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Crossword Puzzle Of The Week #1 (for DSA)
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Brain Teasers

Last Updated : 22 Apr, 2025
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What are Brain Teasers?

Brain teasers are puzzles or problems that are designed to stimulate and challenge the brain. They often require creative thinking, problem-solving skills, and the ability to think outside the box. Brain teasers come in various forms, including riddles, puzzles, and logic games. They are a fun way to exercise the mind and enhance cognitive abilities. They can be fun, educational and stimulating. Some brain teasers are easy, while others are hard and require more time and effort.

brain-teaser-landing-page-copy

Table of Content

  • Types of Brain Teasers
  • 50 Brain Teasers
  • Benefits of Brain Teasers

Types of Brain Teasers

Here are some common types of brain teasers:

  1. Riddles: These are short puzzles or problems that require creative thinking to solve. They often involve wordplay, double meanings, or clever twists.
     
  2. Logic Puzzles: These puzzles require deductive reasoning and logical thinking to arrive at a solution. Examples include Sudoku, crosswords, and grid-based puzzles.
     
  3. Math Puzzles: These teasers involve mathematical concepts and may require calculations, algebraic reasoning, or pattern recognition.
     
  4. Visual Puzzles: These puzzles use images, patterns, or shapes to challenge the brain's ability to recognize relationships and solve problems.
     
  5. Word Puzzles: These puzzles involve playing with words, such as anagrams, palindromes, or word associations.
     
  6. Lateral Thinking Puzzles: These puzzles require thinking "outside the box" and finding unconventional solutions to problems.
     
  7. Mystery Puzzles: These involve solving a mystery or crime by analyzing clues and piecing together information.
     
  8. Pattern Recognition Puzzles: These teasers involve identifying and continuing a pattern, whether it's in numbers, shapes, or other elements.

50 Brain Teasers

Some of the brain teasers are based on words, numbers, shapes or patterns. Others involve riddles, jokes or trivia. Some of them have more than one possible answer, so you can try to find alternative solutions. The answers are given at the end of the article but try not to peek until you have given your best shot. Ready to challenge your mind? Let’s begin!

  1. What word begins and ends with an ‘e’ but only has one letter?
  2. What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?
  3. What can travel around the world while staying in one spot?
  4. What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs?
  5. What has many keys but usually only one or two locks?
  6. What has a heart that doesn’t beat?
  7. What invention lets you look right through a wall?
  8. What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?
  9. I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?
  10. This belongs to you, but everyone else uses it.
  11. What has many teeth but can’t bite?
  12. What is cut on a table, but is never eaten?
  13. What can you catch but not throw?
  14. I have keys, but no locks and space, but no room. You can enter, but can’t go outside. What am I?
  15. This is as light as a feather, yet no man can hold it for long. What am I?
  16. What is always coming but never arrives?
  17. What can you keep after giving it to someone?
  18. What has a neck but no head?
  19. What has to be broken before you can use it?
  20. I have no life, but I can die, what am I?
  21. What can run but never walk, has a mouth but never talk, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?
  22. What can fill a room but take up no space?
  23. What gets wetter as it dries?
  24. What goes up and down but doesn’t move?
  25. What can you make that no one, not even you can see?
  26. What has one eye but cannot see?
  27. What has a thumb and four fingers but is not a hand?
  28. What has a spine but no bones?
  29. What can be seen once in a minute, twice in a moment and never in a thousand years?
  30. What is made of water but if you put it into water it will die?
  31. What has a face, two hands, and a tail, but no body?
  32. What can you hold in your right hand, but not in your left?
  33. What is black when it’s clean and white when it’s dirty?
  34. What has no legs but can do a split?
  35. What is easy to get into, but hard to get out of?
  36. What has words, but never speaks?
  37. What can you serve but never eat?
  38. What is full of holes but still holds water?
  39. What is always running but never moves, has no mouth but has a powerful roar?
  40. What can fly but has no wings?
  41. What is at the end of a rainbow?
  42. What is so delicate that even mentioning it might break it?
  43. What can you not keep until you give it?
  44. What goes through cities and fields, but never moves?
  45. What occurs once in every minute, twice in every moment, but never in a thousand years?
  46. What is it that lives if it is fed, and dies if you give it a drink?
  47. What can you never eat for breakfast?
  48. What has a tongue but cannot talk, gets around a lot but cannot walk?
  49. What kind of room has no doors or windows?
  50. What is harder to catch the faster you run?

