One of the memes doing the rounds on Facebook this week has been the following riddle:

3.00am and the door bell rings and you wake up. Unexpected visitors, it’s your parents and they are here for breakfast. You have strawberry jam, honey, wine, bread and cheese! What is the first thing you open?

You are meant to contact the poser of the riddle with the answer and, if you get it wrong, you are required to change your profile picture to show a giraffe. Of course, it is hard to keep a secret and I’ve read a blog post giving both the answer I had in mind and the “right” answer. If you fancy playing the game, I won’t spoil your fun but I think there is definitely a get out if you don’t want to bother changing your picture.

If someone declares you got it wrong and they give the answer I expect, ask them how you know the ring of the doorbell signifies familiar but unexpected visitors who want breakfast? A good riddle should have an answer that appears obvious with hindsight but this one plays fast and loose with the timing of the question and the information presented.

I suppose I should change my profile picture to a humbug!