Immortality has fascinated humankind for centuries. The quest for eternal life and everlasting youth permeates myths, legends, and philosophies across cultures. Riddles about immortality invite us to ponder the endless possibilities and perplexities of living forever. Let’s explore 51 thought-provoking riddles about the endless nature of immortality and uncover their hidden truths.
Riddles about Living Forever
1. What never ends, even after death?
Answer: Legacy. The impact of someone’s life continues beyond their lifespan through the memories and records left behind.
2. If you live forever, what would you never run out of?
Answer: Time. With an endless amount of time, an immortal being would never worry about running out of time to accomplish anything and everything they desire.
3. I am free to all, yet priceless. I am fleeting, yet eternal. Rich or poor, all must possess me. What am I?
Answer: Time. Time is free and available to everyone, but extremely valuable. It passes in moments yet continues indefinitely. No matter one’s circumstances, everyone has time.
4. Forward I run and never tire. Over the years I only grow higher. What am I?
Answer: A mountain. Mountains continue to grow over extremely long periods of time due to geological processes.
5. I was here before you were born and I’ll be here after you’re gone. What am I?
Answer: The world/nature/universe. The natural world existed long before any individual is born and continues on after their death.
6. I am measured but never bought. I am treasured or wasted, but never saved. What am I?
Answer: Time. We measure time but cannot retain or regain it. We can cherish time or waste it, but spent time is gone forever.
7. The more of me you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Answer: Footsteps. The more steps you take, the more you leave tracks behind you.
8. I’m never old but often new. I can’t be bought yet I’m treasured too. People smile when they see me and are sad when I leave. What am I?
Answer: A day/morning. Each new day brings light and hope. Mornings are fresh beginnings to be cherished.
9. I am rarely touched but often held. If you have wit, you’ll use me well. What am I?
Answer: One’s tongue. Your tongue allows you to speak wisely or unwisely.
10. The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Answer: Footsteps. The more steps you take, the more tracks you leave behind.
Riddles about Immortal Beings
11. What does an immortal person need that a normal person doesn’t?
Answer: Patience. Without the urgency of a limited lifespan, an immortal being would need infinite patience to fill endless time.
12. I am a wingless bird that never flies yet soars above the tallest trees. What am I?
Answer: Time. Time is ever-present yet intangible, passing over everything.
13. What falls but never breaks? What breaks but never falls?
Answer: Night falls but never breaks. Day breaks but never falls.
14. I am rarely touched but often held. If you have wit, you’ll use me well. What am I?
Answer: Your tongue. Wise words come from skillful use of your tongue.
15. I rage against the dying of the light. Though darkness falls, the stars still shine bright. What am I?
Answer: Hope. As long as we have hope, we can endure life’s challenges and see beauty even in the darkest times.
16. I am lighter than a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for long. What am I?
Answer: One’s breath. Your breath is ethereal but you can only hold it briefly.
17. I have seas with no water, coasts with no sand, towns without people, and mountains without land. What am I?
Answer: A map. Maps depict places abstractly, not literally.
18. I am free for the taking through all of your life, though given but once at birth. I am less than nothing in weight, but will fell the strongest of you if held. What am I?
Answer: One’s breath. Your breath sustains you through life though you’re only born with one. It weighs nothing but you cannot hold it long.
19. I am rarely touched but often held. If you have wit, you’ll use me well. What am I?
Answer: Your tongue. Wise words come from skillful use of your tongue.
20. I’m never old but often new. I can’t be bought yet I’m treasured too. People smile when they see me and are sad when I leave. What am I?
Answer: A day/morning. Each new day brings light and hope. Mornings are fresh beginnings to be cherished.
Riddles about the Endlessness of Time
21. I cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. I lie behind stars and under hills and empty holes I fill. I come first and follow after. End life, kill laughter. What am I?
Answer: Darkness. Darkness is intangible but fills voids and follows the setting sun.
22. What has a head and a tail but no body?
Answer: A coin. Coins have heads and tails but no main body section.
23. I never was, am always to be, no one ever saw me, nor ever will, and yet I am the confidence of all who live and breathe. What am I?
