Facebook Giraffe Riddle

[Razanir]

3:00 am, the doorbell rings and you wake up. Unexpected visitors, It’s your parents and they are there for breakfast. You have strawberry jam, honey, wine, bread and cheese. What is the first thing you open?

The internet's divided over the correct answer. The two most common answers are spoilered below. DEBATE!

"Your eyes" or "The door"

It's all irrelevant, though. Everyone knows you'd open the wine first if your parents were there.

[Heliomance]

Not relevant, but I must inform you that you did not in fact invent the pronoun set in your signature. It already exists, or at least with minor variations, and I know someone that uses it as vir preferred pronoun set.

[GolemsVoice]

Since the riddle asks for the chronologically first thing I opened since I heard the door bell and woke up, that would be my eyes, I'm likely not welcoming my parents blind. Chronologically, I'm opening the door second, then. So that would mean answer is "the eyes".

I've heard someone claim that it's actually the door, since I've already woken up and therefore my eyes are open before the time that the riddle is concerned with. To that I'd answer that the riddle makes it sound like my parents are also already in my house, since I know it's my parents (the riddle spoke of a surprise, so I must have done something to find out who the mystery caller was) and I know exactly what we're having for breakfast, meaning I've also already opened the door.

[Heliomance]

Alternatively it could be your mouth, to mumble "What ruddy idiot is ringing the doorbell at three in the funking morning?" Pretty sure I'd do that before opening my eyes.

Alternatively, as one of my friends suggested, "fire", due to intolerance at being woken up at 3am with such a pathetic excuse as breakfast!

[Worira]

Since the riddle asks for the chronologically first thing I opened since I heard the door bell and woke up, that would be my eyes, I'm likely not welcoming my parents blind. Chronologically, I'm opening the door second, then. So that would mean answer is "the eyes".

I've heard someone claim that it's actually the door, since I've already woken up and therefore my eyes are open before the time that the riddle is concerned with. To that I'd answer that the riddle makes it sound like my parents are also already in my house, since I know it's my parents (the riddle spoke of a surprise, so I must have done something to find out who the mystery caller was) and I know exactly what we're having for breakfast, meaning I've also already opened the door.

I generally know who's at the door before I open it. I also know what food I keep in my house.

[Aedilred]

To be honest, the riddle is ambiguously worded. Having been told "You wake up, there's someone at the door, etc." it suggests to me that at least one of the suggested answers are already open by the time I'm challenged with the question of what I open first.

Of course, it doesn't preclude the first answer's being correct, but that sort of detail is the sort of thing that's usually taken as read in any narrative sequence. Otherwise an acceptable answer could be "the sphincter valve between my ventricle and aorta" or the like.

[Elemental]

Hmm... I'm going to have to say "nothing". My house has no doorbell.
Of course, if I do manage to hear a doorbell at three in the morning, I would be most impressed with whomever broke into my house to install it just so they could ring it at such an absurd hour.

[Worira]

Hmm... I'm going to have to say "nothing". My house has no doorbell.
Of course, if I do manage to hear a doorbell at three in the morning, I would be most impressed with whomever broke into my house to install it just so they could ring it at such an absurd hour.

Obviously you've been kidnapped and transported to a strange house.

[SaintRidley]

The riddle's also diurnalist. What about those of us who are usually awake at 3 am?

[Eurus]

I would be absolutely terrified if my parents showed up at my door at 3 AM, gotta say.

[Milo v3]

The riddle's also diurnalist. What about those of us who are usually awake at 3 am?

That was my claim, but we agreed that the wording implied you were asleep for whatever reason.

So then I also claimed that if I was actually asleep I would likely go to the door with my eyes closed, because I'd still be mainly asleep. They didn't take it as a suitable response though, because it's not the answer they wanted.

[warty goblin]

Anybody who says the answer isn't the wine is clearly wrong.

