More of Ol' Jay's Brainteasers

Uh-oh. It looks like Jay has written the BRI team into another bunch of puzzles. Let's see how we do.

1. HUNGRY BOOKWORM

Kait is the newest member of the BRI team. To test out whether whether we were really as smart as she's heard (we're not), she asked us a math question that even her 11-year-old son C.J. answered correctly: "Three Bathroom Readers are stacked vertically next to each other on a bookshelf, with their spines facing out. The covers of the books each measure 1/8". The pages of each book measures 2". If a bookworm starts eating at page one of the book on the left, then eats through the books in a straight line until he gets to the last page of the book on the right, how many inches of book will he have eaten?"

2. THE 5TH CONDITION

Uncle John strolled into the office and announced, "Civics quiz, everybody!" After we whined a bit, he asked a question that sounded tough, but he assured us it was not. "According to the U.S. Constitution," he said, "five conditions must be met for a candidate to become president. He or she must: 1) be born in the United States, 2) be 35 years old or more, 3) be an American citizen, and 4) have resided in the U.S. for at least 14 years. What's the fifth condition? You may think you don't know it, but you do."

3. SURROUNDED

Julia is riding a horse. Directly to her left is a hippo traveling at the same speed. In front of her is an elephant, also traveling at the same speed. Following behind her -at the same speed- is a lion. And to her right is a ledge. How will Julia make it to safety?

4. BUILDER BLUNDER

JoAnn, Melinda, and Monica each purchased a new home in Porcelain Estates, an exclusive community consisting of nine shiny houses. But the builders forgot to add an important part of the houses, forcing the three new homeowners to buy the part at the hardware store. One thousand would have cost $4.00. Fifty would have cost $2.00. But JoAnn, Melinda, and Monica needed only one each and paid a combined total of $3.00. What did the builders forget to add?

5. THE RUNAROUND

Two-eyed Jeff was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room. One-eyed Jeff walked up and said, "I'll bet you a dollar that before I run around your chair three times, you'll get up. And I promise I won't push you or throw things at you. When you get up, it will be by choice." Two-eyed Jeff took the bet, thinking he'd make an easy dollar. But it was soon obvious that One-eyed Jeff had won. Why?

6. A MOTHER'S GIFT

Amy challenged us with this classic riddle:

Black as night I'll always be,
Until my mother smothers me.
Then clear as ice I will become
In the rough. Thank you, Mum!
What am I?

7. FEELING FLAT

Thom drove all the way from Crappo, Maryland, to Flushing, New York, without realizing that his car had a flat tire, but arrived safely with four fully inflated tires. How?

8. COFFEE DELIVERY!

Trying to figure out the answers to these questions tired us out, but then along came Angie with a large pot of freshly brewed coffee. Yay! "I can give you one gallon," she said. "But you'll have to measure it out yourselves." Then she handed us a three-gallon bucket and a five-gallon bucket. As we were sitting there dumbfounded, Maggie told us not to worry -she'd do it. How?

Continue reading when you want to see the answers.

Highlight the area after the teaser title to see the answer.

1. HUNGRY BOOKWORM

The bookworm only eats through 2.5 inches of book. That's because he started at page one of the book on the left (which is facing the right side) and only has to eat through the front cover of book 1, the back cover of book 2, all of the pages of book 2, then through the front cover of book 2, then through the back cover of book 3. At that point, he will have reached the last page of book 3 and can stop eating.

2. THE 5TH CONDITION

The person must also be elected.

3. SURROUNDED

Julia will just have to wait until the merry-go-round ride ends …and then dismount.

4. BUILDER BLUNDER

The house address numbers were missing. Each number costs $1.00. So 1000 would have cost $4.00 and 50 would have cost $2.00. But since their new neighborhood only had nine houses, their addresses were a single number, costing them a total of $3.00.

5. THE RUNAROUND

One-eyed Jeff ran around the chair twice and then said, "I'll be back in a week to run around it a third time," knowing that Two-eyed Jeff wouldn't be able to sit there for an entire week.

6. A MOTHER'S GIFT

The answer is coal, which starts out black, but becomes a diamond in the rough after Mother Earth "smothers" it for a few million years. Thanks, Mom!

7. FEELING FLAT

The flat tire was Thom's spare tire -in his trunk the whole time.

8. COFFEE DELIVERY!

Maggie filled the three-gallon bucket with coffee and then poured it into the five-gallon bucket. Then she filled the three-gallon bucket again and carefully poured it into the five-gallon bucket until it was full, leaving exactly one gallon of coffee in the three-gallon bucket. And then we had coffee!

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The article above is reprinted with permission from Uncle John's Unsinkable Bathroom Reader. The Bathroom Readers' Institute has sailed the seas of science, history, pop culture, humor, and more to bring you Uncle John's Unsinkable Bathroom Reader. Our 21st edition is overflowing with over 500 pages of material that is sure to keep you fully absorbed.

Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute has published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts. Check out their website here: Bathroom Reader Institute.