[For Seniors] Liven Things Up with Trick Riddles You Answer!

5 pieces

We tend to think, “There are 5 left,” because we took 5 out of 20 candies. However, the question is asking for the number of candies you are holding. You have 5 candies in your hand. It seems the key is to think about the problem calmly.

3 people

It looks like a subtraction problem in arithmetic, but it’s actually a clever trick question. Since there are eight people total playing hide-and-seek, that includes the seeker. The four children who were found plus the child who is “it” makes five. Subtracting five from eight leaves three—that’s the number of children who still haven’t been found.

Aomori Prefecture

When you picture the Japanese archipelago, Hokkaido sits at the northern end, right? You might be tempted to answer that the northernmost is Hokkaido, but the question asks for the northernmost prefecture. The northernmost prefecture is Aomori. By the way, the northernmost point of Honshu is Oma Town, which is famous for its tuna.

hospital

It has long been said that “a cold is the root of all illness.” If a cold gets worse, it becomes a riddle that makes you think of “a more serious disease.” Once you know the answer is “to go to the hospital,” you can think, “Ah, that makes sense.” The word “kakatta” (to consult/visit a doctor) is the key keyword for answering.

six pieces

Even when you know the answer, it still feels puzzling, doesn’t it? This is a wordplay riddle where the key is the phrase “ato wa nan-bon.” Here, “ato wa” isn’t asking about “how many radishes are left,” but rather about the number of “marks (ato)” left after pulling the radishes. The answer is: there are six marks where radishes were pulled out. It’s a trick question with a slightly mean twist.

Grandfather and grandmother

In most versions of the Momotaro story, the companions join in the order of the dog, the monkey, and the pheasant. Hearing the question, you might be tempted to answer “the dog,” but that’s incorrect. When Momotaro is born from the peach, the first people he meets are the old man and the old woman. By the way, it’s said that the three animals come from the zodiac signs positioned opposite the kimon (the demon gate) direction.

same

It feels like a question that tests your knowledge of slopes. However, the number of uphill and downhill sections is the same. “Uphill” and “downhill” are just different terms depending on where you view the same slope from. For example, if you look at a slope from the top, it’s a downhill; if you look at the same slope from the bottom, it’s an uphill.