The Answer to The Riddle is a Sponge

What is full of holes but still holds water? This old riddle has stumped many people over the years. It plays with our basic understanding of how objects work.

The answer is simple: aSponge.

A sponge perfectly fits the description of what is full of holes but still holds water. Despite its porous structure, a sponge can soak up and retain liquid effectively.

The tiny pores and absorbent material allow it to trap water molecules within its structure rather than letting them pass through.

How Can Something Full of Holes Hold Water?

The sponge might seem like magic, but there’s solid science behind how it works.

When someone looks at a sponge under a microscope, they see that it’s not just full of random holes; it has a special structure designed to trap liquid. A sponge contains thousands of tiny connected spaces and channels.

These small tunnels create what scientists call a “capillary action” effect. This means that water is pulled into these spaces and held there against the force of gravity, much like how a paper towel draws up spilled water.

The material of the sponge also plays a key role. Natural sponges are made of soft fibers that attract water molecules.

These fibers act like tiny magnets for water. Synthetic sponges use similar principles with materials designed to mimic this effect.

This same principle works in other items, too. Paper towels, certain types of cloth, and even some plants use similar methods to hold water despite having spaces throughout their structure.

Challenge Your Brain With These Related Riddles

These clever puzzles use wordplay and unexpected logic to stretch your imagination, forcing you to look beyond the obvious and discover surprising, often humorous, answers.

1. What has many teeth but can’t bite? A comb

2. What gets wetter the more it dries? A towel

3. What has a neck but no head? A bottle

4. What has a heart that doesn’t beat? An artichoke

5. What is always in front of you but can’t be seen? The future

6. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years? The letter “M”

7. What can travel around the world while staying in the corner? A stamp

8. What is light as a feather, yet the strongest man can’t hold it for much longer? Breath

9. What has keys but can’t open locks? A piano

10. What has a ring but no finger? A telephone

11. What has one eye but can’t see? A needle

12. What can be cracked, made, told, and played? A joke

13. What has a foot but no legs? A ruler

14. What has a bottom at the top? A leg

15. What can be broken but never held? A promise

16. What has cities, but no houses; forests, but no trees; and rivers, but no water? A map

17. What has a face but no eyes, nose, or mouth? A clock

18. What has an endless supply but never runs out? A river

19. What has a bark but no bite? A tree

20. What can you catch but not throw? A cold

21. What runs but never walks? Water

22. What has holes but can still hold things? A net

23. What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it? Silence

24. What’s full of holes but still keeps things together? A sponge

25. What has a tail but no body? A coin

26. What can be heard but never seen? Sound

27. What is always coming but never arrives? Tomorrow

28. What has a bed but never sleeps? A river

29. What is invisible but you can feel it? The wind

30. What can’t be touched but can be heard? Music

31. What has teeth but doesn’t bite? A comb

32. What gets bigger the more you take away from it? A hole

33. What comes down but never goes up? Rain

34. What has a tongue but cannot taste? A shoe

35. What has no beginning, end, or middle? A doughnut

36. What has legs but doesn’t walk? A table

37. What’s inside but can’t be outside? An echo

38. What has a head but no brain? A cabbage

39. What gets sharper the more you use it? A pencil

40. What can fill a room but take up no space? Light

41. What has no life, but grows? A shadow

42. What has hands but can’t clap? A clock

43. What has a tail but no head? A coin

44. What can’t be put in a saucepan? A lid

45. What belongs to you, but other people use it more than you? Your name

46. What comes up but never goes down? Your age

47. What’s always in the future but never arrives? Tomorrow

Final Thoughts

Next time you squeeze out a kitchen sponge, take a second to appreciate this small wonder of design. The world is full of these little contradictions waiting to be noticed.

What’s your favorite brain teaser? Share it in the comments below, or pass this article along to someone who enjoys thinking about these small questions with big answers.