The Growing Lily Puzzle

Lily is a lilypad in a small pond. Lily doubles her size each day. On the 20th day, she covers the whole pond. On what day was Lily half the size of the pond?

On the 19th day.

Explanation:
Since Lily doubles her size each day, she must have been half the size of the pond the day before she covered the entire pond. Therefore, if the pond is fully covered on the 20th day, it was half-covered on the 19th day.

The Odd Word Out Riddle

Which of the following words don’t belong in the group and why?
CORSET, COSTER, SECTOR, ESCORT, COURTS

COURTS.

Explanation:
All the other words (CORSET, COSTER, SECTOR, ESCORT) are anagrams of each other, meaning they can be formed by rearranging the letters of the same set. COURTS is not an anagram of the others, so it doesn’t belong in the group.

The Resilient Challenger

Shoot at me a thousand times and I may still survive; one scratch from me and you will find your prospects take a dive. What am I?

An 8-ball.

The Wheel-Less Driver

This object can be driven, but has no wheels, and can also be sliced and remain whole. What is it?

A golf ball.

The Throw-and-Take Puzzle

What do you throw out when you want to use it but take in when you don’t want to use it?

An anchor.

The Family Connection

If your uncle’s sister is not your aunt, what relation is she to you?

Answer:
She is your mother.

Explanation:
The uncle’s sister is your parent. Since the riddle specifies that she is not your aunt, the only logical conclusion is that she is your mother.

The Sunday Morning Mystery

A man was found murdered on Sunday morning. His wife immediately called the police. The police questioned the wife and staff, who provided their alibis:

The Wife said she was sleeping.
The Cook was cooking breakfast.
The Gardener was picking vegetables.
The Maid was getting the mail.
The Butler was cleaning the closet.

The police instantly arrested the murderer. Who did it, and how did they know?

The Maid.

Explanation:
There is no mail delivered on Sunday morning, so the Maid’s alibi was a lie. This made her the prime suspect.

The Uncatchable Puzzle

What is harder to catch the faster you run?

Your breath.

The 13-Story Mystery

A man was found dead next to a 13 story building. The police say it was a suicide, but you say it was a homicide (someone killed him). To prove this, you go to each floor on the building, open the window, and toss a penny out. You do this to each floor until you reach the 13th floor, open the window, and toss a penny out. How does this prove it wasn’t a suicide?

If it were a suicide, the window on the floor the man jumped from would already be open. Since you had to open every window yourself, it shows that none of the windows were open, meaning he couldn’t have jumped, proving it was a homicide.

Animal Spelling Riddle

What’s 3/7 chicken, 2/3 cat, and 2/4 goat?

Answer:
Chicago.

Explanation:

3/7 of “chicken” = “chi”
(The first three letters of “chicken”).
2/3 of “cat” = “ca”
(The first two letters of “cat”).
2/4 of “goat” = “go”
(The first two letters of “goat”).