Riddle: It was 8 a.m. on a cold Saturday morning in November when Inspector YU of the local police department received the call that a robbery had taken place at the home of a Miss Tiffany Ritz, a wealthy widow who lived in a wealthy neighborhood of seven mansions. The Ritz mansion was exactly in the middle, with three neighboring mansions located on either side of her lavish estate. Upon arriving at the scene of the crime, Inspector Yu was informed by the police that Miss Ritz had called 9-1-1 at 6 a.m. to report her million-dollar broach had been stolen during the night. She said she had gone downstairs just before 6 a.m. to feed her pet piranha fish when she noticed the window was open, and her ruby broach was missing from its glass display case. The police informed Inspector Yu they had left the grounds behind the mansions undisturbed, as that was where the break-in had occurred, and with the assistance of a two-inch snowfall during the night, they knew any footprints would be easily readable in the freshly fallen snow. Wasting no time, Inspector Yu began an intricate search of the snow-covered grounds behind the Ritz mansion where the break-in had occurred. The blacktopped roadway behind the seven mansions had already been plowed by the contracted maintenance man, but the snow-covered yards behind each mansion remained undisturbed. Inspector Yu was surprised to see there were absolutely no footprints of any kind leading up to the rear window of the Ritz estate, and he was especially mystified by the presence of a strange, slightly curving line in the snow which went from the plowed blacktop to the rear window where the robber had entered to steal the million-dollar broach. How was it possible for there to be absolutely no footprints in the snow which had fallen during the night, and what had caused the bizarre, curving two-inch wide line pressed into the snow which lead to the back window? The inspector noted a small, circular hole had been cut out of the window glass, where someone had reached through to undo the latch. Inspector Yu then opened the window and entered the room where the burglary had taken place. A second hole had been cut out of the glass case protecting the broach, and the thief had obviously reached through the hole and swiped the valuable jewelry. He found no other significant clues in the room, and the dusting of the window and broach case for fingerprints brought no results. Inspector Yu had observed the strange, curved line which was pressed into the snow lead to the back window, but then went away from that window in a different direction, noting this two-inch wide track then returned back to the blacktop near the place where it had started. An inspection of the other snow-covered yards behind the other six mansions revealed no footprints and no sign of the mysterious curved line in the snow. Inspector Yu's next step was to interview the tenants of the three mansions on either side of the Ritz home. He learned all of the other six neighbors had been in the home of Miss Ritz on numerous occasions for various parties, and they all said they had been shown the million-dollar broach in the case. None of the six had an alibi for their whereabouts the night of the robbery, as they all lived alone, and had slept soundly through the night, according to their testimonies. The inspector also discovered each of the neighbors despised one another, including Miss Ritz, and each one tried to implicate the others concerning the case, with stories about their exotic and bizarre behaviors. The tenants were identified as follows: Miss Sharp, a professional ice skater, whom one of the neighbors said had a habit of riding around the neighborhood on a pair of custom-built motorized ice skates, making a complete spectacle of herself on the icy blacktop. Another neighbor, Samuel Clowney, was a retired circus entertainer who was well versed in all aspects of circus performance life. One of the neighbors reported Mr. Clowney liked to show off some of his circus skills by riding up and down in front of the seven mansions as he demonstrated his balancing skill, while simultaneously juggling up to five oranges. A third neighbor, a Mr. Baghat, had relocated to the U.S. from India. Several neighbors reported he had a snake he had trained to fetch items for him upon request, and had actually trained the snake to move through the snow, even though snakes are cold-blooded reptiles which usually hate cold environments. Neighbor number four, a former Olympic pole vaulting champion from France by the name of Monsieur Jumpette, once reportedly shocked each of these neighbors by running through each of their yards using his pole to vault over each of their in-ground swimming pools. A fifth neighbor, a Miss Priscilla Pirouette, was a professional ballerina who reportedly showed off her skills to her neighbors on a regular basis, by walking on her extreme tiptoes up and down in front of the seven mansions. The last neighbor, a Miss Tallsey, was an extremely thin and emaciated woman who was 7 feet 2 inches tall but weighed less than 100 pounds. Her neighbors told Inspector Yu she made a frequent habit of walking around the neighborhood on a tall pair of wooden stilts, making her over ten feet tall. After interviewing each of the six neighbors in their mansions, Inspector Yu deduced one thing for certain: This was the weirdest group of people in one neighborhood he had ever seen in his entire life! The inspector felt certain one of the six neighbors had stolen the precious ruby broach, and he felt almost 100% certain he knew who the culprit was, based on one of the reports he had received from one of the neighbors. The inspector made his arrest, and sure enough, the million-dollar ruby broach was found in that neighbor's home. And now you, (not Inspector Yu), as a member of the Detective Dream Team, must use your powers of deduction to identify the thief who stole the precious ruby broach. So.......... Who Done It?
