me. But, if you do share me, you do not have me.


A secret


Brain Teaser : 25

What can you hold without ever touching or using your hands?


Your breath!


Brain Teaser : 26

Imagine you are in a dark room. How do you get out?


Stop imagining.


Brain Teaser : 27

Who makes it, has no need of it. Who buys it, has no use for it. Who uses it can neither see nor feel it. What is it?


A coffin.


Brain Teaser : 28

Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?


Neither, they both weigh one pound.


Brain Teaser : 29

A truck driver is going down a one way street the wrong way, and passes at least ten cops. Why is he not caught?


Because he was not driving! He’s walking on the sidewalk.


Brain Teaser : 30

What invention lets you look right through a wall?


A window.


Brain Teaser : 31

If there are 6 apples and you take away 4, how many do you have?


The 4 you took.


Brain Teaser : 32

An electric train is moving north at 100mph and a wind is blowing to the west at 10mph. Which way does the smoke blow?


There is no smoke with an electric train.


Brain Teaser : 33

A man is pushing his car along the road when he comes to a hotel. He shouts, "I'm bankrupt!" Why?


He was playing Monopoly.


Brain Teaser : 34

Two children, who were all tangled up in their reckoning of the days of the week, paused on their way to school to straighten matters out. "When the day after tomorrow is yesterday," said Priscilla, "then 'today' will be as far from Sunday as that day was which was 'today' when the day before yesterday was tomorrow!" On which day of the week did this puzzling prattle occur?


The two children were so befogged over the calendar that they had started on their way to school on Sunday morning!


Brain Teaser : 35

If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me. What am I?


Secret.


Brain Teaser : 36

A man is the owner of a winery who recently passed away. In his will, he left 21 barrels (seven of which are filled with wine, seven of which are half full, and seven of which are empty) to his three sons. However, the wine and barrels must be split, so that each son has the same number of full barrels, the same number of half-full barrels, and the same number of empty barrels. Note that there are no measuring devices handy. How can the barrels and wine be evenly divided?


Two half-full barrels are dumped into one of the empty barrels. Two more half-full barrels are dumped into another one of the empty barrels. This results in nine full barrels, three half-full barrels, and nine empty barrels. Each son gets three full barrels, one half-full barrel, and three empty barrels.


Brain Teaser : 37

Moses’s father has five sons named Ten, Twenty, Thirty, Forty…Guess what would be the name of the fifth?


Moses! He would be the fifth son


Brain Teaser : 38

How many of each species did Moses take on the ark with him?


None, Moses wasn't on the ark Noah was.


Brain Teaser : 39

What kind of room has no doors or windows?


A mushroom.


Brain Teaser : 40

What gets wetter & wetter the more it dries?


A towel


Brain Teaser : 41

Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly?


Incorrectly


Brain Teaser : 42

What has an eye but can not see?


A needle.


Brain Teaser : 43

A women was telling the heroic tale of her late husband to her grandchildren. 'When the First World War was about to end, your grandpa was awarded for his extreme bravery and heroism. While on the war, an enemy threw a grenade at their troupe. But before it could explode, your grandpa picked it up and threw it back on the enemy battalion. For this, he was awarded a sword with the engraving - 'Awarded for portrayal of extreme bravery and valor in the World War I'.' Upon hearing this, one of the grand child stood up and said, 'You are fooling us with false story.' The story was indeed fake. But how did he come to know that it was not true?


The sword could not have the words 'World War I' engraved on it. At that time, only one world war had taken place. No one knew that a second was to happen in future. Thus if it was engraved, the mention of the number was impossible.


Brain Teaser : 44

If Mr Kaggwa’s peacock lays an egg in Mr Johns’ yard, who owns the egg?


Peacocks don’t lay eggs, just peahens


Brain Teaser : 45

Three people check into a hotel. They pay $30 to the manager and go to their room. The manager finds out that the room rate is $25 and gives the bellboy $5 to return to the guests. On the way to the room the bellboy reasons that $5 would be difficult to split among three people so he pockets $2 and gives $1 to each person. Now each person paid $10 and got back $1. So they paid $9 each, totaling $27. The bellboy has another $2, adding up to $29. Where is the remaining dollar?


