Riddle: Take one out and scratch my head, I am now black but once was red. What am I?
Answer: A match
Riddle Explanation + Meaning
This riddle refers to an everyday object that we use to create fire.
When you take a match out of its box and scratch its head against a suitable surface, it ignites and produces a flame.
Before ignition, the head of a match is typically red, indicating the presence of phosphorus or another chemical designed to catch fire easily.
Upon being struck, the head heats up, reacts, and the match head turns black as it burns.
This transformation from red to black through the action of scratching its head to ignite is the key to solving the riddle.
It cleverly describes the process of lighting a match in a way that requires you to think beyond the literal words, engaging with the underlying concept of how matches work.
