‘A Fish & a Bird Fall in Love’ Riddle: Answer to Viral Question Explained

A new viral “riddle” has been circulating on social media. This one asks how a fish and a bird who fall in love might end up having a life together. Read on to learn more about this question, including the answer.

The viral riddle that’s making the rounds is typically worded like this:

A fish and a bird could fall in love, but where would they live?

Or it might be worded this way:

If a bird and a fish were to fall in love, where would they live?

Even though some social media posts are phrasing this like it’s a riddle, it’s really not technically a riddle at all. The question is more of a philosophical saying that prompts a discussion. In fact, if it sounds familiar it might be because it’s a quote from a movie.

Here’s the Answer to the Viral ‘Riddle’

There are several possible answers to this question. One is that they may be in love but they can never build a home together.

The question may also sound familiar to you because it’s a quote from Drew Barrymore in the movie Ever After when she said: “A bird may love a fish…but where would they live?” The answer in the movie was: “Then I shall have to make you wings.”

A Bird May Love a FishFrom the movie “Ever After” Drew Barrymore and her classic line.2015-09-13T16:24:35Z

The question is asking the listener to consider just how different their two worlds are. Is there ever a time when love is simply not enough? The bird lives in the sky and the trees, while the fish lives in the water. They have two very different worlds. How could they live together even if they wanted to?

On a Quora discussion, Bill Huebner wrote:

Such a pairing would only be possible within the realm of human imagination. But we’re capable of not only imagining something such as “love” that transcends species, we’re capable of putting it into pixels and movement.

He then shared this video illustrating the question:

The Mind’s Eye – 07 Love Found (Short Circutz)This is the animation “Love Found” from the early computer animation compilation “The Mind’s Eye.” In 1990 Odyssey Productions gathered together shorts and demo reels from hundreds of artists working in the fledgling field of computer animation. These captivating computer generated videos were combined with an original score to give the world a look at the future of animation. Eventually these shorts would be licensed by YTV in Canada to be aired as “Short Circutz” in place of commercials. Unlike later productions, The Mind’s Eye was only released on VHS tape and Laserdisc. This is the higher quality Laserdisc release, carefully digitized.2010-02-25T11:29:19Z

Another person, Mei Douthitt, suggested: “There’s no way they could live together and survive, although the fish (depending on species) could jump into the air, and the bird (depending on species) could dive into the water for short periods.”

Another popular answer, also shared on Quora by John Young, reads:

This is just one of many riddles that are circulating on sites like Facebook and Instagram during the coronavirus pandemic. If you’ve seen the “How Many Ducks Do You See?” riddle and were stumped, check out Heavy’s explanation here. If you ran into the “I Met a Man on London Bridge” riddle and have no idea what the man’s name is, you can find the answer in Heavy’s story here. The answer to the “You Enter a Bedroom” riddle is here, and the answer to the “Can You Open the Lock Using These Clues?” riddle is here.

If you’re looking for the answer to the “Hotel with 100 Rooms” riddle, it’s here. The answer to the “State Without an A” riddle is here. The answer to the “How many letters are in the answer?” riddle is here. And the answer to the “Penny Has 5 Children” riddle is here.

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