Riddles are brain teasers meant to make anyone think logically and creatively, only to be hit with an unsuspected answer that makes everyone laugh. But even among these, the level of difficulty may vary considerably. Some may even require deep thinking to understand the riddle, decipher it, and even interpret the answer. That’s the case with these hard riddles. Can you solve any of them?
Hard Riddles
Ray Whitcombe was found dead in his office at his desk. The police have narrowed the suspects down to three people: Mrs. Barbara Whitcombe, Ray's wife; Mr. Jason McCubbins, Ray's business partner; and Mr. Harold Nichols, Ray's best friend. All three visited Mr. Whitcombe on the day of his murder, and they explained the reason for their visit to the police. The police found Mr. Whitcombe with his wristwatch still on his right arm, a torn-up picture of his wife lying on the floor beside the trash can, and an ink pen in his right hand. On the desk, the police found a nameplate, a telephone that was off the hook, and a personal calendar turned to the July 5th page with 7B91011 written on it. After examining this evidence, the police knew their suspect. Who was it?
Answer: Jason McCubbins, Ray's business partner. The calendar is the clue to solving this murder. The police realized that since Mr. Whitcombe was wearing his watch on his right arm, he must be left-handed. But the pen was found in his right hand. Realizing that the number on the calendar was written in a hurry and with his opposite hand, the police matched the written number with the months of the year. So the B was an 8, thereby giving us 7-8-9-10-11: July, August, September, October, and November. Use the first letter of each month and it spells J-A-S-O-N
A king decided to let a prisoner try to escape the prison with his life. The king placed 2 marbles in a jar was glued to a table. One of the marbles was supposed to be black, and one was supposed to be blue. If the prisoner could pick the blue marble, he would escape the prison with his life. If he picked the black marble, he would be executed. However, the king was very mean, and he wickedly placed 2 black marbles in the jars and no blue marbles. The prisoner witnessed the king only putting 2 black marbles in the jars. If the jar was not see-through and glued to the table and the prisoner was mute so he could not say anything, how did he escape with his life?
Answer: The prisoner grabbed one of the marbles from the jar and concealed it in his hand. He then swallowed it, and picked up the other marble and showed everyone. The marble was black, and since the other marble was swallowed, it was assumed to be the blue one. So the mean king had to set him free.
What’s the loneliest of all physics concepts?
Answer: The singularity
Shiny like a silver, denser than lead, pricier than gold, could stop a bullet, if I wanted to. What am I?
Answer: Osmium
Which is heavier? A pound of feathers or a pound of gold.
Answer: A pound of feathers. Some would say a pound is a pound, but the fact is: Gold is a precious metal and is therefore weighed in the Troy system of measurement. This means that a pound of gold weighs only 12 oz and a pound of feathers weighs 16 oz
A kind man comes across a dirty box, a voice says to him “Coconuts, $5 a dozen”With his lightning quick arithmetic he calculates that if he sold those same coconuts to the coconut air assault team for the accepted rate of $3 per dozen that in no time at all he would be a millionaire. What's with this guy, assuming his math is accurate?
Answer: He was a billionaire
What has wings, but can not fly. Is enclosed, but can outside also lie. Can open itself up, or close itself away. Is the place of kings and queens and doggerel of every means. What is it upon which I stand? Which can lead us to different lands.
Answer: Stage
What can break, but never fall? What can fall, but never break?
Answer: Day and night
Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Anna. Anna's father, the King, wanted to be sure his daughter married an intelligent man. To test his daughter's suitors the King hid Anna's picture in one of three boxes. The suitor had to be able to select the box with Anna's picture on one try and within twenty seconds. On the gold box was the message “Anna's picture is in this box“. The silver box had the message “Anna's picture is not in this box.”“Anna's picture is not in the gold box”was written on the bronze box. The King would tell each suitor “Only one of the three messages is correct.”Which box contained Anna's picture?
Answer: The silver box contained Anna's picture. If her picture had been in the gold box, two statements would have been true. (The messages on both the gold box and the silver box.) If her picture had been in the bronze box, two statements would have been true. (The messages on the bronze box and the silver box.)
Four men were playing golf. Their names were Mr. Black, Mr. White, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Blue. The caddy asked them their names at the first hole. One of them, Mr. Brown, told him a lie. The first golfer mentioned, “The second golfer is Mr. Black.” The second golfer said, “I am not Mr. Blue.” The third golfer replied, “Mr. White is the fourth golfer.” The fourth golfer did not say anything. Which golfer is Mr. Blue?
Answer: The third golfer
The 22nd and 24th presidents of the United States of America had the same parents, but were not brothers. How can this be possible?
Answer: They were the same man. Grover Cleveland served two terms as president of the United States, but the terms were not consecutive
When people come for me to meet, they come to me with heavy feet. The one I hold, when I get my chance, will turn and spin, and start to dance.
Answer: Gallows
A pregnant lady named her children: Dominique, Regis, Michelle, Fawn, Sophie and Lara. What will she name her next child? Jessica, Katie, Abby or Tilly?
