Riddle:
A boy is five feet tall and records his height by hammering a nail in a tree and carving his hame. Five years later he returns to the same tree and finds that it has grown on average 16 inches per year.
How high now, is the nail from the ground?
Answer: It is still five feet tall because only the top of the tree grows. The trunk only gets bigger by circumference.
Riddle:
A man rode his horse to the top of a high hill. He tied his horse to a large birch tree, and removed a blanket, a flint and steel for making fire, and a small hatchet to cut down a bunch of green saplings. He then gathered a bunch of dried leaves and took them, along with the green saplings, to an open area near some smaller rocks. Using the flint and steel, he tried to start a fire with the leaves and green wood. As the fire struggled to burn, the man did something remarkable. He suddenly took his blanket and covered the fire with it. Apparently, regretting his actions, he removed the blanket from the smoldering fire; but then, a few seconds later, he placed the blanket back over the fire. Again and again he repeated his actions of throwing the blanket on and off the fire. Was this man an obsessive-compulsive pyromaniac, or was there some kind of method to his madness?
Answer: The man was a Native American Indian in the old West who was sending smoke signals to his tribe.
Riddle:
Upon my top there is a golden shop wherein a dollar can't be spent. Along my sides stretch nature's slides which will never relent. At my feet where people meet full of ire, dread and lament. What am I?
Answer: A mountain. On the top one can find clarity and make memories that a conventional shop can't sell. Nature's slides are rivers. At my feet or foot of the mountain is the first step and place everyone has to be to begin the climb, which will be difficult (ire, dread and lament)
Riddle:
Every day, some of America's finest fall into enemy traps and are captured and placed behind bars. The olive-green and greenish-brown camouflage uniforms they wear don't appear to be effective in protecting them against these enemies. Once caught, there is rarely any chance of escape for any of these prisoners. In fact, nearly all of them are executed by their captors, but never once has even one of them ever revealed any state secrets before dying. Each prisoner is systematically removed from his/her cell by an executioner wearing a white uniform and hat. This killer appears to have no conscience, as he ends the lives of many of these captives each day by scalding them to death. However, there are many Americans who want to honor these and celebrate the lives of the fallen. In fact, 44 U.S. states have erected monuments to remind us of those who have given their lives to serve us. Who are these captives, and what are these monuments which have been erected to help us remember them?
Answer: The captives are lobsters, and the monuments 44 states have erected to help us remember them are Red Lobster seafood restaurants. Just so everyone knows, lobsters only turn red after being boiled.
Riddle:
How you describe me is what I am. Poets might hate me, but sailors should love me. I can't give them the sea, but only something that sounds like it. What am I?
Answer: An orange. (Note: orange doesn't rhyme with anything, and it gives sailors vitamin C (a homophone of sea))
Riddle:
In fair Verona, love's tale is told, A pair of star-crossed souls, brave and bold. Their families' feud, a bitter strife, Yet love blooms amidst the deadly strife. This tragic hero, youthful and true, His heart ablaze, his love so new. He serenades his Juliet fair, Their passion burns, a love so rare. Though fate conspires against their bliss, In death, their love will forever persist. Which Shakespearean character doth this describe, Whose name lives on, as love's eternal bribe?
Answer: Romeo.
Riddle:
Every day, pilgrims make the journey to the temple of the wooden soldiers. Upon entering the temple, most of the pilgrims seek out a holey orb with which to do battle against soldiers who are dressed in red and white uniforms. Each orb is used to attack small groups of these passive soldiers — soldiers which have the unique ability to replicate themselves whenever their ranks are assaulted by the pilgrims. The mystic orbs, like boomerangs, have the uncanny ability to return to the hand of each pilgrim when cast at the soldiers during these skirmishes. What kind of a temple is this which promotes violence by allowing people to attack innocent soldiers?
Answer: Temples like this are known as Bowling Alleys.
Riddle:
Which statement is true? 1) One statement here is false. 2) Two statements here are false. 3) Three statements here are false.
Answer: Statement 2 is true.
Riddle:
Asher and Miles were shipwrecked. Miles was swept away by a strong current and woke up on an island. And Asher found a small wooden boat in the middle of the ocean. Both guys were thirsty and hungry. Who's going to survive for longer?
Answer: Miles will survive for longer because the water on the island might as well be drinkable. But Asher can't drink the ocean water because the amount of salt in it is too dangerous for people to consume safely.
