1

A family has five sons, each of them has a sister. How many kids does a
family have in total?

The answer: The family has six kids – five sons have one common sister.

#2

There are four oranges, and you take three. How many do you have?

The answer: You will have three oranges.

#3

Suppose you have three ostriches on your farm laying three eggs in three
minutes. How many ostriches do you need to produce 700 eggs in 700
minutes?

The answer: Only three. You don’t need additional birds because three
ostriches lay eggs at a fixed pace.

#4

Two math books complain to each other. What do they tell each other?

The answer: I have so many problems.

5

There is an empty basket, three feet in diameter and one foot deep. How
many oranges can you put in this empty basket?

The answer: Just one. As long as you put something in an empty basket, it’s
not empty anymore.

#6

Isabella has a huge family: 20 cousins, ten aunts, and ten uncles. Each
cousin has an aunt who’s not Isabella’s. How is that possible?

The answer: This aunt is Isabella’s mom.

#7

John was going to visit a horse racing event. He met five women with four
cats, three women with seven dogs, and one man with a Galápagos tortoise.
How many people and animals watched the horse racing contest?

The answer: It’s only John because nobody mentioned others go with John.

#8

This number can be positive or negative, and it starts with I and ends with R.
What is this number?

The answer: It’s an integer.

#9

What should you place between 3 and 4 to make it bigger than 3 but smaller
than 4?

The answer: It’s a decimal point: 3.4.

#10

How can you make 45 using only 4?

The answer: You have to use fractions: 44 + 4/4 = 45 because 4/4 = 1.

#11

I say that 6 + 7 = 1. How can that be possible?

The answer: I talk about time because 6 AM + 7 hours is 1 PM.

#12

What if I say that you can multiply any number by another one and get the
same answer? What is this number?

The answer: It’s zero. Multiplying anything by 0 = 0.

#13
You have a ten-pound bag of duck feathers. Sam has a ten-pound bag filled
with gold ingots. Which bag is heavier?

The answer: The bag of feathers is as heavy as a bag of gold because both

weigh 10 pounds.

#14

A long 400-feet train travels 400 feet per minute. It goes through a 400-feet
tunnel. How long does it take for a train to travel through the tunnel?

The answer: It will take two minutes. It takes one minute for the nose of the
train and one more minute for its last wagon.

#15

When David was eight, his little brother Alex was half of his age. David is 30
now. How old is Alex?

The answer: Alex is 26.

The explanation: David was eight, while Alex was four. Their age difference
doesn’t change with time. David is still four years older than Alex no matter
what.

#16

How many times can you subtract 5 from 25?

The answer: You can subtract it only once. 25 – 5 = 20, and it’s no longer
25. If you keep on, you will subtract 5 from 20, then 15, and so on. None of
these numbers is 25 anymore.

#17

Mom baked 24 cookies for six kids. How many cookies does each of them
get?

The answer: Each kid will get four cookies.

#18

Which month has 28 days in it?

The answer: Since all months are 30-31 days long, and February has either
28 or 29 days, they all have 28 days.

#19

A farmer decided to give his animals pocket money. He pays $13 to a rooster,
$39 to a bee, and $52 to a spider. How much will a cat and a dog get?

The answer: Both a cat and a dog will get $26.

The explanation: A rooster has two legs, so it gets $6.5 per leg. The bee has
six legs, so it gets 6.5 x 6 = 39. The same goes for a spider. A dog and a cat
have four legs each: 6.5 x 4 = 26.
#20

Suppose you have six oranges and six melons in your right hand and 24
apples and eight watermelons in your left hand. What do you have?

The answer: You have such big hands!

#21

A triangle is very rude. What does it say to a circle?

The answer: You’re pointless.

#22

I put three matches on a table. I ask you to add two matches to get eight. How
can you do this?

The answer: You can make Roman eight: VIII.

#23

I’m an odd number. But if you take away a letter from my name, I will become
even. What number am I?

The answer: Seven

#24
William is a historian. He takes two from five and gets four. How does he do
that?

The answer: He takes letters F and E from FIVE and gets IV – Roman four.

#25

Amy has as many apples as there are months in a year. How many apples
does she have?

The answer: 12 apples.

#26

A sphere has three, a circle has two, and a point has zero. What is it?

The answer: Dimensions. A sphere has three dimensions, a circle has two,

and a point has no dimensions.

#27

If you toss a coin five times, and it lands tails up each time, what are the
chances it will land heads up the next time?

The answer: A coin lands either tails or heads, so there is a 50% probability
of each outcome no matter how many times you toss a coin.

#28
Bob adds three numbers. Afterward, he multiplies the same numbers and gets
the same result. What are these numbers?

