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84 Viral Riddles With Answers

84 riddles · answers on the last page · riddleup.com/riddles/viral-riddles

  1. I am a bird, I am a fruit and I am a person. What am I?
  2. What has hands but can not clap?
  3. What can you hold in your left hand and not in your right?
  4. Which eight-letter word still remains a word after removing each letter from it?
  5. What is the last thing you take off before bed?
  6. Turn me on my side and I am everything. Cut me in half and I am nothing. What am I?
  7. What does a rich man needs that a poor man has?
  8. What type of bow can never be tied?
  9. I know a word of letters three, add two and fewer there will be?
  10. A plane crashed on the border or US and Canada. Where do they bury the survivors?
  11. What flies when it's born lies when it's alive and runs when it's dead?
  12. What lives when it eats and dies when it drinks?
  13. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?
  14. 123=0, 4235=0, 656=2, 5390=2, 8890=6, 1001=2, 19235=1. What is 123456789?
  15. I am the reason you run. I am the reason you scream. I am the cause of your pain. I am a cage from which you will never be free.
  16. What is far behind us, and can be seen without looking at it?
  17. I can fall off a building and live, but in water I will die. What am I?
  18. I am a vegetable that bugs stay away from. What am I?
  19. Green but not a lizard, white without being snow, and bearded without being a man.
  20. Has a tongue, but never talks. Has no legs, but sometimes walks.
  21. Lives without a body, hears without ears, speaks without a mouth, to which the air alone gives birth. What is it?
  22. In 1990, a person is 15 years old. In 1995, that same person is 10 years old. How can this be?
  23. What has four legs, but can't walk?
  24. What do pandas have that no other animal has?
  25. Who makes it, has no need of it. Who buys it, has no use for it. Who uses it can neither see nor feel it. What is it?
  26. You can drop me from the tallest building and I'll be fine, but if you drop me in water I die. What am I?
  27. What goes up when rain comes down?
  28. I'm the son of water but when I return to water I die. Who am I?
  29. I am your mother's brother's only brother in law. Who am I?
  30. I am full of holes but still holds water. What am I?
  31. They come out at night without being called, and are lost in the day without being stolen. What are they?
  32. What is a witch's favorite school subject?
  33. Mom and dad have four daughters, and each daughter has one brother. How many people are in the family?
  34. Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it you die. What is it?
  35. What has 88 keys but can't open a single door?
  36. Everyone has it and no one can lose it. What is it?
  37. What goes through towns and over hills but never moves?
  38. A life or death skill for gunfighters.
  39. You can hold it without using your hands or your arms. What is it?
  40. An apple is 40 cents, a banana is 60 cents and a grapefruit is 80 cents. How much is a pear?
  41. When my father was 31 I was 8. Now he is twice as old as me. How old am I?
  42. There was a plane crash and every single person died. Who survived?
  43. What is a Mummy's favorite type of music?
  44. Everyone has me but nobody can lose me. What am I?
  45. What has 4 eyes but can't see?
  46. Forwards I am heavy, but backwards I am not. What am I?
  47. I'm where yesterday follows today and tomorrow is in the middle. What am I?
  48. I am a number with a couple of friends, quarter a dozen, and you'll find me again. What am I?
  49. I am beautiful, up in the sky. I am magical, yet I cannot fly. To people I bring luck, to some people, riches. The boy at my end does whatever he wishes. What am I?
  50. You saw me where I could not be. Yet, often you see me. What am I?
  51. It's shorter than the rest, but when you're happy, you raise it up like it's the best. What is it?
  52. I have two legs, but they only touch the ground while I'm at rest. What am I?
  53. I am rarely touched but often held, and if you are smart you'll use me well. What am I?
  54. Add me to myself and multiply by 4. Divide me by 8 and you will have me once more. What number am I?
  55. What is so delicate that saying its name breaks it?
  56. When filled I can point the way. But when empty unmoving I stay. What am I?
  57. What is always coming but never arrives?
  58. There is a three digit number. The second digit is four times as big as the third digit, while the first digit is three less than the second digit. What is the number?
  59. The day before two days after the day before tomorrow is Saturday. What day is it today?
  60. How many 9's are there between 1 and 100?
  61. What is half of two plus two?
  62. The man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who bought it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know it. What is it?
