Braingle: 'Death's Demise' Brain Teaser

Death's Demise

Mystery teasers are little stories where you need to figure out what happened based on the given clues.

Puzzle ID:	#21496
Fun:	(2.98)
Difficulty:	(1.51)
Category:	Mystery
Submitted By:	Skullcrusher
Corrected By:	boodler

Once upon a time there was a dad and 3 kids. When the kids were adults, the dad was old and Death came to take the dad. The first son, who became a lawyer, begged Death to let the dad live a few more years. Death agreed. When Death came back, the second son, who became a doctor begged Death to let his father live a few more days. Death agreed. When Death came back the third son, who became a priest begged Death to let the dad live till that candle wick burned out and he pointed to a candle. Death agreed. The third son knew Death wouldn't come back, and he didn't. Why not?

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Comments

mrsanita Mar 12, 2005	very clever
poopie Mar 12, 2005	easy but smart
Punk_Rocker Mar 13, 2005	Yeah, very easy. But why would the dad want to live that long? And whoever lit the candle again and let the wick burn out would be responsible for the murder...O_o
aPlatinum Mar 15, 2005	i thought the candle was never lit in the first place the riddle never said it was
beevyd Mar 17, 2005	Oooh. That was a cheap trick.
jake12341 Mar 20, 2005	nice work skull. i new u had it in u!
kimmy3771 Mar 20, 2005	Simple, but if you did not aproach it logically you might not see it. At first I thought that the candle was not lit to begin with, but realized that Death would have never agreed to the deal if that were true.
sassygirl101 Mar 23, 2005	it was hard but fun and it was cool
super_duper08 Mar 23, 2005	well when u said preist and candle i thought of the candle that burns next to the tabernacle. it is always lit. they replace the candle before it burns out and so death would not come back... but that may be against the rules to have a referance to religion in a teaser
thetrumonk Mar 28, 2005	That was really cool! I liked it
rac76 Mar 29, 2005	this was clever. a good twist for the answer.
tohruhonda2004 Apr 09, 2005	I totally figured it out after I read the answer. Your riddles are cool.
ice90 Apr 12, 2005	comfusin but fun
ice90 Apr 12, 2005	comfusin but fun
icequeen05 Apr 14, 2005	Death must be gulliable, then. i should have three sons!!
xsadclowneyezx May 06, 2005	no offense, but that was cheap of a Priest, no less, to do something like that. hes spending time in pergitory. i didnt like the answer. i would have guessed that the candle wasnt lit, or his father died before death left so something
B-BALL May 09, 2005	that was a creative one...i liked it
hpfan May 24, 2005	smart...
MTK_90 May 27, 2005	that was an easy one. i think i heard it before, but whatever.
sister Jun 13, 2005	this should be a joke
sreejith Jun 29, 2005	tooo easy
mamimi Jul 02, 2005	i was close! i thought the candle was never lit, even at the time of the "deal"...oh well, great teaser!
burfly01 Jul 04, 2005	it was pretty easy but good job trying.practice makes perfect.
froggygg Jul 09, 2005	May have been easy, but I still enjoyed it!
Ozymandias Jul 10, 2005	VERY CLEVER!!
bhssoccer23 Jul 11, 2005	Clever!!!
SPUTNIK2 Jan 19, 2006	that was very interesting and witty, thanks!!
phipha Oct 01, 2006	clever
pleroux Oct 25, 2006	I agree with aPlatinum and Mamimi - if the candle was never lit, then the riddle would also work But good teaser notheless!
Phalanx Oct 25, 2006	quite evident
Battery Oct 25, 2006	does that mean he lives forever?
shawneeo Oct 25, 2006	Welllll.... but, what does "candle burn out." mean then, if "the wick burns out." doesn't mean the candle, what else could it mean, that's the only thing that burns on a candle, but... oh well, Im glad the guy cheated death, although like the person above said, now the Dad has to live forever!
lmurray Oct 25, 2006	CUTE! (THE CANDLE HAD TO HAVE BEEN LIT IN ORDER FOR DEATH TO HAVE MADE THE DEAL.)
bradon182001 Oct 25, 2006	Tricky.
schmedley9 Oct 25, 2006	nice one. Cever twist at the end!!! I have to go . Bye
Pizzazz2u Oct 25, 2006	An ingenius little twist to this teaser! Thoroughly enjoyable! Keep them coming!
Synlapse Oct 25, 2006	I guess when you WAX eloquent when bargaining with Death, you can be as WICK-ed as you want to cheat him/her. Meanwhile the poor father has to suffer an extended old age, poor guy. Hope my sons have more sense.
zaya Oct 25, 2006	Sorry, but relying on a mild technicality in phrasing isn't that clever.
locutus13ds Oct 25, 2006	Okay I guess thats right, never gave any thought to candles ididn't get it..
wordmama Oct 25, 2006	I'm not good at teasers. Like locutus I've never given any thought to candles! But I can accept the answer given. I agree with those who say the deal could not have been made if the candle was not lit at the time of the deal. For those who like teasers, it was good; for me, hard. But I'll be back!!
mamel Oct 25, 2006	Awwww that was cute,but everyone lives forever untill they die.Forever is different time for everyone.THANKS FOR THE FUN.MAMEL
wordmama Oct 25, 2006	I'm not good at teasers. Like locutus I've never given any thought to candles! But I can accept the answer given. I agree with those who say the deal could not have been made if the candle was not lit at the time of the deal. For those who like teasers, it was good; for me, hard. But I'll be back!! btw, I thought synlapse's comment was most clever!
