# Help with a riddle

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-riddle/221551>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 29, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-riddle/221551 "2003-12-29T07:58:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-riddle/221551/21 "2004-01-04T13:05:38Z")

</div>

The answer is indeed “whales.” This riddle originally came with an attachment that said something like “This was written in the late 1800s by an 85-year-old lady.” I posted a question about this riddle some time back, not searching for the solution but the provenance. It ended up a dead end. I first saw this for myself about five years ago.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-riddle/221551.md?page=1)