Unsolvable Riddles - Solved! Page 3 of 5
Riddles solved are now placed here because we needed to add new riddles, but we wanted to keep these great riddles alive.
1. What comes into your house every day and twice on a Sunday?
ANSWER: the sun - it's a play on words: Sunday and the sun coming into your home on Sunday.
2. From: Elizabeth - An old professor was chatting with a young student when suddenly the student looked at the professor and said since you seem to know it all I will make you a bet. While the student raised his hand as if to shake hands with the professor very convincingly he said "I will bet you that I was right there when you were born and I mean right there in the same room with you." The professor replied, "But son I am over twice your age and it would be impossible for you to be have been there." While the student raised his hand again as if to shake hands he replied, "I'm telling you that I was right there with your mother in the same room when you were born." The student could also make you the same bet and he would win the bet.
How can you explain this?
ANSWER: (We have two ways to look at this one - you decide)
From Beth-The student is raising his hand when he says this. That's what makes it true. The student is "talking" for the hand. A hand was there in the same room as the professor at his birth.
AND
From Blair Melvin: The riddle can be solved by looking at the different meaning of "I was right there". The way it is worded, It sounds like the student was physically present at the professors birth. We know this can't be true. Now look at the phrase again with a new word "I was correct there". He is not saying he was physically there, he was saying he was "correct in believing an assumed". He is saying I bet you I am correct in presuming that when you were born you were in the same room with you. You cannot be born outside the same room you were born in. Secondly, He is saying, I bet I was correct to presume that your mother was in the same room with when you were born. This is obvious. The same reasoning would apply to anyone. Except if you were born in the forest or were a test tube baby. Here the riddle rephrased:
An old professor was chatting with a young student when suddenly the student looked at the professor and said since you seem to know it all I will make you a bet. While the student raised his hand as if to shake hands with the professor very convincingly he said "I will bet you, that I was right there, (when I assumed) when you were born and "I mean completely correct in presuming" you were in the same room with you." The professor replied, "But son I am over twice your age and it would be impossible for you to be have been there." While the student raised his hand again as if to shake hands he replied, "I'm telling you that "I was right there" (when I thought) with your mother in the same room when you were born." The student could also make you the same bet and he would win the bet. How can you explain this?
3. From Jason -
1,000
1,000,000,000
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
100
1
4
8
?
What is the next number in the pattern and why?
ANSWER: From Jason - The riddle has nothing to do with the numbers but rather the names of the numbers.
Thousand
Billion
Octillion
Hundred
One
Four
Eight
3 Three
Thousand is the first number with the letter "a" in it. Billion is the first number with a "b" in it. Octillion is the first number with a "c" in it. etc... So then three would be the next number in the sequence because it is the first number with a "h" in it.
Here is another quite different way to answer this one:
From atrice - The next number is 1(2/3). The pattern lies within the number of zero triplets. 1,000 has one set of 3 zeros, 1,000,000,000 has 3 sets of 3 zeros, 1+3=4, 1 sextillion has 7 sets of three zeros, 1+7=8, and 100 only has 2/3 of a set of 3 zeros, 1+(2/3)=1(2/3).
4. From Linda: A man jumps off a bridge. What color is the bridge?
ANSWER: From Tyger - the same color before he jumped off it
5. How do you make a witch scratch?
ANSWER: Take away the w and you make it itch!
6. From Eric - A word there is of plural number. For to ease and tranquil slumber. Any other word you take, and add an "s" will plural make. But if you add an "s" to this. So strange the metamorphosis: Plural is now plural no more. And sweet what bitter was before. What is the word?"
ANSWER: At last a solution for this one! Scott, a visitor to our site, pointed out that there is a typing error and that correctly spelled, the riddle goes like this:
A word there is of plural number. For to ease and tranquil slumber. Any other word you take, and add an "s" will plural make. But if you add an "s" to this. So strange the metamorphosis: Plural is now plural no more. And sweet what bitter was before. What is the word? The answer then, would be "Cares", which would become "Caress" with the added 's'.
Thanks everyone for trying to solve this one and special thanks to Scott for discovering that little typing error - it was the solution to the riddle!!
