Make the Line Smaller

Sherlock Holmes was challenged to make a pre-drawn line smaller without erasing it. He did it in fractions of seconds. How?




Similar Riddles

Eight of us go fourth, not back, to protect our king from an attack. What are we?

Asked by Neha on 17 Apr 2022


We have shown you a regular water barrel as below. Without using any measuring device can you check if the barrel is more than half-filled or less than half-filled?

Half Filled barrel

Asked by Neha on 10 May 2023

There are hundred red gems and hundred blue gems. The blue gems are priceless while the red gems equal wastage. You have two sacks one labeled Heads and the other Tails. You have to distribute the gems as you want in the two sacks. Then a coin will be flipped and you will be asked to pick up a gem randomly from the corresponding sacks.

How will you distribute the gems between the sacks so that the odds of picking a Blue gem are maximum?

Asked by Neha on 29 May 2023


Three friends named Mr. Black, Mr. Yellow and Mr. Green enter a pub on a weekend night. They are wearing either a Black, Yellow or Green shirt.

Mr. Yellow says to them, 'Did you notice that we all are wearing different color shirts than our names?'

To this, the man who was wearing the Green shirt said. 'Wow, thats right.'

Can you identify who is wearing which colour shirt ?

Asked by Neha on 28 Jul 2021

Find out the missing number in the picture attached:

Find the Missing Number

Asked by Neha on 10 Jun 2023

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?

Picture Puzzle

Asked by Neha on 23 Dec 2024


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?

Asked by Neha on 02 Jun 2023

There is a shop where written:
Buy 1 for $1
10 for $2
100 for $3
I needed 999 and still only paid $3. How could this be financially viable for the shop-keeper?

Asked by Neha on 24 Dec 2025

There is a river to cross using a river raft and there are eight people (father, mother, policeman, thief, 2 daughters and 2 sons). No one knows to operate the raft except the adults and also excluding the thief. Only two people can go in the raft at a time. The raft should keep coming back and forth in order to pick and drop the people.
Rules to be followed:
Father: the father cannot stay in the raft or outside the raft without the presence of the mother.
Mother: the mother cannot stay in the raft or outside the rat without the presence of the father.
Thief: the thief is not allowed to stay with any of the family members unless there is a policeman.
Policeman: the policeman can travel with anyone.
2 sons and 2 daughters: they are not allowed to travel in the raft without the presence of an adult. They cannot either travel in the presence of only thieves without the policeman. The sons cannot be with their mothers without their father's supervision. The daughters are not allowed to be there with their fathers without the supervision of their mothers. But the daughters and the sons can be left unsupervised (as long as the other rules are applied).
What is the sequence that the people should follow in order to cross the river through the raft keeping in mind all the rules?
The rules are applicable not only in the raft but also outside the raft.

Asked by Neha on 14 Aug 2023


What number divided by 4 is the same as that number minus 4?

Asked by Neha on 09 Oct 2025

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Crossword puzzles

In the 1920s, people feared that crossword puzzles would contribute to illiteracy.