You obviously open that before the door, so you can drink it before the other person guzzles it all. And who needs to open their eyes to find the nearest bottle anyway? Weak people who don't deserve wine, that's who.

[Elemental]

Obviously you've been kidnapped and transported to a strange house.

In that case, I'd get up to inquire as the nature of the unusual noise and promptly walk into a wall/door/obstinate piece of furniture.
I'm not sure at what time one can actually classify one's eyes as "open" after all, so I can't ascertain whether that would be before or after colliding with a vertical surface.

[Topus]

The riddle is of course ambiguous (as riddles use to be) because, at the time the question is put, your eyes may be already open, so the door, to check who was ringing. You may even have opened the jam and the other breakfast things. So, given that the question is put when you are already woken, you know there are your parents and you know you have jam, honey, wine, bread and cheese, the next thing you are going to open for sure is
a heart valve :smalltongue:

[GolemsVoice]

I generally know who's at the door before I open it. I also know what food I keep in my house.

I always assumed the parents were bringing that, but true. Still, I think it's fair to assume that the door has already been opened. Enemies of the Heir beware

[Manga Shoggoth]

3:00 am, the doorbell rings and you wake up. Unexpected visitors, It’s your parents and they are there for breakfast. You have strawberry jam, honey, wine, bread and cheese. What is the first thing you open?

Given that both my parents died over three years ago, I suspect that the first thing I would open would be fire.

[Kalmageddon]

I would open the wine bottle first, so I'll be drunk enough to handle my parents at 3 am.

[noparlpf]

Alternatively it could be your mouth, to mumble "What ruddy idiot is ringing the doorbell at three in the funking morning?" Pretty sure I'd do that before opening my eyes.

Alternatively, as one of my friends suggested, "fire", due to intolerance at being woken up at 3am with such a pathetic excuse as breakfast!

Thread over.

[Elder Tsofu]

My answer and motivating ramblings:
I thought that I'd open the bread first, but slowly realized it was a riddle and thus jumped at "the door". Then I read a few posts and started thinking.

As far as I know I've never consciously woken up without opening my eyes, so those are already open according to the riddle.
I wouldn't open the door until I had a look through the peephole, or the window if I was in a house instead of my apartment. It is 3AM for heavens sake. So I would know it was my divorced parents outside.

What I wouldn't know is that they're there for breakfast, if I don't force them to talk to me through the mailbox (in which case I open that) or they hold up a sign telling me that is the case. So the door has to be open at the start of the riddle.

So I suppose I would open the bread first after all.

---

Of course it could be badly written and ask the question of what I did, in which case I'd probably had to say my eyes due to waking u being the first action described.

[GoblinArchmage]

This riddle can't fool me. The answer is: nothing. I don't like cheese, so the fact that I have some means that I am dreaming. Check and mate.

[Temotei]

I choose to open whatever the hell I want to open first. If I want to open the jam first, I'm going to open the jam first.

Maybe I'll open the shower curtain first.

[Ravens_cry]

I choose to open whatever the hell I want to open first. If I want to open the jam first, I'm going to open the jam first.

Maybe I'll open the shower curtain first.
I'd like to see you do that without opening your eyes. And I know I have woken up without opening my eyes first at least once.

[Benthesquid]

Sometimes I sleep with my eyes open. I'm told it's creepy as hell.

[Creed]

I'm pretty sure we all know what the real answer is.
Let's stop being smart. It's 3 am, it's your folks. You open the wine. :smalltongue:

[Astral Avenger]

Sometimes I sleep with my eyes open. I'm told it's creepy as hell.

I do that too, so I would agree with any of the following answers:

My eyes (don't always sleep with them open)
The door
The toilet seat
The tap (I drink a glass of water when I wake up)
Fire (my parents are not the type to ring the doorbell at 3am, hence, impostors)

[memnarch]

The riddle is of course ambiguous (as riddles use to be) because, at the time the question is put, your eyes may be already open, so the door, to check who was ringing. You may even have opened the jam and the other breakfast things. So, given that the question is put when you are already woken, you know there are your parents and you know you have jam, honey, wine, bread and cheese, the next thing you are going to open for sure is
a heart valve :smalltongue:

I think this is the best answer.