Answers

  1. Envelope
  2. Silence
  3. A stamp
  4. A clock
  5. A keyboard
  6. An artichoke
  7. A window
  8. A promise
  9. A bank
  10. Your name
  11. A comb
  12. A deck of cards
  13. A cold
  14. A keyboard
  15. Your breath
  16. Tomorrow
  17. Your word
  18. A bottle
  19. An egg
  20. A battery
  21. A river
  22. Light
  23. A towel
  24. The temperature
  25. Noise
  26. A needle
  27. A glove
  28. A book
  29. The letter M
  30. Ice
  31. A coin
  32. Your left hand
  33. A blackboard
  34. A banana
  35. Trouble
  36. A book
  37. A volleyball
  38. A sponge
  39. A river
  40. Time
  41. The letter W
  42. Silence
  43. Your word
  44. A road
  45. The letter M
  46. Fire
  47. Lunch or dinner
  48. A shoe
  49. A mushroom
  50. Your breath

Benefits of Brain Teasers

Brain Teasers are very beneficial for human beings, they are used at different levels to improve, enhance and test logical thinking skills and cognitive skills.

Benefit to Kids:

  • Brain Teasers help to enhance Cognitive Skills
  • Brain Teasers trains the mind to Think Quick
  • Troubleshooting Skills are built with the help of Brain Teasers
  • Solving Brain Teasers can be a good way to relax.
  • Solving Brain Teasers uses both sides of the Brain.
  • Spatial Reasoning is enhanced with the help of Brain Teasers.
  • Brain Teasers help in improving Concentration.
  • Brain Teasers help in improving Creativity among kids.

Benefits to Employees/Candidates:

Companies use Brain Teasers for the recruitment process. They are used by organisations to test the candidates' logical thinking skills.

  • Brain Teasers are used to test a candidate's quick response skills.
  • Brain Teasers are used to assess a candidate's creativity.
  • Brain Teasers are used to examine a candidate's reaction to unfamiliarity.
  • Brain Teasers are used to break the monotony.

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Crossword Puzzle Of The Week #1 (for DSA)

