RIDDLES ARCHIVE

We have tons of riddles with the answers on on this page of our riddles archives for you to peruse, maybe you'll find a few favorites.

Welcome to our Riddle Archives

Here you will find most of the riddles which have been on our riddles pages.  They are listed by the same categories found on our "Riddles Main Page".  Simply click on the category of your choice below:

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1. Think fast: There's an electric train traveling south. The wind is from the north-west. In which direction would the smoke from the train be blowing?

2. What is the second most used letter in the English language? Hint: it is also the first letter of the most used word in the English language.

3. In an unabridged dictionary, what 3 letter word has the most definitions?

4. How can you avoid hitting your fingers when driving in a nail with a hammer?

5. Why did the bubble gum cross the road?

6. What walks on 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs in the afternoon, and 3 legs in the evening?

7. What 5 letter word can have its last 4 letters removed and still sound the same?

8. If you see a bird sitting on a twig, how could you get the twig without disturbing the bird?

9. When is a yellow dog most likely to enter a house?

10. What has a head like a cat, feet like a cat, a tail like a cat, but isn't a cat?

11. When is a doctor most annoyed?

12. Why isn't your nose twelve inches long?

13. What has five eyes, but cannot see?

14, What is it that by losing an eye has nothing left but a nose?

15. What has a foot on each end and one in the middle?

16. Which one of our Presidents had the largest shoes?

SOME MORE CLASSIC RIDDLES:

1. Some months have thirty days and some months have thirty-one days. How many months have twenty-eight days?

2. At the hardware store I was quoted 12 cents for one, 24 cents for 50, and 36 cents for 144. I wanted six. What was I buying and how much did it cost me?

3. If two boys and a girl can beat their father in a tug-of-war, but their mother can win against a boy and two girls, who should win a contest between the father and a girl against the other and a boy?

4. If a crab and a half weigh a pound and a half, but the half crab weights half as much again as the whole crab, what do half the whole crab and the whole of the half crab weigh?

5. A chessboard has squares that are two inches by two inches by two inches. What is the diameter of the largest circle that can be drawn on the board in such a way that the circle's circumference is entirely on black squares?

6. Compose a grammatical and sensible sentence in which all words begin with the same sound and yet none begin with the same letter.

7. Now compose a grammatical and sensible sentence in which all words begin with the same letter and yet none begin with the same sound.

8. I started 2 watches at the same time, It turned out that one of them went two minutes per hour too slow, and the other went one minute per hour too fast. When I looked at them again, the faster one was exactly one hour ahead of the other. How long had the watches been running?

9. What is so unusual about the number 2520?

10. My first wears my second; my third might be what my first would acquire if he went to sea. Put together my one, two, three, And the belle of New York is the girl for me. What one word am I?

ANSWERS BELOW:

1. An electric train would not have smoke.

2. The letter T

3. RUN

4. Hold the hammer with both hands.

5. It was stuck on the bottom of the chicken's foot.

6. A man - crawls as a baby, then walks on 2 feet, then uses a cane (3 legs) as an old man.

7. QUEUE, remove "UEUE", say Q. Q and queue are pronounced the same.

8. Wait until the bird flies away.

9. When the door is opened.

10. A kitten

11. When he is out of "patients".

12. Because it would then be a foot.

13. The Mississippi River

14. The word NOISE

15. A yardstick

16. The president with the largest feet.

ANSWERS FOR MORE CLASSIC RIDDLES:

1. All twelve months have 28 days. Some have more as well.

2. Prices quoted were for house numbers at 12 cents per number. A number'6' cost me 12 cents.

3. The mother and boy. Pitting the 2 winning teams against the 2 losing teams (boy + boy + girl + mother versus father + boy + girl + girl) will obviously result in a win for boy + boy + girl + Mother over father + boy + girl + girl. Take a girl and boy away from each side, and boy + mother must still beat father + girl. PHEW!!!!

4. 2.1 pounds. The 'whole crab' must weigh 0.6 pounds, and the 'half crab' 0.9 pounds, totaling 1 1/2 pounds. If the former were halved and the latter doubled, the weights would then be 0.3 and 1.8 pounds, totaling 2.1 pounds.

5. The diameter is 6.324 inches. Diameter is equal to twice the radius.

6. Pneumonic gnomes knew mnemonic names.

7. Ptomaine poisons Pnom-Penh's psychedelic philosophers.

8. The faster watch gains on the slower one at the rate of three minutes every hour. After 20 hours, the faster one will be ahead by one hour.

