Maybe
some practice at some riddles will help you solve the puzzle
of what Tourette Syndrome may mean to you and others. Come up
with an intriguing answer that you can share with others.
Nonetheless,
if you have racing thoughts or compulsively think about things,
we thought we would put your compulsive thinking to work.
We
are helping build your problem solving skills.
Really,
we just want you to have some fun with the riddles regardless
if you have Tourette Syndrome or not, and hope you read on to
learn more about Tourette Syndrome if you came here by other
means.
Below
are some riddles for you to have a little fun with. Some are
very simple and basic riddles. Some are old and famous classic
riddles. Farther down the page, they get more difficult.
Try
to solve the riddles without getting the answers. If you can’t
well we have provided some of the answers for you by a link
at the bottom of the page.
Simple
riddles
•
What has four wheels and flies?
•
Where does an elephant go when he wants to lie down?
The
riddle that drove Homer to death
Homer
was a 9th century Greek poet. Remember Homer's Odyssey? After
the Trojan war a king had a long journey home facing monsters,
magic, and enchantresses. Well, legend has it that Homer killed
himself because he could not answer a simple riddle spoken by
Greek fishermen below.
•
What we caught we threw away; what we didn't catch, we kept.
From
a Babylon clay tablet used as a schoolbook
•
Who becomes pregnant without conceiving; who becomes fat without
eating?
The
famous riddle of the Sphinx
This
is the most celebrated riddle in Greek mythology. Asked by the
Sphinx of any person from Thebes who passed her by. If you couldn't
answer her riddle she ate you! Finally, the hero Oedipus Rex
answered her riddle correctly, then the land was safe for the
Thebes, becuase she died of her own hand afterward.
•
What has one voice, walks on four feet in the morning, two feet
at noon, and three feet in the evening?
A
riddle from the Bible
During
Samson’s seven day wedding feast, he gave rewards to those
that could answer his riddle, however if you failed, you had
to give to him the same reward. Samson was not being that fair
with this riddle though, as it was from a personal experience
that only a very few knew about. It is found in the book of
Judges.
•
Out of the eater came something to eat; Out of the strong came
something sweet.
Koans
Riddles
Many
riddles from various cultures have no logical answers but are
just supposed to open your mind in a form called “Koans”.
So you won’t find the answer to these riddles in the answers.
We also know of some similar riddles in our own cultures.
•
What is the sound of one hand clapping?
•
When a tree falls in the forest and no one is around does it
make a sound?
Two
riddles, same answer
•
Who is the swift one that found me on the road? Neither the
sun nor any other light shines on him. I have often seen him
running alongside ships at sea. He needs no clothing or food,
and is visible to all but tangible by none? – Iceland
Riddle
•
You see it but you can’t grab it. It goes with you but
you can’t carry it. – Mayan Riddle
Riddles
from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Remember
Bilbo Baggins who found a ring of power in the cave of Gollum
(Smeagol)? You only saw parts of the story in the "Lord
of the Rings" movies about the discovery of the ring by
Bilbo. Bilbo
Baggins finds the ring of power in a cave while he is on an
"adventure" for Gandalf in the book "The Hobbit",
which is the prelude to "The Lord of the Rings". However
Bilbo did not just walk out of the caves that he and his party
were taking refuge in. Bilbo was knocked unconcious and separated
from his party during a battle with orcs in the cave. When he
awoke from the ordeal, and why he was crawling on the cave floor,
he found the ring accidentally lost by Gollum who was a cave
resident for many long years.
