. Which is correct: Seven and five is thirteen or Seven and five are thirteen? Neither statement
is correct because 7+5=12.
Alexis, age 12, New Zealand
2. There were 20 people on a boat. The boat sank and 24 heads came to the surface. How is this
possible? There are 20 FORE heads.
Digata Defenders Fan, age 11, Canada
*l0v3*, age 13, Canada
3. If it takes six men one hour to dig six holes, how long does it take one man to dig half a hole?
There is no such thing as half a hole.
Emma, age 13
4. Two men play five complete games of checkers. Each man wins the same number of games. There
are no ties. How? The two men were not playing against each other.
Emma, age 13
Sarah, age 12, USA
5. A man builds a rectangular house, and all the sides have a southern exposure. A bear walks by.
What colour is the bear? White. The bear is a polar bear.
Emma, age 13
6. A farmer has seventeen sheep. All but nine of them die. How many sheep does he have left?
Nine.
Emma, age 13
Sarah, age 12, USA
Yummi, age 11, USA
7. What is the meaning of startling? To disturb or agitate suddenly as by surprise or alarm.
Taqdees, age 11, Pakistan
8. In a building there are only two rooms. One room has 45 humans in it. The other room, of the
same building, has 20 humans in it. How many species were in the building? One, only humans.
Bobby, age 13, USA
9. What gets smaller when ideas grow? A pencil.
Sydney, age 11, USA
10. I live where light is but die if light touches me. What am I? A shadow.
Justice, age 10, Philippines
11. The arrows of God can not be counted. What are they? The rain.
Johnny, age 10, USA
12. Fill in the blank. Your mind is like a parachute it works best when it's open.
Ashley, age 13, USA
13. How many seconds are in a year? 12, January 2, February 2, March 2, April 2, ...
Caitlin, age 11, USA
14. What does this mean? I RIGHT I Right between the eyes.
Stormy, age 11, New Zealand
15. Railroad crossing look out for cars. Spell that backwards and leave out the Rs. T-A-H-T
Justin, age 12, USA
Jane, age 16, USA
16. Can you unscramble these words? Mthoer, Lvoe, Hgus, Ksises and Cdludes Mother, Love, Hugs,
Kisses, Cuddles
Kaithlyn, age 7, Australia
17. What has four teeth and a tail, but no arms and legs? A fork.
Shelby, age 14, USA
18. How many heads are on the US dollar bill? 15, George Washington's head, the eagle's head
on the back, and the 13 arrowheads on the arrows the eagle is holding.
Jesse, age 11, USA
19. What has four legs and a back, but can't walk? A chair.
Howl, age 14, Hungary
Anna Marre, age 12, USA
20. What oceans border Australia? The Indian and Pacific Oceans
G E M, age 10, USA
21. Lilly has 15 pop can tabs all together they equal $30. She dropped one and lost 2. But she has
$26. Explain. One pop can tab equals $2. She lost 2 so there goes $4. She dropped one
but didn't lose it, so she has $26.
Shasta, age 11, USA
22. One man shows another the portrait of a gentleman and tells him: I have neither brothers nor
sisters, but this man's father is the son of my father. Who is the man in the painting? The
gentleman in the portrait is the son of the man who is speaking.
Catherine, age 8, USA
23. Ken and Terry's, the local ice cream shop, will be giving away free cones sometime this year.
Because they want to limit the lines a bit, they have given out three clues as to the date of
their giveaway. Can you figure out when it will be?
*The giveaway will be in the first week of a month without an A in it.
*It will be on a day of the week that has a U in it.
*The month has no E but the day of the week contains an E.
The free ice cream will be on the first Tuesday in July.
Catherine, age 8, USA
24. If you had an oak tree with nine branches on it and each branch had 6 pecans on it, how many
pecans would you have? None because oak trees don't grow pecans.