7. From Marcos: With my power I stop bread's spread
I am even that on which you tread
Flip me over and you shall sing
Fervid praises fit for a king.
ANSWER: SALT and Chery explains why:
salt in the making of bread stop the yeast from rising the bread to much; they throw salt on roads in winter to make it less slippery, so we tread on it and we throw salt over our shoulders for good luck.
Marcos (who sent the riddle)- rime/emir. A 'rime' is another word for 'crust', which stops bread's spread. We also walk on the Earth's crust. When you flip it over, it becomes 'emir', a Middle Eastern king (hence, fervid for a hot climate).
8. From Paige: Why are oranges so smart?
ANSWER: Because they make you concentrate!
9. From Eric: What does this riddle mean?
579s84a831f9e94t67y89304
ANSWER: From Mike, there's safety in numbers.
10. A common capitalized 8-letter word that can abbreviated by any of it's 1st 5 letters
ANSWER: Thursday - it is an eight letter, capitalized word which may be abbreviated thus: T, Th, Thu, Thur, Thurs - all are used in different ways to abbreviated Thursday.
11. From the Haker family - What lies beneath,
but to some above,
is home to many, but not to the dove,
means death to some, 'tis beginning for others, and maybe your friends will find your plunder!
ANSWERS: Eugene says - The Ocean. Lies below for people on land, above for the things living in it. Home for aquatic animals but not others (dove). The end for some (some drown) beginning for others (aquatic animals) and the plunder refers to lost treasures from sunken ships.
Melanie offers: I think this is the sea! It is the home to some but not others, it is below us but above sea critters. Now that I have typed this I am unsure this is the right answer. Hope it is.
Michelle writes: Dirt or Ground it lies beneath us but not to some above- corpses and creepy crawlies perhaps is home to many - ie, worms and things but not the dove- so we know it isn't above us means death to some -- again corpses beginning to other- vegetables etc.. grow out of the ground maybe your friends will find your plunder-- as in buried treasure
Jon and Chery say- The answer is a coffin that is buried underground
Sue offers: Water is below us, for the largest portion of water lies under sea lvl. Water is above us in the clouds and atmosphere. Water can be the perfect habitat for many different animals, but not to the dove-for its a bird. Water can take life away just as easily as it gives it and maintains it. Water is the provider of life, for humans are at least 70% water, and we need water to live.
And according to the one who sent the riddle: The answer to this one was ground, as some one guessed.
12. From Marcos - In days of yore I sundered peace
And often took of men life's lease
But spy me now through a looking-glass
And to high-tech labs we flee en masse.
ANSWER: germs, disease, bacteria; possibly some other disease of long ago, that we now have vaccines for and study in labs.
13. I only work for people who do not work for themselves.
Who do I work for?
ANSWER: from Michael - People who do not work for themselves. Reason: He says so. I only work for: people who do not work for themselves.
14. From C - In a manner of speaking, what can cost you several thousand pounds but you don't get anything for it?
ANSWER: From Jonathan - Life insurance, you're dead when it comes in!!
15. From Chau88 - To some I am an idol
Others don't need me
People want it
Some don't need it
I am everywhere
In lands far I am scarce,
Others bountiful.
What am I?
ANSWER: Money or power
16. A horse travels a certain distance each day, strangely enough two of it's legs travel 30 miles each day and the other 2 legs travel nearly 31 miles. It would seem that 2 of the horse's legs must be 1 mile ahead of the other 2 legs but of course this can't be true since the horse is normal how is this situation possible.
ANSWER: Two thoughts on this one. The most common answer is that the horse is traveling in a circle or oval pattern and the inside legs would travel a shorter distance.
Also, if the horse starts with it's front feet on a line, and starts walking, if the front feet are marked at having travelled 30.75 miles, then the front feet have almost traveled 31 miles, and the hind have traveled 30 miles. <- the hind legs have travelled 30 miles, but have not yet traveled 31 miles
Additionally, John offers this as the "real" solution:
This just has to do with how horses back legs move when they gallop. If you watch slow-motion footage (or if you know a tidbit or two about horses), their hind legs don't go straight forward and back like their front legs do. The hind legs move in an oval pattern- More or less straight back on each stroke, but then sweeping outward in an arc away from the body before coming back in. As a result their hind legs travel a longer distance with each step. I heard this very riddle long ago from a rancher, and he gave me the answer I've just given you. Though personally I think the, 'walking in a circle' answer shows imagination...
