A man hijacks an aeroplane transporting both passengers(8 of them) and valuable cargo. After taking the cargo, the man demands nine parachutes, puts one of them on, and jumps, leaving the other eight behind. Why did he want eight?

what's the probability of getting a king or a queen from a pack of 52 cards?

13 decks of cards have been mixed. What is the minimum number of cards that must be taken out from the above-mixed cards to guarantee at least one 'four of a kind?

You have two strings whose only known property is that when you light one end of either string it takes exactly one hour to burn. The rate at which the strings will burn is completely random and each string is different.

How do you measure 45 minutes?

Alex is stranded on an island covered in forest.
One day, when the wind is blowing from the west, lightning strikes the west end of the island and sets fire to the forest. The fire is very violent, burning everything in its path, and without intervention the fire will burn the whole island, killing the man in the process.

There are cliffs around the island, so he cannot jump off.

How can the Alex survive the fire? (There are no buckets or any other means to put out the fire)

Find the Odd One Out?
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A Japanese ship was en route to a mission on foreign seas. The captain of the ship felt tired and thought of taking a bath. He went for taking the shower and removed his diamond ring and Rolex and kept them on the table. When he returned after taking the bath, he found that the ring and watch were stolen.

He called the five members of the crew whom he suspected and asked them what they were doing for the last 15 minutes.

The Italian cook (with a butcher knife in hand): I was in the fridge room getting meat for cooking.

The British Engineer (with a high beam torch in hand): I was working on a generator engine.

The Pakistani seaman: I was on the mast correcting the flag which was upside down by mistake.

The Indian Radio officer: I was trying to make a contact with the company to inform them about our position.

The American navigation officer: I am on night watch, so I was sleeping in my cabin.

Upon listening to them, the captain caught the lying member. Who do you think stole the valuables?

You are playing a game with your friend Jack. There are digits from 1 to 9. You both will take turn erasing one digit and adding it to your score. The first one to score 15 points will win the game.

Would you want to play first or second?

PS: The sum should be exactly 15.

John and Jacob are twin brothers. One of them is a liar whereas the other one is a truth-teller.

I called their home number and one of them picked up.
I asked. 'Does John lie?' The person replied with a yes.

Whom did I talk with, John or Jacob?

I had an infinite supply of water and 5 litres and 3 litres jars.

How would you measure exactly 4 litres in the least number of steps?