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Riddles for kids are widely considered to be not only entertaining but also a great learning opportunity. However, when it comes to riddles for adults, their developmental value is often overlooked.

A riddle can be defined as a verbal puzzle that is presented in the form of a question or a statement. Usually, the answer lies in the double meaning of certain words, different interpretations, or your ability to think unconventionally. It has been proven through research that puzzles of all sorts are very beneficial for the brain at any age, as they help us keep an agile mind, exercise critical thinking, and stay sharp. 

Of course, adult brain teasers tend to be more complex because the life experience we’ve accumulated while growing up enables us to see hidden layers that will help solve the riddle. And while some easy riddles exist more for fun than to exercise your brain cells, there are some hard riddles too that will take quite some thinking before you can find the answer. 

We have collected some riddles of various levels of difficulty. Try solving them all yourself before peeking at the answers. You could even hold a riddle game with your friends and see who can solve the most riddles.

#1

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?

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Garth Bock
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If Silence is Golden... I'd be a rich man if my partner would let me get a word in edgewise !

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#2

What can you put in a bucket to make it weigh less?

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#3

The person who made it doesn’t need it. The person who bought it doesn’t want it. The person who needs it doesn’t know it. What is it?

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Garth Bock
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why is a cemetery so noisy ? Because of all the coffin . ( "coughing" Dad joke)

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#4

I weaken all men for hours each day. I show you strange visions while you are away. I take you by night, by day take you back, None suffer to have me, but do from my lack. What am I?

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#5

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults What word is pronounced the same if you take away four of its five letters?

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#7

What is one thing that all people, regardless of their politics or religion, have to agree is between heaven and earth?

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#8

I do not speak, cannot hear or say anything, but I will always tell the truth. What am I?

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Garth Bock
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Mirror mirror on the wall.. tell me a lie so you won't fall. Broken pieces will be your fate. So tell me how I look so great !

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#9

What starts with T, ends with T, and has T in it?

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C.M.
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't drink tea, but doesn't a teapot typically only have water in it?

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#11

Turn me on my side, and I am everything. Cut me in half and I am nothing. What am I?

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#12

You walk into a room with a rabbit holding a carrot, a pig eating slop, and a chimp holding a banana. Which animal in the room is the smartest?

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#15

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults A plane crashed on the border of Spain and Portugal. Where were the survivors buried?

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#17

If your uncle’s sister is not your aunt, then who is she to you?

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#21

Two people are born at the same moment, but they don't have the same birthdays. How?

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#22

I have only two words but thousands of letters. What am I?

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#23

You can you hold me in your right hand, but never in your left hand. What am I?

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#25

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults What breaks yet never falls, and what falls yet never breaks?

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C.M.
Community Member
2 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

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#26

What has 13 hearts but no other organs?

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#28

What word contains 26 letters, but has only three syllables?

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Garth Bock
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious came in second before Superciliouspontification and the town in Wales . Llanfairpwllgwyngllgogerychwyrndrobwlllantysiligogogoch .

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#31

I have many keys, but I can't open a single lock. What am I?

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#33

What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?

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#34

They come out at night without being called, and are lost in the day without being stolen. What are they?

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#35

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults I have keys, but no locks. I have space, but no room. You can enter, but you cannot go outside. What am I?

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#37

You see a boat filled with people, yet there isn't a single person on board. How is that possible?

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#39

I can be hot or cold. I can run and be still. I can be hard and soft. What am I?

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#42

A king, queen and two twins all lay in a large room. How are there no adults in the room?

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Yet Another Thomas Moore
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The king and queen are older children, like 16, and the twins are one of their younger siblings.

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#43

I don't have eyes, but once I did see. Once I had thoughts, but now I'm white and empty. What am I?

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#44

What do the letter "t" and an island have in common?

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#45

The more of them you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?

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C.M.
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pretty sure you leave footprints behind, not footsteps.

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#46

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults A man was just doing his job when his suit was torn. He died a few minutes later. Why?

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Valentin Marinov
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I thought it is a matter of seconds to die in open space. My whole life's been a lie!

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#47

What is the difference between a jeweler and a jailer?

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#48

I can break, I can get clogged, I can be attacked, I can be given, I can be kept, I can be crushed, yet I can be whole at the same time. What am I?

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#49

What do you throw out when you want to use it, but take in when you don’t want to use it?

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#50

What's lighter than a feather, but impossible to hold for much more than a minute?

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#52

My head is red, but if you scratch me it’s getting black. What am I?

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#53

I am a hunter, but I don’t have a rifle, I lay net but I am not a fisherman. What am I?

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#55

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults What type of cheese is made backward?

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Garth Bock
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This Gouda been better... but Cheddar jokes are coming and I'll Brie back.

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#56

I am an odd number. Take away just one letter and I become even. What number am I?

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#57

If an electric train is traveling south, then which way is the smoke going?

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Jrdiver
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If there's smoke, you have a bigger problem... It's letting out the magic smoke again....

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#58

I have four wings, but cannot fly, I never laugh and never cry; On the same spot I'm always found, toiling away with little sound. What am I?

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C.M.
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've never heard the word wings used to refer to the blades of a windmill.

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#59

Thirty white horses on a red hill, First they champ, Then they stamp, Then they stand still. 

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#60

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults I have cities, but not houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have coasts, but no sand. What am I? 

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#61

What do you tell yourself when you wake up late for work and realize you have a fever? 

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#62

Which is heavier: a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers?

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#63

Two mums and two daughters went out for dinner and each ate one portion. Only three portions were eaten in total, how is this possible?

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#64

Who has married many people, but has never been married himself?

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Esther Pujols
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Depends what kind of priest. And even then doesn’t really make sense. Some catholic priests have been married before they become priests.

