A swan sits at the center of a perfectly circular lake. At an edge of the lake stands a ravenous monster waiting to devour the swan. The monster can not enter the water, but it will run around the circumference of the lake to try to catch the swan as soon as it reaches the shore. The monster moves at 4 times the speed of the swan, and it will always move in the direction along the shore that brings it closer to the swan the quickest. Both the swan and the the monster can change directions in an instant.
The swan knows that if it can reach the lake's shore without the monster right on top of it, it can instantly escape into the surrounding forest.

How can the swan successfully escape?

This puzzle is for Harry Potter fans. Do you know why Tom Riddle is called Lord Voldemort?

I have one of the three numbers: 1, 2, or 3 in my mind. I speak only truth. You can ask me just one question for which I will only reply in yes or no or don't know. What question will you ask from me so that you are able to know the number?

Is the statement valid that it does not matter how much older a sibling is, eventually the younger one will be half as old as the older one?

I am a prime number.
The double of myself is equal to the square of me.

which number am I?

What am I?

In two decks of cards, what is the least amount of cards you must take to be *guaranteed* at least one four-of-a-kind?

In the given picture, you can find two letters missing. When two particular letters are placed in the missing spots, you get an eight-letter word while reading in the anti-clockwise direction. Can you find out the missing letters and the missing word eventually?

There are four people in a house. A fireman, an athlete, an old woman, and a drunk guy. The house catches fire and before the fact is known, it is too late. All they know is that the entire house is in flames and it will collapse exactly after twelve minutes. Now they can move out of the house but for that, they will have to pass the hallway which is entirely blazing with flames. Thus to move, one must carry a fire extinguisher to keep the flames away. Seeking the burnt wooden floor, only two people can run through that hallway at one time. But for others to go, one must return back with the fire extinguisher. The fireman is trained for such tasks and can run through the hallway in a minute. The athlete can make it in a couple of minutes. The old woman can run slowly and will cover the hallway in four minutes. The drunk guy will take five minutes to run through it. If all of them can make it through the hallway in twelve minutes, all of them will be saved. When two move together, they will run at the speed of the slower ones.

How will all four of them manage to run to safety?

It's a 7-letter word.
If we remove 1 letter from it, it remains the same.
If we remove 2 letters from it, it remains the same.
If we remove 3 letters from it, it remains the same.
If we remove all the letters from it, still it remains the same.
What is it?