OT: Extremely Tough Riddle Challenge

[ComboGuardCity]

Holy crap I figured it out! Well not me, I actually gave it to a linguistic professor to look at it and he deconstructed it to figure it out for me
Anyway, excellent riddle OP. I will wait to see if anyone else gets this before submitting what I believe is the answer.

You better just post it. It's been years.

[Starks]

Holy crap I figured it out! Well not me, I actually gave it to a linguistic professor to look at it and he deconstructed it to figure it out for me
Anyway, excellent riddle OP. I will wait to see if anyone else gets this before submitting what I believe is the answer.

I guess it's safe to say nobody's going to find the answer to a riddle that's been going on for 5 years. So just post the answer if you got it. But I call bluff.

[JohnStockton]

So a friend of mine told me a riddle that he said has been passed down in his family since WW2.

Facts: Both the OP AND His friend know "The Riddle."

Only one living person at a time in his family knows it, and when they are dying, they only tell it to one other member to carry it on.

Facts: This is a red herring. This information doesn't matter AT ALL.

He does not know the answer,

Facts: This is the part of the riddle that is trying to trick you into assuming something that will NOT be important will be. "He does not know the answer," is repeated here because it SHIFTS YOUR THINKING towards figuring out the answer TO THE RIDDLE. (You'll see why this is important next.)

and he bet me that I can't figure it out before he does.

Facts: This is THE TRICK. The "IT" in this sentence is not referring to "the answer," of the riddle.

The word "IT," in this sentence IS REFERRING TO THE RIDDLE ITSELF.

For example, the sentence here does not mean, "he bet me that I can't figure THE ANSWER out before he does,"

THE SENTENCE HERE MEANS," "he bet me that I can't figure THE RIDDLE out before he does."

So after this point, the OP SWITCHES the questionaire to the person solving the riddle, and now the OP is NOT ASKING FOR THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE, BUT ASKING WHAT THE RIDDLE IS.

He said I can ask anyone in the world that I want for help, so I figured I will take to the bright minds on this board.

The riddle is:

A man had a dollar. He spent 80 cents for a drum and 10 cents for 2 drumsticks. He gave a streetcar driver a dime to drive him 13 blocks. On the tenth block they kicked him out. Why?

Facts: And now the OP flat out TELLS YOU THE RIDDLE. (Aka: The answer to his question/The solution to the riddle.)

Hint: I tell you the answer every time I say the riddle.

Good luck guys. I look forward to your answers.

Facts: The translation here is, "I tell you the answer (WHICH IS THE RIDDLE ITSELF) every time I say the riddle." And the word, "Answers," is used twice at the end of this to throw you off. (To make you think you need to figure out the answer to the riddle INSTEAD of the actual answer.

So the answer to this riddle is the riddle. Or in literal terms, the answer to this riddle is: "A man had a dollar. He spent 80 cents for a drum and 10 cents for 2 drumsticks. He gave a streetcar driver a dime to drive him 13 blocks. On the tenth block they kicked him out. Why?"

BOOM! I just spent an hour thinking this out at 5AM.

[IMAN5]

lmao oh man I remember this thread. OP never gave the answer?

[nykballa2k4]

So a friend of mine told me a riddle that he said has been passed down in his family since WW2. Only one living person at a time in his family knows it, and when they are dying, they only tell it to one other member to carry it on. He does not know the answer, and he bet me that I can't figure it out before he does. He said I can ask anyone in the world that I want for help, so I figured I will take to the bright minds on this board.

The riddle is:

A man had a dollar. He spent 80 cents for a drum and 10 cents for 2 drumsticks. He gave a streetcar driver a dime to drive him 13 blocks. On the tenth block they kicked him out. Why?

Hint: I tell you the answer every time I say the riddle.


Good luck guys. I look forward to your answers.

A dime in that sentence doesn't refer to the coin. It's a woman (dimepiece). They kicked him out (meaning the woman and the streetcar driver) because the man was getting in the way..

I think I actually solved it...
On the tenth block, they kicked him out. (I feel like this was also proposed at one point)
A man had a dollar. He spent 80 cents on a drum and 10 cents for 2 drumsticks. The people on the tenth block kicked him out. He gave a street car a dime(his last dime) to drive him 13 blocks.