This is a nice nonsense. Each guest paid $9 because they gave $30 and they were given back $3. The manager got $25 and the difference ($2) has the bellboy. So it is nonsense to add the $2 to the $27, since the bellboy kept the $2.


Brain Teaser : 46

An Arab sheik is old and must will his fortune to one of his two sons. He makes a proposition. His two sons will ride their camels in a race, and whichever camel crosses the finish line LAST will win the fortune for its owner. During the race, the two brothers wander aimlessly for days, neither willing to cross the finish line. In desperation, they ask a wise man for advice. He tells them something; then the brothers leap onto the camels and charge toward the finish line. What did the wise man say?


The rules of the race were that the owner of the camel that crosses the finish line last wins the fortune. The wise man simply told them to switch camels.


Brain Teaser : 47

Imagine that you are in a boat, in the middle of the sea. Suddenly, you are surrounded by hungry sharks, just waiting to feed on you. How can you put an end to this?


Stop imagining!


Brain Teaser : 48

What can you never eat for breakfast?


Dinner


Brain Teaser : 49

The captain of a ship was telling this interesting story: "We traveled the sea far and wide. At one time, two of my sailors were standing on opposite sides of the ship. One was looking west and the other one east. And at the same time, they could see each other clearly." How can that be possible?


The marines were standing back against the sides of the ship so they were looking at each other. It does not matter where the ship is (of course it does not apply to the North and South Pole).


Brain Teaser : 50

You are driving a bus. At the first stop, two women get on. The second stop, three men get on and one woman gets off. At the third stop, three kids and their mom get on, and a man gets off. The bus is grey, and it is raining outside. What color is the bus driver’s hair?


Whatever color your hair is! Remember, the first part of the riddle states that "you are the bus driver!"


Brain Teaser : 51

What goes up and down, but still remains in the same place?


Stairs!


Brain Teaser : 52

Take off my skin - I won't cry, but you will! What am I?


An onion.


Brain Teaser : 53

What goes up and never comes down?


Age!


Brain Teaser : 54

What is always coming but never arrives?


It’s tomorrow. So better do it today.


Brain Teaser : 55

You are a cyclist in a cross-country race. Just before the crossing finish line, you overtake the person in second place. In what place did you finish?


Second Place. If you pass the person in second, you take second place, and they become third.


Brain Teaser : 56

What are the next three letters in the following sequence?J, F, M, A, M, J, J, A, __, __, __


S, O, N. The sequence is first letter of the months of the year. September, October, and November are the next in the sequence.


Brain Teaser : 57

A man is on a game show. He is presented with two doors, one on the left, and one on the right. Behind one is 2 million dollars, and behind the other is a donkey. Choose the correct door to win the prize. There are also two men in front of the doors, and they know which door leads to the millions. One wears a black hat, and the other wears a white hat.The host explains that one of the men is a liar, and will always lie, and the other man will always tell the truth – but you do not know which is which.You can ask only one of the men only one question. What is the question, and which man do you ask to ensure you win the money?


Answer: You ask either man the following question: “If I asked the other guy which door has the money, what would he say?” and then choose the opposite door. Work it out: If you ask the question to the liar, he will lie about the ‘correct’ answer, so you must choose the opposite door. If you ask the truth teller, he will tell the truth about the lie, so you can choose the opposite door as well.


Brain Teaser : 58

A is the father of B. But B is not the son of A. How’s that possible?


B is the daughter


Brain Teaser : 59

What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?


A palm.


Brain Teaser : 60

Which creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?


Man. He crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two feet as an adult, and then walks with a cane as an old man.


Brain Teaser : 61

Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly?


Incorrectly.


Brain Teaser : 62

A boy is walking down the road with a doctor. While the boy is the doctor’s son, the doctor is not the boy’s father. Then who is the doctor?


The doctor is the boy’s mother.


Brain Teaser : 63

Two girls were born to the same mother, on the same day, at the same time, in the same month and year and yet they're not twins. How can this be?


