Saturday, May 2, 2009

Can You Guess the Riddle?

I received this riddle via e-mail the other day. It was written by Paul Harvey. When asked this riddle, 80% of Kindergarten kids got the answer, compared to 17% of Stanford University seniors. Here it is:

What is greater than God, More evil than the devil, The poor have it, The rich need it, And if you eat it, you'll die?

P.S. If you are having trouble thinking of the answer to this riddle, just press the "Shift" key and you will get the answer.

P.S.S. I actually got this right (before I pressed the "Shift" key). So, I guess I rank right up there with the Kindergarten kids.

5 comments:

~Rain``` said...

You had me stumped for a bit. I was super analysing it and then I said the answer to myself accidently to address the first part of the riddle. I ended up laughing because the answer fit all the other clues. My husband was stumped. "I can't get past the first two premises," he said. Then I said, "Well, what would be the logical answer to both?" He couldn't figure it out. When I told him the answer, he replied, "I don't think that is totally true about the poor." Point well taken. Nonetheless, I can see why kindergarten kids get it. They do not complicate the issue.

Kimmy said...

Yes, I also agree about the poor. I hadn't really thought about it, but he's right.

Lovella said...

I'm pretty sure I figured out the right answer but nothing happened when I pressed the "shift" key. Now I'm frustrated!

Kimmy said...

Oh boy, Lovella. You already know the answer and I don't think you realize it. I'll post the answer later tonight.

Becky said...

LOL @ Lovella's comment. Too funny.