Okay I win

I still like my answer. To rephrase:

A man had a dollar.
He spent 80 cents for a drum and 10 cents for 2 drumsticks.
On the tenth block they kicked him out.
He gave a streetcar driver a dime to drive him 13 blocks.

[WinisKing]

So a friend of mine told me a riddle that he said has been passed down in his family since WW2.

Facts: Both the OP AND His friend know "The Riddle."

Only one living person at a time in his family knows it, and when they are dying, they only tell it to one other member to carry it on.

Facts: This is a red herring. This information doesn't matter AT ALL.

He does not know the answer,

Facts: This is the part of the riddle that is trying to trick you into assuming something that will NOT be important will be. "He does not know the answer," is repeated here because it SHIFTS YOUR THINKING towards figuring out the answer TO THE RIDDLE. (You'll see why this is important next.)

and he bet me that I can't figure it out before he does.

Facts: This is THE TRICK. The "IT" in this sentence is not referring to "the answer," of the riddle.

The word "IT," in this sentence IS REFERRING TO THE RIDDLE ITSELF.

For example, the sentence here does not mean, "he bet me that I can't figure THE ANSWER out before he does,"

THE SENTENCE HERE MEANS," "he bet me that I can't figure THE RIDDLE out before he does."

So after this point, the OP SWITCHES the questionaire to the person solving the riddle, and now the OP is NOT ASKING FOR THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE, BUT ASKING WHAT THE RIDDLE IS.

He said I can ask anyone in the world that I want for help, so I figured I will take to the bright minds on this board.

The riddle is:

A man had a dollar. He spent 80 cents for a drum and 10 cents for 2 drumsticks. He gave a streetcar driver a dime to drive him 13 blocks. On the tenth block they kicked him out. Why?

Facts: And now the OP flat out TELLS YOU THE RIDDLE. (Aka: The answer to his question/The solution to the riddle.)

Hint: I tell you the answer every time I say the riddle.

Good luck guys. I look forward to your answers.

Facts: The translation here is, "I tell you the answer (WHICH IS THE RIDDLE ITSELF) every time I say the riddle." And the word, "Answers," is used twice at the end of this to throw you off. (To make you think you need to figure out the answer to the riddle INSTEAD of the actual answer.

So the answer to this riddle is the riddle. Or in literal terms, the answer to this riddle is: "A man had a dollar. He spent 80 cents for a drum and 10 cents for 2 drumsticks. He gave a streetcar driver a dime to drive him 13 blocks. On the tenth block they kicked him out. Why?"

BOOM! I just spent an hour thinking this out at 5AM.

After 20 pages in, this line of thinking is also I've been following along

[DE FENSE]

Just wanted to drop by and say I hate this thread and I hate this "riddle."

Carry on.

[Knicksfan20]

So a friend of mine told me a riddle that he said has been passed down in his family since WW2.

Facts: Both the OP AND His friend know "The Riddle."

Only one living person at a time in his family knows it, and when they are dying, they only tell it to one other member to carry it on.

Facts: This is a red herring. This information doesn't matter AT ALL.

He does not know the answer,

Facts: This is the part of the riddle that is trying to trick you into assuming something that will NOT be important will be. "He does not know the answer," is repeated here because it SHIFTS YOUR THINKING towards figuring out the answer TO THE RIDDLE. (You'll see why this is important next.)

and he bet me that I can't figure it out before he does.

Facts: This is THE TRICK. The "IT" in this sentence is not referring to "the answer," of the riddle.

The word "IT," in this sentence IS REFERRING TO THE RIDDLE ITSELF.

For example, the sentence here does not mean, "he bet me that I can't figure THE ANSWER out before he does,"

THE SENTENCE HERE MEANS," "he bet me that I can't figure THE RIDDLE out before he does."

So after this point, the OP SWITCHES the questionaire to the person solving the riddle, and now the OP is NOT ASKING FOR THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE, BUT ASKING WHAT THE RIDDLE IS.

He said I can ask anyone in the world that I want for help, so I figured I will take to the bright minds on this board.

