War is a complex subject that has challenged humanity since the dawn of civilization. Riddles allow us to approach this difficult topic from new angles and gain insight into the causes, implications, and morals surrounding armed conflict. In this article, we will explore 63 thought-provoking riddles about war along with their answers. Some touch on the weapons and strategies of war, while others grapple with its philosophical underpinnings. Though fictional, these riddles can help us reflect on real issues facing our world today.
Weapons and battle strategy riddles
Warfare has evolved across the centuries as new technologies and tactics transform the battlefield. Here are some riddles exploring the weapons and military strategies used in different eras and places:
Riddle: What has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps, can run but never walks, and has a bank but no money?
Answer: A river. Rivers are often strategic geographical features that battles are fought over and along.
Riddle: What loud noise terrifies people, even though it’s small enough to hold in your hand?
Answer: A gun. Guns gave power to individual soldiers and changed battle tactics.
Riddle: I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest man can’t hold me for much more than a minute. What am I?
Answer: Breath. In World War I, poison gas like mustard gas attacked soldiers’ lungs.
Riddle: What has a head and a tail but no body?
Answer: A coin. Coins have historically been stamped with symbols of military leaders and regimes.
Riddle: I’m an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
Answer: Seven. Take away the “s” and it becomes “even.” Battles are often won when one side can gain an odd-man advantage.
Riddle: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Answer: Footsteps. Foot soldiers have been critical in war since ancient times.
Riddle: I have cities, but no houses. I have forests, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?
Answer: A map. Accurate maps are vital to planning military operations.
Riddle: What is black and white and red all over?
Answer: A newspaper. The media plays a major role in shaping public opinion around war and conflicts.
Riddle: What gets broken without being held?
Answer: A promise. Treaties and ceasefires are fragile during wartime.
Riddle: What has a neck but no head?
Answer: A bottle. Molotov cocktails and other improvised explosives are often used in guerilla wars.
Riddle: The more it dries, the wetter it gets. What is it?
Answer: A towel. Medics use towels to treat wounded soldiers in combat.
Morality riddles
War forces us to grapple with moral questions of life and death, duty and conscience. These riddles ask us to ponder the ethics of war:
Riddle: When do you go red and stop going green?
Answer: When you are ripe and then rot. This can represent how idealism and morality corrode over time in war.
Riddle: A doctor and a boy were fishing. The boy was the doctor’s son but the doctor was not the boy’s father. Who was the doctor?
Answer: His mother. Women frequently served as doctors and nurses in war.
Riddle: What belongs to you but is used more by others?
Answer: Your name. Soldiers risk their lives for countries and causes bigger than themselves.
Riddle: The man who builds it doesn’t want it. The man who buys it doesn’t need it. The man who uses it doesn’t know he’s using it. What is it?
Answer: A coffin. War creates countless unnecessary and untimely deaths.
Riddle: What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?
Answer: Silence. The sounds of war drown out quiet reflection.
Riddle: What gets wet while drying?
Answer: A towel. Medics use towels to wipe up blood on wounded soldiers.
Riddle: When is a door not a door?
Answer: When it’s ajar. Wars can throw society into turmoil and uncertainty.
Riddle: What is filled with empty space and weighs nothing?
Answer: A bubble. Youth and innocence are fragile against the destructive forces of war.
Riddle: The more of them you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?
Answer: Footprints. The lost potential of those killed in war can never be reclaimed.
Riddle: What is it that given one, you’ll have either two or none?
Answer: A choice. Wars force impossible choices between equally perilous options.
Costs of war riddles
War exacts a terrible cost in lives, resources, infrastructure, and human potential. These thought-provoking riddles reflect on war’s devastation:
Riddle: What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?
Answer: A postage stamp. Mail connects loved ones separated by war.
Riddle: What has keys that open no locks and space but no room?
Answer: A keyboard. Technology progresses even amidst war’s destruction.
Riddle: What has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive?
Answer: A glove. Soldiers’ uniforms and protective gear sustain human life.
Riddle: What has a head, a tail, is brown, and has no legs?
Answer: A penny. War costs society massive sums of money.
Riddle: What is seen in the middle of March and April that can’t be seen at the beginning or end of either month?
Answer: The letter “R.” March and April bookend the word war.
Riddle: What has hands but can’t clap?
Answer: A clock. Clocks count down to zero hour–the moment an attack is launched.
Riddle: What has a bed but never sleeps and a mouth but never eats?
Answer: A river. Rivers provide vital water and transportation, disrupted in war.
Riddle: What building has the most stories?
Answer: The library. Culture and knowledge are destroyed in war.
Riddle: What is it that lives if it is fed, and dies if you give it a drink?
Answer: Fire. Firebombing and incendiary weapons burn cities in war.
Riddle: I’m tall when I’m young and short when I’m old. What am I?
Answer: A candle. Candles light the darkness when infrastructure is knocked out.
Hope and peace riddles
Though war wages destruction, we must not abandon hope for restoration and peace. These riddles find meaning amidst the rubble:
Riddle: What starts with a P, ends with an E, and has thousands of letters?
Answer: Post office. Letters connectseparated families when war ends.
Riddle: What gets broken without being held?
Answer: A promise. Peace treaties symbolize hope for a brighter future.
Riddle: What kind of room has no doors or windows?
Answer: A mushroom. Mushrooms can grow even in the most devastated war ruins.
Riddle: What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
Answer: A piano. Music and culture thrive again when the cannons go silent.
Riddle: What has hands but cannot clap?
Answer: A clock. When bombs cease, we hear the peaceful passage of time.
Riddle: Where does today come before yesterday?
Answer: In the dictionary. We learn from past wars once their pain and confusion passes.
Riddle: What flies without wings?
Answer: Time. With time, war wounds begin to heal.
Riddle: What has a neck but no head?
Answer: A bottle. Bottles can be remade into vases holding flowers instead of molotov cocktails.
Riddle: What goes up but never comes down?
Answer: Your age. We grow older and wiser, moving beyond the folly of war.
Riddle: What turns everything around but does not move?
Answer: A mirror. When war ends, we reflect on how to rebuild stronger.
Conclusion
War poses difficult questions without simple answers. While these riddles offer no solutions, they can encourage us to think more deeply about the paradoxes, tradeoffs, and human impacts of armed conflict. Amidst the rubble, there are still foundations to build upon and lessons to pass on to future generations. Like the phoenix, hope rises again from the ashes. Understanding the costs and contours of war can empower us to make wiser choices – and know when silence and moral courage are the greatest strengths.
