Category Archives: Riddle

Nun Riddle

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 48
Primary Language: English

Text: 

Q: “What’s black and white and black and white and black and white and black and white and red all over”

A: “A nun falling down the stairs” 

Context:

My aunt describes hearing this on the school bus riding to and from middle school. She mentions that sometimes the joke was preceded with the well known riddle, “what is black and white and red all over”, to which a classmate would answer, a “newspaper”. Then the asker would propose the above question. 

Analysis:

The above text is a cross between a riddle, and a dark joke in my interpretation. Going off of Oring’s argument, riddles question reality, disrupting the rigid categories we use to control the world. They transcend our perception of reality, which is an act of rebellion in itself. This riddle could certainly serve this purpose. An important factor beyond this interpretation, is that the joke/riddle was circulated among children. It’s a widely held folkloric idea that children’s folklore often rejects institutions. This is because children are so highly institutionalized on a day to day basis, especially in a school setting, where this joke/riddle was told. Another societal function that riddles serve in some cultures is to aid in education. Their structure is helpful for practicing memorization, and they provide an exercise in logical thought, as well as language manipulation. Interestingly, this joke subverts a well known riddle, to which the answer is “a newspaper”. I could see this subverted riddle emerging partly as a way of rejecting the institution that is public school, and its education tactics. Additionally, the subject of the joke/riddle is a nun. Nun’s are representative of yet another institution, one of Christianity. Of course there is also the basic factor of this joke being slightly gruesome and dark, referring to blood and injury. This could be an example of Narvaez’s idea of rebelling against societal pressure to mourn foreign tragedies. But it is also likely that children would gravitate towards gruesome or dark humor simply because it is not what the institution deems “school appropriate”. 

Text: 

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 54
Performance Date: 2/20/23
Primary Language: English

“A moil was retiring and at the end of his career. He went to a tailor, and said ‘I’ve been saving the foreskins from all of the circumcisions I’ve performed in my career.’ ‘I would like you to make something for me out of them.’ He hands the tailor a jar filled with these foreskins. The moil comes back in a week and the tailor hands him a wallet. He said ‘that’s it?’, ‘All of that material and it’s just a wallet?’ The tailor says, ‘rub it, it turns into a suitcase’”. 

Context: 

This is a joke my dad heard from his “old dirty grandfather” when he was young. He prefaced the joke by explaining that a moil is a rabbi that performs circumcisions. Both my dad and his grandfather are Jewish. 

Analysis: 

This text qualifies as a dirty joke in that it deals with socially taboo material such as circumcision, genitalia, and masturbation. This joke toys with what is socially acceptable, especially told to a relatively young child. It is humorous because it is shocking and a little bit grotesque. Telling jokes with “dirty” material is an act of rebellion against social norms, which explains some of the appeal. I also can see this joke as told in this setting as an initiation, or a rite of passage. The fact that this joke was told to my dad at a young age by his grandfather leads me to believe that there was some sort of knowledge exchange or initiation occurring, from an older male member of the Jewish community, to a younger member. Puberty can be seen as a significant rite of passage, and this joke which discusses circumcision, genitalia, and alludes to masturbation, could be an unofficial signifier of male coming of age. This joke is likely only told in male jewish spaces, given that it deals with a Jewish tradition that only applies to males. It could be an indicator of comradery and masculinity in these spaces. In a way, by telling this joke to my dad, his grandfather introduced him to this boys club, signifying his coming of age. It is also interesting that the joke deals with circumcision, which is done at a young age, along with a reference to masturbation, which typically is associated with puberty. 

What’s the difference…

Nationality: American
Age: 25
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Diego
Performance Date: Feb 2023
Primary Language: English
Language: None

Text:

Q: Do you remember any other jokes that we used to tell

R: Yeah, …fuck, what were the ones about like-  oh I remember. You know the one that are like whats the difference between this and this.

Q: Oh yeah I think so. Do you have any specific ones

R: Yeah, so, whats the difference between a Buck [male deer] and a Witch

Q: I remember this one but you should say the answer

R: Now it feels weird, no- ok, ones a hunted stag the others a stunted hag

Q: Thats a good one, there were so many

Context: This was told by a high school age boy to other high school age students in upstate New York on a small collective. 

Analysis: I feel like there is not too much of a deeper meaning to this riddle except word play as the other jokes in this group are similar in format but equally random objects with seemingly no connection. For example whats the difference between a coyote and a flea. One howls on the prairie the other prowls on the hairy. This was told by my brother so I remember we also made up some of our own as young adults. It was sort of a way to test wit and mental agility in a similar way to a pun battle for example. 

“Made You Say Pink”

Nationality: Asian-American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 2/14/2023
Primary Language: English

My informant (18), from Maryland, describes a riddle that she and her friends performed in middle school: “It’s not really a joke, but it’s more like a challenge, like a “are you dumb” challenge. So it’s like I bet I can make you say the color pink ‘okay’ okay so then you’re like ‘what’s the color of the sky?’ ‘Blue’ ‘What’s the color of this chair?’ ‘Brown’ ‘What’s the color of my hair?’ ‘Black’ ‘What’s the color of the grass?’ ‘green’ ‘Ha, I told you I could make you say green’ ‘no you didn’t, you told me you would make me say pink’ and that’s how you make them say pink”

“And so it’s like this little thing that my swim friends and I, back in the past, like middle school? We would just always perform this on each other to like try and get the other person and just to make them seem, you know, like it’s more of like one of those ‘stupid tests’”

The informant began by saying this was a joke, and then changed to calling it a challenge, and finally called it a “test”. I think this piece is actually a kind of riddle, because it tests the wits of the person it is performed on, but instead of wordplay, there is a “trick” meant to catch the subject. Because this is used within the informants team, it might imply that performing this trick affords the performer a kind of social capital in the group when they are successful, suggesting that intelligence is valued in the group.

“What is something that runs but has no feet; has a bed but never sleeps?”

Performance Date: February 17th, 2023

SM is a 20 year old environmental studies major at USC. She grew up in Dallas, Texas, where she would spend weekends camping with her family and being out in nature. In her past time, she enjoys hiking and exploring new areas. The following riddle was told to her when she was younger by her grandfather while they were camping once.

“What is something that runs, but has no feet; has a bed, but never sleeps?” “A river.”

Riddles are very popular in many cultures, especially with children. SM heard this riddle when she was a young girl, and it was told to her during a camping trip. This riddle stuck with SM for so long not only because she heard it as a child, but because of its content. As someone who is a huge nature lover and environmentalist, it’s no surprise she loves this riddle. Most riddles have some sort of uniqueness that puts it into categories. As a writer, the riddle that stuck with me the most is “What’s black, white, and read all over? A newspaper.” The riddles that stick with children as they grow up usually relate to a part of their personality or interests, so there is a hint of familiarity. Riddles are meant to stump or confuse the audience they’re being told to, so when children can find familiarity within them, the riddles tend to stick.