The riddle is:

A man had a dollar. He spent 80 cents for a drum and 10 cents for 2 drumsticks. He gave a streetcar driver a dime to drive him 13 blocks. On the tenth block they kicked him out. Why?

Facts: And now the OP flat out TELLS YOU THE RIDDLE. (Aka: The answer to his question/The solution to the riddle.)

Hint: I tell you the answer every time I say the riddle.

Good luck guys. I look forward to your answers.

Facts: The translation here is, "I tell you the answer (WHICH IS THE RIDDLE ITSELF) every time I say the riddle." And the word, "Answers," is used twice at the end of this to throw you off. (To make you think you need to figure out the answer to the riddle INSTEAD of the actual answer.

So the answer to this riddle is the riddle. Or in literal terms, the answer to this riddle is: "A man had a dollar. He spent 80 cents for a drum and 10 cents for 2 drumsticks. He gave a streetcar driver a dime to drive him 13 blocks. On the tenth block they kicked him out. Why?"

BOOM! I just spent an hour thinking this out at 5AM.

Feel bad that you stayed up til 5 am in the morning. You could have just read 1 page ago and seen i said the same thing you said and saved you the headache lol.

I think we are both right on this.

[Greenie]

The drum was a kick drum.

[ORANGEandBLUE]

So a friend of mine told me a riddle that he said has been passed down in his family since WW2.

Facts: Both the OP AND His friend know "The Riddle."

Only one living person at a time in his family knows it, and when they are dying, they only tell it to one other member to carry it on.

Facts: This is a red herring. This information doesn't matter AT ALL.

He does not know the answer,

Facts: This is the part of the riddle that is trying to trick you into assuming something that will NOT be important will be. "He does not know the answer," is repeated here because it SHIFTS YOUR THINKING towards figuring out the answer TO THE RIDDLE. (You'll see why this is important next.)

and he bet me that I can't figure it out before he does.

Facts: This is THE TRICK. The "IT" in this sentence is not referring to "the answer," of the riddle.

The word "IT," in this sentence IS REFERRING TO THE RIDDLE ITSELF.

For example, the sentence here does not mean, "he bet me that I can't figure THE ANSWER out before he does,"

THE SENTENCE HERE MEANS," "he bet me that I can't figure THE RIDDLE out before he does."

So after this point, the OP SWITCHES the questionaire to the person solving the riddle, and now the OP is NOT ASKING FOR THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE, BUT ASKING WHAT THE RIDDLE IS.

He said I can ask anyone in the world that I want for help, so I figured I will take to the bright minds on this board.

The riddle is:

A man had a dollar. He spent 80 cents for a drum and 10 cents for 2 drumsticks. He gave a streetcar driver a dime to drive him 13 blocks. On the tenth block they kicked him out. Why?

Facts: And now the OP flat out TELLS YOU THE RIDDLE. (Aka: The answer to his question/The solution to the riddle.)

Hint: I tell you the answer every time I say the riddle.

Good luck guys. I look forward to your answers.

Facts: The translation here is, "I tell you the answer (WHICH IS THE RIDDLE ITSELF) every time I say the riddle." And the word, "Answers," is used twice at the end of this to throw you off. (To make you think you need to figure out the answer to the riddle INSTEAD of the actual answer.

So the answer to this riddle is the riddle. Or in literal terms, the answer to this riddle is: "A man had a dollar. He spent 80 cents for a drum and 10 cents for 2 drumsticks. He gave a streetcar driver a dime to drive him 13 blocks. On the tenth block they kicked him out. Why?"

BOOM! I just spent an hour thinking this out at 5AM.

If the riddle depends on how GONYK phrased in the introduction, does that mean he actually does know that this is the answer? Based on the OP, it seemed like the only part he phrased deliberately was the riddle itself.

[Sprewell4Three]

When is the guy going to give the answer

Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

[ravenhaven]

The only answer that makes sense given the parameters (the answer being within the riddle itself) is this, and I'm sure somewhere in the last two years someone has probably proposed it:

End of the line - Shift change and a new driver.

