# stupid riddle **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 27, 2000, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411 "2000-03-27T00:07:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Tof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@The\_Tof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tof)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/1 "2000-03-27T00:07:00Z")
OK… this is a stupid riddle… but my manager sent it out on email a few days ago, and I can get… well, I’ll say “brownie points” for getting the right answer. Nobody seems to know. (usually he sends these out and they’re really easy or dumb or I’ve heard it a thousand times… this one got me though) A Woman is going up an escalator when suddenly she begins to weep. Why? No, she’s not carrying a bag of onions, its not the anniversary of her (husband, mother, father, son, daughters, dogs) death. Thanks in advance Screeme ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/2 "2000-03-27T00:15:00Z")
The way I heard this one, she was in an elevator and she suddenly started to cry and made the statement that she knew her husband was dead. How did she know? I’m sure this must be a take on the same riddle. Turns out she started crying because it was clear that there was a power outage which is what caused the elevator (in this case the escalator) to stop. The elevator was in the building where her comatose husband was on life support, and with a power outage she knew he must be dead because the equipment would have ceased working at the same time (not allowing for a back-up generator). Go collect your brownie points. 🙂 * * * “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” - Anne Frank ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/3 "2000-03-27T02:26:00Z")
This is an example of a kind of puzzle I have called “How Come?” or “Three Minute Mysteries”, in which a seemingly bizarre situation is presented, and the solvers ask yes-or-no answers in an effort to figure out what’s going on. Classic example: Archie and Edith lie dead on the floor, in a puddle of water. Broken glass shards surround their bodies. How come? After diligent questioning, it emerges that Archie and Edith are goldfish, killed when the curious housecat batted their fishbowl off the table and it shattered. I have a tremendous passion for these puzzles. Unfortunately, I don’t think a message board is an ideal medium to try t present and solve them. But if anyone is into these, let me know! - Rick ---
**Author:** ![aseymayo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@aseymayo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aseymayo)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/4 "2000-03-27T02:59:00Z")
> [@](#): > > A Woman is going up an escalator when suddenly she begins to weep. Why? She suddenly realized she wanted to take the stairs? I heard an older version of Shayna’s story - hubby was in an iron lung. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/5 "2000-03-27T03:43:00Z")
Bricker posted: > [@](#): > > But if anyone is into these, let me know! I love those! The one about the guy leaving home, making a right turn then 3 left turns, and returning home, only to be met by a masked man (or something to that effect) drove me crazy for the longest time. If you can figure out a way to post one (or more), I think it’d be great fun to try to figure them out. I promise not to give it away if you post one I already know. * * * “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” - Anne Frank ---
**Author:** ![pennys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/958977/32.png) [@pennys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pennys)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/6 "2000-03-27T08:00:00Z")
That’s so ridiculous! What ICU doesn’t have back-up generator support? ---
**Author:** ![billehunt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@billehunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billehunt)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/7 "2000-03-27T08:06:00Z")
**Shayna** wrote > [@](#): > > The one about the guy leaving home, making a right turn then 3 left turns, and returning home, only to be met by a masked man (or something to that effect) drove me crazy for the longest time. Is that this one? A guy goes out his front door and walks one mile. He then goes East one mile, then North one mile, arriving back at his house, where he’s attacked by a bear. What color is the bear? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/8 "2000-03-27T08:08:00Z")
One I heard: “A stick broke, and a man died”. ---
**Author:** ![TomH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@TomH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TomH)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/9 "2000-03-27T12:02:00Z")
A man is heading towards a field with a pack on his back. He knows that when he reaches the field, he will be dead. Why? ---
**Author:** ![WillGolfForFood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/82dd89/32.png) [@WillGolfForFood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillGolfForFood)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/10 "2000-03-27T12:06:00Z")
> [@](#): > > What color is the bear? White. ---
**Author:** ![billehunt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@billehunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billehunt)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/11 "2000-03-27T12:11:00Z")
**TomH** wrote > [@](#): > > A man is heading towards a field with a pack on his back. He knows that when he reaches the field, he will be dead. Why? His pack doesn’t contain a parachute? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/12 "2000-03-27T12:45:00Z")
I think these are more a MPSIMS thing than a GQ thing. So… ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/13 "2000-03-27T14:22:00Z")
> [@](#): > > What color is the bear? Green, due to the algae deposits… ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/14 "2000-03-27T14:28:00Z")
> [@](#): > > pennys posted: > That’s so ridiculous! What ICU doesn’t have back-up generator support? That’s one of the things that would be revealed during the yes/no question part of the “game.” Her husband wasn’t in a hospital ICU. Apparently he was being cared for in that condition at home. That’s why I think the elevator works better in that scenario than an escalator. How many apartment buildings do you know that have escalators? > [@](#): > > billehunt posted: > Is that this one? > A guy goes out his front door and walks one mile. He then goes East one mile, then North one mile, arriving back at his house, where he’s attacked by a bear. What color is the bear? Nope. It’s pretty much just as I said; A man leaves **home** , makes one right turn, then 3 left turns, returns **home** and is met by a masked man. Who is the masked man? (The bolding is a clue to unravelling this riddle.) And yes, the bear is white. > [@](#): > > TomH posted: > A man is heading towards a field with a pack on his back. He knows that when he reaches the field, he will be dead. Why? ## He has just jumped out of a plane and realized that his parachute won’t open. “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” - Anne Frank ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/15 "2000-03-27T14:41:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Shayna: > **Nope. It’s pretty much just as I said; A man leaves home, makes one right turn, then 3 left turns, returns home and is met by a masked man. Who is the masked man?** I’ve heard this one. I don’t understand the right turn _after_ he leaves home, though. And in the version I heard, he is met by _two_ masked men. * * * rocks ---
**Author:** ![ChuckSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@ChuckSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChuckSki)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/16 "2000-03-27T15:33:00Z")
OOOOOOhhhh! OOOOOHHHH! He’s a lefthanded baseball player, right? I LOVE this. How come I’ve never heard these before? Sheltered Mid-west life? I wish I had one to post. Chuck L. * * * “The intellectuals’ chief cause of anguish are one another’s works.” Jacques Barzun Cheers! CAL ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/17 "2000-03-27T15:56:00Z")
Oh for God’s sake, it’s a damn baseball player. He’s hit a home run. First base is to his right - so technically it’s not a right turn, unless he’s a southpaw as **ChuckSki** states - then makes a left at first, a left at second, and a left at third. Bada bing bada boom (and where _does_ that phrase come from, anyway? :D) he’s back home, where the opposing team’s catcher and the ump, both masked, are waiting for him. Oh wait, that’s not it. See, the guy is on to the Illuminati plot, which he’s learned of through the 17/23 connection. He wants to go to his back yard but he needs to confuse the agents of Eris… 😉 * * * All I wanna do is to thank you, even though I don’t know who you are… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/18 "2000-03-27T16:07:00Z")
A man travels one mile south, then one mile ease, then one mile north. He ends up where he started. Where else besides the North Pole could he have started from? * * * Virtually yours, DrMatrix ---
**Author:** ![JonF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@JonF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonF)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/19 "2000-03-27T17:21:00Z")
> [@](#): > > A man travels one mile south, then one mile ease, then one mile north. He ends up where he started. Where else besides the North Pole could he have started from? Any point 1 + 1/(2_pi_n) miles from the South Pole, n = 1, 2, 3, … * * * jrf ---
**Author:** ![WillGolfForFood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/82dd89/32.png) [@WillGolfForFood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillGolfForFood)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411/20 "2000-03-27T19:01:00Z")
In addition ot that, any spot a similar distance from the North pole. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-riddle/10411.md?page=2)