Riddle:
If someone were to write a biography about us, the following could be reported: #1 - All athletes, to reach their peak performance, must do me. #2 - Behind a groom is a best man, but behind a bride, you will often find me. #3 - James West and Artemis Gordon used me as their Secret Service headquarters on T.V. #4 - Edward Kennedy Ellington highly suggested you take this lettered thing to get to Sugar Hill in Harlem. #5 - Characters Floyd Smoot and Charlie Pratt honorably conducted themselves on one of me in the town of Hooterville. Based on the biographical information above --- Who/what are we?
Answer: We are Trains.
Riddle:
One summer evening, as Irene sat on the front porch of her old Kentucky home, she witnessed about a dozen men in two large trucks pull up to an old abandoned farmhouse about a hundred yards from hers. Suspicious, she grabbed her binoculars and observed two of the men approach the old farmhouse --- and set it on fire! After ten minutes had passed, the farmhouse was completely engulfed in flames, but neither Irene nor any of her neighbors in sight of the burning building ever bothered to call 9-1-1 to report any of these events. To make matters even worse, two police cars passed the flaming house but never bothered to stop. What happened to civic duty and responsibility? Has society totally turned its back on the idea of neighbors helping neighbors; or is there an alternate explanation for these events? What exactly was happening here?
Answer: As Irene and her neighbors looked out of their respective windows, they all saw the two large trucks were actually fire engines carrying about a dozen firemen. They obviously had come with permission from the owner of the abandoned farmhouse, to perform a training exercise on fire fighting techniques (Irene and her neighbors had received notification from the fire company of this planned exercise earlier that same week). After the firemen started the building on fire, they proceeded to practice their skills in putting out the blaze. The police cars who passed the fire saw the firefighters were training, as they also had been notified of this planned fire at the start of their shift. The owner of the building got rid of his old farmhouse, and gave the fire company some needed practice, providing a win-win situation.
Riddle:
It's a little-known fact that one of Batman's deadliest enemies, The Riddler, got married after his days of crime were behind him. The Riddler's wife enjoyed riddles even more than her husband, and she often tried to baffle him with riddles around the house. One day his wife, whose name was Riddlina, saw an opportunity to try to stump her husband with an old riddle she had first heard as a child. "My husband!" Riddlina exclaimed, "We have an extreme emergency! I just discovered we don’t have even one circle with a thousand squares left in the entire house!" The Riddler was shocked, at first, until he figured out what was distressing his wife. Do you know to what object Riddlina was referring to, which caused her emotional outburst? Incidentally, as soon as the Riddler solved his wife's riddle, he immediately got into his car and drove to a local store. What was he planning to get?
Answer: The old riddle his wife used (a circle with a thousand squares) to indicate an emergency item that was missing from their house, was a roll of toilet paper. Needless to say, the Riddler immediately went out to purchase some.
Riddle:
Irene is an amazing artist. She can draw anything and everything, and draw them all well. The unique thing about Irene's art is she uses both of her hands to draw her pictures, even though she is not ambidextrous. Holding a round piece of plastic in each of her hands, she is able to create magnificent works of art. Irene, however, has one great fear in her life --- Earthquakes!!! Now, Irene is a mentally healthy person with a stable personality, so why in the world should this talented artist have a constant fear of earthquakes, which rarely happen in the state of Florida where she resides? Does her fear of earthquakes have anything to do with her type of artwork, and if so, exactly what type of art does Irene create?
Answer: Irene is an Etch-a-Sketch artist who keeps her completed pictures on the walls of her home. One good shake from an earthquake, and all of her pictures could be erased.
Riddle:
Hannah became very tired while driving. She decided to stop at a nearby two-story hotel and stay there for the night. The receptionist said that her hotel room number is 604; he even offered to show Hannah where it was. Hannah didn't believe him; she rushed back to her car, hopped inside, and sped away. Why?
Answer: The first digit of a hotel room number usually indicates the floor it is on. Room 604 is supposed to be on the sixth floor, but the hotel only has two floors.
Riddle:
I am a famous Phil; a well-known T.V. star, but my last name is not Donahue or Silvers, and I am not a talk-show doctor. I usually appear on television only once each year, and when I do, I am always wearing a winter coat. I am not associated with music, so my last name isn’t Wickham, or Keaggy, or Collins. I hail from the state of Pennsylvania, but my last name is not Adelphia, and I have never played pro baseball there. I am definitely not a member of the Anderer, Ippines, Odendron, Anthropy, Osophy, or Harmonic families, and I have no heritage in the Istine clan mentioned in the Bible. Finally, I was never a veteran of any war, but I am well known for my activities as a member of the underground movement. Now comes the time to use your skill —— Reveal the name of this famous Phil !!!
Answer: Punxsutawney Phil, the famous weather-predicting groundhog, who appears on T.V. every February.
