Replace the (?) with the correct mathematical signs to make the expression equal to 59.

18 ? 12 ? 4 ? 5 = 59

A Japanese ship is sailing in the Indian Ocean. The captain of the ship feels tired and decides to take shower to be rejuvenated. He goes to take the shower after keeping his diamond-studded Rolex watch and gold chain on the table.
When he comes back after 15 minutes, he finds them missing. There are 4 crew members on the ship and he calls them one by one to ask them what they were doing in that duration.

Following are the answers:
1. Crew 'A' who is the cook replies that he was cooking mutton for the crew members.
2. Crew 'B' who is a housekeeper tells that he was sleeping in his room.
3. Crew 'C' who is the engineer says that he was checking on the generator.
4. Crew 'D' who is another housekeeper says that he was correcting the hoisted flag that was put upside down.

It took only a couple of seconds for the captain to find the thief. Can you find the thief too?

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 ?

A horse was tied to a rope 5 meters long and the horses food was 15 meters away from the horse. How did the horse reach the food?

Three brothers Jacob, John, and James live in Mexico City. The product of the ages of these brothers is 175. Jacob and John are twins. How old is James?

What is the word or phrase?

I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?

It has horns but can’t beep. It is like to bleat but It is not a sheep. What is it?

An apple seller is hosting a competition. He offers 1000 apples and 10 boxes to the people who pass by. The challenge is to put those 1000 apples in the 10 boxes in such a manner that if he asks for any amount of apples, the person can directly give him the boxes or a combination of boxes. If the person can do it, he promises to give a thousand apples for free.

If you happen to pass by the apple seller, will you be able to win a thousand apples?

Find the next number in the series

12, 20, 40, 72, 116, 172 ?