Main Performance:

The informant, TB, was recounting a riddle she heard that made her laugh. I will be listed as AK.

TB: “What’s something so delicate that even saying it breaks it?”

AK: “What?”

TB: “You have to guess.”

AK: “Okay… trust?”

TB: “No.”

AK: “Wait- a secret!”

TB: “Hmm, close actually.”

AK: “I can’t think of anything else.”

TB: “Silence.”

Background:

The informant had heard the riddle in an online video where two people were playing a drinking game of trying to get the other person to drink by presenting a riddle their opponent couldn’t crack.

Context:

Notably, two of TB’s friends were around who had also seen the video, and when I said that I hadn’t, she wanted to test out one of the riddles on me. The others were laughing throughout as I struggled through multiple silences between responses, each time not hearing the answer that was in plain sight.

Thoughts:

The riddle has a witty twist of humor that almost makes the person subjected to the answer feel a bit stupid and silly for not knowing it. While being the most obvious response, it makes there a clear insider to the riddle and if you aren’t, the humor is a little bit at your expense. And this is something applicable to most riddles, but for this one it is a large point of contention.