Unlock Your Mind with Timeless Soviet Brain Teasers That Challenge Your Logic

Discover a collection of enduring puzzles that invite you to test your wit and reasoning skills.

1. The Wise Miller's Grain Bags

A miller presented nine sacks of grain arranged as shown and posed a challenge:

— Notice the arrangement: single sacks on the sides, pairs next to them, and three sacks in the center. Multiplying the left pair (28) by the left single sack (7) yields 196, matching the number on the center sacks. However, multiplying the right pair (34) by the right single sack (5) does not produce 196. Your task is to rearrange these nine sacks so that the product of each pair by its neighboring sack equals the number in the middle.

The correct arrangement is: 2, 78, 156, 39, 4. Here, each pair multiplied by its adjacent sack equals the middle number. This solution requires moving five sacks.

Other possible arrangements include: 4, 39, 156, 78, 2; 3, 58, 174, 29, 6; or 6, 29, 174, 58, 3, but these require moving seven sacks.

2. How Many Potatoes?

Three peasants stopped at an inn and ordered boiled potatoes. While they slept, the innkeeper prepared the dish and left it on the table without waking them.

One peasant woke, counted the potatoes, ate his share, and went back to sleep. Later, the second woke, unaware the first had eaten, counted the remaining potatoes, ate one-third, and slept again. The third peasant then woke, assumed he was first, counted the remaining potatoes, and ate one-third.

When all awoke, they saw eight potatoes left. How many potatoes did the innkeeper serve initially, and how many did each peasant eat to ensure an equal share?

Since the third peasant left 8 potatoes, each person’s share is 4 potatoes, meaning he ate 4. The second left 12 potatoes, so he ate 6. The first left 18 potatoes, having eaten 9. Thus, the innkeeper served 27 potatoes total, with each entitled to 9. The first ate all his share, while the second and third still had 3 and 5 potatoes respectively to eat.

3. Numbers in a Circle

Place digits 1 through 9 in the figure so that one digit is in the center, the others at the ends of each diameter, and the sum of three digits in every line equals 15.

The solution is illustrated below.

4. Timing the Egg Boil

How can you measure exactly 15 minutes using only 7-minute and 11-minute hourglasses?

Two approaches:

1. Start both hourglasses simultaneously with the egg in boiling water. After 7 minutes, flip the 7-minute hourglass once. After 11 minutes, flip the 11-minute hourglass once. When the sand finishes in the 7-minute hourglass again, 15 minutes have passed.

2. Flip both hourglasses and wait until the 7-minute hourglass runs out, then place the egg in water. When the 11-minute hourglass runs out, flip it. When it runs out again, 15 minutes will have elapsed since the egg was placed.

5. Family Matters

A new employee said:

— I have an equal number of brothers and sisters, but my sister has twice as many brothers as sisters.

How many children are in this family?

The family has seven children: four boys and three girls. Each boy has 3 brothers and 3 sisters; each girl has 4 brothers and 2 sisters.

6. A Good Pair

— How old is Ivanov?

— Let’s think. Eighteen years ago, when he married, he was exactly three times as old as his wife.

— But now he’s twice her age. Is this a different wife?

— No, the same one. So, how old are they now?

If the wife is x years old now, the husband is 2x. Eighteen years ago, he was 2x - 18, she was x - 18. Given 3(x - 18) = 2x - 18, solving yields x = 36, so the wife is 36 and the husband 72.

7. Two Coffee Pots

There are two coffee pots of equal width: one tall and one short. Which holds more?

Though it seems the tall pot holds more, the water can only be filled up to the spout’s height. Since the spouts are at the same height, both pots hold the same volume.

8. The Unimaginative Gardener

A gardener was tasked with planting 10 trees arranged so that there are 5 rows with 4 trees each. How to arrange them?

The trees must be planted at the intersections of a five-pointed star, creating the required rows.

9. Six Steamships

Three steamships (A, B, C) travel one after another along a canal. Three others (D, E, F) approach from the opposite direction. The canal is too narrow for two ships to pass side by side, but there is a bay that fits only one ship.

Can the ships pass each other without stopping their journey?

Ships B and C reverse, A enters the bay; D, E, F pass A; then A leaves the bay. The process repeats for B and C, allowing all ships to continue.

10. Divide the Moon

Divide a crescent moon shape into six parts using only two straight lines.

The lines should be drawn as shown, resulting in six clearly numbered sections.

11. And One More Apple

With five apples in a basket, how do you distribute them among five people so each gets one apple and one remains in the basket?

Four people take one apple each, and the fifth person takes the basket with the last apple inside.

12. To the Factory Gates

Two workers, an elderly and a young man, live together and work at the same factory. The young man takes 20 minutes to reach work, the elder 30. If the elder leaves 5 minutes earlier, after how long will the young man catch up?

The elder takes 10 minutes longer overall. If he left 10 minutes earlier, they’d arrive simultaneously. Leaving only 5 minutes earlier means the young man catches him halfway, after 10 minutes.

All puzzles are sourced from the book “Best Soviet Problems and Puzzles” by I. E. Gusev and A. G. Mernikov. These time-tested challenges offer a perfect way to unplug from gadgets and train your logical thinking.

How many did you solve without hints? Share your results in the comments!

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