Riddle: There was no mention of it in any of the newspapers, but a queen recently moved to a small farm in the state of Iowa. To assist her, a group of about 20 diligent workers was assigned to help the queen with the farm work which needed to be done, as the queen was not accustomed to performing any type of menial, manual labor. It may seem a bit strange, but in her new home, there were no cows or chickens or farm animals of any kind, and the surrounding soil was very sandy, so no crops could be grown there. This really didn’t matter though, as there was no farm machinery for the workers to use anyway. At the queen’s insistence, those diligent workers spend their days digging tunnels all over the farm; but they are not seeking treasure or anything of value. These tunnels sometimes collapse on the workers, killing a few; but the queen shows little concern and these deaths are never reported to the police or to any law enforcement agency. Who does this queen think she is? She must feel she is above the law and has no respect for the lives of those who serve her! Where is the justice for these workers? Or, perhaps, the queen shouldn’t be held responsible after all. What exactly is going on here?
Answer: The queen was an ant which was purchased and added to an ant farm owned by a child in the state of Iowa. About 20 worker ants were added to the ant farm shortly thereafter.
Riddle: Terry had been driving for nearly an hour when he encountered a backup of several cars which were all waiting to pass through a tunnel. He was listening to the weather report on his car's radio while awaiting his turn when he heard that a severe mixture of snow and rain accompanied by flash flooding and powerful winds were expected to strike the area within minutes. Terry dreaded this type of dangerous winter driving, so he wanted to get home quickly. As he paid the required fee to pass through the tunnel, Terry could only think about the weather report and the severe driving conditions predicted. Suddenly, a downpour of water, followed by a curtain of liquid white covered Terry's car. He did not use his windshield wipers though, and in fact, he removed both hands from the steering wheel just as another downpour of water blasted his car. A few seconds later, a second deluge of water crashed down on his car, followed by a mighty wind. At that point, Terry again grasped the steering wheel and regained control of the car. After these events, Terry was able to drive home safely. Did Terry panic during this encounter by not using his windshield wipers and removing his hands from the steering wheel, or is Terry a better driver than these events indicate?
Answer: The tunnel Terry went through was a car wash. A driver is always supposed to take his hands off the steering wheel and avoid using windshield wipers when the car is passing through the soap, water, and powerful drying wind at the end.
Riddle: Ron and Terry are both dressed in camouflage clothing and are completely surrounded by dead bodies. As veterans of the Army, they are both on a mission to locate some of their comrades. Neither Terry nor Ron are carrying any weapons, but they have no fear of being harmed. They look about the terrain which surrounds them, but all they see are grass and large and small stones. Terry jumps up on one of the large stones to get a better view of their surroundings, but Ron suggests to Terry that his standing on the big stone might be viewed as disrespectful, and Terry jumps down. "I counted 27 flags while I was up there," says Terry to Ron, "so let's go check them out." In what activity are Ron and Terry engaged?
Answer: Ron and Terry are veterans who are looking for the grave sites of some of the soldiers they served with in the Army. The large and small stones are tombstones, and the American flags mark the graves of the veterans who are buried in that cemetery.
Riddle: I'm afraid my grandmother may be getting a bit senile. The other day she told me she was planning a special Easter party for about 25 of her friends, and she asked me to go to the store for her, to pick up the following items on this list she gave me: 25 green apples, 25 peaches, 25 mangos, 25 juicy pears, 25 plums, 25 lemons, 25 coconuts, 25 cantaloupes, 25 watermelons, 25 A&W cream sodas, 25 strawberry cheesecakes, 25 pieces of bubblegum, 1 bag of crushed pineapple, 1 bag of blueberries, 1 bag of cotton candy, 1 bag of wild blackberries, 1 bag of buttered popcorn, and 1 bag of sour cherries. Well, what do you think? Is my grandmother’s trolly car starting to leave its track, or are her mental faculties still in good working order? Just what is her plan for this party?
Answer: Grandma is planning an Easter jelly-bean-eating party for her 25 friends. She plans to give one of each of the gourmet jelly beans listed to each of her friends to see which flavors her friends like the best.