The answer: 1, 2, 3.

The explanation: 1 + 2 +3 = 6; 1 x 2 x 3 = 6.

#29

Bees love geometry. What’s their favorite figure?

The answer: It’s a hexagon.

#30

It’s round, but it’s not a circle and looks like an egg. What is it?

The answer: It’s an oval.

#31

What should you add to 55,555 to make it equal 500?

The answer: The minus sign.

The explanation: Place minus (-) between 555 and 55 to make this equation:
555 – 55 = 500.

#32
Which statement is correct: 12 plus 17 is 28, or 17 plus 12 are 28?

The answer: Both are false because 12 + 17 = 29.

The explanation: This trick distracts attention from math to verb and number
agreement. However, it doesn’t matter since both equations are wrong.

#33

A farmer bought a rooster to sell eggs for $0.1 each. The rooster lays five
eggs a day. The question is how much will the farmer earn in a week?

The answer: The farmer will earn nothing because roosters don’t lay eggs.

#34

What is the product if you multiply all numbers on a phone’s dial pad?

The answer: It’s zero.

The explanation: Since the phone dial pad ends with a zero, multiplying
anything by zero equals zero.

#35

Two fathers and two sons make wooden chairs. If each makes a wooden
chair, why are there only three produced?

The answer: It’s because there are only three people – a father, his son, and
his son’s son.
#36

You have ordered a pizza for a dinner of eight. How many times do you need
to cut the pizza to get eight slices?

The answer: You need to cut it four times.

The explanation: When you cut one time, you divide the pizza in half. When
you slice it two times, you get four pieces. Consequently, you will get eight
slices if you cut the pizza four times.

#37

Continue the sequence: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32…

The answer: It’s 64 because you double each consecutive number.

#38

What takes place once a year, twice a week, and never in a day?

The answer: It’s the letter E.

#39

If a dozen eggs cost $0.12, how many eggs can you buy for a dollar?

The answer: You can buy 100 eggs.

#40

I’m a place in a city, but I am also a math problem solution. The math problem
is: What should you multiply by six to get a cube?

The answer: Times Square

#41

Lorenzo was born in 1988. In 1968, he was 20 years old. How could that be?

The answer: It’s because Lorenzo was born in 1988 B.C. We count time
backward – 1968 B.C. is 20 years later than 1988 B.C.

#42

An old woman dies on her 24th birthday. How can that be?

The answer: She was born on February 29, in a leap year. It occurs once
every four years. Consequently, 24 x 4 = 96.

#43

A snail is in a 20-meter-deep pit. It climbs five meters but slides five meters
back every day. How long will it take for a snail to escape the hole?

The answer: It will take 16 days.

The explanation: At first sight, it will take 20 days. On the first day, the snail
reaches one meter. On the second day, it reaches two meters: 1 + 5 – 4 = 2.
On the third day, it climbs three meters. On day 15, it reaches 15 meters.

But on day 16, the snail reaches 20 meters, and it doesn’t fall back because it
escapes the pit.

#44

What should you do to make 81 x 9 = 801 correct?

The answer: Just turn the numbers upside down. 18 x 6 = 108.

#45

What does a plant grow in a math class?

The answer: It grows square roots – ba dum tss!

#46

I will be everything if you put me on my side. I will be nothing if you cut me in

half. What am I?

The answer: The number 8.

The explanation: If you put 8 on its side, it will become an infinity symbol ∞. If
you cut it on its “waist,” it will become two zeros 0 0.
#47

What is half of 2 plus 2?

The answer: Half of 2 equals 1; 1 +2 = 3.

#48

It’s the longest side of the triangle, and it starts with H and ends with E. What
is it?

The answer: It’s a hypotenuse.

#49

Figures with sides have it, but a circle doesn’t. What is it?

The answer: It’s an angle.

#50

It’s neither a circle nor an oval, but it’s round. What is it?

The answer: It’s a sphere.

#51

It’s midnight now, and it’s raining. The weather forecast says it will be warm
and sunny for the next two days. Will it be sunny in 48 hours?

The answer: No, it won’t be sunny weather because it will also be midnight in

48 hours.
\
. Riddle: When Grant was 8, his brother was half his age. Now, Grant is 14.
How old is his brother?

Answer: His brother is 10. Half of 8 is 4, so Grant’s brother is 4 years younger.

This means when Grant is 14, his brother is still 4 years younger, so he’s 10.

2. Riddle: Two fathers and 2 sons spent the day fishing, but only caught 3
fish. This was enough for each of them to have one fish. How is this
possible?

