A chess tournament is taking place on knock-out terms (the one who loses the match is out of the game).
(a) If 10 matches are played in total, how many players participated?
(b) If 20 players took part in the tournament, how many matches were played?

The warden meets with 23 new prisoners when they arrive. He tells them, "You may meet today and plan a strategy. But after today, you will be in isolated cells and will have no communication with one another.

"In the prison is a switch room, which contains two light switches labeled 1 and 2, each of which can be in either up or the down position. I am not telling you their present positions. The switches are not connected to anything.

"After today, from time to time whenever I feel so inclined, I will select one prisoner at random and escort him to the switch room. This prisoner will select one of the two switches and reverse its position. He must flip one switch when he visits the switch room, and may only flip one of the switches. Then he'll be led back to his cell.

"No one else will be allowed to alter the switches until I lead the next prisoner into the switch room. I'm going to choose prisoners at random. I may choose the same guy three times in a row, or I may jump around and come back. I will not touch the switches, if I wanted you dead you would already be dead.

"Given enough time, everyone will eventually visit the switch room the same number of times as everyone else. At any time, anyone may declare to me, 'We have all visited the switch room.'

"If it is true, then you will all be set free. If it is false, and somebody has not yet visited the switch room, you will all die horribly. You will be carefully monitored, and any attempt to break any of these rules will result in instant death to all of you"

What is the strategy they come up with so that they can be free?

You have a 12 liters jug full of water. You have two empty 8 liters and 5 liters jug. How can you divide the water into two equal parts using these jugs?

If eleven plus two equals one, what does nine plus five equal?

John was driving a bus and got stuck when passing through an underpass. Then came Jacob with a needle and got the bus out of the underpass.

What did the boy do?

A boy purchased a book from a bookkeeper and gave him $100.
The cost of the book is $50 but the bookkeeper has no change, so he gets the change from the next shop and returns the boy his $50.

After some time the next shopkeeper came with the $100 note and told the bookkeeper that the note was a fraud, so he took the money back.

How much loss did the bookkeeper face?

In two decks of cards, what is the least amount of cards you must take to be *guaranteed* at least one four-of-a-kind?

How can you make the following equation true by drawing only one straight line: 5+5+5=550 ?

The more of this there is, the less you see. What is it?

What comes
Once in a Year
Twice in a Month
4 times in a Week
6 times in a Day