Queens can move horizontally, vertically and diagonally any number of spaces as illustrated. One piece ‘attacks’ another if it moves to the same tile that the other piece is on. How can you arrange eight queens on the board so they cannot attack each other?
You are surrounded by a 100 foot wide and 100 foot deep moat. You have a 40 foot tall ladder, matches, a gallon of water, and as much rope as you need.
A man was found dead in his study. He was slumped over his desk and a gun was in his hand. There was a cassette recorder on his desk. When the police entered the room and pressed the play button on the tape recorder they heard: “I can’t go on. I have nothing to live for.” Then there was the sound of a gunshot. How did the detective immediately know that the man had been murdered and it wasn’t a suicide?
One absent minded ancient philosopher forgot to wind up his only clock in the house. He had no radio, TV, telephone, internet, or any other means for telling time. So he traveled on foot to his friend’s place few miles down the straight desert road. He stayed at his friend’s house for the night and when he came back home, he knew how to set his clock.
An Arab sheikh tells his two sons to race their camels to a distant city to see who will inherit his fortune. The one whose camel is slower wins. After wandering aimlessly for days, the brothers ask a wise man for guidance. Upon receiving the advice, they jump on the camels and race to the city as fast as they can.
A Petri dish hosts a healthy colony of bacteria. Once a minute every bacterium divides into two. The colony was founded by a single cell at noon. At exactly 12:43 (43 minutes later) the Petri dish was half full.
This logic puzzle was published in Martin Gardner’s column in the Scientific American. You are in a room with no metal objects except for two iron rods. Only one of them is a magnet.