In Greek mythology, the Sphinx sat outside of Thebes and asked this riddle of all travellers who passed by. If the traveller failed to solve the riddle, then the Sphinx killed him/her. And if the traveller answered the riddle correctly, then the Sphinx would destroy herself. The riddle:
What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?
Oedipus solved the riddle, and the Sphinx destroyed herself.
Assume there are approximately 5,000,000,000 (5 billion) people on Earth. What would you estimate to be the result, if you multiply together the number of fingers on every person's left hand? (For the purposes of this exercise, thumbs count as fingers, for five fingers per hand.) If you cannot estimate the number then try to guess how long the number would be.
When you stop to look, you can always see me. But if you try to touch me, you can never feel me. Although you walk towards me, I remain the same distance from you. What am I?
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.
What is the four-digit number in which the first digit is one-third the second, the third is the sum of the first two, and the last is three times the second?
