Make the Line Sorter

Birbal was jester, counsellor, and fool to the great Moghul emperor, Akbar.
The villagers loved to talk of Birbal's wisdom and cleverness,
and the emperor loved to try to outsmart him.
One day Akbar (emperor) drew a line across the floor.
"Birbal," he ordered, "you must make this line shorter, but you cannot erase any bit of it."
Everyone present thought the emperor had finally outsmarted Birbal.
It was clearly an impossible task.
Yet within moments the emperor and everyone else present had to agree that Birbal had made the line shorter without erasing any of it.
How could this be?




Similar Riddles

Known by all without exception, Forever here, for your protection, Sometimes strong, sometimes weak, Right after the night I come - hot and chic. And while millions of miles away, I always get to you, I find my way. No life around could do without me, Can you guess what I might be?

Asked by Neha on 05 Apr 2022


An evil man kidnapped someone and made them take one of two pills. One was harmless, but the other was poisonous. Whichever pill the victim took, the kidnapper took the other one. The victim took their pill with water and died. The kidnapper survived. How did the kidnapper get the harmless pill?

Asked by Neha on 27 Jun 2025

There is a unique number which when multiplied by any number from 1 to 6, we will get the new number that contains the same digits only.

Can you find that number?

Asked by Neha on 19 Dec 2023


Replace the question mark in the picture below.

Fill the Required Number Puzzle

Asked by Neha on 07 Jan 2026

A man was telling some of his war stories to his grandchildren.
"When the World War I was on the verge of end, I was awarded for my bravery for I had saved a group of my men." He coughed and then added, "When we were fighting in northern France, an enemy soldier threw a grenade at us. Before it could explode, I picked it up and threw it away. For my act of bravery, right before the war ended, A General gave me a sword engraved with the words "Awarded for Display of Bravery and Heroism in World War 1"."

Hearing this, one of the grandson spoke up. "Grandpa, this is not a true story. It can"t be true!"

The truth is that it was not. How did the grand children know it?

Asked by Neha on 22 Feb 2023

If 5 cats catch 5 mice in 5 minutes, how long will it take one cat to catch a mouse?

Asked by Neha on 22 Mar 2022


If I put in one canary per cage, I have one bird too many. If I put in two canaries per cage, I have one cage too many. How many cages and canaries do I have?

Asked by Neha on 05 Oct 2023

In Greek mythology, the Sphinx sat outside of Thebes and asked this riddle of all travellers who passed by. If the traveller failed to solve the riddle, then the Sphinx killed him/her. And if the traveller answered the riddle correctly, then the Sphinx would destroy herself. The riddle:

What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?

Oedipus solved the riddle, and the Sphinx destroyed herself.

Asked by Neha on 26 Jul 2024

Can you move 2 matchsticks to form four equal sized squares.

Make four Square Riddle

Asked by Neha on 17 Dec 2020


Things are just as they seem, right? Well, check again.
Can you count the number of tigers in this picture ?

Count The Tigers

Asked by Neha on 21 May 2021

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Gambling

In Canada, a mathematical puzzle must be solved in order to win the lottery to classify it as a “game of skill” not gambling.