Answer: Inspector Yu was tipped off by one of the neighbors who spoke about the circus skills of Samuel Clowney. The neighbor mentioned Mr. Clowney liked to "demonstrate his balancing skill while juggling up to five oranges." The inspector discovered what the neighbor was referring to when he interviewed Samuel Clowney in his mansion, and noticed many pictures of Mr. Clowney riding a unicycle while juggling various objects. Only the tire of a unicycle could have made the curving line in the snow which lead up to the back window of the Ritz mansion where the break-in had occurred. This explained the mystery of why no footprints were found on the ground outside the window, as Mr. Clowney's feet were on the pedals of his unicycle, and never touched the ground.
Riddle: Near a castle without a moat, a well-known queen was captured and held hostage by a dark and powerful enemy force. Several of her loyal servants tried to break through enemy lines to free her, but most of them were eliminated during battle. However, one of her servants was able to break through the enemy's defenses to free the queen-at the cost of his own life; but he knew he could never go back once he had started. Can anyone identify this well-known queen and the lowly servant who performed the greatest sacrifice to save her?
Answer: The queen was the white queen, and the servant who was sacrificed was a white pawn who had reached the back row of the black chess pieces—and was subsequently promoted/exchanged for the captured white queen.
Riddle: A retired couple had just completed construction on a brand new house. The husband had worked in construction, and his wife had been an interior decorator, so the finished house looked great. They were so proud of their new house, they invited their 12 grandchildren over to see it. Within an hour of their visit, however, the 12 children had broken several windows, pulled decorations from the walls, smashed parts of the white fence surrounding the house, and somehow even managed to destroy parts of the new roof. Shockingly, the retired couple did not try to set any behavioral limits on their grandchildren, and in fact, were observed smiling and laughing as their grandchildren inflicted damage on the house the couple had so carefully created together. Has the world gone mad? What kind of insanity was going on here?
Answer: The retired couple had constructed a small gingerbread house for their grandchildren, and invited them over to eat it.
Riddle: A world-famous magician and his young assistant were observed walking slowly along in a department store when suddenly they both stopped walking and began to slowly rise from the floor. The two continued to rise majestically until they had reached a height of 20 feet. Numerous store customers and a security guard witnessed the event, but no one seemed shocked by what they had seen, and no report of the occurrence ever reached the news media. The secrets of magic are not supposed to be revealed, but how would you speculate the magician and his assistant accomplished this feat, and why didn't the onlookers express amazement?
Answer: The magician and his assistant were simply using an escalator to go up to the next floor in the department store.
Riddle: Many years ago, a group of friends and I were hiking through a dense forest near my home, when one of the group stopped and made a suggestion to everyone. Just as the last words left his mouth, we all scattered, and for the very first time, I saw It! It was bigger than most of us, and It was fast -- too fast for my friends, unfortunately. As I ran to try to hide from It, I heard the screams of my comrads behind me. It quickly closed in on them, eventually rendering each of them motionless, and helpless -- and at Its mercy! As I was hiding myself from It, I saw It grab and totally immobilize three more of my closest friends. It was relentless in Its pursuit. My heart raced within my chest as It approached my hiding place. I realized I was the last survivor, but was overmatched by Its speed and power. As It grabbed me, It growled three words at me!!! What were those three words?
Answer: The three words were, “Tag, you’re It!” We stopped on our hike to play a game of Freeze Tag, and since I was the last one caught, my turn to be It was due.
