Puzzles, Riddles, and Word ESL Games

THIS IS IT: THE FRIGGIN ANSWER!!!

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 09:11:56 GMT

The ONLY QUESTION asked is "CAN YOU GUESS THE RIDDLE?" Most people read the lines leading up to the question and think the riddle is "WHAT AM I?" but they're jumping to conclusions about what the question is..Again, the question is "CAN YOU GUESS THE RIDDLE?"

The answer is either: "YES, the riddle is..(ask a question, for example, WHAT AM I?) or "NO, I can't guess the riddle."

Something else: Any question that starts with "CAN YOU.." is answerable with yes or no.

Examples:
Can you count to ten? YES
Can you eat a donut? YES
Can you fly by flapping your arms really fast? NO
Can you kick it? YES, we can.
Can you guess..? YES or NO

No more "answers." Just revel in the wonderment of the truth about this riddle.

Re: I turn polar bears white...

Avatars — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 08:51:31 GMT

U turn polar bears white... it is not a riddle and Google
U seems to be habitant of NOrth or SOuth pole so can see/turn bears white

so u GO TO
WWW.GOOGLE.COM

Re: I turn polar bears white...

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 07:36:26 GMT

The answer is "NO" that's all there is to it. You have to think critically about all the questions that are asked. Okay you say the answer is Snow? Snow doesn't make guys pee. "Water"? Water may make GUYS pee, but why GUYS and not GIRLS? same thing for alcohol. There is nothing that makes "GUYS" pee and "GIRLS" not pee. We are human. Think CRITICALLY about the question. Stop trying to get around it with some magic answer to fufill all the criteria. If you can't fulfill even one answer to one of the questions, how is it you think you can fulfill all of them? Harvard students couldn't get it, and kids did get it because the answer is simply "NO". End of conversation. Move on to a new thread.

Re: I turn polar bears white...

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 06:52:40 GMT

The most obvious line in the riddle is "If you look at me, you'll pop." I can't think of a single thing that would make me pop if I looked at it. There isn't anything that fits all of the statements.

Re: I turn polar bears white...

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 06:08:22 GMT

The correct answer is "nothing" (which is what happens when you re-post on Myspace to have the "answer" revealed to you)

Re: I turn polar bears white...

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 05:49:17 GMT

You are all stupid the answer is "Yes." I can guess all I want, does it mean I have the right answer no. It has been proven by the length of this discussion that we all can guess at the riddle. You have your answer dont look into it anymore it is the answer.

Re: I turn polar bears white...

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 04:53:14 GMT

ok the question at the end is "Can you guess the riddle?" and of course everyone is entitled to any guess...the question isnt can you guess the correct answer to this riddle.... so actually i do not believe that the answer is no i cannot...but rather "Yes i can."

Re: I turn polar bears white...

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 04:49:50 GMT

The riddle never asks the question "what am I?"

So the response to any of these statements would be "No".

Re: I turn polar bears white...

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 04:41:36 GMT

I thought it was snow till the end of it.

Re: I turn polar bears white...

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 04:28:49 GMT

No <----That is the answer. Do ya see? Do you turn polar bears white?

Re: I turn polar bears white...

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 04:24:33 GMT

although you make an excellent point...
again do you honestly think that many kids would answer pressure? they are too young so by them saying "i dont know" or "no" they were right

Re: I turn polar bears white...

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 04:21:33 GMT

You know how dumb this simple riddle is making everyone who is posting their answers other than "no" are?

Pancakes may brown more if you cook them in water? COME ON!!!

Polar Bears are not white at all, the hair is clear, the color of the snow and skin give them the white color.

All of these lines have different answers, none of those answers fit every line.

The riddle is "can you guess this riddle?"

NO

That's it.

Re: I turn polar bears white...

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 03:36:05 GMT

I think that everyone who posted that the answer is no, has a very good point. Many kindergartners would say no to this riddle. Unless they had heard the poem associated with it. And seeing as how the poem is one that is often read to kindergartners, maybe the author of the riddle left the clue to point, not to humility, but to the fact that many kindergartners would remember the poem if it had been recently read to them. However, many Harvard grads probably have either, never heard the poem or, don't remember it. But since I don't know many kindergartners who could make the connection between the poem and the riddle even if they were read together....I would say the answer is no....and that many people (unfortunately, including myself) have spent too much time, both thinking about it, and arguing with others that the answer isn't no.

Re: I turn polar bears white...

Dblouin — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 02:57:28 GMT

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

Re: I turn polar bears white...

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 02:03:01 GMT

You're just overanalyzing it WAAAAAAAY too much!! Just like that other riddle about being more powerful than God and more evil than the devil...the answer was as simple as nothing. I think everyone is just overanalyzing it and going way overboard. But then again, who am I to talk? I haven't figured out the answer either! ANYWAY, GOOD LUCK!!!!!