The Riddle Thread

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Originally Posted by noopypoop

Once upon a time there was a princess and a peasant. They were both in love, but the King would not approve.The king made a deal that he would pick out of a hat, one option being marry and one death. The peasant overheard the king talking to his advisor saying he was going to put 2 death cards in.The next day, at the drawing, the peasant ended up marrying the princess. How?

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While the King and his Advisor were not looking, the peasant tipped the scales in his favor, by adding a few more marriage cards to the hat.

Plausible, but somehow I do not think that this is the correct answer.

Okay, heres my guess, its probably way off.

The marriage card applies to both of them, so why would the death card not? So instead of killing his daughter at the risk of a death card, he let them marry?

Am I even warm?

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Originally Posted by Zephik

Then that is the most popular misconception I have heard to date. Everyone I have ever asked says "because # looks cheaper than #". $9.99 makes people feel like its a lot cheaper than $10, even though its not.

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Agreed

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Originally Posted by Zephik

By the way, interesting tid bit. When I visited Montana, I bought 99cent fries and received a penny back. But at the time, it was more annoying than interesting. What the hell do you do with a penny these days? Collect them? All they do is get in the way. Although, over a good year of buying things in Montana, I'm sure you'd have at least a couple dollars. lol /pointless

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Interesting view on this. However, I would much rather get a penny back from a $.99 order of fries here in Montana as opposed to paying $1.02 or more nearly anywhere else in the United States due to the sales tax. Since you hardly ever have pennies on you, you inevitably end up with $.98 in change.

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Originally Posted by Zephik

Hmm, so why DO they do it then? There are SO many reasons...

Well, I can knock at least half of them out with this next question.

Does it have anything to do with Gasoline?

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that 9/10ths of a cent is added in. It's not a scam. Dunno if that's what you're getting at here.

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Originally Posted by Zephik

I'll also add this, since it just came to mind.

Say you have a toy, that toy is 5 dollars. What if you added 99 cents? It would be 5.99. Would people feel like they are paying 6 dollars or 5 dollars? Thinking about it, 6, but most people don't think about it, so even though your paying 6 dollars, you still feel like your paying 5 dollars. That way, the market industry makes almost an entire extra dollar by raising the price to the highest possible amount.

Think of a car for another example. What sounds cheaper?

$29,999.99 or $30,000.00?

Am I even warm? lol

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To me, it seems to be a matter of psychology; similar to the old days where store owners would mark an item up in order to sell it at the 'SALE' price, which just happened to be the same as the original price. Didn't take too long for the general public to catch onto that.

Sadly, in this day and age, the whole 'marking it up to mark it down' scheme would probably work. People, it seems, have become to reliant on machines. I see this every day at work: people will buy groceries, their total will be $12.50 (for the sake of the argument), and they'll stand there slack jawed, trying to figure out how to add $25.00 to their total (cash back limit). I usually get really impatient and rattle off the total right after they ask if they could make their check for $25 over.

In a professional matter, of course.

The guy reaches into the hat, pulls out a piece of paper, and says aloud, "I choose the other piece of paper still in the hat", and since this one (he then opens the one he grabbed) says DEATH, that one must say marriage so I am free to marry your daughter.

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The answer to the other mystery riddle is "light", or more specifically "sunlight"...

I turn polar bears white (polar bear fur is actually transparent but trapped light makes it look white)

and I will make you cry. (John Denver - sunshine in my eyes can make me cry)

I make guys have to pee (first thing in the morning)

and girls comb their hair. (again, getting ready in the morning)

I make celebrities look stupid (bad lighting)

and normal people look like celebrities. (good lighting)

I turn pancakes brown (you cook them in the morning when it gets light)

and make your champagne bubble. (it bubbles when you open it - or light hits the champagne)

If you squeeze me, I'll pop. (no idea)

If you look at me, you'll pop. (no idea)

Can you guess the riddle?

Here's another one with a unique "catch" at the end.

A woman goes to her mother's funeral and sees the man of her dreams.
Although she never gets the chance to talk to him, she falls head over heels in love.
When she leaves the funeral, she goes home and kills her sister.
Why?

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Originally Posted by jdbnsn

I can see a strategy working for the peasant, but I don't know if this is the answer to the riddle. Had I been the peasant with the knowledge that the King was going to publicly cheat to impede my marriage and condemn me to death, I would wait of him to draw the death card, and then ask him to draw the other card afterward "just so I can see what it looks like". He would be shamed and his credibility destroyed (very bad move according to Machiovelli), his embarrassment may cause him to refuse and allow the marriage to shut me up.

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very very close

Fastest. Growing. Thread. EVER.

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Originally Posted by Ironcat

Here's another one with a unique "catch" at the end.

A woman goes to her mother's funeral and sees the man of her dreams.
Although she never gets the chance to talk to him, she falls head over heels in love.
When she leaves the funeral, she goes home and kills her sister.
Why?

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hoping that if another female relative of hers dies she'll get to meet him again?

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Originally Posted by Ironcat

Here's another one with a unique "catch" at the end.

A woman goes to her mother's funeral and sees the man of her dreams.
Although she never gets the chance to talk to him, she falls head over heels in love.
When she leaves the funeral, she goes home and kills her sister.
Why?

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This one screams lateralus. Was the motive related to the man she fell in love with?

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Originally Posted by noopypoop

very very close

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Ironcat's answer sounds more plausible, I don't know why but I was thinking the king was drawing the cards for him. Now realizing the peasant himself draws the cards, that method makes the most sense.