Riddle: A man and his wife were doing missionary work near the city of Nairobi in the country of Kenya in eastern Africa. Their housing had not yet been completed, so the man, the woman, and their six year old daughter were spending a few nights in the jungle in three small pup tents. During their third night there, the woman was awakened by the call of a hyena passing by, so she got out of her tent to see if her young daughter had been frightened by the noise. As she peered into her daughter's tent she was surprised to see the dark figures of lion, a panther, and a cheetah which were curled up next to her daughter. Seeing her daughter was asleep and unharmed, the woman slowly and quietly withdrew from the tent, and simply returned to her own tent and went back to bed. How could this child's mother leave her daughter in such a dangerous situation, and simply ignore what she had just witnessed without intervening in some way? How can such emotional coldness ever be explained; or is there something here we are missing?
Answer: The woman was surprised to see that her daughter had talked her father into allowing her to bring her three favorite stuffed animals on the trip with her (the lion, the panther, and the cheetah).
Riddle: Death and taxes; taxes and death----- They're sure to be with us, until our last breath. So, try to save money-----How much can you save? They'll nickel us and dime us-----Right down to the grave. And now that you've heard my negative chant, tell me the man's name you hear in my rant.
Riddle: Josephine is a young, single woman who is gainfully employed. When working at her job, she dresses informally and wears comfortable shoes, including loafers and flats, but she hates clogs. Being single, she wears no wedding ring, but on the job, she carries many rings of various sizes with her. Josephine enjoys music, and to her job, she always brings several tapes with her, but she never listens to any of them. This woman possesses several tools, one of which bears the name of a tree-dwelling animal, and she uses this tool frequently. Finally, as part of her job, Josephine is a snake-handler, and she can proudly say she has never been bitten by one. What exactly is this young woman's occupation?
Answer: Josephine is a Plumber. She hates Clogs. She carries rubber O-rings to fix faucets. She uses plumbers Tape and a Tape measure. She uses a Monkey wrench. She also uses a Drain Snake to clear clogged pipes.
Riddle: Sally Johnson called 911 when she first noticed Theodore was missing, but the operator told her there was nothing the police could do until Theodore was missing for at least 24 hours. The 911 operator told Miss Johnson that Theodore would probably be found because, based on the description Sally had given of Theodore, the operator felt Theodore was not the type to run away from home. However, Miss Johnson wasn't willing to wait that long, so she sent her German shepherd dog out to look for him, after she had first let the dog have a sniff of the tiny sweater she had dressed Theodore in earlier that day. However, when the dog returned without Theodore, Sally considered calling the F.B.I., as she started thinking little Theodore might have been kidnapped. No ransom note or telephone call was received by Miss Johnson that day, however, so Sally began to systematically search her house. After frantically searching, Miss Johnson finally found Theodore in her basement --- in the washing machine --- still wet, after apparently having gone through a complete washing cycle! Why was the 911 operator so cavalier about the missing Theodore? Should D.C.F.S. be notified to investigate? Where was the adult supervision; or is there a simpler explanation for these events?
Answer: Miss Sally Johnson was a seven-year-old child who watched a lot of T.V (especially police and detective shows), and had a vivid imagination. When she lost her teddy bear (Theodore), she never considered the possibility her mother had put him in the washing machine for a much-needed cleaning, as it had become soiled from Sally’s frequent use.
Riddle: A young girl, Violet by name, was visiting with a group of her schoolmates at a friend's house. The air was filled with the noise of loud conversations, when an older woman called out for silence. She then asked one of the girls in attendance to remove something from a black bag she was holding. The older woman then announced, "Violet, you have the honor of being first!" Violet was then ushered to the center of the room where the older woman pushed a body part of an animal into Violet's hand. Suddenly, everything went dark for the young girl. Violet began to feel dizzy, and felt someone's hands on her. She then felt a slight push. As Violet staggered forward in the darkness, the loud chanting and shouting increased around her. Finally, Violet's hand bumped into something which, when the darkness was gone, gave her a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction. Was this scenario part of some bizarre, warped initiation into some strange cult, or is there a more pleasant explanation for these events.
Answer: Violet was at a birthday party, and was selected to be first in the Pin the Tail on the Donkey game they were playing. She was successful in pinning the tail just where it belonged. The body part of the animal was, of course, the donkey’s tail.