He paid a dime to the first driver. Either, as the the riddle says, they kicked him out, implying the new driver arrived and they both said end of the line buddy you go no further. Or,

Nowhere does it say the driver gave him a ticket in retun\rn for the dime. New driver says where is your ticket? GETT OFF MY TRAIN

Otherwise I'm going to go ahead and call shenanigans. OP was a shenaniganiser...

[Greenie]

He started playing his drum by the 10th block. He got "kicked off"...
Ever hear of "lets get this kicked off"?

[K_ick_God]

One ordinary day in Hoops Oz, Earl “J.R.” Smith is blithely dribbling up Centercourt Way which comes to an end at a fork in the road.

He knows that RealGM City, where the Wizard will grant him everlasting basketball I.Q., is at the end of one of the two roads at the fork: Pick Boulevard or Roll Street. But, as is his tendency, J.R. forgot his map at home.

Just before the fork, he sees two identical twin munchkins -- Jeremy & Julius -- and J.R. thinks maybe they can point him in the right direction.

At that moment, the Good Witch of Knicks Nation appears and tells J.R. only the following:

One of the two twins always tells the truth and the other twin always tells a lie, without exception. But J.R. does not know which twin is the truth-teller and which twin is the liar and the Good Witch does not tell him.

J.R. can ask one and the same question to both of the twins and they will each answer that one, same question. He can ask only this one question. There are no other restrictions on what J.R. can ask.

The Good Witch assures J.R. that he can pose a question that will reveal the right road to take. Then the Good Witch disappears.

What question should J.R. ask the twin munchkins to find his way to RealGM City? Hint: This is a matter of pure logic and not a trick question that seizes on an easily overlooked detail.

I can post the answer as a Spoiler later today. If you have a quick and serious answer (rather than jokes which are welcome too!), you can post it as a Spoiler.

[Buggin Out]

One ordinary day in Hoops Oz, Earl “J.R.” Smith is blithely dribbling up Centercourt Way which comes to an end at a fork in the road.

He knows that RealGM City, where the Wizard will grant him everlasting basketball I.Q., is at the end of one of the two roads at the fork: Pick Boulevard or Roll Street. But, as is his tendency, J.R. forgot his map at home.

Just before the fork, he sees two identical twin munchkins -- Jeremy & Julius -- and J.R. thinks maybe they can point him in the right direction.

At that moment, the Good Witch of Knicks Nation appears and tells J.R. only the following:

One of the two twins always tells the truth and the other twin always tells a lie, without exception. But J.R. does not know which twin is the truth-teller and which twin is the liar and the Good Witch does not tell him.

J.R. can ask one and the same question to both of the twins and they will each answer that one, same question. He can only ask this one question. There are no other restrictions on what J.R. can ask.

The Good Witch assures J.R. that he can pose a question that will reveal the right road to take. Then the Good Witch disappears.

What question should J.R. ask the twin munchkins to find his way to RealGM City? Hint: This is a matter of logic and not a trick question that seizes on an easily overlooked detail.

I can post the answer as a Spoiler later today. If you have a quick and serious answer (rather than jokes which are welcome too!), you can post it as a Spoiler.

Spoiler:

J.R., being the intelligent individual that he is, asks the twins each the following question:

Which road would your brother say is the path to RealGM City?

The twin that tells the truth, knowing his brother will lie, will tell JR the wrong path since that is what the other twin would say

The twin that tells lies, knowing his brother will give JR the right path, will lie and give JR the wrong path as the twin will always lie.

Then all JR has to do is follow the path opposite from what the two brothers told him and he will be on his way to Real GM city to get a brain from the wizard

[K_ick_God]

One ordinary day in Hoops Oz, Earl “J.R.” Smith is blithely dribbling up Centercourt Way which comes to an end at a fork in the road.

He knows that RealGM City, where the Wizard will grant him everlasting basketball I.Q., is at the end of one of the two roads at the fork: Pick Boulevard or Roll Street. But, as is his tendency, J.R. forgot his map at home.

Just before the fork, he sees two identical twin munchkins -- Jeremy & Julius -- and J.R. thinks maybe they can point him in the right direction.

