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

Who has married many women but was never married?

There is a river to cross using a river raft and there are eight people (father, mother, policeman, thief, 2 daughters and 2 sons). No one knows to operate the raft except the adults and also excluding the thief. Only two people can go in the raft at a time. The raft should keep coming back and forth in order to pick and drop the people.
Rules to be followed:
Father: the father cannot stay in the raft or outside the raft without the presence of the mother.
Mother: the mother cannot stay in the raft or outside the rat without the presence of the father.
Thief: the thief is not allowed to stay with any of the family members unless there is a policeman.
Policeman: the policeman can travel with anyone.
2 sons and 2 daughters: they are not allowed to travel in the raft without the presence of an adult. They cannot either travel in the presence of only thieves without the policeman. The sons cannot be with their mothers without their father's supervision. The daughters are not allowed to be there with their fathers without the supervision of their mothers. But the daughters and the sons can be left unsupervised (as long as the other rules are applied).
What is the sequence that the people should follow in order to cross the river through the raft keeping in mind all the rules?
The rules are applicable not only in the raft but also outside the raft.

The day before yesterday I was 25 and the next year I will be 28. This is true only one day in a year. What day is my birthday?

Detective Rockford was jogging near the beach at 4:30 am.
He hears a sound near the shack "No Michael, Please Do not shoot me".
Next instance he heard the sound of gunfire. Rockford rushes to the shack where he finds women lying dead and a gun in close proximity of three "Doctore Lawyer and a Teacher".

Rockford immediately knew that the Lawyer has committed the crime. How?

What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?

A charming young lady was approached by a kind looking old woman in a restaurant. The old woman said to her, 'You look exactly like my younger daughter. Sadly she passed away a couple of months back. Could you do me a favor and say 'Goodbye, mother' with a kind smile on your face when I leave?

The young lady agreed for the same and said, 'Goodbye, mother' when the old woman left. Soon after, she got the most disengaging shock of her life.

Can you guess what the shock was?

What does this rebus riddle means ?

There are forty elephants and they have forty-fore heads. How can this be possible?

I have 50 feet long of cloth, I need to create 50 handkerchiefs each size of 1 foot. I take one minute to cut a 1-foot handkerchief. So how long will it take to cut 50 handkerchiefs?