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

What is red and smells like blue paint?

Asked by Neha on 22 Jul 2025


Can you find the missing number in the third row?
35 20 14
27 12 18
5 2 ?

Asked by Neha on 26 Jun 2023

A sundial has the fewest moving parts of any timepiece. Which has the most?

Asked by Neha on 07 Jul 2025


The host of a game show, offers the guest a choice of three doors. Behind one is a expensive car, but behind the other two are goats.
After you have chosen one door, he reveals one of the other two doors behind which is a goat (he wouldn't reveal a car).

Now he gives you the chance to switch to the other unrevealed door or stay at your initial choice. You will then get what is behind that door.

You cannot hear the goats from behind the doors, or in any way know which door has the prize.

Should you stay, or switch, or doesn't it matter?

Asked by Neha on 06 Aug 2021

Can you identify the famous TV character from the rebus below?

Uncover TV character

Asked by Neha on 22 Nov 2023

How many times in a given day, minutes and hour clock comes in a straight line ?

Asked by Neha on 03 Mar 2023


I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for five minutes. What am I?

Asked by Neha on 15 Feb 2022

I get hot but I never sweat,
I cook food but I am not a chef,
I have a door but you can't enter me,
I have a light but I am not a lamp.
Who am I?

Asked by Neha on 15 Feb 2021

I have nine bottles of wine and one of the nine bottles is poisoned.
I need to find the poisoned bottle with two facts
(1) Poison is deadly, only a sip will cost death
(2) I have two mice to do so.

How should I do it?

Asked by Neha on 25 May 2021


At a bar, three friends, Mr Green, Mr Red and Mr Blue, were having a drink. One man was wearing a red suit; one a green suit; and the other a blue suit. 'Have you noticed,' said the man in the blue suit, 'that although our suits have colours corresponding to our names, not one of us is wearing a suit that matches our own names?' Mr Red looked at the other two and said, 'You're absolutely correct. What colour suit is each man wearing?

Asked by Neha on 03 Dec 2023

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Crossword puzzles

In the 1920s, people feared that crossword puzzles would contribute to illiteracy.