9. 2520 is the lowest number into which all the digits from 1 to 10 will divide.

10. Manhattan

Go Back to Riddle Archive Choices

1. What odd number becomes even when beheaded?

2. What five letter word has six left after you take two letters away?

3. Why is a horse like the letter O ?

4. What is it that someone else has to take before you can get it?

5. How can you make a pearl out of a pear?

6. What is at the head of fashion, but always out of date?

7. What is the difference between an elephant and a flea?

8. What is the difference between a hill and a pill?

9. What is it that everyone requires, everyone gives, everyone asks and that very few take?

10. What goes from New York to California without moving?

11. Is it safe to write a letter on an empty stomach?

12. Can you explain how long cows should be milked?

13. What is the best thing to put into cakes?

14. What kind of umbrella do most people carry on a rainy day?

15. What always happens at the end of a dry spell?

16. When a child stomps through a mud puddle, what is the first thing he does?

17. Why was Washington buried at Mt. Vernon?

18. Where are kings usually crowned?

19. What runs all around the yard without moving?

20. What is all over the house?

***ANSWERS FOLLOW BELOW***

1. What odd number becomes even when beheaded?

.....the number seven ('behead' the s and you have 'even')

2. What five letter word has six left after you take two letters away?

.....sixty (take away 'ty' and six is left)

3. Why is a horse like the letter O ?

.....because 'gee' makes it go

4. What is it that someone else has to take before you can get it?

.....your photograph

5. How can you make a pearl out of a pear?

.....take off the letter 'l' in pearl

6. What is at the head of fashion, but always out of date?

.....the letter 'f'

7. What is the difference between an elephant and a flea?

.....an elephant has fleas, but a flea will never have an elephant

8. What is the difference between a hill and a pill?

.....a hill is hard to go up and a pill is hard to get down

9. What is it that everyone requires, everyone gives, everyone asks and that very few take?

.....advice

10. What goes from New York to California without moving?

.....a highway

11. Is it safe to write a letter on an empty stomach?
.....Sure, but it is probably better to write the letter on paper

12. Can you explain how long cows should be milked?
.....The same way you milk short cows

13. What is the best thing to put into cakes?
.....Your teeth

14. What kind of umbrella do most people carry on a rainy day?
.....A wet one

15. What always happens at the end of a dry spell?
.....It rains

16. When a child stomps through a mud puddle, what is the first thing he does?
.....He (or she) gets wet

17. Why was Washington buried at Mt. Vernon?
.....Because he was dead

18. Where are kings usually crowned?
.....On their heads

19. What runs all around the yard without moving?
.....The fence

20. What is all over the house?
.....The roof

Go Back to Riddle Archive Choices

1. When a man faints, what number will restore him?

2. Which number is greater - six dozen dozen or half a dozen dozen?

3. When do 2 and 2 make more than 4?

4. If 2 is company and 3 is a crowd, what are 4 and 5?

5. Why is 2 times 10 the same as 2 times 11?

6. How many times may 20 be subtracted from 100?

7. If I dig a hole 2 feet square and 2 feet deep, how much dirt is in the hole?

8. Make five less by adding to it.

9. Behead forty and leave fifty.

10. What is the difference between 100 and 1000?

11. How long will an 8 day clock run without winding?

12. From what number can you take half and leave nothing?

13. Why should the number 288 never be spoken in refined company?

14. If a man gives one son fifteen cents and another ten cents, what time would it be?

15. A farmer combined 2 compost heaps with 3 others. How many compost heaps does he have?

16. Take ten from nine and leave only yourself.

17. What would you add to nine to make six?

18. Why is the number 9 like a peacock?

19. Take 2 letters from a 5 letter word and have one left.

20. What is the longest sentence in the world?

***ANSWERS FOLLOW BELOW***

1. When a man faints, what number will restore him?

.....you must bring him 2

2. Which number is greater - six dozen dozen or half a dozen dozen?

.....six dozen dozen (864) as half a dozen dozen is 72

3. When do 2 and 2 make more than 4?

.....when they make 22

4. If 2 is company and 3 is a crowd, what are 4 and 5?

.....nine

5. Why is 2 times 10 the same as 2 times 11?

.....because 2 times 10 is twenty and 2 times 11 is twenty-two (twenty, too)

6. How many times may 20 be subtracted from 100?

.....only once; any further subtraction would be from a smaller number each time.

