Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with riddle

To Meemaw, from Beepaw -- decades of family brainstorming

cranberry_nut — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:05:21 -0800

Please help solve a riddle from a 1943 family postcard During Thanksgiving dinner this year, guests were presented with a family mystery. Among a stack of family photos was a postcard that my great-grandfather sent to my great-grandmother while away on business. It is postmarked "Mobile ALA" 3/16/43 and addressed to their home in New Orleans.

It reads as follows.

Dearest:
I ran across and bought for you today something you have been wanting for quite a while. No, it wasn't a fur coat, fur I don't have the money fur such articles. In fact it was a pair, but not stockings. Actually it was two pair and they are a kind of silk but they are not cloth. Another peculiar thing is they are utterly useless except when turned upside down, but they are always left right side up. Will bring them over this weekend so you won't die of curiosity. Love to all and don't work too hard, Ralph.

We've been unable to determine what the gift was, and it's now driving us a bit crazy. Do any of you have any thoughts?

(Note: the "fur" instead of "for" is likely unrelated to the riddle. That's just him having fun.)

Riddle me crazy

Jody Tresidder — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:22:14 -0800

This is starting to get seriously depressing - I'm no nearer to solving this riddle than I was 3 freaking hours ago. (Neither is my husband - and he's the smart one.) It's NOT part of a contest - just a maddening tease from a lawyer friend in the UK. I've included the bit she wrote in the same sentence as the riddle, because it seems to be relevant (yes, she's really in a book club, yes, Melanie is another friend of ours and yes, the first friend mentioned one of these books recently in another, totally separate email.)

(sidebar: I was humming Holst, as it were, for a while. But I can't make that sort of answer work at all!)

This is exactly what she wrote:

"Meanwhile, (based on our recent reading - first we did Wolf Hall and then we did A man for all seasons), Melanie sent me this riddle: what links 6 periods of time, starting with 23 years and 11 months with sharp decreases in time spans thereafter. I couldn't understand the question for ages and then suddenly I got it!"

What's my name?

Cogito — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:39:31 -0800

Help me guess this person's name. I've been given some clues. I share a given name with the poor-but-virtuous protagonist of one of the first English novels, but it's more likely that I was named for an actress who played a girl detective on a 1970s TV series.

It's not Rumpelstiltskin, in case you were wondering.

Hotel Uniform November Tango

itstheclamsname — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:55:14 -0800

I'm creating a scavenger hunt for friends and family, and the first step for participants is to figure out what they're looking for through a series of riddles, codes, and puzzles. I'm looking for fun ways to encode or otherwise obfuscate the clues. The clues (objects or signs the participants must find) are generally single words or short phrases, like "mermaid," "bird decoy," "the words 'great fun'" and "lighthouse." Each one will be the answer to a puzzle of some sort. The teams include both kids and adults, so I'm particularly interested in obfuscation techniques that are fun to figure out and don't require a lot of time or outside resources.

Some ideas I'm using are a rebus, a substitution code, and hiding the clue in a find-a-word puzzle. What other riddling means can I employ?

Identify these maps

bru — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 10:43:47 -0800

What are the countries, provinces or states shown in this image? There is Israel twice, unknown, Alberta and unknown (could be California + Cascadia but I am not sure).

Bonus question: this might be just a mysterious work of art but it looks like a riddle. There are some kind of city grids as background spelling (I think) THEFT so the riddle must be political and probably anti US. I don't see what is being stolen in Alberta (oil sands are handsomely bought).

Category: I suppose that "geography" fits inside "science & nature", right?

"Guess what?" "What?" "THAT'S what!"

grumblebee — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:22:55 -0800

When I was a kid (in the early 70s), this baffling "riddle" was all the rage in the schoolyard: A: "Guess what?" B: "What?" A: "THAT'S what!" I thought this was a quirky but of Southern Indiana nonsense, but my wife -- who hails from Alabama -- also remembers it from her youth. What does it mean? What's its origin? Just to be clear: one kid walks up to another and says, "Guess what?"

"What?" asks the second kid (the straight man).

"THAT'S what!" says the first.

The last line was always said in a "gotcha" voice, is if the second kid was a moron and should have known the answer all along.

