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

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?

A pack of cards has 40 cards. You are blindfolded. Out of 40, 25 cards are facing down while 15 are facing up. You have been asked to divide this pack of cards into two decks - so that each deck contains an equal number of face-up cards. Remember, you are blindfolded.

How will you do it?

It is always ahead of me yet I can never see it. What is it?

I start and end with 500 and carry a 5 in my heart. But I require the first letter and the first number to be complete. I am the name of a King.

Who am I ?

What has a bottom at the top?

Alpha is Beta's sister.

Gamma is a Beta mother.

Delta is Gamma's father.

Tango is Delta's mother.

Then,

How is Alpha related to Delta?

You walk into a room that contains a match, a kerosene lamp, a candle and a fireplace. What would you light first?

One absent-minded ancient philosopher forgot to wind up his only clock in the house. He had no radio, TV, telephone, internet, or any other means for telling time. So he travelled on foot to his friend's place a few miles down the straight desert road. He stayed at his friend's house for the night and when he came back home, he knew how to set his clock. How did he know?

In my garden, I have many trees but only one of them is the mango tree. In these mango trees, there are some mangoes(as expected).

But after a strong wind, there are neither mangoes on the tree nor on the ground. Explain?