Riddle – Los Angeles, California

Play on similar words (2 of 2)

Person 1: Say ten, ten times quickly

Person 2: Ten ten ten ten ten ten ten ten ten ten

Person 1: What is an aluminum can made out of?

Person 2: Tin

Person 1: No, aluminum

Origins

Phil Lee heard this riddle from high school friends (in Los Angeles).

Collector’s Comments

This riddle is the second of two riddles that Phil Lee told me. The riddles are basically intended to trick people into giving a stupid reply to a simple question by using a play on words.

In this case, Phil asked me to say “ten” ten times very quickly and then he immediately asked what an aluminum can is made of. I was supposed to reply immediately, but instead I hesitated for a second, processed the question quickly, and replied aluminum.

He later explained that his riddles usually cause others to give an absurd reply if they do not take any time to think about the question and respond immediately. In this case, Phil expected me to say tin because it sounds so similar to ten.