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#65

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?

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#66

When it is alive we sing, when it is dead we clap our hands. What is it?

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#67

What can’t be burned during a fire not either drowned in water?

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#68

I have words, but I never speak. What am I?

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#69

I begin with an "E" and contain just one letter. What am I? 

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#70

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults The answer I give is “yes”, but what I mean is “no”. What was the question?

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#71

Where is the only place where today comes before yesterday?

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#72

Some say I put doctors out of business. Sometimes I am sour. Other times, I am sweet. You can eat me, and you can drink me. What am I?

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#73

Sam's dad has 3 daughters. Two are named Stephanie and Amanda. What's the name of the third daughter?

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#74

How do you know that Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are about to get married?

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#75

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults Why did the invisible man turn down a job offer?

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#76

Lovely and round, I'm shimmery white, grown in the darkness, a lady's delight. What am I?

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#85

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults What do you bury when it's alive and dig up when it's dead?

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#86

A man goes outside in the rain without an umbrella or hat, but doesn't get a single hair on his head wet. How?

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#87

Often held, but never touched, Always wet, but never rusts, Often bites, but seldom bit, To use me well you must have wit. What am I? 

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WordiGirl
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Never touched? You're touching it with the rest of your mouth, right?

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#88

The day before yesterday I was 21, and next year I will be 24. When is my birthday?

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WordiGirl
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My brother's birthday is at the end of December, so when it gets late in the year, he likes to say, "I'm 19 but I'll be 21 next year" etc and people stop and think for a while before he tells them the reason 😜

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#89

If you are running a race and pass the person in second, then what place are you in?

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#90

If the day before yesterday was the 23rd, then what will be the day after tomorrow?

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#93

There are two in a corner, one in a room, zero in a house, but one in a shelter. What is it?

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#94

Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it, you will die. What is it?

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#95

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults You walk into a room that contains a match, a kerosene lamp, a candle and a fireplace. What should you light first?

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#97

What goes all around the world, but stays in a corner?

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#98

A man rode into town on Tuesday and left a few days later on Tuesday. How is that possible?

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#100

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults A man and his boss have the same parents, but they are not siblings. How is this possible?

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#101

A man is preparing for a business trip. He stops by his office on the way to the airport. The night watchman stops him before he leaves and asks him not to get on the flight. He explains he had a dream the plane crashed and everyone on board died. The man does cancel his trip. And sure enough, the plane does crash, killing everyone on board. He gave the watchman a few thousand dollars for saving his life and then fired him. Why? 

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#102

When my dad was 31, I was just 8 years old. Now his age is twice as old as my age. What is my current age?

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#103

It is 9 a.m. now. Josephine studies for 2 hours, takes a bath for 1 hour and then has lunch for 1 hour. How many hours are left before 9 a.m. tomorrow?

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#104

There is an empty basket that is one foot in diameter. What is the total number of eggs that you can put in this empty basket?

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#105

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults What is the smallest number that increases by 12 when it is flipped and turned upside-down?

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#106

I am a three-digit number. My tens digit is five more than my ones digit. My hundreds digit is eight less than my tens digit. What number am I?

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#107

When someone asks Michael how old he is, he replies, "In two years I will be twice as old as I used to be five years ago." How old is he?

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#109

What do you call two Italian ants in love?

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#110

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults Why did the banker break up with his girlfriend?

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#111

I am present at the beginning of love; the start of life and I am the end of evil. What am I?

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#112

Most of the time, my color is red, I am beautiful, and everyone loves me, especially ladies. Sometimes I can hurt you. I don't mean it, I am sorry. What am I?

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#113

I am a nine-lettered word and rhyme with perfection. People use me as another name for love. What am I?

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#117

What comes at the end of everything?

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#120

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults What runs around a whole yard without moving?

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#121

What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs?

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#122

What's always found on the ground, but never gets dirty?

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#125

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults What's always running, but never gets hot?

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#126

What do you see once in June, twice in November, and not at all in May?

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#127

A mother and father have four daughters, and each daughter has one brother. How many people are in the family?

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#128

A man looks at a painting in a museum and says, "Brothers and sisters I have none, but that man’s father is my father’s son." Who is in the painting?

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#129

My life is often a volume of grief, your help is needed to turn a new leaf. Stiff is my spine and my body is pale, but I'm always ready to tell a tale. What am I?

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#130

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults How can you drop a raw egg on the concrete floor without cracking it?

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#131

I can't be bought, but I can be stolen with a glance. I'm worthless to one, but priceless to two. What am I?

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#133

What has roots that no one sees and rises much higher than trees? Yet does not grow. What is it?

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#134

When you hear about me, I deserve everything. When you find out who am I, I am nothing. Who am I?

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#135

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults Alexa has four daughters, and each one has a brother. How many children does she have in total?

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Žydrūnė Trukanavičiūtė
BoredPanda Staff
Verified
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Answer: Five children — all four daughters have the same brother.

#136

How many bananas can you eat if your stomach is empty?

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#137

If it takes 5 elves, 5 minutes to make 5 dolls, then how long will it take 100 elves to make 100 dolls?

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#138

What can you find in a cupboard that can never be put in a saucepan?

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#139

Whoever makes it doesn't tell. Whoever takes it doesn't know. Whoever knows it doesn't want. What is it?

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#140

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults I don’t have eyes, ears, nose and tongue, but I can see, smell, hear and taste everything. What am I?

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WordiGirl
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

uhhh ...a brain can only do these things BECAUSE of the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue attached to it... 🙄

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#142

Thousands lay up gold within this house, but no man made it. Spears past counting guard this house, but no man wards it. What is it? 

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#143

Tease Your Brain With These Fun Riddles For Adults What has four fingers and a thumb, but isn't alive?

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