What Am I? Ribs but No Bones
Read the puzzle
Three clues describe one object. Clue 1: "I open when it rains." Clue 2: "I close when it stops." Clue 3: "I have ribs but no bones." The options are A: window, B: tent, C: umbrella, D: book. Which object fits all three clues?
Which object fits all three clues?
Picture each object on a rainy day.
Umbrella
It opens in the rain, closes after, and has ribs: C.
How to solve it
Test each option against all three clues and drop it as soon as one clue fails.
A window opens and closes, but people usually shut it when rain starts, the reverse of clue 1, and it has no ribs. A tent may be put up in wet weather, but it is not opened and closed with each shower. A book opens and closes, but rain has nothing to do with it. That leaves the umbrella: it opens when rain starts, closes when it stops, and the thin spokes that hold its cover out are called ribs, with no bones anywhere.
The trap is the window, because opening and closing fit so well. Clue 3 is the one that settles it.
Takeaway: one clue can fit several objects; the answer is the only one that passes every clue.
Learn the method: Process of Elimination in Puzzles: Rule Out Until One Is Left
