What’s Black and White and Red All Over?
Ha! How ridiculous were these riddles from the 1970s and 1980s? The jokes were totally innocent and fabulously silly.
What’s black and white and red all over? Do you remember that riddle? There were two different answers that my challenged memory recalls.
1. The intellectual answer which plays on the homophonic words “red” and “read”: A newspaper! But now newspapers are obscure so this joke is probably meaningless to the younger generation!
2. The gross-factor answer: A skunk in a blender! Bah! Because these are the macabre things we thought were funny three decades ago!
I know there were many other variations of this riddle, so my curiosity was piqued and I did a little Google search which yielded these other answers:
3. A sunburned penguin.
4. An embarrassed skunk.
5. A zebra painted red.
I also discovered some less politically correct, incredibly insensitive, and not very socially acceptable answers. According to ask.com (the only resource I actually checked!), many variations of this “joke appeared in at least 21 collections of folk riddles published between 1917 and 1974.” (Hashtag useless information!)
When I did an image search for memes including this phrase, I discovered an overwhelming amount of perverted, disgusting, and only sometimes funny alternatives to the classic riddle. (Search at your own risk. You have been warned. It is difficult to shock me, but what I found out there was troubling to my maturing values.)
Back to the lighter side of this riddle…I love the phrase in reference to color combinations in clothing. Mostly because one of my favorite color pairings is black and white. So classic and clean. I love it even more with a splash of color…in particular red. When I realized that I wore this color pairing three times in the past two weeks, I thought a post about it was in order! So I have a new answer to “What’s black and white and red all over?” Answer: Shelbee’s outfits! (And hashtag dork!) Take a look.
Outfit 1: Red Polka Dot Pixie Pants with Black Tunic
Style note: The tunic I am wearing looked too shapeless, so I tied the sides to create a bit of a billowy shape. Better than no shape at all, I suppose!
Outfit 2: Black and White Shorts with Red Sweater
Outfit 3: Black and White Blouse with Red Cape
Which of my three black and white and red all over outfits do you like best? Do you have a favorite color combination? Do you have a favorite joke or riddle to share? We can all use a laugh! I will leave you with one of my all time favorites:
Keeping it on the edge,
Shelbee
8 Comments
Ada
Hi Shelbee, I am Ada. I co-hosted the Thursday Fashion Files yesterday. So glad I found your blog. Such cute outfits and nice layers. As a huge fan of chic but casual looks I like these outfits. All your patterned pieces are great, especially the red polka-dotted pants – love them. Red is my favorite color after all. I welcome you to check out my blog. Thanks, Ada. =)
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Ada! I have your blog saved in my favorites already for my weekly reading! You have great style and I will definitely be checking out your page for inspiration. Thanks for stopping by!
Dawn Lucy
Haha … this riddle brings back childhood memories. But mostly it makes me happy because black, white, and red is my very fav combo! Such adorable looks, Shelbee!
Thanks so much of sharing with Fun Fashion Friday & hope to see you back again next week!
OXOX
Dawn Lucy
http://fashionshouldbefun.blogspot.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks Dawn Lucy! I’m glad I could bring laughter to your day!! And thanks for hosting Fun Fashion Friday!
Nicole Mölders (@HighLatitudeSty)
Thanks for linking up to Top of the World Style
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, Nicole, for hosting the link up!
Happiness at Mid Life
I don’t remember this riddle as a kid but I do love the color combo! Love all of these looks.
Thank you for being a part of TBT Fashion link up and hope to see you Thursday.
Alice
http://www.happinessatmidlife.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Alice!