So I get that it's a weird sort of schoolyard insult/trick. And I can appreciate the absurdity of it (the nonsense quality). But I still feel like I'm missing something. And I'm sure that I -- and most of the kids who engaged in this ritual -- had no idea what it meant. We just did it like we recited certain nursery rhymes without knowing what they meant.

Does anyone know the origin? I'm surprised it co-existed in both Indiana and Alabama. Presumably, it existed it other places, too. I'm wondering if (maybe in some altered form) it comes from some pop-culture comedy show from the time -- maybe something like "Laugh-in."

Do-My-Kid's-Homework-Filter

LoraxGuy — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:37:58 -0800

There is one sure way to keep water from comng into your home. What is it? So that's my blow-the-weekly-question this time 'round. It's 6th grade homework time, and I've helped the kid with all the other stupid "logic" puzzles. This one I can't remember.

It's in a league with other zingers like:

Q. What animal can jump as high as a house?
A. Any animal - houses don't jump

Q. What can you put in a bucket to make it weigh less?
A. A hole.

Help me solve this difficult riddle

foodybat — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:37:01 -0800

Help me solve this riddle.... "There's something special about Washington, and the heart sometimes rules the head which can often affect ones health, but thats not all, discover and calculate the end result." It's possible that the answer is one word. Please help.... I solved a puzzle called the ISIS.
After solving this puzzle, there is an opportunity to win a prize if you can solve a riddle.

There are many different riddles & although you get to choose your riddle, you only choose by number...you don't know the riddle until after you decide. Once the riddle is solved....if you've chosen that one....your done.

I've put a great deal of thought into this...figuring perhaps it was that denzel washington movie....so i guessed;
gun, death, life, heart transplant.... none are correct.

Could you answer all the questions in the world in just one word?

lane73179 — Sat, 05 May 2007 00:24:05 -0800

"Could you answer all the questions in the world in just one word?" What is this from? It's a line from something. can't place quite what.. book, song, movie.. But it keeps playing in my head.

What was that book of fantasy illustrations with the secret prize?

hydrophonic — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 13:25:45 -0800

Lost book question: When I was a kid, our upstairs neighbors lent me a book of wild fantasy illustrations that contained a hidden puzzle. There was a sizable prize for whoever figured out the riddle. This would be from the late seventies or early eighties, so I could be remembering a lot of things wrong. The book had little or no text. The illustrations were lush, vibrant and detailed--think prog rock album cover, but not Boris Vallejo-style fantasy art. Light-hearted, but definately for the adult hippy/fantasy fan, not kids. There was a mediaeval theme; I think there was a short jester holding a large key. The clues led you to the location of the prize. Or maybe you had to mail in your answer. The prize was worth $50,000--but of course I was a kid with no concept of money, so maybe it was $500.

Am I making this up? Was it a hoax? Did someone actually find the prize?

And behind THIS dor we have...

Phire — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 20:54:31 -0800

[Riddle Filter] You are on a game show. There are three doors to choose from, two of which contain smelly goats, and one containing a million dollars. You pick door number one. The game show host, who knows which door contains the money, shows you door number 3. Door number 3 has a goat in it.

He then offers you the choice to remain with your original door choice, number 1, or to switch to number 2.

Which one gives you the advantage?

[Answer]

Switching to number 2 does.

[/Answer]

But why?

Bernoulli where are you when I need you?

DrtyBlvd — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 07:00:02 -0800

Can a plane take off? Assume the plane is sat on a runway that can move - IE a conveyor belt - the plane moves in one direction, the belt in the opposite direction.

So as the plane speeds up so does the conveyor to be exactly the same speed but in the opposite direction.

Can the plane take off?

H ey yo Ugu yss olVe me

attercoppe — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 18:38:11 -0800

Attention codebreakers! For a friend: A friend of mine gave me this "riddle". I can't figure it out. Now there is a chance that they are just messing with me and it is complete gibberish. “lwa hy ou wi Tll I di a w h at g ys y” My [friend's] thoughts so far....
-- I've ruled out anagrams because they are no E's R's or N's, so it's not likely. I was also lead to believe that there were missing characters, again ruling out anagrams.
-- I've ruled out hidden (white font) characters
-- Letter replacement is unlikey because there would be too many one letter words
-- Why is the T capital? I?
-- why are there more than one space between some of the letters? [I don't see any, but that's what she said]
-- They said that it's a LOGICAL answer

My brain is currently too tired to work on this much. Help?

