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A new riddle is making the rounds on social media that asks what is better when you break it. This is actually a little trickier than it might appear at first glance, so read on for all the details.
What makes this riddle tricky is that it comes in several forms and the answer varies depending on what form it comes in.
One question simply reads:
What is better when you break it?
Another asks:
Break it and it is better, immediately set and harder to break again.”
Still another is worded somewhat differently:
What is more useful when it is broken?
Or:
What has to be broken before you can use it?
Ready for the answer? Read on.
Here’s the Answer to the Riddle
The answer to the riddle in its simplest form is:
A record.
Yes, the answer to “What is better when you break it?” is traditionally a record. It’s definitely the answer to the question: “Break it and it is better, immediately set and harder to break again.”
They don’t mean a record that you play on a record player, by the way. This is about a record that’s set, like the Guinness Book of World Records. A record is definitely “better” and “harder to break” once you’ve broken it.
However, one could argue that the traditional answers to the last two riddles in the first section (“What is more useful when it is broken?” and “What has to be broken before you can use it?”) could also be accepted as answers for “What is better when you break it?”
Thus, if you answered the riddle with “egg,” you really could make a good argument for your answer being accepted. An egg is definitely better when you break it (although you’ll need to cook it first before it’s truly better.)
Others have suggested alternative answers of tamper-proof seals, the ground at a construction site, or even a bad habit for the original question. I’d argue that “bad habit” is a really good answer.
Some might even say a “fast,” which is undoubtedly more enjoyable once it’s broken (and you get to eat breakfast.)
Some other possible answers:
- glow sticks
- silence
- chemical heat or cold packs that you use for medicine
- Champagne bottle
By the way, apparently this question has come up on the Question of the Day on Bejeweled Stars. Interestingly, people noted back in 2017 that they only got one stamp for answering with a sunny side up egg emoji and two stamps for answering with a bread-in-toaster emoji for “toasted bread.” They also got two stamps for answering with a champagne emoji.
Traditionally, the answer is record. But there are many other answers you can argue for that really should be accepted.
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.