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  • Tutorials
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    3 min read
    Puzzle | Measure 4L using given 3 buckets
    Suppose you have 8L, 5L and a 3L bucket with you. The buckets have no measurement lines on them and you are asked to measure exactly 4L of water using the three buckets. How could you measure exactly 4L water using only those buckets and provided you have as much extra water as you need ? Solution:-
    3 min read
    Puzzle | 3 Priests and 3 devils Puzzle
    There are 3 devils and 3 Priests.They all have to cross a river in a boat.Boat can only carry two people at a time.As long as there are equal number of devils and priests,then devils will not eat Priest.If the number of devils are greater than the number of priests on the same side of the river then
    2 min read
    Puzzle | Farmer, Goat, Wolf and Cabbage
    There is a farmer who wishes to cross a river but he is not alone. He also has a goat, a wolf, and a cabbage along with him. There is only one boat available which can support the farmer and either of the goat, wolf or the cabbage. So at a time, the boat can have only two objects (farmer and one oth
    3 min read
    Puzzle | Water Jug Problem
    We have two water jugs, one measures 4 Gallons (4G) while the other measure 9 Gallons (9G). But there is no measuring label mentioned on either of these two jugs i.e. we cannot know the exact amount filled in the jug. Now, assuming there is an infinite amount of water supply, can we measure all 1G,
    2 min read
    Puzzle | Blind man and Pills
    Puzzle: A blind man is alone on a deserted island. He has two blue pills and two red pills. He must take exactly one red pill and one blue pill or he will die. How does he do it?Solution:Way 1: Firstly, break each of the pills in half, and as you do this pop one half in your mouth and lay the other
    2 min read
    Puzzle | The Burning Candles
    Problem Statement: Given two candles. Each of them burns for one hour. They burn unevenly in different parts though. In addition, let's have a box of matches. Measure 45 minutes and 15 minutes. Solution: Step1: Both ends of the first candle should be lit, but only one end of the second candle should
    2 min read
    Birthday Puzzle
    Puzzle:On a new year day, two old friends (A and B) meet at a party. As they met after a long time person B wanted person A to guess his birthday. As both friends are not in touch for a long time person A was unable to guess his birthday. So person B decided to give some hints. Below are the hints:
    2 min read
    Puzzle | Rat and Poisonous Milk Bottles
    You have 4 bottles of milk. One of them is poisonous while the other 3 are non-poisonous. There is a rat which dies exactly after 10 hours of drinking the poisoned bottle. You have a clock that measures time only in hours. Suggest an optimal strategy to identify the poisoned bottle within 24 hours.
    1 min read
    Measuring 6L water from 4L and 9L buckets
    Question: Suppose you have a 4 liter jug and a 9 liter bucket . The buckets have no measurement lines on them either. How could you measure exactly 6 liter using only those buckets and you have as much extra water as you need ? Solution: Consider 2 buckets one 4L and other 9L. : Bucket 1 (4L) and Bu
    1 min read
    Puzzle | Six Houses P, Q, R, S, T, and U
    There are three houses on each side of the road. These six houses are labeled as P, Q, R, S, T, and U. The houses are of different colors, namely, Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow, and White. The houses are of different heights. T, the tallest house, is exactly opposite to the Red-colored house.The
    3 min read
    Melting Candles | Puzzle
    Problem Statement: There are two candles of equal lengths but of different thicknesses.The thicker candle lasts for 6 hours while the thinner one lasts for 2 hours lesser than the thicker one.A person lights the two candles at the same time and goes to play.After returning home, the person saw that
    3 min read
    Puzzle 47 | Red Hat vs Blue Hat
    A team of three people decide on a strategy for playing the following game. Each player walks into a room. On the way in, a fair coin is tossed for each player, deciding that player’s hat color, either red or blue. Each player can see the hat colors of the other two players, but cannot see her own h
    3 min read
    Puzzle | Find the Culprit
    Joe is a person who can't keep his secrets. He is that much careless that all his relatives and friends know his Debit Card PIN. Today Joe makes a profit of $1000. So he decided to throw a party and he invited his 3 friends: Leena, Paul, and Andrew. He was in a hurry to reach the home as soon as pos
    2 min read
    Puzzle 54 | Fill the Jug
    There are two jugs each of 4 and 3 liters respectively , without any measuring marks. how many minimum steps are required to have 2 liters of water into the 4 litre jug (the jugs can be filled any number of times with water, and they can be emptied any number of times). Note that this puzzle is diff
    2 min read
    Puzzle 46 | Rich or Poor
    A place has two kinds of residents, Poor, who always tell the truth, and their opposites, Rich, who always lie. You encounter two people A and B. What are A and B if A says “B is a Poor” and B says “The two of us are opposite types” ? Answer: Both A and B are Rich Solution: Let p and q be the statem
    2 min read
    Puzzle | Light all the bulbs
    Problem Statement: Consider a circle with 2014 light bulbs and only 2 of them are on and the rest are off. Anyone can choose any of the bulbs and change the state of the neighboring bulbs. The task is to switch all the 2014 light bulbs on?Solution: Yes, it is possible to get all the light bulbs ON.F
    2 min read
    Puzzle | Distribute the Water
    Problem Statement: Suppose there are three containers; container I (3L), container II (5L), container III (8L). Container III is filled with 8L of water while the other two are empty. With the help of these 3 containers, how to distribute the water in equal volumes i.e. 4L in container II and, 4L in
    2 min read
    Puzzle 50 | The Boat Wreckage
    Let’s make this one easy! Ankur with his friends went to river the bank of river Ganges, as the exams are over for fun and recreation. But while crossing to other side of the river, a storm came and he along with fourteen other people are trapped in a boat in the mid of the river. None of them know
    2 min read
    Puzzle | Weight of Heavy Ball
    Puzzle: There are 2187 balls, out of which 1 is heavy. Find the minimum number of attempts the balls have to be weighed for finding out the heavy ball. Solution: The minimum amount of measurements needed to be done will be equal to 7 times. 2187 = 3^7 Step 1: Divide the 2187 balls into 3 equal group
    4 min read
    Puzzle | Guess the bit string
    Puzzle: Your friend thinks of an N bit string that will refer to it as a code. The task is to guess the code by asking your friend a series of queries. In each query, you can provide your friend with an N bit string of your choice, and your friend will tell you the number of bits in your string that
    3 min read