  63. I have a face but no eyes, hands but no arms. What am I?
  64. What did zero say to eight?
  65. I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter but can't go outside. What am I?
  66. Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly?
  67. I am black when you buy me, red when you use me. When I turn white, you know it's time to throw me away. What am I?
  68. I am a kind of coat that can only be put on when wet. What am I?
  69. I come in different colors and shapes. Some parts of me are curvy, some are straight. You can put me anywhere you like, but there is only one right place for me. What am I?
  70. I make billions of dollars selling Windows. Who am I?
  71. Always wooden and covered in paint. It can make you laugh or hide, because something dark is inside. What is it?
  72. Whoever makes it, tells it not. Whoever takes it, knows it not. Whoever knows it, wants it not. What am I?
  73. The more you take of me, the more you leave behind. What am I?
  74. I eat, I live. I breathe, I live. I drink, I die. What am I?
  75. I'm a ring of sliced onion dipped in batter and then deep fried.
  76. What turns everything around but does not move?
  77. What cannot talk but will always reply when spoken to?
  78. It's been around for millions of years, but is never more than a month old. What is it?
  79. You throw me out when you want to use me and you take me in when you don't want to use me. Who am I?
  80. If I have it, I don't share it. If I share it, I don't have it. What is it?
  81. People buy me to eat, but never eat me. What am I?
  82. Hands she has but does not hold, teeth she has but does not bite, feet she has but they are cold, eyes she has but without sight. Who is she?
  83. What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?
  84. What stinks when living and smells good when dead?

Answers

  1. A kiwi'Kiwi' refers to a flightless New Zealand bird, a fuzzy brown fruit, and informally, a native of New Zealand -- all three at once.
  2. A clockA clock has "hands," its pointers, but, lacking real arms, obviously can't clap them together.
  3. Your right elbow.Physically, you can grasp your right elbow with your left hand, but your right hand can't hold itself.
  4. Staring (starting, staring, string, sting, sing, sin, in, I)Removing one letter at a time from "starting" yields a chain of real words: starting → staring → string → sting → sing → sin → in → I.
  5. Your feet off the floor.The final physical action before getting into bed is lifting your feet off the floor, a literal rather than clothing-related answer.
  6. The number 8Turned sideways, the digit 8 becomes the infinity symbol (representing everything), while cut horizontally in half, it becomes two zeros (nothing).
  7. NothingRead the riddle literally: there is no actual object a poor man has that a rich man needs.
  8. A rainbowA rainbow's arc is called a 'bow,' but unlike a shoelace or ribbon bow, it can never physically be tied.
  9. The word "few"The three-letter word 'few' becomes 'fewer' (five letters, two more) when you add 'er,' and 'fewer' means a smaller quantity -- matching the riddle's own wordplay.
  10. Nowhere, because the survivors are alive.Survivors, by definition, are still alive and therefore aren't buried at all.
  11. A snowflakeA snowflake flies through the air as it falls, lies still once it lands, and "runs" (melts and flows) once it dies.
  12. FireFire 'eats' fuel to keep burning but is put out ('dies') the moment it 'drinks' water. (Source key spelled this 'fre' too, the same dropped-ligature OCR artifact for 'fire.')
  13. The third room, because those lions haven't eaten in three years, so they are dead.Lions that haven't eaten in three years would have starved to death long before now, so the 'lion-filled' third room actually poses no danger at all.
  14. 4.Each digit's value equals its number of closed loops (as in 0, 6, 8, and 9); among the digits 1 through 9, only 6, 8, and 9 have one loop each and 0 (not present here) has one too, so 123456789 totals 4 closed loops overall.
  15. Your bodyYour body drives you to run from danger, to scream in fear or pain, and to suffer physically - a 'cage' you can never truly escape while alive.
  16. The pastThe past is behind you chronologically, yet it can be vividly recalled in memory without needing to physically look at anything.
  17. PaperPaper can flutter harmlessly from a great height but becomes soggy and ruined the instant it touches water.
  18. SquashSquash plants are said to naturally repel certain garden pests, and the vegetable's name is also the word for crushing a bug.
  19. A leekA leek has green stalks, a white base, and root "beard" fibers, without being a lizard, snow, or a man.
  20. A shoeA shoe has a "tongue" (the flap over the laces) and "walks" wherever its wearer's legs take it.
  21. An echoAn echo is just reflected sound with no physical form, yet it seems to repeat back whatever noise the air carries.