7. If I dig a hole 2 feet square and 2 feet deep, how much dirt is in the hole?

.....none

8. Make five less by adding to it.

.....add the Roman numeral I (one) to V (five) and you get IV (four)

9. Behead forty and leave fifty.

.....Roman numerals again! Take X (10) from XL (forty) and you get L (fifty)

10. What is the difference between 100 and 1000?

.....zero (100 has 2 zero's, 1000 has 3 zero's, a difference of 1 zero or 'zero')

11. How long will an 8 day clock run without winding?
.....not long at all if it needs winding

12. From what number can you take half and leave nothing?
.....the number 8

13. Why should the number 288 never be spoken in refined company?
.....Because it is two gross

14. If a man gives one son fifteen cents and another ten cents, what time would it be?
.....A quarter to two

15. A farmer combined 2 compost heaps with 3 others. How many compost heaps does he have?
.....One

16. Take ten from nine and leave only yourself.
.....From the Roman number IX, take away the X and I is left

17. What would you add to nine to make six?
.....The letter "S" would be added to IX and then you would have SIX

18. Why is the number 9 like a peacock?
.....Because it is nothing without its tail

19. Take 2 letters from a 5 letter word and have one left.
.....Take off the letters "st" from "stone" and "one" is left

20. What is the longest sentence in the world?
....."Go to prison for life."

Go Back to Riddle Archive Choices

1. What letter is nine inches long?

2. What letter is never found in the alphabet?

3. What 3 letters make a man of a boy?

4. Why is the letter A like noon?

5. Why is the letter E like London?

6. What ends with E and begins with P and has a thousand letters?

7. How do we know that S is a scary letter?

8. What starts with T, ends with T, and is full of T?

9. Tommy Tucker took two strings and tied two turtles to two tall trees. How many T's in that?

10. From a word of 5 letters, take 2 letters and have 1.

11. What letter is most useful to a deaf woman?

12. What letters are in -visible, but never out of sight?

13. When will there be but 25 letters in the alphabet?

14. Why should men avoid the letter A?

15. Why is the letter F like Paris?

16. Why is T the happiest letter of the alphabet?

17. Spell mousetrap in 3 letters.

18. Why should a boy avoid the letter Y?

19. Why are 2 T's like hops?

20. Why is the letter U the jolliest letter?

***ANSWERS FOLLOW BELOW***

1. What letter is nine inches long?

...the letter Y, it is one fourth of a yard (9 inches)

2. What letter is never found in the alphabet?

.....the one you mail

3. What 3 letters make a man of a boy?

.....a, g, e (age)

