Can you convert the number zero(0) into a positive number using just one mathematical operator ?

You are given a cube that is made with the help of 10x10x10 smaller cubes summing up to a total of 1000 smaller cubes. You are asked to take off one layer of the cubes.
How many remain now?

Rumel, A detective who was mere days from cracking an international smuggling ring has suddenly gone missing. While inspecting his last-known location, you find a note:

710 57735 34 5508 51 7718

Currently, there are 3 suspects: Bill, John, and Todd. Can you break the detective's code and find the criminal's name?

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?

There’s a one-story house in which everything is yellow. Yellow walls, yellow doors, yellow furniture. What colour are the stairs?

A couple went on a climbing trip. But only the husband returned from the vacation and said that his wife slipped off while climbing and died. On investigating, the local sheriff arrested him saying, 'Your travel agent called. You murdered your wife.'

The man did not inform anyone about the trip. Then how was the agent so sure that it was a murder?

There are 4 big houses. They are made from the materials: red marble, green marble, white marble and blue marble.

* Mrs Jennifer's house is somewhere to the left of the green marble one and the third one alone is white marble.
* Mrs Sharon owns a red marbles house and Mr Cruz does not live at either end, but lives somewhere to the right of the blue marbles house.
* Mr Danny lives in the fourth house, while the first house is not made from red marble.

Who lives where, and what is their house made from?

I went to the bookshop and spent one-half of the money that was in my purse.

When I came out, I found that I had as many cents as I had dollars and half as many dollars as I had cents when I went in. Find the money in my purse when I entered the store.

Cristina leaves home and then she makes exactly 3 left turns and returns home where she found 2 girls wearing the mask.

Who are these two masked girls?

I have lakes with no water, mountains with no stone and cities with no buildings. What am I?