    Arrangement Puzzles

    Puzzle 11 | ( 1000 Coins and 10 Bags )
    A dealer has 1000 coins and 10 bags. He has to divide the coins over the ten bags so that he can make any number of coins simply by handing over a few bags. How must divide his money into the ten bags? Find the ages of daughters Solution: The idea of filling coins in the powers of 2 can be get from
    2 min read
    Puzzle 23 | (Days of month using 2 dice)
    Puzzle: How can you represent days of month using two 6 sided dice? You can write one number on each face of the dice from 0 to 9 and you have to represent days from 1 to 31, for example for 1, one dice should show 0 and another should show 1, similarly for 29 one dice should show 2 and another shou
    2 min read
    Puzzle 38 | (Tic Tac Toe Puzzle)
    Statement: The game of Tic-Tac-Toe is being played between two players and it is in below state after six moves. Can you answer following questions? Who will win the game, O or X? Which was the sixth mark and at which position? Assume that both the players are intelligent enough. Solution: X will wi
    1 min read
    Puzzle 30 | (Last Palindrome Date Before 10/02/2001)
    In year 2001 on October 2, 2001, the date in MMDDYYYY format was a palindrome (same forwards as backwards), 10/02/2001 -> "10022001" When was the last palindrome date before 10/02/2001? Answer: One year can have only one palindrome as the year fixes the month and date too, so the year has to be l
    1 min read
    Puzzle 42 | (Placing the numbers)
    Place the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 into the eight circles in figure given below, in such a way that no number is adjacent to a number that is next to it in the sequence.For example 1 should not be adjacent to 2 but can be adjacent to 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Similarly for others. We strongly recommen
    2 min read
    Puzzle | 10 Balls in 5 Lines
    Puzzle: Given are ten balls, the task is to place these 10 balls in five lines such that each line contain exactly 4 balls. Solution: The solution to the above puzzle can be obtained as: Draw the star with a pentagon in the centre. Place each ball at the intersection of extended lines of pentagon Th
    1 min read
    Puzzle | (Round table coin game)
    Suppose two player, player A and player B have the infinite number of coins. Now they are sitting near a perfectly round table and going to play a game. The game is, in each turn, a player will put one coin anywhere on the table (not on the top of coin already placed on the table, but on the surface
    1 min read
    Puzzle | Place numbers 1 to 9 in a Circle such that sum of every triplet in straight line is 15
    Place the numbers 1 to 9 in a circle, so that wherever there are three in a straight line they shall add up to 15. SOLUTION:The sum of first number and last number is ten ( 1 + 9 = 10 ).Similarly, the sum of second number and second last element is also ten ( 2 + 8 = 10 )In the same way ( 3 , 7 ) an
    2 min read

    Shape based Puzzles

    Puzzle 21 | (3 Ants and Triangle)
    There are 3 ants sitting on three corners of a triangle. All ants randomly pick a direction and start moving along edge of the triangle. What is the probability that any two ants collide? Hint: Every ant has two choices (pick either of two edges going through the corner on which ant is initially sit
    1 min read
    Puzzle | 3 cuts to cut round cake into 8 equal pieces
    Puzzle: You have a birthday cake and have to cut it into 8 equal pieces by making 3 cuts only. How do you do it? Solution: The solution can be divided into 3 basic steps. But apart from this there are also other method of executing this task. Step 1: Cut the cake into quarters (4 pieces) using 2 of
    1 min read
    Puzzle 25 | (Chessboard and dominos)
    There is an 8 by 8 chessboard in which two diagonally opposite corners have been cut off. You are given 31 dominos, and a single domino can cover exactly two squares. Can you use the 31 dominos to cover the entire board? Answer: No Explanation: At first, it seems that there were 8*8 = 64 squares the
    1 min read
    Puzzle | Three Squares
    Given four sticks of length 'a' and four more sticks of length 'b'. The length of 'b' is exactly half of the length of 'a'. The task is to make three equal squares using the given 8 sticks. Solution: Below are the steps to make three equal squares from the given sticks: 1. Place the first stick of l
    1 min read
    Puzzle | Maximum pieces that can be cut from a Circle using 6 straight lines
    PUZZLE:Given a Circle and Six Straight Lines. What is the maximum number of pieces that one can cut the circle using these six straight lines?SOLUTION:Using six lines, we can cut the circle into 22 pieces at maximum.Using one line, the circle can be divided into two parts.Two lines divide the circle
    1 min read
    Puzzle | Splitting a Cake with a Missing Piece in two equal portion
    Problem Statement: There are three friends who ordered a rectangular cake. One of them was in a hurry so he cut a rectangular piece from the cake. The piece could be of any arbitrary size(less than the size of the cake) and rotation. Now the remaining two friends want to divide the remaining cake in
    1 min read
    Puzzle 48 | Rectangular Cardboard
    Given, a rectangular cardboard with a rectangular piece removed(of any size and orientation) how one can cut the rectangular cardboard in two equal parts with one straight line cut. Solution: Using the fact: that “any line passing through the center of a rectangle divides the rectangle into two equa
    1 min read
    Puzzle | Dividing a Square into N smaller squares
    Puzzle: Find all values of N for which one can dissect a square into N smaller squares, and outline an algorithm for doing such a dissection. Solution: The basic point to observe is a square has 4 right-angles. So, to divide it into smaller squares each of its right-angle must fall into another squa
    2 min read

