Larry’s granddad was a wealthy man who loved playing pranks on his relatives. When he passed away, no one could find his will. But one day, five years later, Larry found it while looking through some old papers. The will said that all the money and valuables were hidden at 2 PM sharp under his favorite cherry tree, right where its shadow ends. Larry was excited and went to the villa to dig under the tree at 2 PM, but he found nothing. Why? Because the tree had grown taller over the years, and its shadow had become longer too!
A man in a small mountain village had his goat stolen. He suspected one of his neighbors. The village head gave four suspects a magic stick each, saying the thief’s stick would grow by five inches by morning. The next day, the village head knew who the thief was because one stick was five inches shorter. The thief had cut his stick, expecting it to grow!
Three friends fell asleep under a tree. While they were sleeping, a boy painted mustaches on their faces. When they woke up, they laughed at each other until they realized they all had mustaches too!
Eric was locked in a room with 19 other people. He had to place an apple so everyone but one person could see it. He did it by putting the apple on one person’s head!
Mark rides his bike to the railway station every day. In the morning, he takes the train from a stop one mile away from his house. In the afternoon, he gets off at a stop two miles away in the opposite direction. Why? Because his house and the stations are on a hill, and this way, he can ride his bike downhill both ways!
Two soccer teams played a game, and each scored two goals. Yet, it wasn’t a tie because one team scored an own goal, making the other team win!
An inventor was ready to test his time machine to go 500 years back. But he realized he should take it downstairs first to avoid a nasty fall since multi-story buildings were rare back then.
A criminal locked businessman Brian in a room with $5000, demanding he double it. Brian managed to do it by placing the money in front of a mirror!
Amanda found a genie who granted her three wishes but said she couldn’t wish for more wishes. Amanda cleverly wished for the genie to allow her to ask for more wishes!
Two British women wanted to lose weight. After two weeks, one was happy, and the other was upset. Why? Because the first woman lost weight, and the second lost 10 pounds in UK money!
Melissa was walking home when she saw people moving strangely. They were zombies! But the next day, she was fine. It was Halloween, and the zombies were just people in costumes!
Andrew played volleyball at the beach and later felt sick after drinking lemonade. The police found out the barman poisoned him because he lied about the volleyball game to frame someone else.
A student failed a test and asked his teacher how to improve his marks. The teacher gave him a riddle about a box easier to lift from a wooden floor than a steel table. The student answered correctly: the box was filled with magnets!
Ashley, a fashion model, disappeared before a show. The police questioned suspects and found out Paul, the hairstylist, was behind it because hairstylists don’t deal with makeup!
A criminal escaped and got a job in a mansion. The police found out the cook was the criminal because he left eggshells in an omelet, something a real cook wouldn’t do!
What comes with a train, leaves with a train, but is no use to a train? It’s noise! Every train makes noise, but it doesn’t help the train at all.
Let’s explore how shadows change over time! Go outside with a stick and a ruler. Place the stick upright in the ground and measure its shadow at different times of the day. Record your observations and discuss why the shadow length changes. This will help you understand why Larry couldn’t find the treasure under the cherry tree!
Recreate the magic stick scenario with your classmates. Each of you will receive a stick, and one of you will be the “thief.” Try to figure out who it is by observing the sticks the next day. Discuss how assumptions can lead to unexpected outcomes, just like in the story of the smart investigator.
Work in groups to solve the apple visibility puzzle. Use an apple and try to place it so everyone but one person can see it. This activity will help you think creatively and understand Eric’s clever solution to the problem.
Imagine you are inventors like the one in the story. Design a safety plan for testing a time machine. Discuss what precautions you would take to avoid accidents. This will help you understand the importance of planning and safety in experiments.
Create your own riddles based on the stories you read. Exchange them with your classmates and try to solve each other’s riddles. This activity will enhance your problem-solving skills and encourage you to think outside the box, just like the characters in the stories.
Critical – Carefully judging something to understand it better – When reading a story, it’s important to be critical and think about what the author is trying to say.
Thinking – Using your mind to consider or reason about something – She spent a lot of time thinking about how to solve the puzzle.
Logic – A way of thinking that uses reason and is based on facts – Using logic, he figured out the answer to the math problem.
Problem – Something that needs to be solved or fixed – The problem was tricky, but with teamwork, they found a solution.
Solve – To find an answer to a question or a way to fix something – She was able to solve the mystery by following the clues.
Riddle – A question or statement that requires thought to answer or understand – The riddle was challenging, but he enjoyed trying to figure it out.
Suspect – To think that something might be true or that someone might be guilty – She began to suspect that her brother had taken her book.
Evidence – Information or facts that help prove something – The detective found evidence that helped solve the case.
Realize – To understand something clearly or become aware of it – He didn’t realize how important the homework was until he got to class.
Mystery – Something that is difficult to understand or explain – The mystery of the missing keys was finally solved when they found them under the couch.
