Long Riddles and Answers

Question: Cold and dark, I'm the same as my neighbor. Flatter than a pancake, faster than a panther. Lighter than a feather I still prevail, Yet a million mean trying to lift me would fail. Expanding and shrinking throughout the day, When heat is highest, underneath I lay. I leave in the darkness of the night, And don't come back if there's rain in sight. What am I?

Question: A magician was boasting one day at how long he could hold his breath under water. His record was 6 minutes. A kid that was listening said, "that's nothing, I can stay under water for 10 minutes using no types of equipment or air pockets!" The magician told the kid if he could do that, he'd give him $10,000. The kid did it and won the money. Can you figure out how?

Question: In the harbor of a small town, there is a large boat. Coming off of the boat is a ladder reaching down so that the bottom rung is just above the surface of the water. As the tide comes in, the water rises at 1 foot every 30 minutes, and continues like this for 3 hours. If the rungs are each 1 foot apart, how many rungs are under water when the tide stops rising?

Question: In an office building there are six floors in all. 6 people Simon, Harry, Susan, Pete, Trudy and David work on different floors. Simon stays in the lift for the longest. Susan gets out before Pete but after Trudy. The first one to get out is Harry. David leaves before Trudy who gets out at the third floor. In which floor does each one work on?

Question: I wasn't born a horse,
and I never fly.
Yet sometimes I still soar,
right into the sky.
I often contain breath,
and yet I never die.
Sometimes I am torn,
but I never sigh.
Often, with ambition, I aspire,
and go till I can go no higher.
Then, like many men, so great,
I sink into a low state.
What am I?