The two babies are two of a set of triplets.


Brain Teaser : 64

What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?


A towel.


Brain Teaser : 65

Why do Chinese men eat more rice than Japanese men do?


There are more Chinese men than Japanese men. (Compare their populations)


Brain Teaser : 66

What is at the end of a rainbow?


The letter W.


Brain Teaser : 67

This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done So, who did the work?


Nobody


Brain Teaser : 68

Paul's height is six feet, he's an assistant at a butcher's shop, and wears size 9 shoes. What does he weigh?


Meat.


Brain Teaser : 69

What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?


A stamp.


Brain Teaser : 70

There was a green house. Inside the green house there was a white house. Inside the white house there was a red house. Inside the red house there were lots of babies. What is it?


Watermelon.


Brain Teaser : 71

Once upon a time, Emperor Akbar was the ruler of India. In his court, he had the much talked about Nine Gems out of which, one was Birbal, particularly known for his quick wit and intelligence. The word of mouth spread faster than a fire in the forest and a distant king felt the eagerness to meet Birbal. He sent an invitation for Birbal to come and visit his country. When Birbal arrived to his kingdom, he was welcomed and was escorted to the palace. Inside the palace, he found out that there were six kings sitting in front of him. Each of them were a lookalike with same robes. But who was the king? He got his answer very soon and then approached him to bow in front of him. How did Birbal find out who the real king was?


This is what Birbal said after bowing in front of the real king: "Your majesty, the other kings were watching you closely in order to imitate you accurately while you were sitting with your calm and composed demeanor. This is how I found out that you are the real king." His Quick wit flabbergasted the king and he was rewarded with luxurious gifts and jewels in return.


Brain Teaser : 72

How many times does the alphabet ‘a’ appear from 0-100


None


Brain Teaser : 73

Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?


Mt. Everest. It was still the highest in the world. It just had not been discovered yet!


Brain Teaser : 74

Mr. Pete was relaxing in his hotel room in Entebbe when he heard a knock at his door. Bond opened the door and see a beautiful woman whom he had never seen in his life. She said that she is so sorry and she thought that this was her room. She was about to leave the room when Mr. Pete stopped her and alerted the hotel security guards. What made Mr. Pete suspicious of the girl?


You never knock on your own hotel room door.


Brain Teaser : 75

What occurs once in every minute, twice in every moment, yet never in a thousand years?


The letter m.


Brain Teaser : 76

Three thieves Danny Ocean, Rusty Ryan, and Frank Catton robbed a major casino in Chicago and they hide the loot somewhere safe. However, all of them get identified so they decided to run in a hot air balloon over a desert. Midway crossing the desert. the balloon begins to lose the attitude because of weight. After few days s Danny Ocean and Rusty Ryan got arrested in Africa while Frank Catton was found dead in the desert, totally naked and holding a half of a toothpick. How did Frank Catton die?


As the balloon lost altitude, all of the thieves took off their clothes in order to decrease the overall weight. but when balloon continues to lose the attitude they decide one of them need to jump to the desert to decrease the weight. The man who must jump is decided by the famous death game where one who picks the shortest toothpick must die. Frank Catton pick the half toothpick and was already naked and hence the hence explain his state in the desert.


Brain Teaser : 77

A plane crashes on the border of the Kenya and Uganda. Where do they bury the survivors?


You do not bury the SURVIVORS!


Brain Teaser : 78

A basket contains 5 apples. Do you know how to divide them among 5 kids so that each one has an apple and one apple stays in the basket?


Answer to this riddle goes as follows: 4 kids get an apple (one apple for each one of them) and the fifth kid gets an apple with the basket still containing the apple.


Brain Teaser : 79

What can you catch but not throw?


A cold.


Brain Teaser : 80

What gets broken without being held?


A promise.


Brain Teaser : 81

Which is heavier? A kilo of feathers or a kilo of rocks?


Neither. Both weigh a kilo!


Brain Teaser : 82

Is it legal for a man to marry his widow’s sister?


