I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?

I am something people love or hate. I change peoples appearances and thoughts. If a person takes care of them self I will go up even higher. To some people I will fool them. To others I am a mystery. Some people might want to try and hide me but I will show. No matter how hard people try I will Never go down. What am I?

How can one talk without saying a single word?

Can it be possible to build a house that has all its four walls facing towards the South?

Speaking of rivers, a man calls his dog from the opposite side of the river. The dog crosses the river without getting wet, and without using a bridge or boat. How?

You are in a land where thirty men and two women were dressed in classic black and white dresses.
They begin to fight as soon as any of them move.

Where are you?

I travel all around the world but always stay in the corner. What am I?

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?

A girl says this to her best friend: “I was born in 1955, and I celebrated my 17th birthday last weekend.” Her best friend thinks she’s lying, but she’s actually correct. How is that possible?

We are a group of eight brothers. We consider the weak, yet we protect the king in every battle. If we move ahead, we never turn back. Who are we?