4. Why is the letter A like noon?

.....because it is in the middle of DAY

5. Why is the letter E like London?

.....because it is the capital of England

6. What ends with E and begins with P and has a thousand letters?

.....post office

7. How do we know that S is a scary letter?

.....because it makes CREAM SCREAM

8. What starts with T, ends with T, and is full of T?

.....teapot

9. Tommy Tucker took two strings and tied two turtles to two tall trees. How many T's in that?

.....there are 2 t's in THAT

10. From a word of five letters, take two letters and have 1.

.....ALONE- take the a and the l and you are left with one

11. What letter is most useful to a deaf woman?
.....the letter a can make 'her' "hear"

12. What letters are in -visible, but never out of sight?
.....s and i

13. When will there be but 25 letters in the alphabet?
.....when U and I become one

14. Why should men avoid the letter A?
.....because it can make men mean

15. Why is the letter F like Paris?
.....because both are the capitol of France

16. Why is T the happiest letter of the alphabet?
.....because it is next to U

17. Spell mousetrap in 3 letters.
.....c-a-t

18. Why should a boy avoid the letter Y?
.....it can turn a lad into lady

19. Why are 2 T's like hops?
.....because they make beer better

20. Why is the letter U the jolliest letter?
.....because it is in the middle of fun

Go Back to Riddle Archive Choices

1. What is it that everyone always overlooks?

2. What is always before you, yet you can never see it?

3. What can be right but never wrong?

4. What is full of holes and yet holds water?

5. What is it that we often return but never borrow?

6. With what do you fill a barrel to make it lighter than when it is empty?

7. What is always coming but never arrives?

8. What increases the more you share it with others?

9. What is bought by the yard and worn by the foot?

10. What is broken when you name it?

11. Why is a crossword puzzle like a quarrel?

12. Why is a bad cold like a great humiliation?

13. Why is a schoolboy being paddled like your eye?

14. What time is it when the clock strikes thirteen?

15. What is black and white and red all over?

16. What does everyone have that he can always count on?

17. What is that of which the common sort is best?

18. What lives on its own substance and dies when it devours itself?

19. What is it that you must keep after giving it to someone else?

20. What is the best thing to make in a hurry?

********ANSWERS FOLLOW BELOW**********

1. What is it that everyone always overlooks?

.....one's nose

2. What is always before you, yet you can never see it?

.....your future

3. What can be right but never wrong?

.....a right angle

4. What is full of holes and yet holds water?

.....a sponge

5. What is it that we often return but never borrow?

.....thanks

6. With what do you fill a barrel to make it lighter than when it is empty?

.....holes

7. What is always coming but never arrives?

.....tomorrow

8. What increases the more you share it with others?

.....joy

9. What is bought by the yard and worn by the foot?

.....carpeting

10. What is broken when you name it?

.....silence

11. Why is a crossword puzzle like a quarrel?

.....Because one word leads to another.

12. Why is a bad cold like a great humiliation?

.....Because it brings the proudest man to his sneeze.

13. Why is a schoolboy being paddled like your eye?

.....Because he is a pupil under a lash.

14. What time is it when the clock strikes thirteen?

.....Time to get a new clock.

15. What is black and white and red all over?

.....An embarrassed zebra (not a newspaper which is "READ")

16. What does everyone have that he can always count on?

.....His fingers

17. What is that of which the common sort is best?

.....Common SENSE

18. What lives on its own substance and dies when it devours itself?

.....A candle

19. What is it that you must keep after giving it to someone else?

.....Your word

20. What is the best thing to make in a hurry?

.....Haste!

Go Back to Riddle Archive Choices

1. What animal drops from the clouds?

2. What animal doesn't play fair?

3. Why did the chicken cross the playground?

4. What do bees do with all their honey?

5. What is the principal part of a horse?

6. What do people in Europe call little gray cats?

7. What makes a Dalmatian dog spotted?

8. What bird can lift the heaviest weight?

9. When is a dog's tail not a dog's tail?

10. How do we know that one bird is insane?

**********ANSWERS FOLLOW BELOW!*************

1. What animal drops from the clouds?

.....the rein, dear

2. What animal doesn't play fair?

.....the cheetah

3. Why did the chicken cross the playground?

.....to get to the other slide

4. What do bees do with all their honey?

.....they Cell it

5. What is the principal part of a horse?

.....the mane part

6. What do people in Europe call little gray cats?

.....little kittens

7. What makes a Dalmatian dog spotted?

.....his spots

8. What bird can lift the heaviest weight?

.....the crane

9. When is a dog's tail not a dog's tail?

.....when it's a waggin'

10. How do we know that one bird is insane?

.....because it is always a raven

Go Back to Riddle Archive Choices

1.A part of a deck

2. Select number

3. Reply to 'knock knock'

4. Rounded on a diamond

5. Head of France

6. Home in a dome

7. Cool guy

8. Site for Lincoln

9. Screened messages

10. Tree surgeon

11. Art supporter

12. Reason for overtime

13. It may have quarters

14. Plant holder

15. Article for Webster

16. Word for the doctor

17. Queen of mysteries

18. Rapid transit

ANSWERS FOLLOW BELOW FOR WORD RIDDLES

1. A part of a deck
a card

2. Select number
a few

3. Reply to 'knock knock'
enter

4. Rounded on a diamond
third base

5. Head of France
tete

6. Home in a dome
igloo

7. Cool guy
snowman

8. Site for Lincoln
a five dollar bill or a penny

9. Screened messages
e-mail

10. Tree surgeon
woodpecker

11. Art supporter
easel

12. Reason for overtime
a tie

13. It may have quarters
a parking meter

14. Plant holder
roots

15. Article for Webster
the

16. Word for the doctor
"aah"

17. Queen of mysteries
Ellery

18. Rapid transit
a raft

Go Back to Riddle Archive Choices

Group 1

Monday:

"Four jolly men sat down to play,
And played all night till break of day.
They played for cash and not for fun,
With a separate score for every one.
When it came time to square accounts,
they all had made quite fair amounts.
Now, not one has lost and all have gained -
Tell me now, this can you explain?"

TUESDAY:

"I am the center of gravity, hold a capital situation in Vienna, and as I am foremost in every victory, am allowed by all to be invaluable. Though I am invisible, I am clearly seen in the midst of a river. I could name three who are in love with me and have three associates in vice. It is vain that you seek me for I have long been in heaven yet even now lie embalmed in the grave. What am I?"

WEDNESDAY:

"Explain the difference between a man going upstairs and a man looking upstairs."

THURSDAY:

"The word 'FACETIOUSLY' contains the six vowels, A-E-I-O-U and Y, in their alphabetical order. Can you find another English word that does the same?"

