Category Archives: Riddle

There’s a snake in my… Pocket?

Nationality: African American

Primary Language: English

Other language(s): French

Age: 65

Occupation: Management Consultant

Residence: Upstate, NY

Performance Date: 4/20/2025

Context: 

My informant, WB, is a family member of mine who lives in the Hudson Valley area of New York. They used to tell me a lot of riddles as a child, and loved to play games with riddles all the time. One day I decided to ask them if they ever heard of an original riddle that stuck with them personally, one they had not yet shared with me. This is what I got: 

Text: 

“‘What do you get when you put a snake in your pocket? You get bit.’ The meaning of this is to beware of trusting and getting too close to scrupleless people. While I hate that it puts snakes in a bad light, this saying has always taught me to take the time to get to know people who may become a business partners. AND, even then, you may still get bit!! I think this is one that my grandfather created, perhaps it was passed on from an experience his parents had who were in the restaurant business back in the 20’s and finally lost the business to their business partners.  This means a lot to me, it has taught me to pay close attention to the motives of people in general when it comes to finance, positive or negative. I know most people say ‘I trust people until they prove otherwise’ but for me, ‘I don’t trust people I meet until they prove trustworthy.’”

Analysis: 

Okay, so, this proverb they exemplified, I personally had never heard before, and upon looking it up, I found next to nothing, which is great! This might actually be unique to WB’s family (or at least not widespread) adding to the idea that it was coined by their grandfather or adapted from an older phrase. What’s interesting is how it uses the symbol of the snake, which in many global traditions (from the Bible to African trickster tales to Greek mythology) represents deceit, danger, or moral testing. In this case, the snake stands as a metaphor for untrustworthy people, especially in financial or business settings, with the “pocket” standing in as a symbol for closeness or vulnerability. It’s also compelling how the proverb serves not only as a warning, but also as a reflection of a real, generational experience. I think it’s cool that the personal history gives the phrase emotional weight and makes it more than just a casual saying, almost becoming a tool of survival and a form of inherited wisdom. What I find most fascinating is how WB uses it to define their personal philosophy on trust, flipping the more common belief that trust is given until broken. I honestly lean that way too. Plus, WB seems to approach trust as something earned, which they frame not as cynical, but as careful. It’s a great example of how even a small, family-rooted piece of folklore can carry over an entire worldview.

What’s Black and White and Read All Over?

The riddle is phrased as follows: “What’s black and white and read all over?

The classic answer is “a newspaper.” The humor comes from a play on words—while “black and white” describes the color scheme of a traditional newspaper, “read all over” sounds like “red all over,” creating a pun. Other playful variations exist, such as “a sunburned zebra” or “a blushing penguin,” which lean into the pun by replacing “read” with “red.

I first heard this riddle from my classmate Jon, who shared it with me as a joke during a class conversation. He said it was one of the first riddles he learned as a kid and that he remembers telling it to his younger siblings to see if they could figure it out. Jon mentioned that while the riddle is widely known, it has lost some of its relevance because newspapers are no longer as central to daily life as they once were. He also pointed out that kids today might not immediately associate “black and white” with print media, making the joke less obvious to younger generations.

This riddle reflects the role of wordplay in oral tradition, using a pun to create humor and challenge the listener to think outside the box. The structure follows a classic pattern of riddles, where a seemingly straightforward description leads to an unexpected answer that hinges on a double meaning.

Historically, this riddle likely gained popularity when newspapers were the primary source of information in daily life. It reinforces how humor and language evolve with culture. While it was once an intuitive joke, it may now require explanation for younger audiences unfamiliar with print media. This shift highlights how language, humor, and cultural references change over time as technology and media consumption habits evolve.Beyond its immediate entertainment value, the riddle demonstrates how simple linguistic tricks can teach reasoning and lateral thinking, encouraging listeners to consider multiple meanings of words. It also shows how oral traditions, even in the form of simple jokes, reflect cultural shifts, making this classic riddle both a piece of folk humor and a small artifact of historical media culture.

Date of performance: 2/11/25
Language: English
Nationality: American
Occupation: Student
Primary Language: English
Residence: Los Angeles.

Trapped in a Room – Riddle

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Language: English

Riddle: “You’re trapped in a room with no windows and no doors, no escape. There’s nothing but a table and a mirror. How are you able to get out?”

