Riddles With Answers

What object was pictured in the world’s first color photo?

Bowl of fruit
Tartan ribbon
Vase of flowers
Stained-glass window

Fact: The world’s first color photograph, created in 1861 by Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, features a tartan ribbon. Maxwell achieved this groundbreaking milestone by photographing the ribbon three times—each through a different colored filter: red, green, and blue. By combining the filtered images, he demonstrated the additive color process, laying the foundation for modern color photography. Although the final result was faint by today’s standards, Maxwell’s experiment proved that full-color images could be scientifically produced.

Correct Answer: Tartan ribbon

Tchaikovsky composed an opera named after which playing card?

The Ace of Spades
The King of Hearts
The Queen of Spades
The Jack of Diamonds

Fact: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s opera The Queen of Spades (Pikovaya Dama in Russian) premiered in 1890 and is based on a short story by Alexander Pushkin. The dark, psychological drama tells the tale of a man obsessed with discovering a secret gambling formula said to guarantee victory — a secret connected to an elderly countess known as the “Queen of Spades.” The opera masterfully combines haunting melodies and vivid orchestration, showcasing Tchaikovsky’s unmatched gift for blending human emotion with sweeping musical intensity.

Correct Answer: The Queen of Spades

Which city does not have stop signs?

Toronto
Paris
Rome
Salt Lake City

Fact:
Parisians aren’t known for their considerate driving, but it might just be because they don’t have the necessary street signage. Paris is the only major capital in the Western world without a single stop sign. Instead, the city relies on traffic lights and a strict rule known as priorité à droite (“priority to the right”), which gives vehicles on the right the right of way at most intersections. Paris hasn’t always been stop-sign-free. The city did have one stop sign at one point, situated in Paris’s 16th district. Despite this sign’s unique claim to fame, it was removed about a decade ago and never returned.

Answer: Paris

What explorer has a river, bay, and strait all named in his honor?

Ferdinand Magellan
John Cabot
Henry Hudson
Christopher Columbus

Fact: English explorer Henry Hudson is the namesake of the Hudson River, Hudson Bay, and Hudson Strait. In the early 1600s, Hudson embarked on several dangerous voyages in search of a northwest passage to Asia. During his explorations, he sailed up the river that now bears his name in present-day New York and later ventured into the vast Arctic waters of northern Canada. Although his final expedition ended tragically when his crew mutinied, Hudson’s name remains forever linked to some of North America’s most prominent geographic landmarks.

Correct Answer: Henry Hudson

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, what is the most common written word in the English language?

And
Is
The
To

Fact: The word “the” is the most frequently written word in the English language. It serves as a definite article, appearing countless times in both speech and writing across every form of communication. Its roots trace back to Old English and the Germanic words der, die, and das, reflecting English’s deep and enduring Germanic heritage. While English vocabulary draws from hundreds of languages over the centuries, its grammatical backbone — including essential and timeless words like “the,” “and,” and “that” — remains distinctly Germanic in nature.

Correct Answer: The

What is the largest number that can be written using a single Roman numeral symbol?

100
500
1,000
10,000

Fact: In the Roman numeral system, each letter represents a specific numerical value: I (1), V (5), X (10), L (50), C (100), D (500), and M (1,000). Of these, M is the highest single-value symbol, representing one thousand. To express even larger numbers, the ancient Romans combined multiple symbols—such as MM for 2,000 or MCMXCIX for 1,999—but no single character exceeds M in value. The system, elegant yet limited, includes no separate numeral for zero or for values above 3,999 without using special overline notation.

Correct Answer: 1,000

What animated cat was voiced by the inventor of an artificial heart?

Garfield
Felix the Cat
Tigger
The Cat in the Hat

Fact: Actor Paul Winchell is most famous for voicing Tigger in Winnie the Pooh and for his career as a successful ventriloquist, but the most amazing part of his career was his work as an inventor. The man holds over 30 patents, the most remarkable of which was the first patent for an artificial heart (US Patent #3097366). In 1961, Winchell filed a patent for an artificial heart after working on the device with doctors at the University of Utah. It is believed to have inspired the design of the Jarvik 7, the first artificial heart to be transplanted in a person.

Correct Answer: Tigger

Which ocean explorer discovered the wreck of the RMS Titanic in 1985?

Jacques Cousteau
Robert Ballard
James Cameron
Richard Branson

Fact: In 1985, oceanographer Dr. Robert Ballard led a groundbreaking joint U.S.–French expedition that discovered the wreck of the RMS Titanic, which had sunk in 1912. Using deep-sea submersibles and advanced sonar technology, Ballard and his team located the ship’s remains about 12,500 feet below the surface of the North Atlantic Ocean, roughly 370 miles south of Newfoundland. The stunning discovery captured worldwide attention, offering the first images of the Titanic since its fateful voyage and transforming the field of deep-sea exploration.

Correct Answer: Robert Ballard

Who is the only singer to have a No. 1 hit in four different decades?

Madonna
Cher
Whitney Houston
Mariah Carey

Fact: Mariah Carey stands alone as the only artist to ever top the Billboard Hot 100 in four different decades — the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s. During that time, she has amassed an astonishing 19 No. 1 hits, the most by any solo artist in history. Her timeless 1994 holiday classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You” reached No. 1 a quarter-century after its release in 2019 and has returned to the top spot multiple times in the 2020s. This enduring success across generations cements her as one of the most dominant artists in pop music history.

Correct Answer: Mariah Carey

What is the official state fruit of New Hampshire?

A Apple
B Pumpkin
C Blueberry

Fact: Pumpkin is designated as the official state fruit of New Hampshire, which reflects its significance in the region’s agricultural and cultural traditions, particularly during the autumn season.

Correct Answer: Pumpkin