  22. The person was born in 2005 B.C. (Before Christ). Therefore, he was 5 years old in 2000 B.C., 10 in 1995 B.C., and 15 in 1990 B.C.The years given are B.C. dates, which count downward, so a birth in 2005 B.C. makes the person 15 in 1990 B.C. and 10 in 1995 B.C.
  23. A tableA table typically has four legs, but as furniture it obviously can't walk on them.
  24. Baby pandasOnly pandas can give birth to baby pandas — every species uniquely produces its own offspring.
  25. A coffinA coffin-maker doesn't need one, buyers purchase it for someone else, and the deceased who "uses" it can no longer see or feel anything.
  26. PaperPaper is light enough to survive a fall from a tall building, but it quickly gets soaked and ruined if it lands in water.
  27. An umbrellaPeople open and raise umbrellas over their heads whenever rain starts falling.
  28. IceIce is 'born' when water freezes, but the moment it melts back into water, the ice itself ceases to exist.
  29. Your fatherYour mother's brother is your uncle, and your uncle's only brother-in-law (through his sister's marriage) is your father -- a family-logic riddle.
  30. A spongeA sponge is riddled with tiny holes yet can still soak up and hold water within its structure. (A near-identical riddle, #977 in the source, repeats this exact question and answer and was merged into this entry as a duplicate.)
  31. StarsStars appear in the night sky on their own and seem to vanish ("are lost") in daylight, though they haven't actually been taken.
  32. SpellingIt's a pun -- witches cast 'spells,' so their favorite subject would be spelling.
  33. Seven.The four daughters share the same one brother, so the family is 2 parents + 4 daughters + 1 son = 7 people total.
  34. NothingThis is a classic paradox riddle: 'nothing' is what poor people have (no possessions), what rich people need (nothing more), and eating literally nothing would eventually kill you.
  35. A pianoThis musical instrument's 'keys' are for playing notes, not unlocking anything.
  36. A shadowEveryone casts a shadow whenever they're in light, and since it's tied to your body, you can never truly lose it.
  37. A roadA road stretches through towns and over hills, but the road itself is stationary -- it's the travelers who move along it.
  38. Quick drawIn an Old West gunfight, drawing your weapon faster than your opponent -- a "quick draw" -- could mean the difference between life and death.
  39. Your breathYou can "hold your breath" without using your hands or arms at all -- it's done internally.
  40. 40 cents. The price of each fruit is calculated by multiplying the number of vowels by 20 cents.Each fruit's price equals its number of vowels times 20 cents -- apple (2 vowels) = 40c, banana (3 vowels) = 60c, grapefruit (4 vowels) = 80c, and pear (2 vowels) = 40c.
  41. I must be 23 if my father is twice as old as me.The father is 23 years older than his child (31 minus 8); if the father is now twice the child's age, then child+23 equals 2 times child, which solves to the child being 23.
  42. Married couples (everyone who died was single).This riddle plays on the word 'single': every single (unmarried) person died in the crash, implying it was the people who were not single -- married couples -- who survived.
  43. WrapA mummy is wrapped in bandages, making 'wrap' -- a homophone of 'rap' -- its fitting favorite genre.
  44. A shadowA shadow belongs to everyone who stands in the light, and unlike a wallet or keys, there is no way to physically lose it.
  45. MississippiThe word Mississippi contains four letter I's, which sound like 'eyes,' even though the state obviously can't see.
  46. A tonSpelled forwards, TON is a heavy unit of weight; spelled backwards it becomes NOT, which has nothing to do with weight.
  47. A dictionaryIn a dictionary, entries are alphabetical rather than chronological, so 'today,' 'tomorrow,' and 'yesterday' sit in alphabetical order instead of the order the days actually happen.
  48. ThreeA quarter of a dozen (12 divided by 4) equals three, and three has a 'couple of friends' since it's a small, easily grouped number.
  49. A rainbowA rainbow arcs beautifully across the sky, is considered lucky and, in folklore, hides a pot of gold at its end -- said to be guarded by a leprechaun who grants wishes.
  50. A reflectionA reflection lets you see yourself somewhere you physically aren't, like in a mirror or still water, even though you view it constantly every day.
  51. A thumbThe thumb is shorter than the other fingers, and raising it in a 'thumbs up' is the universal sign of approval.
