Tax Collection Custom

A research team went to a village somewhere between the jungles of Africa. Luckily for them, they reached the day when quite an interesting custom was to be performed. The custom was performed once a year as they confirmed and was performed in order to collect the taxes from every male of the region.

The taxes were to be paid in the form of grains. Everyone must pay pounds of grain equaling his respective age. This means a 20-year-old will have to pay 20 pounds of grain and a 30-year-old will pay 30 pounds of grain and so on.

The chief who collects the tax has 7 weights and a large 2-pan scale to weigh. But there is another custom that the chief can weigh only three of the seven weights.

Can you find out the weights of the seven weights? Also, what is the maximum age of the man that can be weighed for the payment of taxes?




Similar Riddles

These types of puzzles are known as charades. What you have to do is to find two words that are referred to in the first stanza and the second stanza and put them together to form the third word in the third stanza.

Just for example, if my first refers to 'off' and my second refers to 'ice', then my whole will be the 'office'.

My first is present - future's past -
A time in which your lot is cast.

My second is my first of space
Defining people's present place.

My whole describes a lack of site -
A place without length, breadth, or height.

Asked by Neha on 07 Dec 2024


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

Rebus Puzzle Definition: A rebus is an illusion device that uses pictures to represent words or parts of words.
What does This Rebus Puzzle Identify?

Rebus Puzzle

Asked by Neha on 31 May 2023


Spelt forwards I’m what you do every day, spelled backwards I’m something you hate. What am I?

Asked by Neha on 26 Jul 2025

If you had a pizza with crust thickness 'a' and radius 'z', what's the volume of the pizza?

Asked by Neha on 30 May 2024

Find the last number in the series below:

voN luJ yaM raM ---

Asked by Neha on 05 Jun 2023


Can you discover the missing number in this series?

37, 10, 82
29, 11, 47
96, 15, 87
42, ?, 15

Asked by Neha on 14 Nov 2024

There are two dice with empty faces in front of you and a marker. You can mark any number on each of the faces of the two dice, but you have to display all 31 days of the month using the two of them.

Which numbers will you mark on which dice so that you can easily depict all the dates of the month?

Asked by Neha on 03 Apr 2025

A guy in his thirties is found dead in a forest. The shocking thing about the body is that he is wearing his swimming trunks snorkel and a facemask.

For your information, the nearest lake is some 10 miles away and the sea is hundreds of miles away.

How did he die then?

Asked by Neha on 15 Oct 2025


John is selling fruits.
He sells grapes at $30, Dates $25, and a Wolfberry $45.
At what price does he sell fig?

PS: Logical Thinking

Asked by Neha on 01 Jul 2023

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Crossword puzzles

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