17. From Mike: City A and City B are on either side of a river but not directly across from one-another. You must build a bridge perpendicular to the river banks to create the shortest distance between the 2 cities. The bridge does not go through where a straight line would be drawn between the 2 cities, and there is no geometric solution to the problem.
ANSWER: Assuming the two cities are right on the bank of the river, it does not matter where you place the bridge, as long as it is between the two cities. This also assumes, of course, that the river is completely straight and the banks are parallel to each other. The reasoning is this, with the river and a sample bridge drawn below in ASCII art:
_____A_______________
||
|| <-Bridge
_________||__________
B
You will always have to move the same distance East-West (horizontally), and also the same distance North-South (vertically), regardless of where you place the bridge. So it doesn't matter where you put the bridge.
18. MADRID has 2001 visitors each year.
BUDAPEST has 500
LONDON has 550.
How many visitors does PARIS have?
ANSWER: Paris only has 1 visitor. (look at each place and take out any non-roman numeral. Then just add it up)
19. Man cannot live without my first,
By day and night 'tis used.
My second is by all accursed,
By day and night abused.
My whole is never seen by day
And never used at night.
'Tis dear to friends when far away
And hated when in sight.
***This riddle has been posted for several weeks and many of the answers we get are quite good but don't answer all the conditions of the riddle. To solve this riddle we ran two polls and let our visitors vote for the best answer. After the polls additional answers came in. Poll results are as follows:
There were 209 total votes on the two polls. In both polls, the highest vote getters were TIME with 44 votes and LIFETIME with 63 votes. So, the answer for this one is LIFETIME!!!! This one is solved as far as we're concerned!!
*NOTE: Too late for the polls, but these answers came in - just for something to think about: birthday, love and atmosphere.
20. Close to the words of life stay I,
But I wither, wane, and grow dry.
ANSWER: From Deena- light - it is close to life in the dictionary the three words taken as verbs are all performed by light
Another solution: a leaf
21. It's what the alphabet would look like if there was no "Q" or "R".
ANSWER: From Denise - It would still look like "The Alphabet". There is no q or r in those two words.
22. From Maureen: "I'm open to the public when closed and Closed to the public when open" What am I?
ANSWERS: From Derek, Darren, Herman and Jeton - "A criminal case. This when open is closed to the public. But when the case is solved and over or "closed" then it is open to the public.
From Bart - a BRIDGE? When a bridge is "open", a ship can pass, but the bridge is closed to the public. And if a bridge is closed, a ship cannot pass and the bridge will be open to the public.
From Shirley- Congress
From C.W. - wouldn't a library book work? When it's closed, the public can check it out, but when it's open, they shouldn't take it, unless it says that it can be checked out.
And Julie - It is a book, I think. If it is closed, any one can pick it up. if it is open, the "public" can't use it, therefore it is closed to the public when open.
from Deena - a manhole, if one is open workmen are working on some thing if its closed you can walk all over it.
An alternative answer to this is also a "grave site" When it is closed (covered), anyone can come to it but when it is open (during the funeral ceremony), it is reserved for those that wish to pay respects to the deceased.
23. I fly though the air on small feathered wings seeking out life destroying all things. What am I?
ANSWER: From John - An arrow. It has small feathered wings, but it's not a bird, it's a weapon.
24. From Bubbles-If A*B=270, and C*D=440, what does F equal, and why? hint: the answer is a letter....
ANSWER: From Kevin- The answer is: F = 29 cents. It's a postage code used when the mail rates go up.
25. Take off my first and last letters and I am still the same. Take off my middle letter and I am still the same as before. I am 5 letters. What am I?
ANSWER: From John- A stack of letters. (Postal letters) Five letters (postal letters) constitutes a stack. As does three. As does two. So as long as it's not just one letter, it can be called a 'stack of letters'.
