Can you Solve these Riddles?

Did you know that riddles could "increase neuroplasticity"?

We recently read a study that concluded the following: “Sudoku, puzzles, riddles, board games, video games, card games, and similar activities increase neuroplasticity.” 

This basically means that our brain develops new pathways and synapses that improve our cognitive abilities for problem solving, pattern recognition and emotional understanding.

If you were wondering...What does this have to do with palo azul?

Absolutely nothing! Except that we love to investigate health topics, and we also love riddles! So, we decided to create this blog to share fun riddles with you. We also wanted to challenge your brains and see how many people can find the right answers. 😉 

Riddles

Animals and the river

We'll give you a hint...this riddle is a battle between math and the English language.

 

One rabbit saw six elephants while going to the river.

Every elephant saw two monkeys going towards the river.

Every monkey holds one parrot in their hands.

How many animals are going towards the river?

(The correct answer is below this picture)

Answer: 5

Explanation: The first animal that goes to the river is the rabbit. Each elephant saw two monkeys going to the river... but this is where language becomes deceptive. "Each elephant saw two monkeys" can be interpreted as a total of 12 monkeys (because there are 6 elephants), but in the case of this puzzle... each elephant saw the same 2 monkeys. This means that now 1 rabbit and 2 monkeys are going to the river. Each monkey has 1 parrot in his hands. In conclusion, 1 rabbit, 2 monkeys and 2 parrots are going to the river :)

 

Oedipus and the Sphinx

This next riddle comes from one of the most famous pieces of literature ever written. Oedipus Rex, or Oedipus The King was written in 429 B.C. by Sophocles and it gave birth to one of the most famous riddles.

As Oedipus is trying to enter the gates of Thebes, a giant Sphinx told him that if he solved this riddle, she would let him in. But if he were to get it wrong, he would become her meal.

This one is sure to leave you thinking for a while 😉

 

“What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?”

(The answer is below this picture)

Answer: A human

Explanation: When we are first born (morning), we crawl on 4 legs as a baby. Then, throughout the middle of our life (noon) we learn how to walk on 2 legs. Finally, we grow old and use a cane and walk on 3 legs for the remainder of our life (evening).

Can you crack the code?

This might be one of the hardest riddles in this list so if you're able to solve it, be proud of yourself! :)

There are 5 groups of numbers and each group has a clue....Can you crack the code?

Group #1: 682 - One number is correct and positioned correctly

Group #2: 614 - One number is correct but positioned incorrectly

Group #3: 206 - Two numbers are correct but positioned incorrectly

Group #4: 738 - Nothing is correct

Group #5: 780 - One number is correct but positioned incorrectly

(The answer is below this image)

Explanation: We figured out the answer by starting with the number 2, because we know that one of the two numbers in group #1 are positioned correctly and in group #3, two of the numbers are correct but 2 is in the wrong position. In group #5 we know that 7 and 8 are not correct, so we know that 0 is correct but is in the wrong position. So, we already know that in group #3, 0 is a correct number but it is also in the wrong position...which means that the 0 position is the first number.

Next, in group #3 we already know that the 2 and 0 are correct, which means that the 6 is incorrect and that means that in group #1...the number that is correct and is positioned correctly is the 2. This gives us the third number.

Finally, we already know that 6 is a wrong number and in group #2...one of the numbers is right but wrongly positioned. So, it can't be 1 because we are only missing the number in the middle...thus, we can deduce that number 4 is the second number.

Answer: 042

 

Die Hard

This age-old riddle rose to fame when it was featured in the 3rd Die Hard movie. Bruce Willis and Samuel Jackson had to solve it in under 30 seconds or a bomb would explode! In Die Hard fashion, Samuel Jackson was able to solve it in the last second.

Now it's your turn to save the day 😉

 

"As I was going to St. Ives,

I met a man with seven wives,

Each wife had seven sacks,

Each sack had seven cats,

Each cat had seven kits:

Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,

How many were there going to St. Ives?"

(The answer is below this picture)

Answer: 1

Explanation: All those 7s were a trick to make us believe we had to do math, but the speaker met the man as he was going to St. Ives...meaning that the man he met must have been leaving St. Ives. Thus, only one person was going to St. Ives.

Lord of the Rings

The context of this riddle is pretty similar to the Oedipus and the Sphinx riddle. Gollum asked this riddle to Bilbo Baggins and if he answered it correctly, he would be allowed to escape the underground lair.

 

"This thing all things devours;

Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;

Gnaws iron, bites steel;

Grinds hard stones to meal;

Slays king, ruins town,

And beats mountain down."

What is this “thing”?

(The answer is below this picture)

Answer: Time

Explanation: The funny thing is that Bilbo didn’t know the answer, he got it right by pure luck! He yelled out “time!” because he needed more time to think, and thus, he got his freedom. 

Prisoner riddle

You are a prisoner and the guards tell you:

“If you tell a lie we will hang you, if you tell a truth we will shoot you.”

What can you say to avoid this dilemma?

(The answer is below this picture)

Answer: "You will hang me”

Explanation: This is the answer because if they hang you...it will make the statement true, and they can only hang you if you lied. If they shoot you, then it makes your statement a lie, and they could only shoot you if you told the truth. You could also say “you will not shoot me” and if they shoot you, it would make your statement a lie, meaning that they would have to hang you instead.

Man and the bear

Although this riddle may seem impossible to answer, the answer makes perfect sense once you get it. 

“I left my campsite and hiked south for 3 miles. Then I turned east and hiked for 3 miles. I then turned north and hiked for 3 miles, at which time I came upon a bear inside my tent eating my food!"

What color was the bear?

(The answer is below this picture)

Answer: White

Explanation: There’s only one place in the world that you can move 3 miles south, east, then north and end up where you started. The North Pole, and that’s where polar bears live 😉

 

 

Short Riddles

1. What can run but never walks...has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?

 

2. A man calls his dog from the opposite side of the river. The dog crosses the river without getting wet, and without using a bridge or boat. How?

 

3. I have lakes with no water, mountains with no stone and cities with no buildings. What am I?

 

4. What does man love more than life, hate more than death or mortal strife; that which contented men desire; the poor have, the rich require; the miser spends, the spendthrift saves, and all men carry to their graves?

 

5. What word starts with E and ends with E but only has one letter in it?

 

Answers

1. A river

 2. The river was frozen

3. A map

4. Nothing

5. An envelope

 

We hope you enjoyed these riddles and gave your brain a good workout! Feel free to share any more riddles with us and we might add them to this list.

Also, don't forget to share this with your friends and challenge their brains!

 

Stay magical! 😉