[AdmiralCheez]

I think the real riddle here is "Why are my parents out at 3am with a Giraffe?"

[Ravens_cry]

I think this is the best answer.
Does an involuntary muscular contraction count as something *you* did though, rather than something your body did?

[thubby]

the question is poorly constructed. knowing my family is at the door would mean I've already opened my eyes and the door.

a correct answer is "a can of whoop-***" because 3am thubby is not the nice thubby :smallannoyed:

[FlapjackStudios]

The first thing I open is my mind. Because without an open mind I wouldn't even have time for this stupid garbage joke. Haha.

[Ravens_cry]

the question is poorly constructed. knowing my family is at the door would mean I've already opened my eyes and the door.

a correct answer is "a can of whoop-***" because 3am thubby is not the nice thubby :smallannoyed:
They could have called you on your cell-phone to let you know they were at the door and you answered your phone without opening your eyes.

[memnarch]

Does an involuntary muscular contraction count as something *you* did though, rather than something your body did?

Well, as I count my body as part of myself, yes. The fact that it's like it's on autopilot doesn't make a lot of difference to me. :smallcool:

[Ravens_cry]

Well, as I count my body as part of myself, yes. The fact that it's like it's on autopilot doesn't make a lot of difference to me. :smallcool:
But is it you. If you were to give up a kidney for donation, would that person be partly you then? It's a very philosophical question I know, but worth asking nonetheless.

[noparlpf]

Does an involuntary muscular contraction count as something *you* did though, rather than something your body did?

In that case, opening your eyes upon waking up doesn't count. That's practically an involuntary action.
It could also be argued that opening your mouth to complain is involuntary. :smalltongue:

[Topus]

But is it you. If you were to give up a kidney for donation, would that person be partly you then? It's a very philosophical question I know, but worth asking nonetheless.


We could argue that also the eye blinking is often involuntary ;)
Anyway, you is the result of a whole composite system (that is the usual definition of life, an autopoietic system self-mantaining and adjusting).
What you feel as consciousness is probably the result of a lot of mini-operations, many of which totally unconscious.
So, your kidney is somehow you, when he is inside you. It becomes something else when he is transplanted.
But your heart beating? Definitely is you, in my opinion. :)

[Mono Vertigo]

Spoilers.
That's what I open first.
For the goddamn answer.
And also to find out why there's a giraffe in the title but not in the riddle.

[Benthesquid]

Spoilers.
That's what I open first.
For the goddamn answer.
And also to find out why there's a giraffe in the title but not in the riddle.

The facebook giraffe riddle thing is a challenge circulating Facebook, whereby individuals voluntarily agree that if they do not answer the riddle correctly on the first try, they will change their profile picture to that of a giraffe.

[Mono Vertigo]

The facebook giraffe riddle thing is a challenge circulating Facebook, whereby individuals voluntarily agree that if they do not answer the riddle correctly on the first try, they will change their profile picture to that of a giraffe.
That's what I get for not being on Facebook. Thanks for the explanation!

[Aedilred]

Given that there seems to be no single commonly accepted answer, that tells me that at least one of the following is true:

1. It's a rubbish riddle
2. It's just a way to get everyone to change their profile pictures to giraffes.

[noparlpf]

That's what I get for not being on Facebook. Thanks for the explanation!

I am on facebook and I have not seen this at all.

[GolemsVoice]

The first thing I open is my mind. Because without an open mind I wouldn't even have time for this stupid garbage joke. Haha.

And open mind is like a fortress with it's doors unbarred and unguarded! =][=

[Elemental]

2. It's just a way to get everyone to change their profile pictures to giraffes.

Huh... That's a better explanation for pointless riddles than any I've heard in my entire life.