FRIDAY:

"Between 2 and 3 o'clock yesterday, I looked at the clock and mistook the minute hand for the hour hand, and the hour hand for the minute hand. Consequently, the time appeared to be 55 minutes earlier than it actually was. What was the correct time?"

SOLUTIONS - GROUP 1

MONDAY:

The four jolly men are members of an orchestra hired to play at a dance.

TUESDAY:

The letter "V"

WEDNESDAY:

One man is stepping up the stairs, the other is staring up the steps.

THURSDAY:

The word is abstemiously. There may be others.

FRIDAY:

Five and a half minutes past 2 o'clock.

GROUP 2

MONDAY:

"Two grandmothers, with their two granddaughters;
Two husbands, with their two wives;
Two fathers, with their two daughters;
Two mothers, with their two sons;
Two maidens, with their two mothers;
Two sisters, with their two brothers;
Yet only six in all lie buried here;
All born legitimate, from incest clear."

Explain this - how is everyone related.

TUESDAY:

"Mr. Grumper grumbles about bad time-keeping trains like everybody else. On one particular morning he was justified, though. The train left on time for the one hour journey and it arrived 5 minutes late. However, Mr. Grumper's watch showed it to be 3 minutes early, so he adjusted his watch by putting it forward 3 minutes. His watch kept time during the day, and on the return journey in the evening the train started on time, according to his watch, and arrived on time, according to the station clock. If the train traveled 25 percent faster on the return journey than it did on the morning journey, was the station clock fast or slow, and by how much?"

WEDNESDAY:

"This is an unusual day, and so is this paragraph. How quickly can you find out what is so uncommon about it? It looks so ordinary that you may think nothing is odd about it until you match it with most paragraphs this long. If you put your mind to it, and study it, you will find out, but nobody may assist you. Do it without any coaching. Go to work and try your skill at figuring it out. Par on it is about half an hour. Good Luck!


THURSDAY:

"A hiker comes to a fork in the road and doesn't know which way to go to reach his destination. There are two men at the fork, one of whom always tells the truth while the other always lies. The hiker doesn't know which is which, though. He may ask one of the men only one question to find his way. Which man does he ask, and what is the question?


FRIDAY:

"QWERTYUIOP are the letters on the top row of letters on a standard typing keyboard. What is the longest word that can be typed using just those letters? Pepper is one but you should be able to come up with a longer one ( or several longer ones)."

SOLUTIONS FOR GROUP 2:

MONDAY:

Two widows each had a son, and each widow married the son of the other and then each had a daughter.

TUESDAY:

The station clock is 3 minutes fast. The morning journey took 65 minutes, and the evening journey therefore took 52 minutes, and the train arrived 57 minutes after it should have left, that is, 3 minutes early.

WEDNESDAY:

The most common letter in the English language -E- does not appear at all in the paragraph.

THURSDAY:

Either man should be asked the following question: "If I were to ask the other man if this is the way I should go, would he say yes?" While asking the question, the hiker should be pointing at either of the directions going from the fork.

FRIDAY:

Typewriter is usually the most common word formed from those letters. Others are: Repertoire, Proprietor. Have any others?

GROUP 3:
MONDAY

Punctuate the following group of words:
I said that that that that that man wrote should have been underlined

TUESDAY

"My first is a number, my second another,
And each, I assure you, will rhyme with the other.
My first you will find is one-fifth of my second,
And truly my whole a long period reckoned.
Yet my first and my second (nay, think not I cozen),
When added together will make but two dozen.
How many am I?

WEDNESDAY

A man ordered a length of rope y telephone from his hardware store. But when he went to collect the rope, he found that the assistant had miswritten the order by interchanging feet and inches. As a result of this, the rope was only 30 % of the length that the man wanted. So, what length did he want and what length did he get?

THURSDAY

What is it that stands aloft and regulates our daily movements, yet feels no interest in our concerns; directs us when to go and when to come. Yet cares not whether we attend of not; still, thus indifferent to our fate, often strikes a blow to urge is on, though we feel no resentment when the reproof is given?

FRIDAY

Man, looking at a portrait: "Brothers and sisters have I none, but that man's father is my father's son." Who is the subject of the portrait?

SOLUTIONS FOR GROUP 3

MONDAY:

I said that, "that 'that' that that man wrote should have been underlined."

TUESDAY

four score

WEDNESDAY

The man ordered 9 feet 2 in and got 2 feet 9 in of rope.

