Brain Teasers

There is a basket containing 5 apples, how do you divide the apples among 5 children so that each child has 1 apple while 1 apple remains in the basket?

4 children get 1 apple each while the fifth child gets the basket with the remaining apple still in it.

Sally is 54 years old and her mother is 80, how many years ago was Sally's mother three times her age?

41 years ago, when Sally was 13 and her mother was 39.

Using only addition, how do you add eight 8's and get the number 1000?

888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 1000

A ship anchored in a port has a ladder which hangs over the side. The length of the ladder is 200cm, the distance between each rung in 20cm and the bottom rung touches the water. The tide rises at a rate of 10cm an hour. When will the water reach the fifth rung?

The tide raises both the water and the boat so the water will never reach the fifth rung.

There is a three digit number. The second digit is four times as big as the third digit, while the first digit is three less than the second digit. What is the number?

141

Which 3 numbers have the same answer whether they're added or multiplied together?

1, 2 and 3.

Two girls were born to the same mother, at the same time, on the same day, in the same month and in the same year and yet somehow they're not twins. Why not?

Because there was a third girl, which makes them triplets!

What word looks the same backwards and upside down?

SWIMS

I am an odd number. Take away one letter and I become even. What number am I?

Seven (take away the 's' and it becomes 'even').