    Rubik's Cube

    Algorithm to solve Rubik's Cube
    A Rubik's Cube is an interesting puzzle invented by Erno Rubik, which has 43 quintillion possible configurations. But with the use of certain algorithms, it can be solved easily. There are many variations of the Rubik's cube nowadays, but the most basic one is the 3x3x3 Rubik's cube.A 3x3x3 Rubik's
    4 min read
    Rubik's Cube Facts and Questions
    What is a Rubik's Cube?The Rubik’s Cube is a 3-D combination Puzzle that was invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Rubik’s Cube is a Puzzle with a six-coloured cube, whose faces each include nine squares, eight of which can be rotated separately. In this ar
    5 min read

    Brain Teasers

    Brain Teasers
    What are Brain Teasers?Brain teasers are puzzles or problems that are designed to stimulate and challenge the brain. They often require creative thinking, problem-solving skills, and the ability to think outside the box. Brain teasers come in various forms, including riddles, puzzles, and logic game
    5 min read

    Crossword Puzzle

    Crossword Puzzle Of The Week #1 (for DSA)
    In this issue of Crossword Puzzle of the week, we will dive into the topics of Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA). The solution to the crossword puzzle is provided at the end. Crossword Puzzle #1 - by GeeksforGeeksHINTS: Down: 1. A ______ is like a line waiting to purchase tickets, where the first
    2 min read
    Crossword Puzzle Of The Week #2 (for Computer Science and Applications)
    In this issue of Crossword Puzzle of the week, we will dive into the topics of Computer Science and Applications. The solution to the crossword puzzle is provided at the end. Crossword Puzzle Of The Week #2 (for Computer Science and Applications) HINTS: ACROSS:1. The ........ number system consists
    2 min read
    Crossword Puzzle Of The Week #3 (for Database and Queries)
    In this issue of Crossword Puzzle of the week, we will dive into the topics of Database and Queries. The solution to the crossword puzzle is provided at the end. Crossword Puzzle Of The Week #3 (for Databases and Queries)HINTS: DOWN: 1. _______ gives a logical structure of the database graphically?2
    1 min read
    Crossword Puzzle Of The Week #4 (for Object Oriented Programming)
    In this issue of Crossword Puzzle of the week, we will dive into the topics of Object Oriented Programming. The solution to the crossword puzzle is provided at the end. Crossword Puzzle Of The Week #2 (for Object-Oriented Programming)HINTS: DOWN 1. The class members declared as _____ can be accessed
    2 min read
    Crossword Puzzle Of The Week #5 (for Operating System)
    In this issue of Crossword Puzzle of the week, we will dive into the topics of Operating Systems. The solution to the crossword puzzle is provided at the end. Crossword Puzzle Of The Week #5 (for Concepts of Operating System)HINTS: DOWN 1. Part of the operating system which is responsible for file m
    2 min read
    Top 100 Puzzles Asked In Interviews
    Puzzles are asked in Interviews to check our problem-solving skills. Here we are providing you with the top 100 puzzles that are asked in Interviews. The main aim of puzzles is entertainment. Puzzles can be of many types:- picture puzzles, logical puzzles, mathematical puzzles, etc. It is very helpf
    4 min read
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