Why is the longest human nose just 11 inches?

Solve the alphametic puzzle by replacing the alphabet with the number.

S T O R M +
S O L E S
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T O W E L
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They came out at night, without being called.
They lost at day, without being stolen.
Who are they?

What are the next two letters in the following series and why?
W A T N T L I T F S _ _

*Hint: Check Puzzle Title

One day, John and his friends were playing around. Jacob hit something with a Pin and it popped. John's dad came into the room that very moment, but he wasn't mad. In fact, he was smiling. What did Jacob hit?

You have to put a letter on the following to make it a meaningful word. The only challenge is that you can't use 'E'.

S E Q U E N C _

I am green and found in the forest and have needles instead of leaves. What am I?
Hint 1: It can be used for Christmas decorations.
Hint 2: I have a strong, scent that is used in air fresheners.

In particular commonwealth games, a female participant won silver and gold medals for a single event.

How can this be possible?

The great emperor Akbar once ruled India. He was well known for his intelligence. But along with that, he was known for the Nine Gems in his court. One of the nine gems was Birbal, a quick witted and extremely intelligent man. The stories of his wit were widely popular.

Once a king ruling in a distant land heard of Birbal. To check his wit, he sent an invitation and called him to visit his land. Akbar allowed Birbal to go and he took off on the journey.

Upon reaching that kings kingdom, he was welcomed with flowers. He was then escorted to the palace of the king. Upon entering the palace, Birbal found that there were six people sitting in front of him adorning the same robe. They were also lookalike and it was hard to judge who the real king was.

After a couple of minutes, Birbal approached one of them and bowed in front of him greeting him.

That was the real king. How did Birbal know who was the real king ?

I know a nine-letter word having only one vowel.
Do you ?