Blondie116 Oct 25, 2006	Very Clever, I Liked it
scallio Oct 25, 2006	Loved it! Great teaser! Probably should have been in the TRICK category rather than Mystery.
auntiesis Oct 25, 2006	I think this is cute, too. But it was way too easy. I guess I have a logical mind because I had the answer before I finished the last sentence. But it was still cute. Keep them coming.
coachpisco Oct 25, 2006	I had an inkling it was something like that
jabdr Oct 25, 2006	Had to be....... Good one
yoyoyo Oct 25, 2006	Surely 'burn out' means to cease burning? So wouldnt the dad die the instant the wick stopped smouldering, i.e. shortly after the priest blew it out.
justhattie Oct 25, 2006	Oh Please! There's no logic, not trickery, no mystery, no tease. Just chicanery! Candles only burn if the wick burns, so ... old man should be dead instantly. Can't cheat death.
Yramnna Oct 25, 2006	Your description didn't say the sons were HIS sons...so it was a confusing Brain Teaser.
Danielle_rawl Oct 25, 2006	I like this one it was probably the best i saw so far. But it was well did. De
POPS Oct 25, 2006	WITTY TRICKY and very clever Enjoyed it thanks.
babygirl19024 Oct 25, 2006	clever and really interesting and a little easy but very good.
tmking Oct 25, 2006	i thought that it wasnot lit in my appenion that would be a better answer
hoyty Oct 25, 2006	I also thought the candle was never lit.
kerridv Oct 25, 2006	That was lame and wasn't really an answer. There is no difference between "candle burns out" and "candle wick burns out"...not very clever.
(user deleted) Oct 26, 2006	Actually kerridy, there is a difference. I had to think about it a minute myself. The wick in this candle did not "burn out".It was extinguished meaning that it is still there and can be relit at any time. When a candle "burns out" on its own it cannot be relit because it has consumed itself and there is no wick left.
luvdoritos706 Oct 26, 2006	hahaha....nice one
tallyho_2022 Oct 27, 2006	I thought it was an electric candle with a lightbulb. That way the "wick" never burns out.
vlerma Oct 28, 2006	Okay! You slipped that one by me. Since I wear O2 most of the time I don't mess with candles - akes too pretty a glow with the O2. Nice teaser tho.
FeaerFactorY666 Oct 29, 2006	nice!
speedqueenkmw Oct 29, 2006	symantics!!!! didn't care for that one
Qrystal Dec 06, 2006	Hrm. I got it... but.... the best part was reading the comments, really. Always a gas, here at Braingle. Good job all oh but especially Synlapse. If this was in Trick, it would've been even more easy, wouldn't it? Or maybe it's just because I have candles going almost every day. Two are beside me right now. What can I say, I like fire?
do_you_yahoo Dec 15, 2006	I think it should've been phrased diferently. Rather than saying "burns out," say "burns down." To burn out means to stop burning, which would mean that the father would've died when his son blew out the candle. But to burn down means to burn until it's all gone, which would then mean that when he blew out the flame, and never lit it again, the wick could never "burn down." Just a thought.
sourdough Jun 23, 2008	Good Golly! SourDough liked this one! Very nicely done, indeed! Death is an idiot, and was outsmarted! Hallejuah and Amen! $D
yangjun Nov 08, 2008	This one is funny nice one
precious1026 Feb 28, 2009	Assuming the Priest would want his father to live forever, that is the the gists of this Teaser. Death would Never return, so the father will live on and on, never dying. This Teaser is good, but the story is sad, dis hearting and morbid.
alimali126 Oct 25, 2009	This was easy, fun and very simple. It was cool
Barticus Oct 25, 2009	I didn't think he ever lit it.
Psychic_Master Oct 25, 2009	Ah, clever.
crazy10man Oct 25, 2009	Rather lame answer. If I were death, I'd come back and snuff out the priest!
SoldierOfLight Oct 25, 2009	If I were death, I would have just stolen the candle, lit it, let it burn out, and then taken the father. I agree with everyone here, the semantics kinda ruined it for me.
auntiesis Oct 25, 2009	Still cute, and these never get old.
gargph Oct 25, 2009	haha I thought the candle was in a picture
UptheHill Oct 25, 2009	NICE!!!
avonma Oct 25, 2009	I kinda got it...and when I saw the answer, I knew I had been on the right track. But, no, I didn't get it. But, thanks for posting.
nidhikaila Apr 17, 2010	the answer i got was "it was an electric candle"
Bajanator Aug 11, 2011	WAY too easy, but fun! It reminds me of the Deathly Hallows, lol.
BookwormAnG Sep 01, 2011	That was very clever!
Babe Oct 25, 2012	I fail to see why some think it was clever. I thought it was rather boring. The whole story was nonsense. Sorry! Just my opinion.
cutebug Oct 25, 2012	I agree with babe. But as long as I keep my wick hot and burning I'll be around.
dsjt Oct 25, 2012	Don't know that I would risk Death's wrath over semantic tricks like that.
mgatkin Oct 25, 2012	The answer really doesn't make sense to me on this one. Would it not be exactly the same if the priest had begged Death to let the dad live till that candle burned out instead of saying till the candle wick burned out? What is really meant by burned out? Burned until nothing is left or until it stops burning? In either case, I don't see any distinction between the candle and the candle wick.
Marple Jan 23, 2013	I thought the answer was "the candle wasn't lit" but I suppose with hindsight Death would have cottoned onto that one straight away!