Have you ever heard of the man comes home microwave riddle? It is a popular brain teaser that has been circulating on the internet for a while. The riddle goes like this:

A man comes home from work and finds his wife dead in the kitchen. He notices that the microwave is on and there is a piece of paper with some numbers on it. He calls the police and tells them what he saw. The police arrive and arrest him for murder. How did they know he did it?

The riddle is designed to test your logical thinking and problem-solving skills. It is not as easy as it seems, and many people have different interpretations and solutions. In this article, we will explain the riddle, its possible answers, and its origin.

The Riddle Explained

The riddle is based on the assumption that the man killed his wife by putting her in the microwave and turning it on. The piece of paper with some numbers on it is the clue that reveals his guilt. The numbers are the time that the microwave was set to run, and they correspond to the date and time of the murder.

For example, if the piece of paper had the numbers 12252023, it would mean that the microwave was set to run for 12 minutes and 25 seconds, and the murder happened on December 25, 2023. The police could verify this by checking the microwave’s timer and the wife’s body temperature.

The riddle also implies that the man was not aware of the piece of paper or the microwave’s timer, and he did not try to hide them. This suggests that he acted impulsively and did not plan the murder. He also did not have an alibi, since he said he came home from work and found his wife dead.

The Possible Answers

The riddle does not have a definitive answer, and there are many ways to approach it. Some people might argue that the riddle is flawed, and there are other possible scenarios that could explain the situation. For example:

• The piece of paper could have been written by someone else, such as the wife or a third party, and it could have a different meaning than the microwave’s timer. It could be a phone number, a lottery ticket, a password, or a code.
• The microwave could have been turned on by someone else, such as the wife or a third party, and it could have a different purpose than killing the wife. It could be used to heat up food, sterilize items, or create a diversion.
• The wife could have died from a different cause than the microwave, such as a heart attack, a poisoning, or a stabbing. The microwave could have been a coincidence, a red herring, or a false flag.

These alternative explanations could cast doubt on the man’s guilt, and they could be supported by other evidence, such as fingerprints, DNA, CCTV, or witnesses. The police would have to investigate further and rule out these possibilities before arresting the man.

The Origin of the Riddle

The origin of the riddle is unclear, but it seems to have emerged in the early 2000s, when microwaves became more common and accessible. The riddle is similar to other murder mystery riddles, such as the one about the man who hangs himself in a room with a puddle of water, or the one about the woman who shoots her husband and then holds him underwater.

The riddle is also influenced by the genre of crime fiction, especially the subgenre of locked-room mysteries, where a crime is committed in a seemingly impossible or isolated location. Some famous examples of locked-room mysteries are The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe, The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux, and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie.

The riddle is meant to challenge the reader’s imagination and logic, and to stimulate their curiosity and creativity. It is also meant to entertain and amuse, and to spark a lively discussion and debate. The riddle has no definitive answer, and it is up to the reader to decide what they think happened and why.