Answer: Sound of music Tilly. She seems to follow the scale Do, Re, Me, Fa, So, La, and then Ti
Walking home one day, you take a short cut along the train tracks. The tracks cross a narrow bridge over a deep gorge. At the point you are 3/8 of the way across the bridge, you hear the train whistle somewhere behind you. You charge across the bridge, and jump off the track as the train is about to run you down. As it happens, if you had gone the other way, you would have reached safety just before being run over as well. If you can run ten miles per hour, how fast is the train moving?
Answer: The train is moving at 40 miles per hour. Imagine that a friend is walking with you. When the train whistle blows, you head away from the train, he heads toward it. When he reaches safety, you will be 6/8 (or 3/4)of the way across the bridge, and the train will have just reached the bridge. For the train to cross 4/4 of the bridge in the time you cross the remaining 1/4, the train must be moving four times your speed
Although I'm not an insect, some people found me very difficult to exterminate. They called me something like 'insane priest.' The first half of my name means the same as 'scrape,' & my last three letters are a metal. Who am I?
Answer: Rasputin
Five hundred begins it, five hundred ends it. Five in the middle is seen. First of all figures, the first of all letters. Take up their stations between. Join all together, and then you will bring before you the name of an eminent king.
Answer: David
A man lay dead in a room with 51 bicycles around him. What happened?
Answer: The man was playing a poker game and cheated. The bicycles are a type of card
The strangest creature you'll ever find: Two eyes in front and many many more behind.
Answer: A Peacock
There is a house with four walls. All of the walls are facing south. A bear is circling the house. What color is the bear?
Answer: White. If all the walls face south, the house must be on the North Pole, so the bear is a polar bear.
A man is lying drowned in a dead forest, far from water. How did this happen?
Answer: A firefighting plane filled its tanks with water from a lake, sucking a scuba-diver in (Is this an urban legend, or did I see this on the news?). He drown while the plane was in flight and was dumped onto a burning forest with the water
When liquid splashes me, none seeps through. When I am moved a lot, liquid I spew. When I am hit, color I change. And color, I come in quite a range. What I cover is very complex, and I am very easy to flex.
Answer: Skin.
Dave and Brad, two popular politicians, met at a club to discuss the overthrow of their party leader. They each ordered a vodka on the rocks. Brad downed his and ordered another. He then drank his second in a gulp and decided to wait before he ordered a third. Meanwhile, Dave, who was sipping his drink, suddenly fell forward dead. Both men were set up for an assassination. Why did Dave die and Brad live?
Answer: Both Dave and Brad were given drinks with poisoned ice cubes. Brad drank his drinks so quickly that the ice didn't have time to melt and release the poison.
A tree doubled in height each year until it reached its maximum height over the course of ten years. How many years did it take for the tree to reach half its maximum height?
Answer: It was 1/2 its Max height in year 9 so.. Nine Years. Because on the 10th year it doubled for the last time and reached the maximum height
A huge mythical animal said to resemble a whale.
Answer: Leviathan.
In a contest, four fruits (an apple, a banana, an orange, and a pear) have been placed in four closed boxes (one fruit per box). People may guess which fruit is in which box. 123 people participate in the contest. When the boxes are opened, it turns out that 43 people have guessed none of the fruits correctly, 39 people have guessed one fruit correctly, and 31 people have guessed two fruits correctly. The Question: How many people have guessed three fruits correctly, and how many people have guessed four fruits correctly?
Answer: It is not possible to guess only three fruits correctly: the fourth fruit is then correct too! So nobody has guessed three fruits correctly and 123-43-39-31 = 10 people have guessed four fruits correctly
What four periodic elements, when combined, make up something that terrifies criminals?
Answer: Carbon, Oxygen, Phosphorous, and Sulfur (C + O + P + S).
You're in a mansion and the power is out. You see a green door and a red door and choose the red one. Now you see a purple door and an orange door and choose the latter. Now you see a door with a golden handle and one with a silver handle and choose the golden one. Finally, you find the last three doors before exiting the mansion. The first says "Death by drowning," the second says "Death by machine guns" and the third says "Death by electric chair." Which door would you choose?
Answer: The door with "Death by electric chair", because the power is out.
A large truck is crossing a bridge 1 mile long. The bridge can only hold 14000 lbs, which is the exact weight of the truck. The truck makes it half way across the bridge and stops. A bird lands on the truck. Does the bridge collapse?
Answer: No, it does not collapse. Because it has driven a half mile - you would subtract the gas used from the total weight of the truck
I'm a cheese that is made backwards. What am I?
Answer: Edam.
Hard riddles are, naturally, harder to solve. They tend to be enigmas with longer descriptions, offering a larger amount of data and information. Part of their trickery lies precisely in this because the person needs to work out which information or data is relevant to the solution and it may happen that none of it is relevant at all! These problems can be time-consuming and frustrating to try to solve, but getting the right answer or realizing how you were cleverly deceiving feels much more rewarding and entertaining. Also, we only showcase hard riddles with answers, because nothing is more frustrating than remaining in darkness.
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 6, 2024
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I'm a riddle in nine syllables, An elephant, a ponderous house, A melon strolling on two tendrils O red fruit, Ivory, fine timber! The loaf's big with it's yeasty rising Money's new minted in this fat purse. I'm a means, a stage, a cow in calf. I've eaten a bag of green apples Boarded the train there's no getting off.