Can you start the fire using two pieces of wood?

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

Two boys were admitted to a school. When the headmaster asks them about their parents, they tell him that they have same parents (father and mother). On further inquiry, it turns out that they both share the same date for their birthday.

"Are you twins," ask the headmaster.
"No," replies the boys.

Is it possible?

2 ladies and 2 girls need to cross a river in a boat big enough for 1 LADY or 2 girls. How do they do it?

Kareena is older than Katrina and younger than Karishma. Isabelle is younger than Bipasha and Karishma. Bipasha is older than Karishma. If Kareena and Isabelle are the same age, who's the youngest?

A shepherd had 18 sheep, out of which, all but ten died.

Can you tell us how many sheep was he left with?

Client Dempsey living in one of the East Coast states of the U.S. was talking to Landon Donovan, who was living in the West Coast state of the U.S.

Dempsey: What time is it?
Donovan: Wow, It is the same time here.

How is this possible?

What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?

Solve the alphametic puzzle by replacing the alphabet with the number.

S T O R M +
S O L E S
=========
T O W E L
=========

A swan sits at the center of a perfectly circular lake. At an edge of the lake stands a ravenous monster waiting to devour the swan. The monster can not enter the water, but it will run around the circumference of the lake to try to catch the swan as soon as it reaches the shore. The monster moves at 4 times the speed of the swan, and it will always move in the direction along the shore that brings it closer to the swan the quickest. Both the swan and the the monster can change directions in an instant.
The swan knows that if it can reach the lake's shore without the monster right on top of it, it can instantly escape into the surrounding forest.

How can the swan successfully escape?