THURSDAY

a clock

FRIDAY

the son of the speaker.

GROUP 4
MONDAY:

All but one of the following words require clarification as to their exact meaning and usage. Which word is therefore the odd one and why?
suspect - drive - dive - race - borrow - taste

TUESDAY:

Which number comes next in this sequence: (hint: it is smaller than 19)
1 - 4- 7 - 11 - 15 - 19 - ?

WEDNESDAY:

Name 6 three letter words spelled with 2 different letters and pronounced as if spelled with 1.

THURSDAY:

What is it that you can take away the whole and still have some left; and that you can take away some and still have the whole left?

FRIDAY:

Dr. John Smith is Dr. Leslie Smith's father. Mrs. John Smith is Dr. Leslie Smith's mother. Dr. Leslie Smith is not Dr. John Smith's son. How is this explained?

SOLUTIONS TO GROUP 4
MONDAY

All the words except 'borrow' may be used as both nouns and verbs.

TUESDAY

17 - it has 9 letters; 19 has 8 letters, 15 has 7 letters, etc.

WEDNESDAY

Example - "ess" (3 letters, 2 different letters, pronounced as 1 letter)
bee see gee ewe eye ell-- There may be others.

THURSDAY

the word wholesome

FRIDAY

Dr. Leslie Smith is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. John Smith.

GROUP 5:
MONDAY

What is the closest relation the son of your father's brother's sister-in-law could be to you?

TUESDAY

On the way to a watering hole, a pony met 6 giraffes. Each giraffe had 3 monkeys hanging from its neck. Each monkey had 2 squirrels on its tail. Each squirrel had 2 birds on its back. How many animals were going to the watering hole?

WEDNESDAY

Name five days of the week without saying - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

THURSDAY

A man went on a trip with a fox, a goose and a sack of corn. He came upon a stream which he had to cross and found a tiny boat to use to cross the stream. He could only take himself and one other - the fox, the goose, or the corn - at a time. He could not leave the fox alone with the goose or the goose alone with the corn. How does he get all safely over the stream?

FRIDAY

If you had a million dollars and gave away one quarter, and then another quarter, how much would you have left?

SOLUTIONS FOR GROUP 5:
MONDAY

It could be one of your brothers or yourself.

TUESDAY

Only the pony. All the rest were coming back from the watering hole.

WEDNESDAY

The day before yesterday, yesterday, today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow.

THURSDAY

Take the goose over first and come back. Then take the fox over and bring the goose back. Now take the corn over and come back alone to get the goose. Take the goose over and the job is done!

FRIDAY

A million dollars minus 50 cents.

GROUP 6
MONDAY

What can be caught and heard, but never seen?

TUESDAY

What is brought to the table and cut, but never eaten?

WEDNESDAY

Why do you always find something you've lost in the last place you look?

THURSDAY

Women don't have it and don't want it. Men get it and think it's a good thing but sometimes they try to get rid of it. What is it?

FRIDAY

You have 9 tennis balls and 4 shopping bags. Can you put all the balls in the bags to that there is an odd number of balls in each bag? - each bag must contain 1,3,4,7, or 9 balls

SOLUTIONS FOR GROUP 6
MONDAY

A remark

TUESDAY

A deck of cards

WEDNESDAY

Because when you find it, you are not looking for it anymore.

THURSDAY

A beard

FRIDAY

To do this, you have to put at least one bag inside of another. You could put 3 balls in each of 3 bags, and then one of those bags inside the 4th bag. There are several options which will meet the requirement of odd number of balls and using all 4 bags as long as at least 1 bag is inside another.

GROUP 7
MONDAY

In the word - "CHEWED" - you can see the pronouns 'HE' and 'WE' spelled out within the word.
Name the common English 6-letter word which contains 5 different pronouns spelled out within the word.

TUESDAY

Three men went to a hotel and were told that there was only one room left and it would cost $30 for the night. They each paid $10 and went to the room. Later, the desk clerk realized he had made an error by overcharging the men $5. He asked the bell-hop to return the $5 to the men. This bell-hop was not as honest as the desk clerk and figured that since $5 was not easy to divide among 3 men, he would just return $3 to the men - $1 to each man. Therefore, each man paid $9, which totals $27 for the room. Add that to the $2 the bell-hop kept and the total is only $29. Where is the missing $1? Who has it?

WEDNESDAY

Aunt Mary takes fruit, cake, and cookies for her picnic. She has three boxes for them - one is labeled COOKIES, one is labeled CAKE and one is labeled FRUIT. Aunt Mary likes to fool everyone so she has put every single thing in the wrong box. At the picnic, she tells everyone that the FRUIT is not in the CAKE box. Where is the cake?