Rozas, age 14, Mexico
25. I am in a house with a fish bowl. 4567 fish are in a tank, 5 more fish are added. How many gills
are in the tank now? 9144
Anna, age 10, USA
26. I am in quilt but not in blanket,
I am in lift but not in drop,
I am in ice but not in water,
I am in April but not in September.
What am I?
The letter I.
Tayla, age 9, Australia
27. What grows underground? Roots.
Slinky Rox Sox, age 10, Australia
28. Two mothers and two daughters went out to eat, everyone ate one burger, yet only three
burgers were eaten in all. How is this possible? They were a grandmother, mother and
daughter.
Onna, age 12, USA
29. I am twice in a week, once in a year and twice in a decade. What am I? The letter E.
Kim, age 1, USA
30. What do you have to give before you can keep it? Your word.
Ali, age 16, USA
31. John and Jane lie dead on the floor. There is a broken bowl on the floor and there is some water
on the floor. There are no hand prints throughout the room and no blood. How did Jane and John
die? Jane and John are fish, their glass bowl was knocked over by a strong wind.
Davinia, age 13, Malaysia
32. I am the black child of a white father, a wingless bird, flying even to the clouds of heaven. I
give birth to tears of mourning in pupils that meet me, even though there is no cause for grief,
and at once on my birth I am dissolved into air. What am I? Smoke.
Raychel, age 11, USA
33. My first's in adventure but isn't in trip
My second's in river but isn't in ship
My third is in chalice but isn't in cup
My fourth's in ascending but isn't in up
My fifth's in error but isn't in flaw
My last is in talon but isn't in claw
My whole is a beast that will eat you for dinner
Unless in this riddle game you are the winner!
A dragon.
Raychel, age 11, USA
34. What has teeth but can't bite? A comb.
Brianna, age 12
35. Which fruit has its seeds on the outside? A strawberry.
Anna, age 12, USA
36. I tower over the man-made plain;
My peaks scrape the heavens.
I have many brothers; in fact,
We may be as many as a hundred and seven.
We're as ancient as the oldest trees,
But not older than the hills.
We've been studied for centuries now,
But with mystery we're still filled.
The pyramids of Egypt.
Emmie, age 17, Scandinavia
37. You're in a room with 3 light switches. Next to your room is another room with the door closed.
Inside that room are 3 lights. You do not know which switch controls which light. How can you
figure out which switch controls which light? You can only enter the room with the lights once.
Turn one switch on and leave it on for 1 hour. This is switch A. After the hour is up turn
the light off and turn another light on (switch B). Go in to the room with the lights. The
light that's hot is light A. The light that is on is light B. and the light that is off, but not
hot is light C.
Joshua, age 16, USA
38. What is so fragile that sound can destroy it? Silence.
Zheng, age 9, Singapore
39. What can you break without touching it? A promise.
Zheng, age 9, Singapore
40. A thief was brought before a king to receive his punishment. The king, feeling merciful, asked
the thief how he would like to die. The thief told him, and the king let him go. How did the thief
wish to die? He wanted to die of natural causes.
Anonymous
41. If 7 is equal to 13 then what is 16 equal to? 31, because I multiplied it by 2 and subtracted
one.
Kyle, age 12, USA
42. What is like a king in your pencil case? A ruler.
Natasha, age 11, England
43. I have streets but no pavement,
I have cities but no buildings,
I have forests but no trees,
I have rivers yet no water.
What am I?
A map.
Lyndell, age 11, Australia
44. You are in a bathroom with stone walls and no windows. You start to run a bath when the handles
come off and there is no way of turning the tap off. You can't escape because the door is locked
and there are no windows. The room will flood and you will drown. How can you save yourself? Pull
the plug in the tub.
Kay, age 10, Australia
45. What is yours to own, yet others use it more? Your name.
Keeley, age 15, USA
46. What do you call a baby pachyderm? A baby elephant also called a calf.
John, age 7, USA
47. What has teeth but no mouth? A saw.
Bruce, age 7, USA