# Solve this Riddle! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 16, 2003, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508 "2003-11-16T04:16:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/21 "2003-11-16T05:57:25Z")
Side note to **QED** : I think it’s **43** , not 42. ---
**Author:** ![Wisp00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/977dab/32.png) [@Wisp00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisp00)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/22 "2003-11-16T05:58:08Z")
Oh. Thanks Stockton! Everyone else, too! Hardly seems worth it now, does it…? ---
**Author:** ![Cheauvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@Cheauvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheauvan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/23 "2003-11-16T05:58:37Z")
No…“What do you get when you multiply 6 by 9” “42” It’s all very simple. Need the cite? ---
**Author:** ![Zweistein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/54ee81/32.png) [@Zweistein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zweistein)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/24 "2003-11-16T12:17:39Z")
What is the meaning of life ? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/25 "2003-11-16T12:25:13Z")
String! Nope – still doesn’t work… ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/26 "2003-11-16T12:32:53Z")
You could tell because neither of them have navels! ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/27 "2003-11-16T13:06:11Z")
You can’t solve the riddle. If you look in the box you’ll have changed the answer simply by observing the results. The cat is both dead and alive at the same time. No, it doesn’t make a sound when it falls; only at the moment the tree impacts the ground (unless it’s in a vacuum; then there’s no sound at all). Half a clap. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/28 "2003-11-16T15:32:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zweistein \* > \*\*What is the meaning of life ? \*\* 36 (Where is that from?) ---
**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/29 "2003-11-16T17:36:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KidCharlemagne \* > \*\*36 > > (Where is that from?) \*\* Nowhere, as far as I know. 42, on the other hand, is the answer given in _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/30 "2003-11-16T17:43:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by stockton \* > \*\* > Or: > > When he was stranded on the island and ate the meat, they TOLD him it was albatross. It was actually his dead wife. > \*\* Okay, now that’s one I haven’t heard. _What??_ ---
**Author:** ![Matchka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Matchka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matchka)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/31 "2003-11-16T17:47:44Z")
The answer to the question of _Life_ … ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/32 "2003-11-16T18:43:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Okay, now that’s one I haven’t heard. What?? A man goes into a restaurant and sees albotross soup on the menu. He says “Wow, albatross soup! I love that stuff!”. He orders a bowl, takes one taste, and immediately goes home and kills himself. Why? The solution is that he was shipwrecked at one point (this might be included as part of the riddle statement) and was served “Albatross Soup” by one of the other castaways. When he tasted the soup, he noticed that it was different, and figured out what it really was that he ate before. And it’s kind of a pity that the OP came back… This thread is getting interesting. Oh, and a coffin. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/33 "2003-11-16T18:51:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Okay, now that’s one I haven’t heard. What?? A man goes into a restaurant and sees albotross soup on the menu. He says “Wow, albatross soup! I love that stuff!”. He orders a bowl, takes one taste, and immediately goes home and kills himself. Why? The solution is that he was shipwrecked at one point (this might be included as part of the riddle statement) and was served “Albatross Soup” by one of the other castaways. When he tasted the soup, he noticed that it was different, and figured out what it really was that he ate before. And it’s kind of a pity that the OP came back… This thread is getting interesting. Oh, and a coffin. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_of\_the\_CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Earl\_of\_the\_CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_of_the_CC)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/34 "2003-11-16T21:39:05Z")
That’s the worst riddle I’ve ever heard. That’s not even close to solvable! That’s like that one where a guy strikes a match, screams, and dies. There’s no way you could figure that one out. I think I’m going to start a secret society devoted to stamping out these crappy “riddles”. Anyone found telling an unsolvable riddle will be kidnapped and forced to solve a rubik’s cube at gunpoint. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/35 "2003-11-16T22:03:05Z")
Meanwhile you mention one of those selfsame riddles without providing the solution… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/36 "2003-11-17T00:52:48Z")
A ring ---
**Author:** ![zia\_nova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/bc79bd/32.png) [@zia\_nova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zia_nova)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/37 "2003-11-17T01:19:15Z")
‘Nothing’ was the answer I came up with. Does that mean I’m 5 years old? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/38 "2003-11-17T01:37:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Earl of the CC \* > \*\*That’s the worst riddle I’ve ever heard. That’s not even close to solvable! That’s like that one where a guy strikes a match, screams, and dies. There’s no way you could figure that one out. I think I’m going to start a secret society devoted to stamping out these crappy “riddles”. Anyone found telling an unsolvable riddle will be kidnapped and forced to solve a rubik’s cube at gunpoint. \*\* It’s not a riddle, per se, but one of those questions where you ask the “teller” yes/no questions and try to figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![StephenG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@StephenG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StephenG)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/39 "2003-11-17T03:33:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Earl of the CC \* > \*\* That’s not even close to solvable! That’s like that one where a guy strikes a match, screams, and dies. There’s no way you could figure that one out. \*\* Wasn’t there a gas leak? ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508/40 "2003-11-17T04:19:27Z")
I love those yes/no riddles! The only one here I haven’t heard is > [@](#): > > He was a baseball player. The men with masks were the ump and the catcher. What’s the setup? Is there a book that these come from? Everyone seems to know the same ones, and I remember my Gifted and Talented teacher giving us several of these in elementary school, almost 20 years ago. Wow. I just typed “I remeber . . . almost 20 years ago.” I feel old! Looking back over the thread, I also don’t know “and a coffin” or > [@](#): > > It would take 346 days, but you have to tunnel under the center house. Of course, you could alway go around the long way, but what would be the point? And I almost forgot to add: The picture is of your son. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solve-this-riddle/213508.md?page=3)