Tricky Riddles for Adults

Riddles can either be fun, when you can solve them easily, or frustrating, when you don't have the slightest idea of what the answer is. In any case, however, they often tend to capture our attention, thus making us restless until we find the answer. Tricky riddles for adults are a bit tough to crack, especially for those people who lack critical thinking and observation skills. Good listening skills and reasoning ability can help you crack even the toughest riddles you come across. Below we have mentioned some tricky riddles for adults which can be solved by applying different methods.

Tricky Math Riddles
Some people just love mathematics, while some prefer to stay away from numbers. Tricky riddles for adults, which involve application of mathematics to solve them, are indeed a fun way to get acquainted with numbers. Here are some examples of math riddles and puzzles you can solve by adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. Try your answers for each riddle before clicking the 'Show Answer' link.

1. You have a jug of milk, and you need to measure out just one cup. How do you do this if you only have a three-cup measuring container and a five-cup container?
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   Answer:
   Fill the 3-cup container with milk and then pour all three cups of milk into the 5-cup container. Fill the 3-cup container with milk again and then use it to fill the 5-cup container the rest of the way. The remainder left in the 3 cup container will equal one cup.
2. The ages of a father and son add up to 66. The father's age is the son's age reversed. How old could they be?
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   Answer:
   There are three possible solutions for this 51 and 15. 42 and 24. 60 and 06.

Tricky Logic Riddles
Some riddles tend to question your logical thinking. At times, you may have to think out of the box to solve these riddles, most of the time your critical thinking skills can ensure that your solve these tricky riddles with immense ease. Here are some examples of riddles you can solve with logical reasoning and creative thinking. Try your answers for each riddle before clicking the 'Show Answer' link.

1. A man is on a trip with a fox, a goose, and a sack of corn. He comes upon a stream which he has to cross, and finds a tiny boat which he can use for the same. The problem though, is that he can only take himself and either the fox, the goose, or the corn across at a time. It is not possible for him to leave the fox alone with the goose or the goose alone with the corn. How can he get all safely over the stream?
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   Answer:
   Take the goose over first and come back. Then take the fox over and bring the goose back. Now take the corn over and come back alone to get the goose. Take the goose over and the job is done!
2. You are standing in front of a room with one lightbulb inside of it. You cannot see if it is on or off. Outside the room there are 3 switches in the off positions. You may turn the switches any way you want to. You stop turning the switches, enter the room and know which switch controls the light bulb. How?
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   Answer:
   You turn 2 switches on and leave 1 switch off and wait about a minute. Then enter the room, but just before you enter, turn one switch from on to off. Once in the room, feel the lightbulb - if it is warm, but off, it has to be the last switch you turned off. If it is on, it has to be the switch left on. If it is cold and is off, it has to be the switch you left in the off position.

Funny Tricky Riddles
One has to take life seriously, but not all the time. There are times when seriousness should take a back seat, and solving tricky riddles which make you laugh is one of the best examples of the same. Here are some fun tricky riddles, but make sure you don't use them against some short tempered person whose idea of fun is different from yours! Try your answers for each riddle before clicking the 'Show Answer' link.

1. A boy was at a carnival and went to a booth where a man said to the boy, "If I write your exact weight on this piece of paper then you have to give me $50, but if I cannot, I will pay you $50." The boy looked around and saw no scale so he agrees, thinking no matter what the carny writes he'll just say he weighs more or less. In the end the boy ended up paying the man $50. How did the man win the bet?
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   Answer:
   The man did exactly as he said he would and wrote 'your exact weight' on the paper.
2. After teaching his class all about roman numerals (X = 10, IX=9 and so on) the teacher asked his class to draw a single continuous line and turn IX into 6. The only stipulation the teacher made was that the pen could not be lifted from the paper until the line was complete.
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   Answer:
   Draw an S in front of the IX and it spells SIX. No one said the line had to be straight.

These were some of the tricky riddles for adults which were solved by the help of mathematics and logic. Some were illogical of course, but they were the funny riddles which were successful in bringing a smile on your face. Riddle solving can sharpen your problem solving skills by teaching you to think out of the box, reasoning, and applying the knowledge you get from education.