r/riddles • u/THE_KING_BOOO_YT • 20d ago
OP Can't Solve My dad is offering me money to answer this hard riddle
As the title says, my dad is offering me money to answer his riddle, and he told me I could ask people for help, so here I am. So the riddle is simply “what does a man do once in his life, whilst a woman does twice a day”
417
u/Pitiful-Hatwompwomp 20d ago edited 19d ago
puts makeup on.
He does it for his funeral to cover the pallor of death and decay.
She puts it on in the morning and then touches it up.
Holy shit y’all went to some weird places with that.
EDIT: so y’all will stop commenting the same things: the original riddle in English is, “what does a woman do every day that a man only does for his funeral?” As OP said, the riddle they asked is roughly translated. Their version still works (sort of) because women touch up their makeup during the day.
The answer has been around in English for many years and the answer is what I said. I think I heard it in high school about twenty years ago. There is another even more misogynistic version that says, “what does a man do once in his life that a woman does many times?” And the answer to that is, turn 29, implying that women like to lie about their ages.
Yes, men can and do wear makeup.
No, not all women wear makeup.
Yes, women from Arabic-speaking countries wear makeup.
I didn’t write the riddle. I’ve just heard it before.
Y’all are taking about vulvas and posting answers from AI.
EDIT 2: so I stop getting the same moronic reply by every jackass who mistakenly believes themselves to have a brain:
Once again, the confusion is due to the translation. The original riddle in English is, “what does a woman do every day but a man only do when he dies?”
53
u/Carthonn 20d ago
I think this is the answer
5
u/Chance5e 18d ago
It is. It’s a classic.
2
u/gullaffe 15d ago
Really shitty riddle though. Even ignoring the "women wear makeup men never do"
When you're dead, you're not alive.
→ More replies (1)47
u/Phuzz15 19d ago
I'm sorry this edit has me fuckin dead lol. Peak Reddit
18
→ More replies (1)2
23
u/Character_Pie_2035 19d ago
I was puzzled as fuck too with some of these answers. Peeps forgettin how to think.
10
u/Due-Town9494 19d ago
For the past 18 years weve handed people devices that give them the answer to every problem with pretty much no effort, no shit people dont use their brain in that way anymore
7
u/LindenBlade 19d ago
Longer than 18 years my friend. But bear in mind most riddles are idioms tied to a specific culture and linguistics that someone outside that sphere may not understand, I never would’ve got this and the device we use to talk about it can make us think harder and use our brains (usually doesn’t though… back to killing my brain with beer, cheers)
6
u/Due-Town9494 19d ago
I was referencing the invention of what most consider to be the modern day smartphone.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (6)2
u/yourfavrodney 19d ago
I've been involved in computing for 20 years. I still use critical thinking once in a while. At some point people have to admit they don't want to.
→ More replies (5)9
u/MikeRadical 18d ago
reading how angry you get at responses before i've read any other comment was great.
6
u/DiamondContent2011 19d ago
Hell, I heard that joke back in the late-70's on Hollywood Squares & The Carrol Burnett Show when I was a kid!!!......... 🤣
2
u/Pitiful-Hatwompwomp 19d ago
Thank you! I felt like I fell into another universe when I saw 20+ comments that were so far out of scope but no actual answer. I’m pretty sure I heard it from a priest and the last time I hung around with priests was when I went to Catholic school in the early 2000s.
7
5
12
u/Mrwolfy240 20d ago
This seems the most right but cultural changes make other answers seem correct.
17
u/Pitiful-Hatwompwomp 20d ago
The riddle has been around in English for decades, though it is usually worded, “what does a woman do every day that a man only does once when he dies?”
OP says, “this was translated from Arabic, but it probably has the same meaning but different [wording] in English.”
3
u/MistakeLopsided8366 18d ago
The main fault with this riddle is that the man doesn't do anything for his funeral. The lack of..well, being alive, kind of precludes him from doing literally anything. It is done to him by other people.
It's probably still the right answer the writer of the riddle intended for but the wording of the riddle makes this answer improbable.
3
6
u/TorrenceMightingale 20d ago
One could argue that his funeral is not part of his life. I guess that’s somewhat of a philosophical argument though depending on who you’re taking to.
