Can you solve these long riddles?
1. A wealthy family lived in a big circular house. They had a maid, a butler, and a gardener. The parents were going to a party, so they tucked the younger kids into bed and kissed them goodnight and said goodbye, and kissed the older kids goodnight. When the parents came home, all the kids were gone—they had been kidnapped. The authorities ask the butler, maid, and gardener what they were doing at the time of the kidnapping. The butler says he was organizing the library, the maid says she was dusting the corners, and the gardener says he was watering the plants. Who's lying and actually kidnapped the kids?
Answer: The maid—she said she was dusting the corners, but the family lives in a circular house, so there are no corners.
2. A farmer went to a market and bought a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage. On his way home, the farmer came to the bank of a river and rented a boat. But crossing the river by boat, the farmer could carry only himself and a single one of his purchases: the wolf, the goat, or the cabbage. If left unattended together, the wolf would eat the goat, or the goat would eat the cabbage. The farmer's challenge was to carry himself and his purchases to the far bank of the river, leaving each purchase intact. How did he do it?
Answer: The farmer takes seven trips over—here are his steps:
Take the goat over
Return
Take the wolf or cabbage over
Return with the goat
Take the cabbage or wolf over
Return
Take goat over
Note: The riddle doesn't forbid the farmer from bringing a purchase back, which makes the steps above possible.
3. A woman is sitting in her hotel room and hears a knock at the door. She opens the door to see a man whom she's never met before. He says, "I'm sorry, I have made a mistake, I thought this was my room." He then goes down the corridor and into the elevator. The woman goes back into her room and calls security. What made the woman so suspicious of the man?
Answer: If he really thought it was his hotel room, he would have tried to open the door—not knock on it first.
4. Grandpa went for a walk, and it started raining. He forgot to bring an umbrella and didn't have a hat. When he got home, his clothes were soaking wet, but not a hair on his head was wet. How was this possible?
Answer: Grandpa is bald.
5. You walk into a room and see a bed. On the bed, there are two dogs, five cats, a giraffe, six cows, and a goose. There are also three doves flying above the bed. How many legs are on the floor?
Answer: Six—the bed's four legs, plus your two legs.
6. A California farmer owns a beautiful pear tree. He supplies the fruit to a nearby grocery store. The store owner calls the farmer to see how much fruit is available for him to buy. The farmer knows the main trunk has 24 branches. Each branch has exactly 12 boughs and each bough has exactly 6 twigs. Since each twig bears one piece of fruit, how many plums will the farmer be able to deliver?
Answer: None—a pear tree doesn't grow plums.
7. A man is found unconscious in front of a store at two in the morning. His head is bleeding and there's a brick laying next to him. When the police arrive, they carry the man to jail. Why did they arrest him?
Answer: The man was trying to rob the store. He threw a brick at the store's bullet-proof window and it bounced back and hit him.
8. In a one-story house at the corner of the road, the bedrooms were yellow, the kitchen was orange, the living room was red, the garage was blue, the entry hall was green and the sitting room was purple. What color were the stairs?
Answer: There's no color because there are no stairs—it's a one-story house.
9. My first is in chocolate but no in ham. My second is in cake and also in jam. My third at tea-time is easily found. Altogether, this is a friend who is often around. What is it?
Answer: Cat—"c" is the first letter in "chocolate," "a" is the second letter in "cake" and "jam," and "t" is the third letter in "tea-time."
10. I am beautiful, up in the sky. I am magical, yet I cannot fly. To people I bring luck, and to some people, riches. The boy at my end does whatever he wishes. What am I?
Answer: A rainbow.
RELATED: 42 Tricky "What Am I?" Riddles
11. I am a five-letter word and people eat me. If you remove the first letter I become an energy form. If you remove the first two letters, I am needed to live. Scramble the last three letters and I am a drink. What word am I?
Answer: Wheat.
12. A prisoner is called to be questioned by the guards. The guards tell the prisoner: "If you tell a lie, we will hang you and if you tell the truth, we will shoot you." What did the prisoner say to save himself?
Answer: "You will hang me."
13. A father told his three sons he would die soon and he needed to decide which one of them to give his property to. He said, "Go to the market and buy something that is large enough to fill my bedroom, but small enough to fit in your pocket. From this, I will decide which of you is the wisest and worthy enough to inherit my land."