fun & games

Intelligence test

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put the giraffe in and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.

2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?

Did you say, “Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant and close the refrigerator?” Wrong answer.

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.

3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?

Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory.

OK, even if you didn’t answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.

4. There is a river you must cross but it is inhabited by crocodiles. How do you manage it?

Correct Answer: You swim across. The crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you quickly learn from your mistakes.

Fun math questions

You are standing in front of the bathroom mirror and can see down to your navel. You walk back from the mirror. Can you now see:
1: Less of yourself    
2: The same amount    
3: More of yourself

Answer: The same amount, as long as the mirror is vertical.

You are at a wedding with 50 guests. What is the chance that among those guests are at least two who share a birthday?
1: Almost certain    
2: About 50-50    
3: About 1 in 7    
4: Unlikely

Answer: Astonishingly, the chance of at least one birthday coincidence in a group of 50 people is about 98%.

You are listening to a random news story on the “Today” program, which quotes some statistic, such as the number of refugees from a country, a company’s profits or the number of seconds it took a competitor to win a race. What is the chance that the first digit of the statistic is either a 1 or a 2?
1: Almost certain 
2: About 50-50 
3: About 2/9 (22%) 
4: Depends on the story

Answer: Most statistics quoted in the news reliably follow “Benford's Law” which says that roughly 50% of statistics begin with a 1 or a 2, while less than 10% begin with an 8 or a 9. There are exceptions, the main ones being people's ages and percentages.