# New Riddles/ Brain Teasers Needed! **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 31, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546 "2015-08-31T21:31:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/181 "2015-09-23T19:42:42Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > Well, there must have been some event of some sort within the last six months that caused most people to switch from not considering your word to have the common factor to now considering it to have the common factor, no? Well, yes. I suppose so. Though this “event” is not too much more than everyone being told that the word I am thinking of will now be part of the list that includes the other words. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/182 "2015-09-23T19:53:14Z")
Would the average person, if told the word and the factor and asked if the former possesses the latter, immediately recognize that it does, or would they have to consult some reference to figure out what does and does not have this factor? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/183 "2015-09-23T20:09:20Z")
I don’t know about the average person. But I bet 90% of the posters on this board would know that the word I am thinking of now has the common factor. No reference would be needed. Fewer probably would know that all of the other listed words share that factor. Hint: If I told you the word you would surely know the common factor without me having to say it. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/184 "2015-09-23T20:16:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Ah, good job, **Indistinguishable**. I was pretty sure there’d be an elegant proof, but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. > > It reminds me of an old one from Click and Clack: There’s a plane with 100 seats, and it’s sold out: There are 100 people waiting in line to board. Everyone has a seat assigned on their ticket, but the first person in line is a senile old lady who chooses her seat at random. Everyone else on the flight is too polite to comment about this: They’ll sit in their assigned seat if available, or if it’s already taken, they’ll just pick some other seat at random (and this process can of course repeat). You’re the last person in line. What is the probability that you’ll end up in your assigned seat? 1 in 100, right? ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/185 "2015-09-23T20:16:40Z")
Denali ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/186 "2015-09-23T20:17:53Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > Denali That’s it! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/187 "2015-09-23T21:49:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Biotop** : > > 1 in 100, right? No, that’s what you’d get if everyone was choosing a seat randomly. But remember, people are taking their assigned seats if available, which they often will be. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/188 "2015-09-23T22:03:22Z")
Oh, now I see. If the senile lady chooses her own seat, then everyone sits where they belong. If not, then someone is displaced until a displaced person sits in the old lady’s intended seat. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/189 "2015-09-23T22:14:24Z")
But if instead they just as likely take the seat of the last passenger, then he/she will have the wrong seat. 50/50. I am so going to use this one! ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/190 "2015-09-23T23:31:16Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > That’s it! I’m one of the 10% that doesn’t get it. If you’re referring to the new name of Mt. McKinley, I see how “massive” applies, but not the other words. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/191 "2015-09-24T00:08:32Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I’m one of the 10% that doesn’t get it. > > If you’re referring to the new name of Mt. McKinley, I see how “massive” applies, but not the other words. I am also a ten percenter. I did a bit of googling and discovered that the first result for “Denali castle” is an HVAC company is Castle Rock, Washington. Didn’t get any results that looked especially promising for most of the terms–I guess there are a couple of routes up the mountain that have some of these words as names? Color me no wiser than before. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/192 "2015-09-24T00:13:51Z")
Take a grid of hexagonal tiles, [like so](http://www.prawndesigns.com/hex-board-style-1-options/Settlers3E3-4Hex.png) (the linked example is a large hexagon tessellated by smaller hexagons, 4 to a side). You must choose for each hexagonal tile whether to color it red, green, or blue. For each point where all three colors touch: If they run in clockwise order “red, green, blue”, you will gain a dollar. However, if they run in clockwise order “red, blue, green”, you will lose a dollar. (Points where not all three colors touch neither gain nor lose you anything) What should you do for maximum profit? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/193 "2015-09-24T00:29:56Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I’m one of the 10% that doesn’t get it. > > If you’re referring to the new name of Mt. McKinley, I see how “massive” applies, but not the other words. No, I meant that 90% knew that Denali was the new name for McKinley. I suspected some less would recognize the others. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/194 "2015-09-24T00:40:06Z")
**Knowed Out** and **Ulf the Unwashed** , if you wish to spoil yourselves: [bear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Bear) [castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Peak_(Colorado)) [Harvard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Harvard) [hunter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hunter_(Alaska)) [massive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Massive) [university](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Peak_(Alaska)) ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/195 "2015-09-24T00:47:19Z")
And if that seems too wide a criterion, look more closely: [Fourteener](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteener) ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/196 "2015-09-24T00:49:06Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > **Knowed Out** and **Ulf the Unwashed** , if you wish to spoil yourselves: > > [bear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Bear) > [castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Peak_(Colorado)) > [Harvard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Harvard) > [hunter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hunter_(Alaska)) > [massive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Massive) > [university](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Peak_(Alaska)) Thanks. I know about Denali and the recent name change. But I’m not really familiar with any of the names on this list, so no wonder I didn’t have a clue. Question, though: Why Denali and not, say, Elbert? This looks like a list of high (but not the tallest) mountains in Alaska and Colorado. What makes Denali (highest in Alaska) correct, but not Elbert (highest in Colorado and also six letters)? Or does the puzzle rely on the six-months-ago clue? (I actually have called it Denali, when I have called it anything at all, for quite some time…) Not trying to be difficult, just trying to figure out the ins and outs of the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/197 "2015-09-24T00:52:47Z")
The other names were the same six months ago ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/198 "2015-09-24T01:02:43Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > The other names were the same six months ago Okay, somehow I managed to forget the importance of this in the original puzzle. My apologies. I think I got thrown off by the “most people” wouldn’t have made that connection six months ago part–as I said, I have thought of it as the six-letter name for a long time! (Not that it would have helped me anyway; oh well.) ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/199 "2015-09-24T02:08:54Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > **Knowed Out** and **Ulf the Unwashed** , if you wish to spoil yourselves: > > [bear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Bear) > [castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Peak_(Colorado)) > [Harvard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Harvard) > [hunter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hunter_(Alaska)) > [massive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Massive) > [university](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Peak_(Alaska)) Thanks for explaining. I never would have got it on my own. Just like the other 10 percenters. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/200 "2015-09-24T21:30:20Z")
Another word game. I’m pretty sure this is totally unfair since I just came up with it, and didn’t have to solve it myself, but here goes. What do these words have in common?: envy abjurer gnat reef onyx green pyrex Don’t Google them since you’ll find the answer immediately (I’m not the only one to notice this property). The list is by no means complete. If you think you have the solution, post another example and I’ll let you know :). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546.md?page=11)