At that moment, the Good Witch of Knicks Nation appears and tells J.R. only the following:

One of the two twins always tells the truth and the other twin always tells a lie, without exception. But J.R. does not know which twin is the truth-teller and which twin is the liar and the Good Witch does not tell him.

J.R. can ask one and the same question to both of the twins and they will each answer that one, same question. He can only ask this one question. There are no other restrictions on what J.R. can ask.

The Good Witch assures J.R. that he can pose a question that will reveal the right road to take. Then the Good Witch disappears.

What question should J.R. ask the twin munchkins to find his way to RealGM City? Hint: This is a matter of logic and not a trick question that seizes on an easily overlooked detail.

I can post the answer as a Spoiler later today. If you have a quick and serious answer (rather than jokes which are welcome too!), you can post it as a Spoiler.

Spoiler:

J.R., being the intelligent individual that he is, asks the twins each the following question:

Which road would your brother say is the path to RealGM City?

The twin that tells the truth, knowing his brother will lie, will tell JR the wrong path since that is what the other twin would say

The twin that tells lies, knowing his brother will give JR the right path, will lie and give JR the wrong path as the twin will always lie.

Then all JR has to do is follow the path opposite from what the two brothers told him and he will be on his way to Real GM city to get a brain from the wizard

Spoiler:

Bingo. Heard it before or really got it?

[nykballa2k4]

One ordinary day in Hoops Oz, Earl “J.R.” Smith is blithely dribbling up Centercourt Way which comes to an end at a fork in the road.

He knows that RealGM City, where the Wizard will grant him everlasting basketball I.Q., is at the end of one of the two roads at the fork: Pick Boulevard or Roll Street. But, as is his tendency, J.R. forgot his map at home.

Just before the fork, he sees two identical twin munchkins -- Jeremy & Julius -- and J.R. thinks maybe they can point him in the right direction.

At that moment, the Good Witch of Knicks Nation appears and tells J.R. only the following:

One of the two twins always tells the truth and the other twin always tells a lie, without exception. But J.R. does not know which twin is the truth-teller and which twin is the liar and the Good Witch does not tell him.

J.R. can ask one and the same question to both of the twins and they will each answer that one, same question. He can ask only this one question. There are no other restrictions on what J.R. can ask.

The Good Witch assures J.R. that he can pose a question that will reveal the right road to take. Then the Good Witch disappears.

What question should J.R. ask the twin munchkins to find his way to RealGM City? Hint: This is a matter of pure logic and not a trick question that seizes on an easily overlooked detail.

I can post the answer as a Spoiler later today. If you have a quick and serious answer (rather than jokes which are welcome too!), you can post it as a Spoiler.

Spoiler:

You ask both J's "which road would your twin tell me to take to get the IQ I seek"

the lying twin, knowing his twin will tell the true route to take, will give the wrong route
the honest twin will know the other would advise the wrong route, so would also tell the wrong route
JR should take whichever is opposite of what both say

[thebuzzardman]

One ordinary day in Hoops Oz, Earl “J.R.” Smith is blithely dribbling up Centercourt Way which comes to an end at a fork in the road.

He knows that RealGM City, where the Wizard will grant him everlasting basketball I.Q., is at the end of one of the two roads at the fork: Pick Boulevard or Roll Street. But, as is his tendency, J.R. forgot his map at home.

Just before the fork, he sees two identical twin munchkins -- Jeremy & Julius -- and J.R. thinks maybe they can point him in the right direction.

At that moment, the Good Witch of Knicks Nation appears and tells J.R. only the following:

One of the two twins always tells the truth and the other twin always tells a lie, without exception. But J.R. does not know which twin is the truth-teller and which twin is the liar and the Good Witch does not tell him.

J.R. can ask one and the same question to both of the twins and they will each answer that one, same question. He can ask only this one question. There are no other restrictions on what J.R. can ask.

The Good Witch assures J.R. that he can pose a question that will reveal the right road to take. Then the Good Witch disappears.

What question should J.R. ask the twin munchkins to find his way to RealGM City? Hint: This is a matter of pure logic and not a trick question that seizes on an easily overlooked detail.

I can post the answer as a Spoiler later today. If you have a quick and serious answer (rather than jokes which are welcome too!), you can post it as a Spoiler.