Answer: There were only 3 people fishing. There was one father, his son, and
his son's son. This means there were 2 fathers and 2 sons, since one of them is
a father and a son.

3. Riddle: Liam was 11 the day before yesterday, and next year he’ll turn
14. How is this possible?

Answer: Today is January 1st, and Liam’s birthday is December 31st. Liam was

11 the day before yesterday (December 30th), then turned 12 the next day. This
year on December 31st he’ll turn 13, so next year he’ll turn 14.

4. Riddle: Mrs. Brown has 5 daughters. Each of these daughters has a

brother. How many children does Mrs. Brown have?

Answer: They have 6 children. Each daughter has the same brother. There are
5 daughters and 1 son.

5. Riddle: It’s raining at midnight, but the forecast for tomorrow and the
next day is clear. Will there be sunny weather in 48 hours?

Answer: No, it won’t be sunny because it will be dark out. In 48 hours, it will be

midnight again.
6. Riddle: There are 3 apples in the basket and you take away 2. How many
apples do you have now?

Answer: You have 2 apples. You took away 2 apples and left 1 in the basket.

7. Riddle: What can you put between 7 and 8, to make the result greater
than 7, but less than 8?

Answer: A decimal point. Your result would be 7.8, which is between 7 and 8.

8. Riddle: A new clothing store has a unique method of pricing items. A

vest costs $20, a tie costs $15, a blouse costs $30, and underwear costs
$45. How much would pants cost?

Answer: $25. The pricing method charges $5 for each letter needed to spell the
item.

9. Riddle: 81 x 9 = 801. What do you need to do to make this equation

true?

Answer: Turn it upside down. 108 = 6 x 18.

10. Riddle: Double it and multiply it by 4. Then divide it by 8 and you’ll

have it once more. What number is it?

Answer: Any number. If a number is doubled and multiplied by 4, it’s actually

been multiplied by 8, so dividing by 8 will get you the original number again. 

11. Riddle: What 3 numbers give the same result when multiplied and
added together?

Answer: 1, 2, and 3 (1 + 2 + 3 = 6 and 1 x 2 x 3 = 6).

12. Riddle: Zoey has a very big family. She has 20 aunts, 20 uncles and 50
cousins. Each of her cousins has an aunt who is not Zoey’s aunt. How is
this possible? 

Answer: Their aunt is Zoey’s mom!

13. Riddle: I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even.
What number am I?

Answer: Seven.

14. Riddle: Which is heavier: a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers?

Answer: Neither—they both weigh a ton.

Hard riddles for kids 

Did your child ace the last two categories? Try to stump them with these brain-
teasingly tricky riddles that are a bit more of a challenge. 

1. Riddle: I go all around the world, but never leave the corner. What am I?

Answer: A stamp.

2. Riddle: You’ll find me in Mercury, Earth, Mars and Jupiter, but not in
Venus or Neptune. What am I?

Answer: The letter “R.”

3. Riddle: What can go up a chimney down, but can’t go down a chimney

up?
Answer: An umbrella. If your umbrella is “down,” it can fit through a chimney,
but if it’s “up,” it won’t fit!

4. Riddle: I make a loud sound when I’m changing. When I do change, I get
bigger but weigh less. What am I?

Answer: Popcorn.

5. Riddle: A bus driver was heading down a busy street in the city. He
went past three stop signs without stopping, went the wrong way down a
one-way street, and answered a message on his phone. But the bus driver
didn’t break any traffic laws. How? 

Answer: He was walking, not driving. (This riddle adds irrelevant information to
deceive the reader. You expect that since he’s a bus driver, he’s currently
driving the bus — but it never actually says that!)

6. Riddle: It has keys, but no locks. It has space, but no room. You can
enter, but can’t go inside. What is it?

Answer: A keyboard.

7. Riddle: I can fill a room, but I take up no space. What am I?

Answer: Light.

8. Riddle: It’s the only place in the world where today comes before
yesterday. Where is it?

Answer: The dictionary.
9. Riddle: If I have it, I don’t share it. If I share it, I don’t have it. What is it?

Answer: A secret.

10. Riddle: What goes away as soon as you talk about it?

Answer: Silence.

11. Riddle: A railroad crossing without any cars. Can you spell that
without any R’s?

Answer: T-H-A-T (This one is tricky! It makes readers think they’re supposed to

describe the scenario without using the letter “R.” But the first sentence was
actually used to distract the reader from the real question.)

12. Riddle: What can run but cannot walk?

Answer: Water.

13. Riddle: What has a mouth but can’t speak?

Answer: A river.
14. Riddle: What has one eye but can’t see?

Answer: A needle.