Answer: Tomorrow/the future. We have confidence in the future though we’ve never experienced it firsthand.
24. What starts with T, ends with T, and has T in it?
Answer: A teapot. It starts and ends with a T and contains one in the spelling.
25. The more there is, the less you see. What could it be?
Answer: Darkness. The more darkness there is, the less visual light.
26. What has hands but can’t clap?
Answer: A clock. Clock hands move but cannot applaud.
27. What belongs to you but others use it more than you?
Answer: Your name. Others speak your name more than you do.
28. I’m rarely used but often seen. Found on sides, but not in between. What am I?
Answer: Margins. Page margins frame the edges but rarely contain content.
29. What goes up and down but does not move?
Answer: Stairs or a staircase.
30. The more you take away, the larger it becomes. What is it?
Answer: A hole. Taking more dirt/material away enlarges the hole.
Riddles about Death and Immortality
31. What is so fragile that just by saying its name breaks it?
Answer: Silence. The word breaks silence.
32. I cast no shadow, but bring darkness in my wake. I take no steps, but leave prints behind me. What am I?
Answer: Night/darkness. Night falls without taking action but leaves darkness.
33. I have cities but no houses, forests but no trees, water but no fish. What am I?
Answer: A map. Maps show places but not actual objects.
34. What goes through towns and hills but never moves?
Answer: Roads. Roads pass through but don’t relocate.
35. I have seas with no water, coasts with no sand, towns without people, and mountains without land. What am I?
Answer: A map. Maps depict places abstractly, not literally.
36. What has roots nobody sees that stretch through the earth and reach up to the skies?
Answer: A mountain. A mountain’s roots are buried while peaks touch the sky.
37. Forward I’m heavy, backward I’m not. What am I?
Answer: The word “ton” – ton spelled backward is “not.”
38. I wear a green coat on the outside, and silver coat on the inside. Put me into the oven, and my coat will be gone! What am I?
Answer: Corn. The husk is green, the kernels are like silver. Baking removes the husk.
39. What gets broken without being held?
Answer: A promise. You cannot physically hold a promise.
40. What belongs to you but is used more by others?
Answer: Your name. Others say your name more than you.
Riddles about the Cycle of Life
41. I am the end that comes without farewell, the door that closes without a knell. No eye has seen me, nor hand touched. I wait for all with patience as such. What am I?
Answer: Death/the end of life. Death comes silently on its own time.
42. People make me, save me, change me, raise me. What am I?
Answer: Money. People make, earn, spend, and invest money.
43. I am free and have no boundaries, yet I can be broken. What am I?
Answer: A promise. Promises have no physical form but can be broken.
44. The eight of us go forth, not back, to protect our king from a foe’s attack. What are we?
Answer: Chess pawns. Pawns only move forward to protect the king.
45. What runs all around a backyard, yet never moves?
Answer: A fence. A fence surrounds a yard but stays in place.
46. The hands can’t move it but it always gets around. It has no feet or arms and yet it makes a sound. What is it?
Answer: A clock. Clocks have hands and make noise but don’t move themselves.
47. What goes through towns and over hills but never moves?
Answer: Roads. Roads extend over changing terrain though don’t relocate.
48. What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
Answer: A piano. Pianos have many keys but cannot unlock things.
Riddles about Seemingly Contradictory Concepts
49. I am weightless but can be seen. Put me in a bucket and I’ll make it lighter. What am I?
Answer: A hole. A hole has no weight yet is visible. Putting a hole in a bucket removes mass.
50. People make me, save me, change me, raise me. What am I?
Answer: Money. People make, earn, spend, and invest money.
51. I have cities but no houses, forests but no trees, water but no fish. What am I?
Answer: A map. Maps show places but not actual objects.
Conclusion
Riddles about immortality invite us to reflect on life’s timelessness in whimsical ways. Though eternal life eludes us, the cyclical nature of our world provides some sense of renewal and rebirth. These riddles play with contradictions – having endlessness but limitations, being weightless yet visible, or traversing space without movement. As they unravel the paradoxes of time and existence, may they continue to delight, challenge and inspire us!