JR winds up asking the twins where he can get some blow instead and winds up with the same sh*t bball IQ as before

[K_ick_God]

One ordinary day in Hoops Oz, Earl “J.R.” Smith is blithely dribbling up Centercourt Way which comes to an end at a fork in the road.

He knows that RealGM City, where the Wizard will grant him everlasting basketball I.Q., is at the end of one of the two roads at the fork: Pick Boulevard or Roll Street. But, as is his tendency, J.R. forgot his map at home.

Just before the fork, he sees two identical twin munchkins -- Jeremy & Julius -- and J.R. thinks maybe they can point him in the right direction.

At that moment, the Good Witch of Knicks Nation appears and tells J.R. only the following:

One of the two twins always tells the truth and the other twin always tells a lie, without exception. But J.R. does not know which twin is the truth-teller and which twin is the liar and the Good Witch does not tell him.

J.R. can ask one and the same question to both of the twins and they will each answer that one, same question. He can ask only this one question. There are no other restrictions on what J.R. can ask.

The Good Witch assures J.R. that he can pose a question that will reveal the right road to take. Then the Good Witch disappears.

What question should J.R. ask the twin munchkins to find his way to RealGM City? Hint: This is a matter of pure logic and not a trick question that seizes on an easily overlooked detail.

I can post the answer as a Spoiler later today. If you have a quick and serious answer (rather than jokes which are welcome too!), you can post it as a Spoiler.

Spoiler:

You ask both J's "which road would your twin tell me to take to get the IQ I seek"

the lying twin, knowing his twin will tell the true route to take, will give the wrong route
the honest twin will know the other would advise the wrong route, so would also tell the wrong route
JR should take whichever is opposite of what both say

Spoiler:

You got it. Good job.

[yaboynyp]

So a friend of mine told me a riddle that he said has been passed down in his family since WW2.

Facts: Both the OP AND His friend know "The Riddle."

Only one living person at a time in his family knows it, and when they are dying, they only tell it to one other member to carry it on.

Facts: This is a red herring. This information doesn't matter AT ALL.

He does not know the answer,

Facts: This is the part of the riddle that is trying to trick you into assuming something that will NOT be important will be. "He does not know the answer," is repeated here because it SHIFTS YOUR THINKING towards figuring out the answer TO THE RIDDLE. (You'll see why this is important next.)

and he bet me that I can't figure it out before he does.

Facts: This is THE TRICK. The "IT" in this sentence is not referring to "the answer," of the riddle.

The word "IT," in this sentence IS REFERRING TO THE RIDDLE ITSELF.

For example, the sentence here does not mean, "he bet me that I can't figure THE ANSWER out before he does,"

THE SENTENCE HERE MEANS," "he bet me that I can't figure THE RIDDLE out before he does."

So after this point, the OP SWITCHES the questionaire to the person solving the riddle, and now the OP is NOT ASKING FOR THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE, BUT ASKING WHAT THE RIDDLE IS.

He said I can ask anyone in the world that I want for help, so I figured I will take to the bright minds on this board.

The riddle is:

A man had a dollar. He spent 80 cents for a drum and 10 cents for 2 drumsticks. He gave a streetcar driver a dime to drive him 13 blocks. On the tenth block they kicked him out. Why?

Facts: And now the OP flat out TELLS YOU THE RIDDLE. (Aka: The answer to his question/The solution to the riddle.)

Hint: I tell you the answer every time I say the riddle.

Good luck guys. I look forward to your answers.

Facts: The translation here is, "I tell you the answer (WHICH IS THE RIDDLE ITSELF) every time I say the riddle." And the word, "Answers," is used twice at the end of this to throw you off. (To make you think you need to figure out the answer to the riddle INSTEAD of the actual answer.

So the answer to this riddle is the riddle. Or in literal terms, the answer to this riddle is: "A man had a dollar. He spent 80 cents for a drum and 10 cents for 2 drumsticks. He gave a streetcar driver a dime to drive him 13 blocks. On the tenth block they kicked him out. Why?"

BOOM! I just spent an hour thinking this out at 5AM.

Sounds legit…