Be honest, how many times have you been stuck in a car playing the alphabet game with your family or friends?
Sure, it’s fun the first few rounds, but once you pass “m,” the game becomes a vicious race to the finish line. Who saw what word first? Who’s going to call out the cheater? What do you do when everyone gets pouty over losing?
See, the alphabet game was my favorite as a kid. Long car rides became a vocabulary “I spy” competition (my apologies to those who left their glasses back at home), but over time the game started to lose its appeal. That’s when my mom decided to bring out her riddle book:
Grandma likes cookies, but she doesn’t like milk. She likes puppies, but she doesn’t like dogs. She likes kittens, but she doesn’t like cats. What does Grandma like?
Riddles stump us. They challenge us. They make us giddy when we finally figure out the answer. I thought I would leave my riddles behind when I left for college, but the truth is riddles have been my best ice-breaker since arriving at Boston University. Whenever I’m sitting in a group of strangers or waiting with my friends, I bust out a riddle.
Jack and Judy were lying on the floor dead. There was a puddle of water and broken glass on the floor. How did they die?
This year, my New Year’s resolution is to challenge myself intellectually; I want to sharpen my brain in a new and exciting way. As you can probably guess, I do so by figuring out the answer to a riddle everyday. Do I always guess correctly? No, but I have a ton of fun trying.
I wanted to share this because riddles are often overlooked. Don’t underestimate the power of a good brain-teaser. It’s the crowd pleaser that keeps on giving. Here’s a little riddle relevant to BU. See if you can figure it out; the answers to all three are below. No peeking!
BToEsRtRoInE!R
Happy riddling,
CA Malaika
(from top to bottom) Grandma likes things with double letters, Jack and Judy were goldfish; they dies because their bowl broke, Terrier in Boston!
