# Here's a fun riddle **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 12, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858 "2010-10-12T03:37:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/21 "2010-10-12T15:34:05Z")
Two things I like about this thread: One: how we’re all just overanalyzing this. The OP’s answer is completely serviceable and, imho, still the best answer of all of the submitted (especially without delving into trivial nit-picking). Two: the term > [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > platypucalypse. is full of win. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/22 "2010-10-12T15:35:09Z")
> [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > Thank you. I’m not sure I ever knew that – silly city girl that I am… [This](http://lmgtfy.com/?q=mule) may help. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/23 "2010-10-12T15:38:01Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > And where are you going to put those eggs and sperm once you fertilize them? in vitro fertilization is an amazing thing, but at some point you still gotta stick the fertilized cell(s) back into the animal. Surely a coyote could be successfully implanted with a dog embryo! ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/24 "2010-10-12T15:40:30Z")
I can think of some other answers, such as: Humans named John or… [spoiler] Cats with orange stripes… Assuming that these qualify as ‘names.’ However, they seem to be nearly as good a description of a subset of mammals as mules or ligers. None of them are species, but then, the definitions of a species make it extremely difficult to arrange for repopulation without exempting some of the species population from extinction.[/spoiler] (My explanation is included with the second sample answer.) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/25 "2010-10-12T15:43:00Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Sorry. **Johnny LA** but if you think about it, your answer wouldn’t work. The eggs take less than a year to hatch? ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/26 "2010-10-12T15:51:42Z")
Ex-girlfriends. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/27 "2010-10-12T16:04:22Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > Not looking at the rest of the thread: > > The platypus lays eggs, so they can hatch after the platypucalypse. Eggs are still alive. If the eggs survived, I wouldn’t say that every platypus had died. Also, young platypusses need to nurse from their mothers. I don’t think many, if any, would survive on their own. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/28 "2010-10-12T22:48:43Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > Two: the term > > > [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > > > platypucalypse. > > is full of win. 😃 Definitely. I’m still trying to pronounce it. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/29 "2010-10-12T22:53:00Z")
Also. Is mule really correct? I thought mammals were supposed to make milk for their offspring. Mules wouldn’t have either, would they? Are they really mammals? I mean, they’re furry and they _look_ like mammals, but they seem to not meet the crucial critera. Like Pluto’s not really a planet, y’know? ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/30 "2010-10-12T23:15:25Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > > [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > > > Name a mammal where if every one of them on the planet died today, there would still be more next year. > > Misunderstood – I thought you meant there’d be an _increase_ next year. Same here. Maybe it should be stated as, “If they all died today, there’d still be some left next year.” ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/31 "2010-10-12T23:20:28Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Also. > > Is mule really correct? I thought mammals were supposed to make milk for their offspring. Mules wouldn’t have either, would they? Are they really mammals? I mean, they’re furry and they _look_ like mammals, but they seem to not meet the crucial critera. Like Pluto’s not really a planet, y’know? [Female] mules are generally sterile but not always. [Wiki seems to imply that fertile females could produce milk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule). I’m also quite sure that I’m a mammal, even though I’m male 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/32 "2010-10-13T01:04:44Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Also. > > Is mule really correct? I thought mammals were supposed to make milk for their offspring. Mules wouldn’t have either, would they? Are they really mammals? I mean, they’re furry and they _look_ like mammals, but they seem to not meet the crucial critera. Like Pluto’s not really a planet, y’know? Um, what? Yes, mules are mammals. I mean, what? Are you sure you’re not confusing them with, say, crocodiles or something? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/33 "2010-10-13T02:11:12Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Name a mammal where if every one of them on the planet died today, there would still be more next year. A possible reading of this would be that you are looking for a species as an answer. But mules aren’t generally considered a species, are they? They’re a hybrid, cross, or some other term. From the [Wiki page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule): > [@](#): > > Species: Equus asinus x Equus caballus Wouldn’t any cross meet the criteria as well? You could say the same about a Labradoodle depending on where you draw your dividing lines. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/34 "2010-10-13T02:14:59Z")
Yeah, I noticed the word “species” didn’t appear in the original clue, so I had a different answer, which IMO is totally valid: baby humans ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/35 "2010-10-13T03:37:31Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > > [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > > > Can someone explain this to me, please? > > > > Thanks. > > A mule is a cross between a (female) horse and a (male) donkey. As such, if all of the mules died, so long as horses and donkeys kept inter-breeding, we would have new mules next year. And a reversal of the above would also provide another answer to the puzzle making it a riddle with two valid responses. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/36 "2010-10-13T12:17:10Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Um, what? Yes, mules are mammals. I mean, what? Are you sure you’re not confusing them with, say, crocodiles or something? Great. Now I’ve got Michael Palin in my head telling about how he wants to train crocodiles–you know, cute little fuzzy things with long ears and bobbed tails nibbling on carrots all day? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/37 "2010-10-13T13:16:46Z")
Platypus? ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/38 "2010-10-13T20:21:05Z")
> [@Tethered\_Kite](#): > > > [@Lare](#): > > > > A mule is a cross between a (female) horse and a (male) donkey. As such, if all of the mules died, so long as horses and donkeys kept inter-breeding, we would have new mules next year. > > And a reversal of the above would also provide another answer to the puzzle making it a riddle with two valid responses. Nobody but me picked up on this? Do you know what the creature is called? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/39 "2010-10-13T20:26:36Z")
Crocodile? Hinny ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858/40 "2010-10-13T20:52:05Z")
There are too many to name. I’d imagine the original was looking for “Mule”, but there’s Hinny, and Zorse just with horses, not to mention the Zonkey. Then there’s Coydogs, Jack-dogs, Coy Wolf, wolf-dog . . . and Geep, and Grizzly-Polar Bear, and Savannah Cats, and Ligers. . .and of course, BAT-BOY! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-fun-riddle/556858.md?page=3)