2, 3, 5, 9, 17, _ What is the next number in the sequence?

Replace the question mark with the correct number below.

John is pretty weird. He likes toffees but hates chocolates. He loves books but never reads. He likes to build his troops in an online game but does not proceed with the war. He likes to go swimming but is afraid of water.

Seeking this behaviour, can you tell whether he likes balloons and parties?

A few friends are enjoying their sea voyage in a boat full of apples. On the way, they felt hungry and thus decided to eat the apples. Together, they ate two dozen of apples. When they have eaten the apples, will there be any change in the water level?

Mr. Buttons was all set to go to the village of Buttonland to meet his friend. So, he packed his bags and left for the village at 5 in the morning. Upon travelling on a road for miles, he came across a point where the road diverged into two. He was confused on which road to take. He gazed around and he saw two owls sitting on a branch. He thought he could ask for directions for the village from the two owls. So he went to the tree. There he saw a sign which read, "One owl always lies, and one is always truthful. They both fly away if you ask them more than 1 question."
Mr. Buttons was caught in the dilemma of what to ask? And from which owl to ask, since he only had one question. What should Mr. Buttons ask?

Every words stands for unique digit that makes the arithmetic equation true

SEVEN + SEVEN + SIX = TWENTY.

What are the digits ?

Rahul decided to meet Simran so he boards a local train from Bombay station. Just after the station, there is a 1km long tunnel. The train starts and is now accelerating. Rahul is a claustrophobic guy, so what is the best position for him to sit?

A woman lives in a skyscraper thirty-six floors high and is served by several elevators which stop at each floor going up and down. Each morning she leaves her apartment and goes to one of the elevators. Whichever one she takes is three times more likely to be going up than down. Why?

You are mixing a mixture of cement and Sand with five gallons of water. You have a garden hose giving you all the water you need. The problem is that you only have a four-gallon bucket and a seven-gallon bucket and neither has graduation marks. Find a method to measure five gallons.

What is the next number in this series?

4,12,84,3612....