Did you know?
Amir Khusrau, a poet who lived in Delhi about 700 years ago, is famous for playful riddles in Hindavi, an old form of Hindi and Urdu. People have passed them on by word of mouth for about seven centuries!
In 1150, the Indian mathematician Bhaskara II wrote a maths book called Lilavati. Legend says he named it after his daughter. Many of its problems are little stories, like the one about a broken necklace below!
In an old Greek story, the Sphinx asked: 'Which creature walks on four legs, then on two, then on three?' The answer is a human: a baby crawls, an adult walks and an older person uses a walking stick!
Try this: The Broken Necklace
This puzzle is based on one in Lilavati. A pearl necklace broke. One-sixth of the pearls fell on the floor, one-fifth landed on the bed, one-third were saved by the girl and one-tenth were caught by her friend. Six pearls stayed on the string. How many pearls were there? Hint: try numbers that 3, 5, 6 and 10 all divide into.
Show answer
30
Go further: Make a Number Riddle
A good number riddle has clues that lead to only one answer. Try this one: 'I am a two-digit number less than 50. I am in the 7 times table. My digits add up to 10.' List the 7 times table: 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49. Only 28 has digits that add up to 10. Now write your own riddle, and check that only one number fits before testing it on a friend!