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Here are a couple of riddles for you.

1.) Where does twelve plus two equal two?

2.) A man walks up to you and says "If you tell a lie I will stab you with a knife. If you tell the truth I will shoot you with a gun." What do you say to get out of this?

3.) My house is incredibly strong but breaks with a single tap what am I?

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  • $\begingroup$ There are too many answers being made for this question.....I think it should be closed $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Jun 18, 2015 at 16:20
  • $\begingroup$ I would agree with MarkN. If you can find some simple additional requirements to edit this with, then you can work to reopen it. $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Jun 18, 2015 at 16:43
  • $\begingroup$ I think that the answers already satisfy the first two questions for the most part and the third riddle is possibly beer? The keg is very strong, but the seal breaks as soon as it is tapped. The keg is the home for the beer. $\endgroup$
    – Ryan
    Jun 22, 2015 at 20:53

8 Answers 8

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3.

The House of Representatives. I believe the speaker of the house breaks the session with the tap of a gavel.

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  • $\begingroup$ I like this answer, especially your explanation of the "single tap" part. $\endgroup$ Jun 18, 2015 at 16:39
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    $\begingroup$ That would imply the it's strong in the first place... $\endgroup$
    – corsiKa
    Jun 18, 2015 at 20:47
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1.

A clock

2.

"You're going to stab me with the knife"

3.

A wooden ship (or houseboat). If the tap is the kind of tap one would use to collect sap from a tree, inserting it in the bottom of the boat would cause it to fill with water and sink (probably not the "right" answer, but still).

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    $\begingroup$ For 3 I would not consider a house of cards strong... I'm thinking it's an egg. $\endgroup$
    – Sabre
    Jun 18, 2015 at 14:02
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    $\begingroup$ The house breaks with a single tap, but the question was "What am I". $\endgroup$
    – mmking
    Jun 18, 2015 at 15:29
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    $\begingroup$ Based on MediaMagnet's comment on this, I'm guessing the "correct" answer to part 3 is the chick/embryo in the egg. Though I definitely wouldn't classify an eggshell as "incredibly strong." $\endgroup$ Jun 18, 2015 at 15:38
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    $\begingroup$ Your answer for number 2 will not work. He can just do both. It probably is intended, however. $\endgroup$
    – kaine
    Jun 18, 2015 at 15:48
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    $\begingroup$ He can't just do both and still follow his own logic (though if he is threatening your life he probably doesn't have the morality to stick to his own promises). If you say he'll stab you and he does, then you'll have told a truth and he'll shoot you. But you won't have told a lie, so by his logic he can't stab you. $\endgroup$ Jun 18, 2015 at 16:20
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Part 2: There's plenty of answers for this one, besides what WilliamKnapp said.

  1. I am telling a lie.

  2. Today is opposite day.

  3. Bwfffhlkbnm! (Since he doesn't understand this one, he can't tell if you are lying.)

Part 3:

The unhatched chick in an egg.
The house is a eggshell, which has a structure that makes it (sort of) hard to break from the outside. It breaks easily from a tap from the chick's beak from the inside.

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For question 2: Say nothing and run away. As valid an answer as any other, much more realistic, and violent crazy people are not (in my experience) fond of smart-asses.

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    $\begingroup$ He's got a gun, for god's sake. He could just shoot you in the back while you're running. $\endgroup$
    – mmking
    Jun 18, 2015 at 15:33
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    $\begingroup$ As a wise man once said: any man who is likely to shoot you in the back as you run away is as likely to shoot you in the face as you stand there. If you are running away, at least you're harder to hit. This isn't a TV show or a movie; don't kid yourself into thinking that negotiating with the crazy person with a gun is the safest plan. $\endgroup$ Jun 18, 2015 at 15:40
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1

An analogue clock. Those newfangled digital clocks won't do for this.

2

Logically one could say "You will stab me with a knife." If you're telling the truth, he's going to stab you with a knife, but he only does that if you tell a lie. Of course, I also would consider hypnosis and then run away while he's asleep.

3

They say spider silk is the strongest natural substance. I don't know who they are, though. Like Mia Wallace wisely said, "They talk a lot, don't they?" to which Vincent Vega replied "They certainly do." But anyway apparently per unit cross-sectional area, spider silk is supposed to be really strong. But it's also really thin so a single tap from a human will demolish it. So I'll say you're a spider.

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Another answer to #2 is to say

Nothing. A truth or a lie will get you shot or stabbed, but saying nothing at all falls under neither of these categories and would thus leave you alive.

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  • $\begingroup$ I like that as an alternate answer. $\endgroup$ Jun 18, 2015 at 17:10
  • $\begingroup$ Would it be possible for you to add an explanation as to why this answer is correct? Answers without explanations may be deleted. Thank you! $\endgroup$
    – user20
    Jul 17, 2015 at 18:34
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Question 2:

You could also ask him a question. "WHY? OH PLEASE NO, WHY?" is pathetic but not untrue or true. This won't get you out of it though unless you can keep it up forever...

Question 3:

Your house could be factory, restaurant, or other business. It will not last very long with only one tap (sink).

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  • $\begingroup$ "Oh please no" could be interpreted as a statement :-p $\endgroup$ Jun 18, 2015 at 15:49
  • $\begingroup$ @randal'thor Yes but an expletive. I intentionally included it to show the expletives are also not true or false. "Ouch" works. "Ouch that hurt" doesn't. Knowing the first should help you not get shot after you have already been stabbed. $\endgroup$
    – kaine
    Jun 18, 2015 at 15:51
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1.) Where does twelve plus two equal two?

In a Matchstick Puzzle. We start off with 12... and then add two matches to make it 1 X 2, which is two! enter image description here

2.) A man walks up to you and says "If you tell a lie I will stab you with a knife. If you tell the truth I will shoot you with a gun." What do you say to get out of this?

"What if I ask you a question instead?"

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