15. Riddle: Everyone has me but no one can lose me. What am I?

Answer: A shadow.

16. Riddle: What starts with T, ends with T, and has T inside it?

Answer: A teapot.

17. Riddle: There's a one-story house. Everything in the red house is red,
the walls are red, the bathroom is red, the floor is red, the kitchen is red,
all of the bedrooms are red. So, what color are the stairs?

Answer: There's no stairs, it's a one-story house.

18. Riddle: What can you hold in your left hand but not in your right hand?

Answer: Your right elbow.

19. Riddle: What kind of coat can be put on only when wet?

Answer: A coat of paint.

20. Riddle: If an electric train is traveling south, which way is the smoke
going?

Answer: There’s no smoke as it’s an electric train.

Funny riddles for kids

Want to get your child giggling? 

Show them these riddles that also double as jokes! 

The answers might not be what you expect, because each one comes with a
funny punchline for the solution.  

1. Riddle: What can jump higher than a building?

Answer: Anything that can jump — buildings don’t jump, silly!

2. Riddle: An elephant in Africa is called Lala. An elephant in Asia is called

Lulu. What do you call an elephant in Antarctica?

Answer: Lost.

3. Riddle: Imagine you are in a room with no windows or doors. How will
you get out?

Answer: Stop imagining.

4. Riddle: A group of bunnies were having a birthday party. What kind of

music were they listening to?

Answer: Hip hop music.

5. Riddle: Where would you take a sick boat?

Answer: To the dock.

6. Riddle: What kind of room has no doors or windows?

Answer: A mushroom.

7. Riddle: I’m orange, I wear a green hat and I sound like a parrot. What am
I?

Answer: A carrot.
8. Riddle: What fruit can you never cheer up?

Answer: A blueberry.

9. Riddle: What did the zero say to the eight?

Answer: “Nice belt!”

10. Riddle: What do you get if you cross a vampire and a snowman?

Answer: Frostbite.

11. Riddle: What do elves learn at school?

Answer: The Elf-abet.

12. Riddle: What does a ghost use to wash its hair?

Answer: Sham-boo!

13. Riddle: What has a head but no brain?

Answer: A lettuce.

14. Most people think of me as money. But when they find me in the water,
they won’t get any money out of me. What am I?

Answer: A river bank!

Animal riddles for kids

There’s no doubt that kids love animals. Here’s some of the best riddles for kids
that focus on animals. Let’s start with some easy riddles:

1. Riddle: What jumps when it walks and sits when it stands?

Answer: A kangaroo.

2. Riddle: I sleep during the day and fly at night, but I have no feathers to
aid my flight. What am I?

Answer: A bat.

3. Riddle: I can honk without using a horn. What am I?

Answer: A goose.

4. Riddle: Why do cats make good warriors?

Answer: Because they’ve got 9 lives.

5. Riddle: The English alphabet goes from A to Z but my name goes from
Z to A. What am I?

Answer: A Zebra.

Now, let’s test their thinking skills a little more with these trickier animal riddles:

6. Riddle: I am the fastest animal but cannot climb the tree. What am I? 

Answer: A cheetah.

7. Riddle: I have horns but I can’t beep. I like to bleat but I’m not a sheep.
What am I?

Answer: A goat.
8. Riddle: I hide my treasure in the ground, my tail is big and fluffy. If you
spot me in a tree, please don’t call me scruffy. What am I?

Answer: A squirrel.

9. Riddle: I live in a bowl. I can swim. I have a tail. I also have fins and big
eyes. What am I?

Answer: A goldfish.

10. Riddle: I have a hole in my back and legs I lack. I live where I can’t
breathe and I eat without teeth. What am I?

Answer: A whale.

11: I have a thousand needles but I do not sew. What am I?

Answer: A porcupine.

English riddles for kids

Riddles can also be used to help kids understand more about how English
works, including things like the alphabet. Here are some easy riddles that test
out your child’s knowledge of the English language.

1. Riddle: I am the beginning of everything, the end of everywhere.I'm the

beginning of eternity, the end of time & space. What am I?

Answer: The letter E.

2. Riddle: What is in seasons, seconds, centuries and minutes but not in

decades, years or days?

Answer: The letter N.
3. Riddle: How many letters are in the alphabet?

Answer: 11 letters (there's only 11 letters in the phrase 'the alphabet').

4. Riddle: What happens once in a minute, twice in a moment but never in

one thousand years?

Answer: The letter “M”.

5. Riddle: What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters
to it?

Answer: “Short”.

6. Riddle: What word begins and ends with an E but only has one letter?

Answer: Envelope (there's an 'e' at the start and end of the word, and an
envelope contains a letter).