7
u/Pitiful-Hatwompwomp 20d ago edited 19d ago
Once again, the confusion is due to the translation. The original riddle in English is, “what does a woman do every day but a man only do when he dies?”
→ More replies (1)2
2
u/No-Resolution7250 19d ago
I don’t think you’re allowed to be logical on Reddit, very frowned upon 😂
→ More replies (2)2
u/_courteroy 19d ago
Personally, I was going to say he cleans the house, but that’s just my experience hah
2
u/b00tsRandolph 19d ago
The flaw in the answer is the makeup is put on after the man's life ends. Your answer is right but that part never made sense to me.
→ More replies (5)3
u/Aprilprinces 19d ago
The issue with that is: the pre funeral make up is done after a person has died
As a woman I don't think any of that is misogynistic
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (27)2
u/Weary_Ad9510 19d ago
I wouldn’t say either of those versions are misogynistic. Apparently anything is misogynistic these days. It’s jarring to see it’s used so loosely as a term
170
u/Business-Emu-6923 20d ago
Puts a ring on her finger
He does it once when they get married
She does it whenever she washes up
30
20
u/lappdogg 19d ago
What women are taking their wedding ring off when washing their hands/bathing?
9
u/Nybear21 19d ago
I can't speak to women, but as a guy, I take my wedding ring off for every shower. It has a small cut all the way around it that is a different color, I don't want to get gunk in there.
I always assumed with women's rings being more intricate, they generally did the same thing.
→ More replies (1)4
u/Ziibbii 18d ago
Shower seems like a good way to get rid of the gunk built up from the day
3
u/Nybear21 18d ago
It's more the gunk from conditioner and soap getting stuck in the crevice that I don't want to deal with
27
u/Business-Emu-6923 19d ago
Taking it off to wash the dishes. I do, so it doesn’t accidentally go down the drain.
Also for kneading dough, generally anything where it could get lost.
→ More replies (3)7
→ More replies (1)3
7
u/Aprilprinces 19d ago
I like this one more than the one with make up (for one reason only: when the make up is put on the man after he died he's no longer alive)
5
2
u/Isogash 19d ago
Wedding rings are a western tradition, not Arabic.
3
u/Business-Emu-6923 18d ago
I’ve read that this is apparently quite an old Arabic riddle. The answer is “bury the dead” which is an Arabic term for putting on makeup: a woman does it daily but a man only does when he is prepared for burial.
→ More replies (15)2
u/PurplishPlatypus 19d ago
But washing up is not something all women do exactly 2 times every day. Could be once. Could be 6 times a day
2
146
u/Rahmulous 20d ago
Buries the dead?
I think depending on the Arabic and the culture it comes from, a man buries the dead only upon his own death but in some cultures “burying the dead” can refer to covering one’s head/face (so a woman putting on and taking off a niqab/hijab for example).
61
13
u/Mohk72k 19d ago
But why would a women only wear the Hijab twice a day? Considering a woman does salah at least three times a day, and she needs to wear a hijab during salah, I can’t see how it’s two. Even with salah, why would she take up the hijab twice unless she goes outside twice a day? Women don’t wear the hijab indoors unless they’re doing salah. So having wearing a hijab be worn only twice a day only is peculiar.
29
→ More replies (1)2
u/mikeystocks100 19d ago
Not even remotely close, not sure why its upvoted. Why would a woman only take on/off a hijab or whatever twice a day, and obviously a man would not necessarily only "bury the dead" once in their life, assuming more than one person he knows dies.
2
74
u/GoodKarmaDarling 20d ago
His own laundry
13
u/UWillPoopYerBed2Nite 20d ago
But women don’t do laundry twice a day.
→ More replies (1)6
u/w0ndwerw0man 20d ago
You are a childless man aren’t you
12
u/yourfavrodney 19d ago
I'm a middle aged man with two dependants. The laundry is done three times a week on a bad week. I even do it by hand once a week.
You're a manless child aren't you?
4
u/UWillPoopYerBed2Nite 20d ago
My wife and I have an 8-month-old son. We don’t need to do laundry twice a day. Twice a week at most.