Where in the world is Samuel Clemens?

FearAndLoathingInLJ — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 20:14:36 -0800

Where on Earth was Samuel L. Clemens at midnight on December 31st, 1899? Read the
"Does anyone know where Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, was when the clock struck midnight on December 31, 1899?"

My American History professor asked us this riddle today in class. He didn't provide any additional information. No one knew, and he refused to tell us. My first instinct that he was dead, so where ever he is presently buried, but alas no, he died in 1910. Then I thought it could be a vague allusion to some of his work, but I asked and, no he is asking the man's actual physical location.

I've been in the library all afternoon reading Twain biographies, but no luck. So has any one ever heard this riddle, or failing that, does anyone know where I could find out? Was a Twain diary ever published?

If a riddler riddles...

Robot Johnny — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 04:21:10 -0800

Help me solve a riddle! A baker bakes, a painter paints, a teacher teaches... ...is there any pair of occupation words like this in which the word for the action ends in "-er" and the word for the person performing it doesn't?

I remember reading this question on a Usenet puzzles or wordgames group many moons ago, before the web really existed, and it's one of those things that has stuck with me since reading it, but I have never figured out the answer.

riddle site

blueyellow — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 12:46:24 -0800

What are your favorite puzzle and riddle sites? Preferably challenging. For example, I know of greylabyrinth.com ,rec-puzzles.org, cut-the-knot.org, cs.cmu.edu/puzzle, ocf.berkeley.edu/~wwu/riddles. Also do you know of any good free cryptic crossword sites?

Who stole the jam?

thewittyname — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 20:27:07 -0800

I need help solving a logic puzzle. My fiance was given a reading assignment, which included a riddle. Both of us have tried and failed to solve it, and google has been no help. Oh AskMe, please bestow your wisdom and tell me: Who stole the jam?

The riddle:
``How about making us some nice tarts?" the King of Hearts asked the Queen of Hearts one cool summer day.

``What's the sense of making tarts without jam?" said the Queen furiously. ``The jam is the best part!"

``Then use jam," said the King.

``I can't!" shouted the Queen. ``My jam has been stolen!"

``Really!" said the King. ``This is quite serious! Who stole it?"

``How do you expect me to know who stole it? If I knew, I would have had it back long ago and the miscreant's head in the bargain!"

Well, the King had his soldiers scout around for the missing jam, and it was found in the house of the March Hare, the Mad Hatter, and the Dormouse. All three were promptly arrested and tried.

``Now, now!" exclaimed the King at the trial. ``I want to get to the bottom of this! I don't like people coming into my kitchen and stealing my jam!"

``Did you by any chance steal the jam?" the King asked the March Hare.

``I never stole the jam!" pleaded the March Hare.

``What about you?" the King roared to the Hatter, who was trembling like a leaf. ``Are you by any chance the culprit?" The Hatter was unable to utter a word; he just stood there gasping and sipping his tea.

``If he has nothing to say, that only proves his guilt," said the Queen, ``so off with his head immediately!"

``No, no!" pleaded the Hatter. ``One of us stole it, but it wasn't me!"

``And what about you?" continued the Kind to the Dormouse. ``What do you have to say about all of this? Did the March Hare and the Hatter both tell the truth?"

``At least one of them did," replied the Dormouse, who then fell asleep for the rest of the trial.

As subsequent investigation revealed, the March Hare and the Dormouse were not both speaking the truth. Who stole the jam?

Geometry Question

twine42 — Sun, 14 Dec 2003 16:26:46 -0800

Can anyone settle a 15 year old argument for me? It turned into one of those things "we don't talk about" but it's always bugged me. The question is simple and involves three points and a circle - more inside. Right... This argument was a simple one but it kept me and my father amused for hours. Okay, it kept me amused for hours and had him swearing. The trigger is simple - I stated that any three points could always be joined togther by a circle that passed though them all. It's a simple theory, and one to which he found many arguments. I think I killed them all appart from one. He loved telling me that three points in a straight line couldn't be linked, but I claimed that if he could have them infinitely straight then I could have a circle of invitite diameter. Ah the wonders of infinity.

Anyway, after all this time I wanted a proper answer, so I though I'd ask you guys. Am I right or was he? Can anyone give me a mathematical proof of it?