Riddle: Lucille had recently received her real estate license and was out evaluating a bunch of properties in a certain neighborhood. As she traveled around the area, she saw some properties which were very expensive, and others that were more affordable. The area was sprinkled with a mixture of little greenhouses, a couple of hotels, a few businesses, and she noticed there was also some access to railway travel. Some of these properties were for sale but others were not. The bizarre thing is, Lucille ended up in jail three separate times that day and had to be bailed out on each occasion! She received no traffic citations and swears she did absolutely nothing wrong, and yet, she was incarcerated three times that day. What do you suppose happened that caused her to be locked up in jail three times in one day?
Answer: Lucille had indeed recently received her real estate license, however, that really had little to do with the fact she was playing a game of Monopoly with some friends; and unfortunately for her, landed in jail three times during the game, and had to bail herself out so she could continue playing.
Riddle: A young girl is standing on a small hill facing a man and two young boys. The man and one of the two boys are wearing headgear made of leather and metal, and the other young boy is wearing a hard, plastic hat. The man has no special feelings toward the girl on the hill, but the young boy in the special headgear is her close friend. However, the other boy in the plastic hat is the sworn enemy of the girl. As the man and the two boys stare intently at the girl on the hill, she suddenly throws a hard, round object toward the group of three males, striking the boy wearing the plastic hat in the head, knocking his hat off, and sending him sprawling to the ground. The man, after witnessing these events, issues a three-word command to the boy who was struck, and this causes the boy to run away from home. What was the three-word command the man gave to the boy, and why did it cause the boy to run away from home?
Answer: The young girl was the pitcher in a little league game. Her close friend (the young male catcher) called for a fastball, but the girl’s pitch was wild, and it knocked down the young boy who was wearing a protective batting helmet. The adult male umpire subsequently told the batter the appropriate three words, “Take Your Base.” The batter then ran away from home and went to first base.
Riddle: Two friends, from a very cold town in Minnesota, each had unusual life skills which helped them in their adventures together. The first of the friends was a tall, lanky individual who, at times, possessed almost super-human strength, had the ability to remember everything he ever ate, and could accurately forecast the weather by reading a bunion on his foot --- but he wasn't known for being very intelligent. The second of the friends, known for his higher intellect, made a lot of short, solo flights, but he never obtained his pilot's license. He usually wore a pair of aviation goggles on top of his head. Their arch enemies were two Russian-like spies who doggedly pursued them, and these spies were led by a man without fear. Can you name the two friends from this very cold Minnesota town?
Answer: Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose, otherwise known as Rocky and Bullwinkle. The two Russian-like spies (Boris and Natasha) were lead by the infamous Fearless Leader.
Riddle: A sheriff is in hot pursuit of the notorious bank robber Black Bart. The six-shooters of the lawman and the criminal glisten in the sun, as Black Bart speeds his way on foot to the first horse he sees, and quickly mounts it. The sheriff, in hot pursuit, jumps on the back of the closest steed he can find, and continues the heated chase, but he is unable to close the gap between them. After a short time, a man and a woman, who are witnessing the chase, shout out loudly to the lawman and the criminal, "Meet you at the saloon in 30 minutes for something cold!" What is going on in this strange scenario, and who are the man and the woman who shouted out the invitation to the saloon?
Answer: The "sheriff" and "Black Bart" are two children pretending to be a lawman chasing an outlaw, and are riding horses on a merry-go-round at an amusement park or a western tourist town. The man and the woman are their parents who are inviting them to the "saloon" for some cold drinks or ice cream.
Riddle: A thief was in the process of robbing the house of a wealthy widow. As he was rifling through the dresser drawers where her jewelry box was located, he came upon a bunch of diamonds. He knew the diamonds were genuine because he had seen the same type many times before, but he left them untouched in the drawer and continued searching the room. When he heard police sirens approaching, he ran from the home empty-handed, not retrieving the diamonds. Did this thief flunk out of crook college? Why didn't he grab those diamonds when he had the chance?
Answer: The diamonds he spotted in the dresser drawer were a bunch of playing cards with the suit of 13 diamonds facing up where he could see them.
Riddle: A blond-haired juvenile delinquent entered the home of a family while the three members of the family were out for a walk. Immediately, she proceeded to help herself to some food that had been left out on the table. Next, this young trespasser broke up some furniture in the house, and lastly, for no good reason, she went upstairs and deliberately messed up the family's sleeping quarters. Eventually, the family returned to their ransacked home while this criminal invader was still there, but she managed to escape before the family could apprehend her or call the authorities. Who was this juvenile home invader who got away with her malicious mischief and trespassing?
Answer: Her name was Goldilocks, and she entered the home of the Three Bears without permission.