Do you know the answers to these riddles?


By: Jouviane Alexandre

6 Min Quiz

Image: shutterstock

About This Quiz

Yep, riddles can be real head-scratchers, but once you know the answer, the query makes sense. Some of these riddles are old standbys, while others you may have never heard of before. Either way, you'll have fun trying to solve them. Give it a go. Then challenge your friends. You may be surprised at how some people can instantly spot the logic within the riddle while others can't. 

In ancient times, if you didn't get a riddle correct you might be thrown off a bridge by a troll, killed by a Spinx, or lose a princess's hand in marriage. Literature from across the ages and across the globe include riddles of all sorts. But one of the finest qualities of a riddle is that it can give us a new perspective. 

Many times, it plays to our assumptions about the world as we know it. For instance, What has an eye but cannot see? The answer is a potato. It uses the less common definition of "eye" to broaden our thinking. Or how about riddles like this one that makes you examine and re-examine the question itself? Johnny’s mother had three children. The first was named April and the second was named May. What was the name of the third child? Answer: Johnny.  Now you're catching on. See how many riddles you can guess correctly by taking the quiz.

A truck driver is going down a one-way street the wrong way, and passes at least ten cops. Why is he not stopped?

While you might be tempted to choose that he was a passenger, he would still be "stopped," because the car would get stopped. If he's walking down a one-way street, the cops would have no reason to stop him!


How can you place a pencil on the floor so that no one can jump over it?

While it might seem relatively easy to jump over something as small as a pencil, if you were to place it next to a wall, you wouldn't be able to jump over it!


What has an eye but cannot see?

This riddle actually has many possible answers. There is often the eye of a tornado, cyclone or hurricane. There could also be the eye of a needle. All of these things contain an "eye" but don't have the ability to see.



While you might be thinking of time, focus on the letters. You'll find the letter N in the first group of words but you won't find it in the second.



You might think this question has some directional trick, but you have to think deeper! Do roosters even lay eggs? No, they don't, which makes it impossible for an egg to roll when it doesn't exist!



When it comes down to it, a lion and bird HAVE to eat, while a song can't run and wouldn't have a bed. River is perfect because rivers (water) can run and murmur. Don't forget the river bed and the mouth is where it ends!


What has a head and a tail, but no body?

A coin! Clearly the only sides to a coin are heads and tails!


What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?

Stamps can travel all over the world, but they're only ever left on the corner of an envelope or package.



When you think about it, coffin is the best answer! Coffin makers have no need for it because they are alive. Those who buy a coffin are buying it for someone who passed away, so they also have no use for it. Those who are being laid to rest in it are unaware because they have passed.



In this riddle, the answer comes from the idea of the poor having little (or nothing) and the rich not needing anything. Also, if you were to eat nothing, you'd die.



When your telephone rings, the first thing you do is "answer it," although it never asked you anything.



While a quick thought might make people think the third child is named "June," if JOHNNY'S mother had two other children, Johnny has to be the third!


You throw away the outside, eat the inside, and throw away the inside. What am I?

When eating corn on the cob, one must first peal the husk before being able to eat the kernels. Then you would throw out the cob.


A is the father of B, but B is not the son of A. Who is B?

If A had a child, B, then logically, it would tell us that B is either a male or a female. If B is not the son of A, then clearly SHE has to be the daughter.


Three doctors said that Robert was their brother. Robert said he had no brothers. Who is lying?

Similar to previous logic, Robert doesn't have to have brothers in order for HIM to be a brother. If the three doctors are his siblings and FEMALE, that would make Robert their brother and there would be truth in Robert's statement that he doesn't have brothers.


Paul's height is six feet, he's an assistant at a butcher's shop and he wears size 9 shoes. What does he weigh?

While you might be convinced to try to figure out what Paul actually weighs himself, as a part of his job as a butcher's assistant, he would be weighing the meat in the shop!


There is a word and six letters it contains. Take one away and twelve is what remains. What word is it?

When you look at the word "dozens," it starts off with 6 letters, but once you remove the 's,' you are left with the word dozen, which is 12 of something!


I know a word of letters three. Add two, and fewer there will be!

"Few" initially has three letters. Add two more letters (er) and end up with "fewer."


During what month do people sleep the least?

It's easier than you think. You might be tempted to think of the activities one might be doing during these months, but think of it logically! Regardless of whether it's during a regular year or a leap year, February will always be at least one day shorter than every other month, leading to less sleep!


An electric train is moving north at 100mph and a wind is blowing to the west at 10mph. Which way does the smoke blow?

Electric trains don't produce any smoke! If you're on an electric train and there's smoke, you should be alarmed!



If you pass the person in second place, you are now in 2nd place. You'd have to pass the person in 1st place to be first.


How many words in the dictionary are spelled incorrectly?

While you might find a few mistakes in a faulty dictionary, there is only ONE word in the dictionary that is spelled incorrectly, and that is the word "incorrectly."


Two girls were born to the same mother, on the same day, at the same time, in the same month and year, and yet they’re not twins. How can this be?

The girls are not twins, but triplets! If the mom had triplets, when talking about two of the girls, you can't call them twins because that would be incorrect!



Although it might be easy to confuse, the person was traveling alone and on the way saw a man. There's no indication that the man is also traveling to St. Ives.



When you put this with wine, it makes perfect sense! All wines start off sweet and eventually they grow to make you gay, happy or a little inebriated. Wine is mostly valued when it has had time to age!


What disappears if you say its name?

Silence cannot exist if you say the word. Once you say its name, silence disappears.


How much dirt is there in a hole 3 feet deep, 6 feet long and 4 feet wide?

There can't be any dirt it in! If there was dirt in it, it wouldn't be a hole.



You can feed a fire with things like wood, but once you give it a "drink," like water, it will die!


Forward I’m heavy, but backward I’m not. What am I?

When you look at the riddle, it is telling you that forward, the WORD is heavy. Backward the word is NOT. This means the forwards word is "ton," which is indeed heavy.



In order to answer this riddle, you must be aware of the fact that they're not alluding to actual times on the clock, but times in a person's life. At the beginning, we crawl on "four legs," soon changing to two legs when we are able to walk. In old age, many need the help of a cane, which gives you three "legs."


If there are three apples and you take two away, how many apples do you have?

This is a simple riddle. If there were three apples and YOU took TWO of them, of course you would have two apples.


Some months have 30 days, and some months have 31 days. How many have 28?

Don't get tricked! Although February is the only month that never surpasses 28 days (except for leap years), the other months of the year ALWAYS have 28 days, so the answer would be all 12!



Let's break this down! First start off with "my daughter's mother." The speaker of the riddle is referring to herself because if it's HER daughter, then she is the mother. Now we have "If Teresa's daughter is ME, what am I to Teresa?" Now the answer is clear that she is Teresa's daughter!



In order to solve this riddle, you must pay attention to the letters - the beginning of the End, the end of timE, surrounding Every placE.


Brothers and sisters, I have none, but this man's father is my father's son. Who is this man?

It might get confusing, but it is easier to split up the riddle. First look at "my father's son," which the speaker is using to reference himself. If "this man's" father is himself, the man is his son.


Explore More Quizzes

About HowStuffWorks Play