No, but since he’s dead it would be kind of difficult.


Brain Teaser : 83

13 people came into a hotel with 12 rooms and each guest wanted his own room. The bellboy solved this problem. He asked the thirteenth guest to wait a little with the first guest in room number 1. So in the first room there were two people. The bellboy took the third guest to room number 2, the fourth to number 3, ..., and the twelfth guest to room number 11. Then he returned to room number 1 and took the thirteenth guest to room number 12, still vacant. How can everybody have his own room?


Of course, it is impossible. Into the second room should have gone the 2nd guest, because the 13th guest was waiting in room number 1.


Brain Teaser : 84

Feed me and I live, yet give me a drink and I die Who am I?


Fire


Brain Teaser : 85

One big soccer fan claimed to be able to tell the score before any game. How did he do it?


The score before any soccer game should be 0:0, shouldn't it?


Brain Teaser : 86

What has a head and a tail, but no body?


A coin.


Brain Teaser : 87

A man is looking at a photograph of someone. His friend asks who it is. The man replies, “Brothers and sisters, I have none. But that man’s father is my father’s son.” Who was in the photograph?


His son.


Brain Teaser : 88

How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?


The Egg won’t crack the concrete floor!


Brain Teaser : 89

He has married many women, but has never been married. Who is he?


A priest.


Brain Teaser : 90

What word describes a woman who does not have all her fingers on one hand?


Normal - I wouldn't be very happy if I had all my fingers (10) on one hand.


Brain Teaser : 91

A man dressed in all black is walking down a country lane. Suddenly, a large black car without any lights on comes round the corner and screeches to a halt. How did the car know he was there?


It was day time


Brain Teaser : 92

To tease, King Akbar told his most clever advisor Birbal to give his daughter one thing that she can eat when hungry, drink if she feels thirsty and can burn if she feels cold. King Akbar was shocked when Birbal gave Akbar's daughter one such thing that satisfies all of the above. What did Birbal give to Akbar's daughter?


A coconut. Explanation: Thirsty: she can drink coconut water. Hungry she can eat coconut's malai. Cold: she can burn the cover of the coconut.


Brain Teaser : 93

A man was brought to King Akbar's court and he found the man guilt of a little offense. HE decided to punish the man and asked him to make a statement. If the statement is held true by Akbar, the man will be killed by hanging him to death and if the statement is held false, the man will be killed by giving poison. The man was confused. He did not know what to say. Therefore, he looked at Birbal and asked for suggestion. Birbal thought for a while and decided to help him, as he had not committed a major offense. He told something in his ear and the man then said the statement to Akbar. After hearing the statement, Akbar could not kill him. What was the statement?


The man said, 'I will be killed by giving poison.' If Akbar says the statement is true, the man will be killed by hanging which will make his statement false. If Akbar says the statement is false, the man will be killed by giving poison which will make the statement true. Thus Akbar had no choice but to leave the man unpunished.


Brain Teaser : 94

Your parents have six sons including you and each son has one sister. How many people are in the family?


Nine. Two parents, six sons, and one daughter. All of them have one sister (not six sisters).


Brain Teaser : 95

Once King Akbar challenged Birbal. He asked Birbal to write a line on wall which when read in happy times makes you sad but when read in sad times makes you happy. What would he have written to satisfy the conditions given by his king?


Birbal wrote - "This time will pass soon." When read in good time, you will feel sad. However, it is essential to keep the fact in the mind. Thus, do not be haughty and keep doing the good work for society. When read in bad time, you will feel optimistic and get a morale boost that with your hard work you can change the situation.


Brain Teaser : 96

Imagine you are in a dark room. How do you get out?


Just stop imagining!


Brain Teaser : 97

What is as light as a feather, but even the world's strongest man couldn't hold it for more than a minute?


His breath.


Brain Teaser : 98

What gets broken without being held?


A promise.

Contact Information

  • Kibuli Secondary School
    P.O. BOX 4216 Kibuli Hill
    Kampala-Uganda
  •  Email:Inquiry@kibuliss.sc.ug
  •  Tel:0414-257339/