Riddle:
My little circle of friends here, getting bumped off one-by-one, reminds me of Agatha Christie's famous murder mystery "Ten Little Indians", where a small group of people are knocked off, one at a time, until only the killer and one person is left. The main difference is that in Christie's novel, the last survivor was to die by hanging, but in my situation, the sole survivor will be given "The Chair"! Should this person call the police? Is there a life-and-death scenario going on here, or is everyone's safety assured? What exactly is happening?
Answer: The person, along with a small group of their friends, is engaged in a game of Musical Chairs. "The Chair" is always reserved for the last person left.
Riddle:
A woman went to see her psychiatrist and told him about a strange dream she had just had the night before. She said she had dreamed she was eating a late supper when she suddenly saw a "jay" before her, but it wasn't blue, and it wasn't flying. Then she saw a "pea", but it wasn't green, and it wasn't in a garden. Next, she envisioned a "sea", but it had no waves or boats. A "bee" then unexpectedly appeared, but it did not sting her. Shockingly, she then encountered an "eye", but it didn't blink or wink at her. Finally, she reported to the psychiatrist, "And then I saw "you" in my dream, but "you" did not speak to me." The psychiatrist quickly analyzed the woman's story and told her, "That was no dream you had. If you want these "dreams" to stop, you've got to stop eating your favorite food so late at night!" What was the food the psychiatrist told the woman to stop eating, and what exactly was going on here?
Answer: The psychiatrist knew of the woman’s regular habit of eating a bowl of alphabet soup just before going to bed each night. This was the reason for her dreaming about the various letters of the alphabet she had seen while eating —— in this case —— the letters J, P, C, B, I, and U.
Riddle:
In the home where Mabel resides, she has a reputation for walking very slowly, even though she is only 40 years old. Her slowness doesn't appear to be related to arthritis or to other medical ailments, but is more likely due to heredity, as her parents both had the same condition. Mabel does not use a walker or a cane to move about, and a wheelchair would be out of the question. Mabel is an extreme introvert who basically stays in her home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Although it sounds a bit strange, you could say, even when Mabel leaves her home --- she stays at home. Although she frequently leaves the front door to her home open, she is easily frightened, causing her to immediately shut that front door when she feels threatened in any way. Mabel's caretakers frequently laugh at her and sometimes point their fingers at her as she struggles to move along. The caretakers allow Mabel only small rations of food and water each day, and they never give her a shower. Where are the abuse investigators? Where is the justice? Or are things not as bad as they appear to be for Mabel?
Answer: Mabel is a Box Turtle who is the house pet of a family with several children. She is well cared for, but instinctively closes the front door of her shell and pulls her legs in if she senses danger, which includes inquisitive children.
Riddle:
A certain man who is called "Captain" by his crew, is infamously known for his hatred of a particular group of young boys. He especially dislikes the leader of this group of children, to the extent he would actually kill him if given the chance. This man is neither a basketball player, nor a boxer, nor a fisherman, as his name suggests, but he is the "captain" of a ship called the Sea Devil which flies a black and white flag. This man sails on his ship with his own group of grown men who are a scurvy bunch who enjoy criminal activities. Although he presents himself as being fearless, there is one thing that sends him into a frightened panic -- the sound of a ticking clock! Who is this infamous man, and why haven’t the authorities arrested or imprisoned him and his evil crew?
Answer: The infamous man is Captain Hook, the arch-enemy of Peter Pan and the lost boys. He fears the loud ticking of a clock which a monstrous crocodile swallowed at some point before Peter Pan cut off the captain’s hand during battle, and fed the hand to the beast. The clock now resides in the crocodile’s stomach, and the ticking warns Captain Hook of the creature’s presence, as the crocodile wants to eat the rest of the tasty captain.
Riddle:
Shirley grew up in a family that loved desserts ------ especially one dessert! Many arguments occurred during dessert time in Shirley's family, and on a few occasions, these disputes nearly led to blows. The person serving the dessert was usually the one accused of creating the contentious atmosphere. The accusations usually centered around the color distribution allotted to each family member. People were always o.k. with the amount of orange, white, light green, and yellow they received, but the distribution of the red was always a major point of contention. God help anyone who dared to pass out more of the red part of the dessert to any one person sitting at the table, for if they did, all hell would break loose! It's amazing to think a simple canned desert could cause such an uproar, but it did, and in certain families, still does today. What is this common dessert which caused such a commotion in Shirley's family?
Answer: Fruit cocktail. If the red cherry pieces are not evenly distributed, people sometimes get upset. The Del Monte company actually had to add a separate can to their lineup of fruit cocktails to appease their customers due to this problem. They call it Very Cherry, and it contains more cherries than their original can.