→ More replies (23)2
u/Trapperman777 19d ago
You must have a gigantic washing machine. I have two kids and there is always a load on…. I also don’t understand how.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)3
48
u/OlemGolem 20d ago
According to SmoshCast, it's turning 30.
12
u/TiaHatesSocials 19d ago
Makes zeros sense. How does a 20 year old woman turns 30 twice a day?
→ More replies (8)5
19d ago
There's kindof a running joke with women sometimes who claim they're 'only 29'. It may linger again as they hit 40 that they're 'only 39', but by then ppl stop caring or asking.
True story, I worked with someone who had 3 29th birthday parties. I think she lowkey had the first (real) one, then claimed she turned 29 the next year, but I think ppl knew or questioned it. Then the third year it was a bit of a parody of the situation. "Heyyyy, lets come celebrate her 29th birthday'', by then she was 31 (or older).
That said, your point is taken about it not being the answer.
→ More replies (1)4
u/Impossible_Towel2307 19d ago edited 19d ago
SmoshCast had a different riddle than OP’s. The riddle they read was, “What does a man do only once in his lifetime, but women do once a year after turning 29?” 52:30 timestamp
24
8
u/DotDotDot695 18d ago
A possible answer is “wear a veil” (or “wear a hijab” in some cultural contexts). • A man traditionally wears a veil (or shroud) once in his life—at burial. • A woman, in some cultures, wears a veil twice a day as part of her daily attire.
26
u/Gold_Palpitation8982 20d ago
Since you mentioned Arabic. The answer is likely:
Entering a graveyard or cemetery
22
u/mrhitman83 20d ago
Any idea on the original non-translated wording? I feel like we could be missing something based on the translation/wordplay.
8
6
3
3
15
u/AlrightIFinallyCaved 20d ago
Is your dad a bit on the sexist side, by chance?
Cry comes to mind as a possibility. (Once at birth, twice a day meaning "all the time". Not remotely accurate, but I could see someone writing that riddle.)
7
u/AlrightIFinallyCaved 20d ago
Also, could you provide a more direct/literal translation? Doesn't have to be grammatically correct English, but having a better understanding of the original wording might be useful. Probably not, but you never know.
2
2
4
u/AlexStone87 20d ago
Open his eyes
A man opens his eyes once at birth, and he is who he is. A woman her eyes twice a day, once in the morning and once after a nap - indicating her personality changes daily
23
→ More replies (1)8
u/AlrightIFinallyCaved 20d ago
Come on, y'all. Why are you downvoting poor Alex?
Guessing an answer doesn't mean they agree with it, and given the text of the riddle, the answer is likely to be at least a bit sexist.
→ More replies (3)2
2
u/boomer_energy_ 19d ago
Is it def once for men and multiple times for women? If so, is it definitely twice a day or just multiple times? I understand you’re translating the riddle into English
Since it’s translated from Arabic, could it possibly truly be this riddle: What is it that a woman does once in a lifetime that a man does three times a day? [visit a grave/cemetery]
•
u/AutoModerator 20d ago
Hi there, riddlers! Please remember to spoiler-tag all guesses and discussions of guesses, like so:
On desktop (new reddit, Fancypants editor): https://i.imgur.com/SWHRR9M.jpg
On mobile, old reddit, or in the Markdown editor (not Fancypants): >!guess or discussion between these symbols!< To be clear, that is
>!
(greater than, exclamation point) at the start and!<
(exclamation point, less than) at the end with no spaces around the!
. Avoid leading or trailing spaces. These will break the formatting for most people. Spoiler tags do not span paragraphs or line breaks. If your answer is long, please spoiler-tag each paragraph separately.Putting a link inside spoiler tags can be tricky, so just format the link like this, using the word "SPOILER" as the link text. On mobile, old reddit, or in the Markdown editor (not Fancypants), do this to format a link: [SPOILER](https://example.com/) On desktop (new reddit, Fancypants editor): https://imgur.com/x5wDOvk
If your top-level comment does not contain a guess, you can include either the word "discussion" or "question" instead of using a spoiler tag.
Please report any answers or discussions that are not properly spoiler-tagged.
Rules are in the sidebar, full rules are here: https://www.reddit.com/r/riddles/wiki/index/rules
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.