Bilbo,
in his search for an exit from the cave, comes into dire straits
on the banks of a still reservoir deep inside the mountains
belly; Gollum's home. In this encounter, Bilbo enters into a
bargain with Gollum. It was to be a battle of wits using riddles
of which Hobbits were very clever at. If Bilbo would win the
riddle contest with Gollum, then Gollum would show Bilbo his
way out. If Bilbo lost the riddle contest, then Gollum would
eat Bilbo. However, Gollum's plan was such that even if he lost,
he would use the ring to his advantage against Bilbo showing
him the way out of the cave. Gollum needed the advantage of
suprise that the "precious" ring of power could provide
because Bilbo was sporting "Sting" on his hilt. "Sting"
was an Elvish knife-sword, known and dreaded of by orcs for
it's distinctive blue glow and deadly accuracy. Though Gollum
was not an orc; but a very old, deformed, and wicked Hobbit
because of the evil rings' effect on his life, "Sting"
was a formidable foe that Gollum did not want to chance with...
Here
are the "Riddles in the Dark".
• What has roots as nobody sees, is taller than trees,
up, up it goes, and yet never grows?
•
Thirty white horses on a red hill, first they champ, then they
stamp, then they stand still.
• Voiceless it cries, wingless flutters, toothless bites,
mouthless mutters.
•
An eye in a blue face saw an eye in a green face. “That
eye is like to this eye,” said the first eye, “But
in a low place, not in a high place.”
• It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard,
cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, and empty
holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, ends life,
kills laughter.
• A box without hinges, key, or lid, yet golden treasure
inside is hid.
• Alive without breath, as cold as death; never thirsty,
ever drinking, all in mail never clinking.
• This thing devours all things: Birds, beasts, trees,
flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal:
Slays kings, ruins towns, and beats high mountains down.
•
Bilbo won the contest with this final riddle that Gollum could
not answer. Having to think quickly and out of riddles, Bilbo
remembers the ring he had found in the cave and put in his pocket.
"What is in my pocket?" Bilbo asks of Gollum. Though
Gollum argued it was not a fair riddle, Bilbo partialy conceded
and let Gollum have 3 guesses in return. Gollum guessed wrong
not knowing yet he had lost his "precious" ring of
power earlier in the cave out on a hunt for food. Gollum was
to keep his promise to Bilbo and show him the "Exit",
however not before he returned across his underground lake to
retrieve his "precious" ring for the journey. Realizing
then when he could not find his "precious", he now
figured the answer to what Bilbo's secret riddle was. Bilbo
had stolen Gollums precious so Gollum thought; and that's what
was in Bilbos pocket..."fithy hobbit, he stoles if from
us!"
Bilbo
alarmed by Gollums display of dismay and anger from loosing
something, departed alone into the caves dark paths before Gollum
returned. In fear of Gollum whom was in hot pursuit by now,
Bilbo put the ring on his finger in his escape from Gollum.
To Bilbos surprise he discovered one of the secrets of the ring
by realizing that Gollum could not see him when Bilbo surely
should have been dinner served in the cave. Eventually, Bilbo
snuck out around Gollum in a dive for the exit path, sparing
Gollum's life; as Bilbo could have slayed Gollum with "Sting",
but he spared Gollum's life instead out of pity.
The
ring of power now having transferd to a new owner, proved very
usefull to Bilbo in the rest of his adventure seaking out a
great treasure of Dwarfs hidden in a mountain and guarded by
the great dragon Smaug. Read the whole adventure for yourself...
Book
review and editorial is by,
Paul Marshall - Editor, Tourettes-Disorder.com
Buy
a copy of The
Hobbit and
read the book!
One
last riddle from The Hobbit
Here
is my favorite quote from The Hobbit. It is kind of a riddle
as Gandalf is trying to figure out Bilbo's demeanor.
Bilbo
- "Good Morning!"
Gandalf
- "What do you mean good morning? Do you wish me a good
morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it
or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a
morning to be good on?... Or, now you mean that you want to
get rid of me, and that it won't be good till I move off?"
-
The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien, Chapter 1
What's
in a Riddle?
"Having
Tourettes is kind of like a riddle. Tourette Syndrome can be
tough to understand and solve, however like a riddle, Tourette
Syndrome can be quite easy to accept once you understand it."
- Paul Marshall - Editor 
