15 Riddles That Can Put Your Brain in Gear

Riddles are as old as language itself. Humans have always entertained the idea of defying the powers of the mind using enigmas to challenge others to find a solution. These shrewd or witty questions help to keep our brains sharp. They also tell us about how we interpret words and the way our minds work.

Bright Side wants you to get ready to shift your brain to fifth gear and solve these tricky riddles.

1. How did the police detective figure out the artist was lying?

An artist needed money, so he decided to sell an expensive painting from a seventeenth-century painter. The man who bought the painting showed it to a friend, who was a police detective. The detective discovered that the artist had painted it himself. How did he figure it out?

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5. Why is this man guilty?

A man went to the police station and explained that when he was hitch-hiking, a car stopped and the driver asked him to check if a tire was flat. The hitch-hiker bent down to look when the driver hit him on the head and stole his backpack. He only remembered a few details about the man and his car.

The police found the suspect, who worked in a cafe. The man explained that he had changed the tires 2 weeks ago and the car had been parked near the cafe during that time. The detective realized that the man was lying right away. How?

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9. Why is Mr. Jones’s nephew guilty?

A man on a motorbike broke into Mr. Jones’s home, stole the money from the safe, and drove away. Mr. Jones told the police that he was sure it had been his nephew. The police drove in the heavy downpour to the suspect’s home, who claimed he hadn’t been outside since the day before. The officers immediately arrested him. Why?

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13. What’s the flaw in this man’s alibi?

Someone broke into Mr. Smith’s hotel room at around 6 a.m. and stole an expensive wristwatch. The hotel owner told the police that, unfortunately, there had been a heavy snowfall early in the morning and it had destroyed all the evidence.

Suddenly, one of the police officers spotted an infamous criminal who had recently been released from jail. The man denied being at the hotel at that time, and claimed, “I only came here half an hour ago!” The police officers arrested him on the spot. Why?

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How long did it take you to solve these? Were you misled by any of these ingenious questions? Did you like any of them in particular?