1) A window cleaner is cleaning the windows on the 25th floor of a skyscraper, when he slips and falls. He is not wearing a safety harness and nothing slows his fall, yet he suffered no injuries. Explain.
2) Anthony and Cleopatra are lying dead on the floor of a room. Nearby is a broken bowl. There is no mark on either of their bodies and they were not poisoned. How did they die?
3) The boss of a storage warehouse had just arrived at work when one of his employees burst into his office. The man said that while asleep in the building the previous night he had dreamt that one of the stored boxes contained a bomb which would explode at two p.m. The boss was sceptical, but agreed to investigate. After a search, a bomb was truly found in the area foreseen in the man's dream. The police were called to defuse the bomb and thus a tragedy was averted. Yet afterwards, the boss after thanking the employee profusely, fired him. The sacked man had not planted the bomb, and his prophetic dream had saved the warehouse from a tragedy. Yet the manager was right to fire him. How could that be so?
4) A poor servant in a village was told by his master that he could wish for anything he wanted. It could be any wish, but just one. The servant asked his mother what she wanted and she said she wanted a TV set. Next, the servant asked his wife who said she wanted a microwave. Finally, the servant went to his father who wanted a bicycle. The next day he went to his master and made one wish through which his mother, father and wife each got what they wanted. What was his wish?
5) How many hands does the clock of the tower of Big Ben have?
6) The Zorganian Republic has some very strange customs. Couples only wish to have female children as only females can inherit the family's wealth, so if they have a male child they keep having more children until they have a girl. If they have a girl, they stop having children. What is the ratio of girls to boys in Zorgania?
7) What can you put in a wooden box that would make it lighter? The more you put in, the lighter it becomes, yet the box stays empty.
8) How many birthdays does a typical woman have?
Solution
1) He was cleaning the inside of the windows.
2) Anthony and Cleopatra were actually the names of two goldfish. The bowl was knocked over by a cat and they were left without water.
3) Because he was the night watchman (or some other night shift worker) and had been sleeping on his job.
4) Since it could be any wish at all, he asked for three wishes, thus satisfying everybody! Of course he could also simply ask for a sum large enough to allow him to buy all the three items.
5) Eight: there are four faces to the clock of the tower of Big Ben (now officially called Elizabeth Tower).
6) About 1 to 1. Any birth will always have a 50 per cent chance of being male or female.
7) Holes.
8) One.