23
$\begingroup$

I am generally white, but I can also be pink.

I am popular.

You can't live without me, but I can kill you.

I am usually bigger than you would use me.

Sometimes you add elements to me, sometimes you add me to other things, but usually, you do not use me by myself.

I come from water, but not from any water.

I am part of you.

What am I?

|improve this question
$\endgroup$
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Welcome to Puzzling. $\endgroup$ – IAmInPLS Aug 18 '16 at 13:50
  • $\begingroup$ @IAmInPLS Thank you and thank you for your edit. $\endgroup$ – Maria Deleva Aug 18 '16 at 13:51
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Clever riddle this as your first $\endgroup$ – Beastly Gerbil Aug 18 '16 at 14:01
  • $\begingroup$ Good&Plenty (not the black ones) $\endgroup$ – Carl Witthoft Aug 18 '16 at 17:10
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ I really wanted to make "elephant" fit as an answer... $\endgroup$ – Michael McGriff Aug 18 '16 at 19:09
26
$\begingroup$

I like this one. The answer is probably

Salt!

I am generally white, but I can also be pink.

Regular salt is typically white, but Himalayan Rock Salt is pink.

I am popular.

Lots of people put salt on their food.

You can't live without me, but I can kill you.

I can't remember what the exact biological benefit of salt is, but if you eat too much of it you'll die.

I am usually bigger than you would use me.

Salt blocks can be very large.

Sometimes you add elements to me, sometimes you add me to other things, but usually, you do not use me by myself.

People don't typically eat salt by itself- and I guess if the question is referring to Sodium specifically, it's combined with Chloride to form table salt usually.

I come from water, but not from any water.

Salt can be derived from salt water (with extreme difficulty) but not freshwater.

I am part of you.

Salt is a part of all of us.

|improve this answer
$\endgroup$
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ @MariaDeleva not at all! This is better than most riddles I see, and I didn't manage to get it at all $\endgroup$ – Beastly Gerbil Aug 18 '16 at 14:05
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I like it plain... (cc @MariaDeleva ) $\endgroup$ – user58 Aug 18 '16 at 14:05
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ "With extreme difficulty"? Just dunk your jeans in the ocean and hang them to dry. $\endgroup$ – Ian MacDonald Aug 18 '16 at 14:24
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I was thinking more about desalination plants, but I suppose that's a viable method as well. I don't think I'd want to put pants-salt on my food, though :) $\endgroup$ – Leslie P. Aug 18 '16 at 14:41
  • 7
    $\begingroup$ I think the "adding elements to me" part is referring to iodine. $\endgroup$ – Tophandour Aug 18 '16 at 15:54
6
$\begingroup$

Bit of a stretch but its the only thing I can think of

Periodic table

I am generally white, but I can also be pink.

Periodic table can be colored but I suppose its usually just plain white

I am popular.

Everyone knows about the periodic table

You can't live without me, but I can kill you.

It contains vital elements that we need to survive (like oxygen) but also contains harmful ones (like mercury)

I am usually bigger than you would use me.

Either we use smaller versions or we only use parts of it and don't really use the lower and rarer elements

Sometimes you add elements to me, sometimes you add me to other things, but usually, you do not use me by myself.

We can add elements to it, and add elements to other things to form compounds, but we don't use the whole periodic table itself

I come from water, but not from any water.

It starts with Hydrogen from H2O which is water

I am part of you.

Our bodies are made up of many elements

|improve this answer
$\endgroup$
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Colored periodic tables are not pink; they are colored (different pinks, are you sure?), i.e. different color for each group (alkali metals, noble gases, alkaline earth metals, metalloids, non-metals, halogens, other metals, transition metals, lanthanides, actinides). There might also be "unclassified" elements, i.e. Ununseptium. $\endgroup$ – EKons Aug 19 '16 at 8:11
  • $\begingroup$ you mix up the periodic table, a picture/printout of the periodic table and the chemical elements, but +1 to try to find another answer $\endgroup$ – miracle173 Aug 20 '16 at 7:27

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.