Category Archives: Riddle

Letter Riddle

Text: “Take away my first letter and I remain the same. Take away my last letter and I remain unchanged. Remove all my letters and I’m still me. What am I?”

Answer: a mailman

Context: My informant heard of this riddle when he was in middle school, during which one of his teachers had a book of jokes and riddles that they would read out to the class at the end of each day, and this one in particular stuck with him as it was one of the few that no one could figure out

Analysis: I agree with my informant that this riddle is exceptionally hard to figure out, especially in comparison to other riddles that rely on word play. I think the most difficult part of this is that each clue involving a letter gives the listener a red herring to play with the spelling of the word mailman. Because of this, I agree with my informant’s former teacher that this would be a great riddle to share with their students, as its unusual solution would likely keep the kids thinking.

Albatross Riddle

Text: “A man sits down in a restaurant, and orders albatross soup. He takes one bite, then immediately leaves the restaurant and kills himself. Why did he do it?”

Context: My informant heard this riddle while on a backpacking trip over summer break with his friends in high school. Unlike a traditional riddle, this riddle requires the listener to ask yes or no questions about the man and his situation, until they gain enough information to deduce the answer: the man was on a plane with his wife, and the plane crashed on a deserted island killing her. Before they got rescued, the survivors had to do whatever they could to survive, and the man ultimately ate what he was told by the other survivors to be “albatross soup”, which was really prepared from his wife’s remains. When the man sat down in the restaurant and tasted real albatross soup, he realized it tasted different than when he was on the island, and deduced that he ate his own wife.

Analysis: Because the riddle requires the listener to construct the story from very little initial information, this riddle puts a fun twist on the normal form of the riddle. The yes or no questions allow the listener to feel as if they are uncovering a hidden truth, and the dynamic between the listener and the riddler, combined with the mysterious and dark nature of the initial prompt makes the game fun for both participants. 

Echo Riddle

Nationality: American
Primary Language: English
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 02/21/2024

Text:

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

Answer: An echo

Context:

The informant grew up in Los Angeles, and has lived there her entire life. She first heard this riddle in the 4th grade, when her teacher wrote it on the white board for their “riddle of the week.” Each day, they would get an additional hint until someone guessed it. This particular riddle (which was told in the winter) was the first one that never got properly guessed. When the teacher revealed the answer, the informant decided it would be her go-to riddle if someone asked for one. When I was unable to guess the answer, the informant laughed because it reminded her of when she would ask people the riddle on the playground.

Analysis:

I find riddles especially interesting because, in my experience, the narrator gets joy out of the recipients inability to answer. I think that this particular riddle is interesting because it is less “intuitive” than many riddles. Riddles have a unique historical context as they appear throughout mythology (ie. the myth of the Sphinx). It is also interesting because this is a myth that I heard when I was in elementary school (in a different part of the United States), but it remained the same. I think that this myth is particularly interesting because it is not something necessarily tangible, and thus not something that listeners would immediately guess.

Barbie Movie Riddle

Age: 20

Text:

“What is an instrument that you cannot touch or see?” Answer: “Your Voice”

Context:

My informant says she and her sister learn this riddle from Barbie and the Crystal Castle and that it was her go-to riddle to say as a child. She would use it to her friends at school and on average the girls would know the answer and the boys didn’t because they had not watched the Barbie movie.

Analysis:

I actually knew this riddle from my elementary school but I did not know it was from one of the Barbie cartoon movies I would watch. One point I would like to make on the community surrounding this riddle is that I think that most elementary school riddles are more concentrated to an area, but with this riddle since it was from a movie that was very popular among girls at the time, it would be my educated prediction that this riddle is more widespread.

Arbol Torcido Saying

Informant Info:

  • Nationality: Mexican
  • Age: 50
  • Occupation: N/A
  • Residence: Los Angeles 
  • Primary language: Spanish 
  • Relationship: mother 

Text:

“Arbol que nace torcido, jamas su tronco endereza.”

No literal english translation

 Closest english translation to the phrase above : “tree that is born crooked, its trunk never straightens 

Context:

EP says the saying has different meanings; she states, “Puede ser una persona o cosa que estaba hecho mal desde el principio, jamas va ser derecha o jamas se va corregir.” It can be a person or thing that was made wrong from the beginning, it will never be just. The informant says it’s a “refran” or “dicho,” which in English means it is a proverb, a saying, or a riddle. She first heard the saying from her parents when she was about 5 years old. She said at first she didn’t know the significance or true meaning of it until it was explained to her. However, she told me that it was also one of those things that was common sense because you could put two and two together when it is said in a certain situation. She also remembers hearing the proverb told during specific situations. An example she provided me with was of a son who was always reckless as a child and continues to live a reckless life. 

Analysis:

I had never heard this proverb before, and at first I was confused because of how the words are phrased in Spanish. Once the informant further explained what it meant, I was able to draw my own interpretation of the proverb. I believe the saying refers to a person who is believed to be unable to change due to the way they were raised or grew up. I believe that from a young age, the way we are educated and what we learn from the people surrounding us leave an impact on us. There are various factors that will help shape who you will become when you grow up. A crooked trunk will never straighten because it was born that way. This could be interpreted in the context of a person that holds negative values and attitudes from a young age. This individual will find it more difficult to change these bad characteristics and habits because they have been instilled into their being. Adopting new habits and values is always possible, but it will be more of a challenge to do so. The person must be willing to change and put in the effort to become better and “enderezer”(straighten).