And open mind is like a fortress with it's doors unbarred and unguarded! =][=

But if you leave the door so intimidating, how will you ever get door to door chocolate salesindividuals?

[Mx.Silver]

The fridge.


If you already know that your parents want breakfast, then it stands to reason that they've communicated this to you which would require you to be up (and therefore have your eyes open) and likely also require you to have opened the door (you could use a phone, but I think that's too big an assumption).

Which brings us to breakfast, which means you'll need to get the food out. Since most of those items would likely be kept in a fridge, that is what you'd open. Either that or the cupboard, depending on where you store things.

[thubby]

They could have called you on your cell-phone to let you know they were at the door and you answered your phone without opening your eyes.

except their knocking is what woke you, per OP.

[Ravens_cry]

except their knocking is what woke you, per OP.
They ring the doorbell, waking you up, and then call you to let you know *they* are at the door.

[GoblinArchmage]

“Ring! Ring!”

To my tired ears, the doorbell had the sound of the gates of Hell opening up to seize me from my Heaven of sleep. I opened my eyes, the crusty mucous stuck along the rims of the lids cracked apart and began to flake off like dandruff.

“Ring! Ring!”

“What the hell?” I said, my voice mimicking that of a chain smoker. I coughed, and a globule of thick, salty mucous flew up my throat and landed on my tongue. I could taste the combination of flavors: the saltiness of my rage, the bitterness of my disappointment, the sourness of the curse of life.

“Ring! Ring!”

What could I do? I couldn't answer the door with a mouth full of fresh snot, but I didn't have time to run to the bathroom to spit it into the sink.

“Ring! Ring!”

With no better option available, I swallowed the gelatinous mass along with the dread of a new day. Speaking of a new day, what time was it?

“Ring! Ring!”

The digital clock displayed 3:00 am. I stared at it for an aeon, thinking nothing, only aware of the time that, when it changed to 3:01 am, I realized was fleeing from me, never to return.

“Ring! Ring!”

I felt my way through the dark hallways of my house. The darkness made me feel secure, safe from the lively sensations that vision would grant me in exchange for the ability to revel in the beauty that my vision showed me. No, it was better that I not see. My only sensation was the running mucous sliding down from my nasal cavity into my throat, sticking to the walls of my esophagus. I tried to swallow, but the slimy goo remained and taunted me. I felt as if the walls of my throat were closing and gluing shut.

“Ring! Ring!”

“Shut up! I'm coming!”

I opened the door and saw my beloved mother and father standing outside in the cold air. I could feel the warmth of their bodies before I reached out to embrace them. I stopped. I had forgotten.

“Mom! Dad! Hi! I want to hug you, but I'm sick.”

“It's okay, GoblinArchmage.”

“I love you,” I said.

“We love you too, buddy.”

“Come in. I'll get you something to drink.”

I opened the fridge and saw an unopened bottle of Manischewitz, vintage 2012. I sighed, but grabbed the bottle and a couple of glasses.

“I'm sorry that I don't have something fancier, but I hope this will do.”

I let my parents pour the wine themselves. The fumes of the alcohol were sweet, and they made me think of the Maenads of Dionysus ripping apart Pentheus with their bare hands.

My mother poured the wine first, and took the ice cubes that I handed her to drop in the glass in order to keep it cool, as cold as the frozen ripples of Cocytus. She sipped her drink, grimacing at the cheap taste.

My father then took his turn, pouring himself some wine, but refusing any ice. He sipped his, and smiled.

I then remembered something, something very important. My heart beat like the war drums of a massive army. Fear liquified the mucous in my nose and throat. This situation was wrong. Some dark force had spawned from the depths of the indifferent and meaningless universe and crawled its way to our Solar System.

My father doesn't like wine.

[Gravitron5000]

And open mind is like a fortress with it's doors unbarred and unguarded! =][=

Why lock the door to the Tomb of Horrors? It's no fun if you don't have a regular pilgrimage of adventurers to toy with.