You have two strings whose only known property is that when you light one end of either string it takes exactly one hour to burn. The rate at which the strings will burn is completely random and each string is different. How do you measure 45 minutes?
In front of you, there are 9 coins. They all look absolutely identical, but one of the coins is fake. However, you know that the fake coin is lighter than the rest, and in front of you is a balance scale. What is the least number of weightings you can use to find the counterfeit coin?
Only one colour, but not one size,
Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies.
Present in sun, but not in rain,
Doing no harm, and feeling no pain.
What is it?
In the image below, you can see two glasses and two matchsticks.You need to move four matchsticks in such a manner that the crosses come inside the glasses. Note: you cannot move the crossed.
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.
In 2011, people playing Foldit, an online puzzle game about protein folding, resolved the structure of an enzyme that causes an Aids-like disease in monkeys. Researchers had been working on the problem for 13 years. The gamers solved it in three weeks.