THURSDAY

What physical characteristic do the following capital letters share in common?
A H I M O T V W X

FRIDAY

P7 ..........H4 ..........O6 ..........N6 ..........E?

SOLUTIONS GROUP 7
MONDAY

USHERS - us, she, he, hers, her

TUESDAY

The cost of the room was $27 minus $2, or $25. The missing $1 comes from adding $27 and $2 and getting the misleading figure of $29.

WEDNESDAY

The cake is not in the CAKE box, and it can't be in the COOKIE box, because that's the only place for the fruit. So it must be in the box labeled FRUIT.

THURSDAY

When held up to mirror, they all appear exactly the same ( their mirror images are the same).

FRIDAY

The number is 3. The numbers correspond to letters on the telephone keypad or dial.

GROUP 8
MONDAY

What is the missing letter in the following series:
2 T 4 F 8 E 16 S 32 T 64 ?

TUESDAY

Some cogs are tigs.
All tigs are bons.
Some bons are pabs.
Some pabs are tigs.
Therefore, cogs are definitely pabs.--- TRUE or FALSE?

WEDNESDAY

Tillie went shopping and was happy to get 12% off on her purchases. Her sister went shopping the next day and was disappointed to get only 6% off her purchases and in dismay, went to the store manager and expressed her distress over not getting as big a sale as her sister Tillie. The manager felt sorry for her and said, "Give me your bill and I'll take another 6% off!" The sister agreed to this and went home happy. Which sister got the better deal - or did they get an equal discount?

THURSDAY

What common English word will describe a person or thing as not being found in any place and yet with no changes other than a space between syllables, will correctly describe that person or thing as being actually present at this very moment?

FRIDAY

Today is Friday and I have recently returned from a trip. If I returned four days before the day after the day before tomorrow, on what day did I return?

SOLUTIONS GROUP 8
MONDAY

The letter is 'S'. Each letter is the first letter of the number before it--spelled out.

TUESDAY

False. Some cogs may be pabs, but not definitely all of them.

WEDNESDAY

Tillie got the better deal as 12% is greater than two successive 6% discounts.

THURSDAY

The word is "NOWHERE". When a space is placed between the 'w' and 'h', you get the words "NOW HERE".

FRIDAY

I returned on Tuesday. The day before tomorrow is today, Friday. The day after that is Saturday, and four days before Saturday is Tuesday.

GROUP 9
MONDAY

Lying there in the yard so neat was something very good to eat. It had neither flesh not bone, but in 21 days it walked alone. What is it?

TUESDAY

Four members of a band are walking to a night concert. They decide to take a shortcut, but must cross a bridge. Luckily they have one flashlight. Because of the varying size of their instruments, it takes each member a different amount of time to cross the bridge - it takes the first person one minute, the second person two minutes, the third person five minutes and the fourth person ten minutes. They must cross the bridge in pairs, travelling at the slower speed so if the one minute person went with the ten minute person, it would take a total of ten minutes. Since there is only one flashlight, one person must come back across the bridge, then another pair can cross. They only have 17 minutes to cross the bridge and still get to the concert on time. What order should they cross to get everyone across and get to the concert?

WEDNESDAY

You are standing in front of a room with one light bulb inside of it. You cannot see if it is on or off. Outside the room there are 3 switches in the off positions. You may turn the switches any way you want to. You stop turning the switches, enter the room and know which switch controls the light bulb. How?

THURSDAY

Suppose you want to send in the mail a valuable object to a friend. You have a box which is big enough to hold the object. The box has a locking ring which is large enough to have a lock attached and you have several locks with keys. However, your friend does not have the key to any lock that you have. You cannot send the key in an unlocked box since it may be stolen or copied. How do you send the valuable object, locked, to your friend - so it may be opened by your friend?

FRIDAY

Is it more correct to say the yolk of eggs is white or the yolk of eggs are white?

SOLUTIONS GROUP 9
MONDAY

An egg.

TUESDAY

First, the one minute person and the two minute person must cross the bridge, for a total of two minutes. Then the one minute person should come back with flashlight - total of three minutes. The five minute person and the ten minute person cross together next, making the total thirteen minutes. Now the two minute person goes back and (total now fifteen minutes) and gets the one minute person and they cross together bringing the total to seventeen minutes.

