Shopkeeper's Weights

If a shopkeeper can only place the weights on one side of the common balance. For example, if he has weights 1 and 3 then he can measure 1, 3 and 4 only. Now the question is how many minimum weights and names of the weights you will need to measure all weights from 1 to 1000? This is a fairly simple problem and very easy to prove also.




Similar Riddles

Can you count the number of children in the picture below

Tricky Count Riddle

Asked by Neha on 28 Mar 2026


The host of a game show, offers the guest a choice of three doors. Behind one is a expensive car, but behind the other two are goats.
After you have chosen one door, he reveals one of the other two doors behind which is a goat (he wouldn't reveal a car).

Now he gives you the chance to switch to the other unrevealed door or stay at your initial choice. You will then get what is behind that door.

You cannot hear the goats from behind the doors, or in any way know which door has the prize.

Should you stay, or switch, or doesn't it matter?

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There is an ancient kingdom where every married woman keeps information regarding the fidelity of other men. However, what they don't know is the fidelity of their own husbands. Also, there is an ancient belief that they don't tell each other about the fidelity of their husbands.

On a certain day, the queen of the kingdom declares that she has identified at least one unfaithful man in the kingdom. She allows the wives to identify and gives them authority to kill their husbands if they are unfaithful at midnight.

How will the wives manage it?

Asked by Neha on 03 Oct 2023


Your mother’s brother’s only brother-in-law is asleep on your couch. Who is asleep on your couch?

Asked by Neha on 14 Mar 2022

The warden meets with 23 new prisoners when they arrive. He tells them, "You may meet today and plan a strategy. But after today, you will be in isolated cells and will have no communication with one another.

"In the prison is a switch room, which contains two light switches labeled 1 and 2, each of which can be in either up or the down position. I am not telling you their present positions. The switches are not connected to anything.

"After today, from time to time whenever I feel so inclined, I will select one prisoner at random and escort him to the switch room. This prisoner will select one of the two switches and reverse its position. He must flip one switch when he visits the switch room, and may only flip one of the switches. Then he'll be led back to his cell.

"No one else will be allowed to alter the switches until I lead the next prisoner into the switch room. I'm going to choose prisoners at random. I may choose the same guy three times in a row, or I may jump around and come back. I will not touch the switches, if I wanted you dead you would already be dead.

"Given enough time, everyone will eventually visit the switch room the same number of times as everyone else. At any time, anyone may declare to me, 'We have all visited the switch room.'

"If it is true, then you will all be set free. If it is false, and somebody has not yet visited the switch room, you will all die horribly. You will be carefully monitored, and any attempt to break any of these rules will result in instant death to all of you"

What is the strategy they come up with so that they can be free?

Asked by Neha on 10 May 2021

Three people check into a hotel. They pay $60 for the rent of the room. After they check-in, the manager realize that the rent for the room is $55. So, he gives $5 to the bellboy and asks him to give it to them. The bellboy thinks that it will be difficult for the three people to share $5 among them and seeking the personal benefit, he pockets $2 and gives the remaining $3 to them.

Now, each person paid $20 and got back $1. In this manner, each of them paid just $19 which totals to the amount of $57. The bellboy has $2 with him and adding them, we get $59. So where is the remaining $1?

Asked by Neha on 02 Aug 2023


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

In the image given, you can find several triangles. Can you count them all?

How Many Triangles Are There Puzzle

Asked by Neha on 17 Apr 2025

A girl was sitting in her hotel room when she heard a knock on the door. She opened the door and found that a man was standing outside. The man said, "Oh! I am really sorry, I thought this was my room." He then walked through the corridor to the elevator. The girl did not know the man. She closed her door and called security asking them to apprehend the man. What made her suspicious of that man? He might have been genuinely mistaken.

Asked by Neha on 27 Jan 2024


Out of three Friends John, Jacob and Jonny one of them is a king, one is a bureaucrat, and one is a Spy.

The king always tells the truth, the bureaucrat always lies, and the Spy can either lie or tell the truth.

John says: Jonny is a bureaucrat
Jacob says: John is a king
Jonny says: I am a Spy

Tell me, Who is the king, who is the bureaucrat, and who is the Spy?

Asked by Neha on 03 Feb 2024

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Crossword

The day before the 1996 U.S. presidential election, the NYT Crossword contained the clue “Lead story in tomorrow’s newspaper,” the puzzle was built so that both electoral outcomes were correct answers, requiring 7 other clues to have dual responses.