I turn polar bears white

hey i thought it was pressure as well.

its been bugging me forever!

it is TIME. it is from a POEM. look:

TIME

The time has come,
winter is here
and those yellow bears disappear.

The time has past
as man looks back with a sigh
and a tear in his eye.

As time is held
boys cross their legs
but of course the toilet begs

As time marches on
Girls loose their blush
and swap a comb for their brush

As time passes
For those held high
their end is nigh

As time catches up
Everyone is equal
when we get to the final sequel

As time turns
Without it we have flour and water
With it we have breakfast for my daughter

As time revolves
How does one turn water and wine
into something so fine

As time runs out
The more in a minute you try and squeeze
the less you can do with ease.

As time ticks
All the time that has past
man cannot comprehend something so vast.

We are just too damn smart for our own good aren't we, Alex?   You are so confident of your research, and it makes so much sense to you, it is obvious, isn't it?  

Sorry to burst YOUR bubble (and all that nifty web surfing you did), but the answer isn't pressure, or sun, or God, or whatever.  Just like most intellectuals, we are so certain we can answer any question, we will find an answer to fit regardless of the nature of the question that was originally asked. 

The only part of the riddle that needs to be answered is the final question.  Riddles sometimes come with clues, in addition to the riddle itself.  Such is the case with this riddle.  The clue is the reference to Harvard grads and Kindergartners.   It doesn't matter if the riddle was actually posed to those groups. It is in essence part of the riddle, the key to deriving a correct answer from us adults.  It is also a red herring, because no Kindergartner would be reading the riddle as presented in the various posts.  It isn't really meant to be a factual statistic.   Anyhooo...the POINT of the riddle is that Harvard grads (and EVERYONE on this list-save a few souls) would naturally tend to overcomplicate it. Remember, Kindergartners are between 5 and 6 years old.  They would NOT answer pressure, or the sun, or light or God (well maybe God--16% at least   ) or anything else.  They would give you a funny look, giggling at how silly grown ups can be, because it obviously makes no sense and say, "No."  

Now, would they truly understand the implications of there not being a solution to the riddle?  Nah.  But that isn't the point.  They would correctly say no they couldn't answer it. 

In the grand tradition of intellectual hubris, someone suggested the answer was 'no', which Kindergartners would say, but that the correct understanding of the answer was  NO, as in Nitrous Oxide.  If , as stated in the riddle, 84% of Kindergartners answered the question correctly, they would also have had to understand that nitrous oxide, was the correct answer and then have enough wit to say, "No.'  It isn't a correct answer if it isn't understood as a correct answer.  So, the answer is "No," not NO.  Also, there isn't one part of the riddle which a 5 or 6 year old would connect with pressure, whether emotional or physical, with any of the list presented, it just would't happen. 

Maybe the only way to more accurately answer the riddle is to say there is no answer.  But then we are going beyond the scope of the riddle.  The question is "Can you guess the riddle?"  Kindergartners would always be right when saying No-(Can YOU guess the riddle?) The grown ups would never want to admit they couldn't answer it.  They would go to any and all lengths to figure it out, just knowing there must be one.

 It is a test, a lark, really, to see how much poo we will shovel on ourselves to prove how smart we are.

You've missed point of the whole thing--Humility, man. 

Deb