Solution: Look in the mirror, and you see what you saw. Take the saw, cut the table in half. Two halves make a whole, jump through the (w)hole.

Context: “I think I heard this from either my older sister or my mom first. It was one of those things they told me to try and stump me because how was I supposed to know the wordplay? I remember getting really frustrated at it but then thinking it was brilliant and immediately telling a bunch of other people, feeling so smart because I knew the wordplay and they didn’t. It’s one of those riddles that’s less about the actual process of finding the answer, it comes down to whether you know the specific wordplay or not.”

Analysis: This is undoubtedly the most creative riddle I’ve heard in a long time. The majority of riddles I’ve heard are just overly vague descriptions of simple things, like an egg or a mountain, but this one is far more interesting. I struggle to think of how someone could solve it without first being clued into the wordplay. But instead of that detracting from the quality of the riddle, I think it adds to it. The unusual nature of the riddle is what captivated the informant and gave it such significance to them, only compounded by the fact that they initially heard it from a close family member.

“I whisper secrets, , make trees sway, My voice is felt, but not seen in play. Though I’m invisible, I can be heard all day.”

Age: 20


Date of performance: 2/22/25


Language: Chinese


Nationality: Chinese


Occupation: Student


Primary Language: Chinese & English


Residence: United States

Riddle:

“I whisper secrets, make trees sway, My voice is felt, but not seen in play. Though I’m invisible, I can be heard all day.”

Context:

This riddle is usually heard at Chinese lantern festivals in which is meant to be interacted with predominantly by children. This is the case because it is considered a beginner-level riddle. Children interact with these riddles from the festival as they are attached to lanterns during the event. These lanterns serve as a reward system and if you get a riddle correct, you are awarded a rice dumpling.

Interviewee mentions that most riddles from Chinese Culture are predominantly from Chinese Lantern Festivals. They heard this knowledge while growing up from their mom, but it is also generally well-known in Chinese culture. Furthermore, they mentioned it was such an easy riddle and refused to provide the answer upon introduction of the riddle having me try to figure it out on my own.

Analysis:

I was able to answer the riddle pretty easily despite feeling like I was being tricked by my friend. The answer was the wind, which felt pretty self-explanatory to me in the end. I find myself so used to the trend that riddles try to trick people through the use of making the answer something you can’t see that I naturally fell back to thinking of the wind first; which in this case was right as it’s a common riddle answer.

I found it quite interesting how riddles were introduced to children at events, not only that but through the use of lanterns. I’m so accustomed to them just being a verbal challenge that this is such a fun way to implement them and challenge kids. I find it such a fun way to help children integrate into Chinese festivals and help them feel involved in their culture

“I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?”

Age: 19

Date: 02/22/2025

Language: English

Nationality: Chinese American

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: United States

Post 6: Riddle

Text:

“I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?”

(Answer: An echo)

Context:

I first heard this riddle from my uncle when I was about eight. We were on a family trip in the mountains, hiking through a canyon with rock walls. At one point, my uncle shouted my name, and a few seconds later, we heard it bounce back. I was surprised because I had never experienced an echo so clearly before. That’s when he turned to me with lowkey an evil smile and asked, “Alright, kid, riddle me this: I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. What am I?” I remember standing there, deep in thought, staring at the rocks trying to figure it out. After a few failed guesses, A ghost?” “The wind?” then he finally revealed the answer: an echo. I just thought it was funny so from then on, echoes always reminded me of that moment, and I’ve kept the riddle in the back of my mind ever since.

Analysis:

This riddle plays with the idea of personification—giving human-like qualities to something non-human. An echo is described as “speaking” and “hearing,” even though it is simply a reflection of sound. The clever wording forces the listener to think abstractly, which is a key characteristic of riddles. It also has a mystical quality, making it feel like something out of folklore or legend.

Riddles like this one are more than just fun brain teasers, they often serve as a way to pass down knowledge in an engaging way. In many ancient cultures, echoes were seen as mysterious, sometimes even supernatural. Greek mythology, for example, tells the story of Echo, a nymph cursed to only repeat the words of others. This riddle subtly reflects that sense of wonder, inviting the listener to reconsider something as simple as sound in a new and poetic way. Even today, riddles remain a form of intellectual play, encouraging creative thinking and problem-solving. The fact that I still remember this one years later speaks to the lasting power of a well-crafted puzzle.