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

A journalist was investigating a sacred cult in the jungles of Africa when he was caught by one of the person. He was confined in a cave till the leader arrived. The leader told him that he need to tell him a statement. If he thinks the statement is true, then the journalist head will be chopped off. If he thinks that the statement is false, his head will be smashed with a hammer.

What statement did the journalist make to survive?

I have some blue and red sock in my drawer. I have a total of 4 socks. I pick 2 socks and the chance that I get a pair of red socks is 1/2.

What is the chance of picking a pair of blue socks?

What does man love more than life, and hate more than death or mortal strife; that which satisfied men want; the poor have, and the rich require; the miser spends, the spendthrift saves, and all men carry to their graves?

On a certain day, John celebrated his birthday. Two days later, his older twin brother Jacob celebrated his birthday.

Is this even possible? How can it be?

There are three Athletes (John, Tarun and Harish) and their individual Coaches (Jacob, Meenaxi and Priyanka) standing on the shore.
No Coach trusts their Athlete to be near any other Coach unless they are also with them.
There is a boat that can hold a maximum of two persons.
How can the six people get across the river?

If you remove one from eleven, it becomes ten. If you remove one from nine, it becomes ten.

How is this possible?

A girl was sitting in her hotel room when she heard a knock on the door. She opened the door and found that a man was standing outside.
The man said, "Oh! I am really sorry, I thought this was my room."
He then walked through the corridor to the elevator. The girl did not know the man. She closed her door and called security asking them to apprehend the man.
What made her suspicious of that man? He might have been genuinely mistaken.

You have four chains. Each chain has three links in it. Although it is difficult to cut the links, you wish to make a single loop with all 12 links. What is the fewest number of cuts you must make to accomplish this task?

John was so frustrated to be the suspect of being a sleeper terrorist that he shoot himself right between the eyes with a revolver in his toilet. The revolver and the bullets were accurate. Minutes later John walks out of the toilet unharmed.
How can this be possible?