  52. A wheelbarrowA wheelbarrow's two handles ('legs') stay raised while it's being pushed and only rest on the ground when it's set down.
  53. Your tongueYour tongue is rarely poked or touched directly, yet you 'hold' it often in the sense of staying quiet, and choosing your words wisely takes real skill.
  54. Any numberDoubling a number and multiplying by 4, then dividing by 8, always returns the original number, so it works for any number.
  55. SilenceThe moment you speak the word aloud, you've made a sound and ended the quiet.
  56. A gloveA glove filled with a moving hand can point in a direction, but an empty glove simply lies limp and still.
  57. TomorrowTomorrow is always one day away; by the time it arrives, it has become "today," so tomorrow itself never truly gets here.
  58. 141The second digit must be 4 times the third digit and the first digit must be 3 less than the second -- with digits 1, 4, and 1, that gives 141 (4 = 4x1, and 1 = 4-3).
  59. FridayWorking through the wording step by step shows "today" must be one day before Saturday, which is Friday.
  60. 20Counting the digit 9 in every number from 1 to 100 -- ten times in the units place (9, 19, 29...99) and ten times in the tens place (90-99) -- totals 20.
  61. ThreeTaken as (half of two) plus two, that's 1 + 2, which equals three -- the riddle's order-of-operations trick.
  62. A coffinNo one wants to need a coffin, families often buy one in advance, and the person who will eventually need it is, by definition, no longer around to know it.
  63. A clockA clock's face has no real eyes, and its 'hands' are simply pointers with no actual arms attached.
  64. "Nice belt."The numeral 8 looks like a 0 wearing a belt around its middle, which is the visual joke behind the punchline.
  65. A keyboardA computer keyboard is packed with keys and has no locks, yet a 'space' bar and confined layout still let you 'enter' text without ever leaving it.
  66. "Incorrectly"This is a classic trick: literally, the word 'incorrectly' means 'in a wrong way,' so it jokingly counts as the one word that is 'spelled incorrectly.'
  67. CharcoalCharcoal starts black in the bag, glows red-hot while grilling, and turns white with ash once it's burned out and ready to be tossed.
  68. PaintPaint is applied as a liquid ("wet") to form a "coat" on a surface; once it dries you can't apply that same coat anymore.
  69. A jigsaw puzzle pieceJigsaw puzzle pieces come in varied colors and shapes with curved and straight edges, and although they can physically fit various spots, only one location completes the picture correctly.
  70. MicrosoftMicrosoft is the company famous for making its Windows operating system, which generates billions of dollars in revenue.
  71. A pencilA pencil's wooden body is coated in painted lacquer, and its dark graphite 'lead' inside lets you draw jokes or erase and hide mistakes.
  72. Counterfeit money (poison, per this source)This is a twist on the classic 'counterfeit' riddle: poison is made quietly, taken unknowingly by its victim, and once someone realizes they've been poisoned, they certainly don't want it.
  73. A footstepEach footstep you take is itself left behind as a mark on the ground, so taking more of them leaves more behind.
  74. FireFire needs fuel and oxygen ('eats' and 'breathes') to keep burning, but dousing it with water ('drinking') puts it out — kills it.
  75. Onion ringsThe clue directly describes the classic snack: battered, deep-fried rings of sliced onion.
  76. A mirrorA mirror reflects everything as a reversed (left-right flipped) image, all while the mirror itself remains stationary.
  77. An echoAn echo has no voice of its own, yet it reflects back whatever sound or words are spoken toward it.
  78. The MoonThe Moon has existed for billions of years, but its phase cycle resets roughly every month (a 'lunar month'), so it's never more than about 29 days into its current cycle.
  79. An anchorA ship's anchor is thrown overboard when you want to stop and hold position, and hauled back in when you're ready to sail again.
  80. A secretThe very act of sharing a secret means you no longer possess it exclusively -- keeping it and telling it are mutually exclusive.
  81. A platePeople buy plates specifically to serve and eat food on, not to eat the plates themselves.
  82. A dollA doll has all the parts of a person -- hands, teeth, feet, eyes -- but none of them actually function, since she isn't alive.
  83. A towelA towel absorbs more and more water as it dries other things off, becoming wetter the more drying it does.
  84. Bacon (a pig)A live pig has a notoriously strong odor, but once processed into bacon and cooked, it smells delicious.