Common steps and sub-activities

Solving riddles with no answer

Much of the Mad Hatters Tea Party in Alice in Wonderland is about the use of nonsense and riddles to befuddle reason, this is an example, Lewis Carroll knew what he was doing when he wrote this chapter………….

Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll

CHAPTER VII. A Mad Tea-Party





'There isn't any,' said the March Hare.


The Hatter opened his eyes very wide [and said], 'Why is a raven like a writing-desk?'







'I haven't the slightest idea,' said the Hatter.

'Nor I,' said the March Hare.



More examples


"What is the difference between a duck? ...

One has wheels."


"A rhino and an elephant are taking a shower together.

What does the rhino say?



"Why is a mouse when it spins?

Because the higher, the fewer."


How many engines is a greyhound?

Only whilst practising


What greys and bites and who?

Larger than the smallest


Give me smoke battles soup number?

Fifty five on Saturday


Who is the last first then?

Tomato soup and bicycles

Carroll was using the children’s story to record what he knew about spiritual states and how you invoked them – mushrooms, for example and hash cakes and smoking opium are but three mentioned in his book.

But whole books have been written containing meaningless riddles for use in this way.

Again the truly comical aspect of this is that there are people who are desperate to find some logical meaning to it and sit there for hours trying to work out the inner meaning. 

There is none.

That’s the point.

The whole point is that you read the riddles, one after the other until your mind is so confused and your reasoning function so befuddled it stops working.