WEDNESDAY

You turn 2 switches "on" and leave 1 switch "off" and wait about a minute. Then enter the room, but just before you enter, turn one switch from "on" to "off". Once in the room, feel the light bulb - if it is warm, but off, it has to be the last switch you turned off. If it is on, it has to be the switch left on. If it is cold and is off, it has to be the switch you left in the off position.

THURSDAY

Send the box with a lock attached and locked. Your friend attaches his or her own lock and sends the box back to you. You remove your lock and send it back to your friend. Your friend may then remove the lock she or he put on and open the box.

FRIDAY

Neither. The yolk of eggs is yellow - not white.






GROUP 10
MONDAY

The bells of the clock tower signal six o'clock with 6 loud rings, taking 5 seconds to do so. How long will it take for the bells to signal twelve o'clock?

TUESDAY

Where do you think you're going with that thing?" asked the bus driver to the young boy.

"Where do you think I'm going? On this bus, of course. Why, can't I?" replied the boy.

"No, of course you can't," said the bus driver in a very annoying way. "It is forbidden to bring any object of length, width, or height greater than one meter on any bus. That thing you're carrying is longer than one meter."

"Fair enough," sighed the young boy. "It's about one meter and twenty centimeters long. But I can pay a ticket for it too."

"It's got nothing to do with a ticket," screeched the driver. "You could buy a dozen tickets, and I still would not let you ride on this bus!"

Frustration grew rapidly within the young lad. "Listen! I need to take this baseball bat to a game I am playing in. I don't drive a car. The cabbies are on strike. And it's raining. What do you expect me to do!"

I don't know, and I don't care anyway. You ain't gonna come on this bus with that bat. End of story."

Quickly, the young boy dashed into a shop next to the bus stop and came out with a package containing the bat. Smugly, with all thirty-two teeth on display, he showed the package to the bus driver. "Now can I come on the bus?"

With a snort, the bus driver pulled out a folding rule and performed a precise measurement. Scowling, he waved in the smug young lad. How did the boy manage to pack a 1.2 meter baseball bat into a package less than one meter?

WEDNESDAY

What is the missing number in the table below:

THURSDAY

I can run but not walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. What am I?

FRIDAY

The man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who bought it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know it. What is it?






SOLUTIONS FOR GROUP 10
MONDAY

It will take 11 seconds. The five seconds needed to signal six o'clock are the 5 silent intermissions between rings. At 12, the 12 rings are separated by 11 silent intermissions, thus 11 seconds for the clock to ring 12 times.

TUESDAY

The very smart young lad packed the bat diagonally into a flat, squared box, with sides of less than one meter. More precisely, the sides were about 0.85 meters long, because [the square root (1.2 squared / 2) = 0.84852...].

WEDNESDAY

The number is 18; each is the square with the digits reversed.

THURSDAY

A nose

FRIDAY

A coffin






GROUP 11
MONDAY

Why are manhole covers round?

TUESDAY

Although shoplifters usually attempt to remove items from a store, when would a shoplifter smuggle items into a store?

WEDNESDAY

My brother and I, along with a friend, were talking last night. I mentioned my niece, Jane, who had just bought a new car. My friend asked my brother what color the car was. My brother didn't know and he isn't related to Jane. How can this be?

THURSDAY

A train enters a tunnel at 7 o'clock. Another train enters the exact same tunnel at the other end, also at 7 o'clock on the same day. The tunnel has only one track, no passing places and no other means for the trains to pass, around, under or over. However, both trains made it safely through the tunnel. How?

FRIDAY

Find a common word that ends in MT?






SOLUTIONS GROUP 11
MONDAY

If they were any other shape, they could fall into the hole. 

TUESDAY

The smuggled items could be taken to customer service and then the shoplifter may demand a "refund".

WEDNESDAY

Jane is my wife's niece and therefore my niece, but not my brother's.

THURSDAY

One entered in the morning and one in the evening

FRIDAY

Dreamt

Please go to Riddle Archive-2 for more "Daily Thinking Riddles"

Go Back to Riddle Archive Choices

More Fun

Getting tired of all of the riddles? Here are some really good, fun things to do for a little break. Take a few of the short tests. See if you can follow directions. Can you solve rebus puzzles? Some of these are sure to bring a smile or two.

• Color Test - Funny Puns - How Well Can You Follow Directions?
  
  
• Can you read this? - Idiots Test - Funny Anagrams - Word Play
  
  
• You Know You're Old When - You Know You're....?
  
  
• Little Kids Pages - Educational Kids Games - Just For Fun (kids)
  
  
• Mother's Day - Rebus Puzzles - Just For Laughs