From below I am born
Place me above and I shall sweat
Cut me and I do not bleed
Yet shed me in time of need
HINT
an oven is formed when cut between sheets
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1$\begingroup$ Is it possible to accept an answer so this doesn't keep getting bumped up by people who haven't seen your intended answer? $\endgroup$– bg6471Oct 13, 2016 at 6:31
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14 Answers
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Perhaps you are
ice?
From below I am born
Ice forms when temperatures are below freezing.
Place me above and I shall sweat
But if you put ice in temperatures that are above freezing, it melts again.
Cut me and I do not bleed
Ice is only frozen water and does not bleed when cut.
Yet shed me in time of need
The end of winter is a time of need for people (though somewhat less so in modern times) and animals who have used up their stores of food and supplies. But then spring comes, and the land sheds its snow and ice and living things begin to thrive again.
I doubt it, but I like the "above" and "below" correlation.
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$\begingroup$ If you fix your explanation for "shed me in time of need" I could give this answer credit, although it's not what I thought when writing it initially, it does work. $\endgroup$– jmbmageAug 18, 2016 at 18:34
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$\begingroup$ @jmb.mage I tried what might be a better reason for the last line of the riddle. I'm still curious what the real answer is, though! I keep checking back to see if anyone has gotten it yet. $\endgroup$ Aug 19, 2016 at 3:21
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1$\begingroup$ "shed in time of need" could be perspiration. "in time of need" could be either a tense situation or could be when we need to shed it i.e while running, etc. $\endgroup$– thepaceOct 13, 2016 at 8:22
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Are you
hair
From below I am born
Comes from under the skin through follicles
Place me above and I shall sweat
A full head of hair will make you sweat.
Cut me and I do not bleed
Hair has no blood capillaries, so it does not bleed when you cut it.
Yet shed me in time of need
animals shed their fur when they get too hot, and grow more back when they get cold (winter/summer coats).
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$\begingroup$ Similar answer to mine - but think this is more likely to be correct, I'm unsure about the bleeding bit in mine $\endgroup$ Aug 15, 2016 at 12:50
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$\begingroup$ You might want to add about summer and winter coats of fur for the last one $\endgroup$ Aug 15, 2016 at 12:53
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$\begingroup$ @BeastlyGerbil. I expanded on a few parts. The one that I am a little iffy on is the sweat part, because my answer doesn't sweat on its own. $\endgroup$– AProughAug 15, 2016 at 12:56
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1$\begingroup$ I accept that this is not the answer, but I will dispute that "Place me" is automatically a voluntary (and apparently physical) action. Placing something somewhere can be a mental/theoretical action ("I can't seem to place where I met you before") $\endgroup$– AProughAug 15, 2016 at 13:08
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2$\begingroup$ "Place me" = wig $\endgroup$– user5971Aug 16, 2016 at 9:11
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Are you
Grass
From below I am born
It grows from the ground
Place me above and I shall sweat
Cut me and I do not bleed
Grass doesn't bleed
Yet shed me in time of need
Cut it when it gets too long so it looks nicer
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1$\begingroup$ This answer nearly works! Although the sweat produced requires a second element. $\endgroup$– jmbmageAug 15, 2016 at 15:57
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1$\begingroup$ Technically that's not sweat, it's transpiration $\endgroup$ Aug 15, 2016 at 21:31
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Another guess:
Daedalus's wings
From below I am born
Daedalus made the wings when he was trapped in the Labyrinth, which is sometimes depicted as being underground.
Place me above and I shall sweat
Daedalus warned his son Icarus that if he flew too high with the wings, they would melt from the heat of the sun.
Cut me and I do not bleed
The wings were made of wax and feathers, not flesh and blood.
Yet shed me in time of need
In spite of his father's warning, Icarus flew too high and inadvertently shed his wings by melting them apart when he needed them most.
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My Guess:
Clouds
From below I am born
Starts out as water on the ground that evaporates
Place me above and I shall sweat
Evaporated water condenses as a cloud above and then rains down
Cut me and I do not bleed
Clouds don't bleed when a plane flies through them
Yet shed me in time of need
During a drought there isn't enough water vapor in the air for clouds to form
Last part is not as much of a stretch now, thanks whrrgarbl :)
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1$\begingroup$ Before I read all your explanations I was thinking about drought for the last clue, which could be less of a stretch. The rest seems pretty plausible to me! $\endgroup$ Aug 16, 2016 at 13:47
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Might be
Skin
From below I am born
You have several layers of skin, the bottom layer slowly rises to the top and the skin tissue is created under you current top layers
Place me above and I shall sweat
Top layer of skin sweats
Cut me and I do not bleed
Skin itself can't bleed - you can pierce the top layer of your skin and there won't be any blood (not sure?)
Yet shed me in time of need
Skin constantly flakes off - dust is created by dead skin
answered Aug 15, 2016 at 12:48
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$\begingroup$ Debatable because "Place me" involves a voluntary action. The purpose of your answer does not totally meet "in time of need". $\endgroup$– jmbmageAug 15, 2016 at 13:05
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Still thinking about it, but might I guess:
Fears / Worries
From below I am born
Fears/Worries come from deep down inside, butterflies in the stomach or as if they come from within one's heart
Place me above and I shall sweat
Place them above, i.e. in your head, and thinking about them makes you sweat
Cut me and I do not bleed
Fears and worries often feel unassailable, or out of your power. You can try to fight the monster that is your fears/worries (cut it) but it will not help (will not bleed)
Yet shed me in time of need
In dire circumstances, we drop our fears and worries to bravely do what needs to be done
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Maybe :
A tree
Because :
"From below I am born"
It grows from earth
"Place me above and I shall sweat"
"Transpiration is the process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts, such as leaves, stems and flowers." From wikipedia, transpiration page
"Cut me and I do not bleed"
Trees don't have blood but have sap or resin
"Yet shed me in time of need"
For example to produce paper or do a fire
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Trying to think outside the box here:
you are an athlete on the reserve roster for a team sport
From below I am born
a roster of players can be organized with those playing at the top of the list and those on reserve at the bottom, with a line between (in general, most players new to a team start at the bottom)
Place me above and I shall sweat
the coach places you "above" the reserve line. you are now an active player and will sweat from activity
Cut me and I do not bleed
the coach can cut a player from the active roster at any time, which means they are placed back onto the reserve (no bleeding!)
Yet shed me in time of need
a coach can completely remove a player from a team if they need to make room for other players (salary caps, etc.), or if they are underperforming team (to benefit the team)
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An answer that perhaps beats my previous answer of
Fears / Worries
Is
Flowers/Seedpods
From below I am born
Seeds grow from the ground and sprout up
Place me above and I shall sweat
Flowers/Seedpods 'sweat' either their pollen or seeds to disperse them
Cut me and I do not bleed
Flowers/Seedpods and even their trees can be cut but do not bleed
Yet shed me in time of need
Tree's shed their seeds / pollen to achieve their singular goal of reproduction
This un's a hard one
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Here we go:
A potato
"From below I am born"
You grow potatoes underground
"Place me above and I shall sweat"
In sunlight potatoes 'sweat' and rot I believe (?)
"Cut me and I do not bleed"
Potatoes don't bleed when cut
"Yet shed me in time of need"
A good place to store potatoes is in a shed
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1$\begingroup$ I think you might've gotten your answer and explanation mixed up haha $\endgroup$ Aug 17, 2016 at 15:31
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$\begingroup$ Yes; I copied someone else's format to save time. Laziness never pays $\endgroup$ Aug 17, 2016 at 15:33
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This could be
water
From below I am born
Water is created under the surface of earth.
Place me above and I shall sweat
Water in clouds "sweats" as rain.
Cut me and I do not bleed
This refers to Water Cut, which is the ratio of produced water compared to the volume of the total produced fluids in a well.
Yet shed me in time of need
Organisms "shed" the water if there is more than needed (sweating, urinating etc).
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Are you
Skin
From below I am born
Skin forms under the current top layer of skin
Place me above and I shall sweat
The top layer of skin is able to sweat
Cut me and I do not bleed
You only bleed if you are cut deep enough to penetrate through the skin
Yet shed me in time of need
Most animals shed their skin over time
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I thought I'd give the answer I originally intended. Although after consideration I believe @aprough answer may be the closest.
From below I am born
Cheese comes from below a cow, it's also a rumor it was originally made in caves, below ground, or being left inside animal bladders.
Place me above and I shall sweat
cheese left out will sweat
Cut me and I do not bleed
cutting cheese does not bleed it
Yet shed me in time of need
shedding cheese, or grating cheese, is often a way of using it, like parmigiana flakes
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