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The answer to the riddle is two words.

The Riddle:

I grow by consuming one thing

The more I consume the larger I get

Regardless of my size you don't see more of me

I am lighter than what I consume

Hint:

I am something real, something tangible that you can put your hands on, something that can become enormous.

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  • $\begingroup$ I would have said the "like" button, but last one does not add up $\endgroup$
    – me_digvijay
    Oct 19, 2017 at 16:36
  • $\begingroup$ @me_digvijay check out my latest hint. If it still doesn't add up then it will when you see the answer. Give me the up click then. :) $\endgroup$
    – Dr t
    Oct 19, 2017 at 21:05
  • $\begingroup$ Does it get infinitely larger? Or does it have a maximum size ? $\endgroup$
    – Red fx
    Oct 20, 2017 at 7:09
  • $\begingroup$ @Red fx doesn't get infinitely larger but does get REALLY big almost the size of an island $\endgroup$
    – Dr t
    Oct 20, 2017 at 16:24

12 Answers 12

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Hazarding a guess you are

an iceberg

I grow by consuming one thing

Water - ocean icebergs are composed of mostly fresh water from the salty sea.

The more I consume the larger I get

Yes

Regardless of my size you don't see more of me

Only see 10% of you regardless of size - the tip of the iceberg.

Or the answer may be more like pond ice. If the surface is frozen over the ice layer will increase in depth but the visible top remains the same.

I am lighter than what I consume

Ice is less dense than water.

Hint: I am something real, something tangible that you can put your hands on, something that can become enormous.

Ice is tangible. It could be small like an ice cube or titanic.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks due to you Dr T for the creativity and Rand for the breakthrough. $\endgroup$
    – Tom
    Oct 20, 2017 at 16:27
  • $\begingroup$ Ah, the third line was what tripped me up. @Drt You do see more of it in an absolute sense as it gets bigger, right? Just not proportionally more of it. $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Oct 20, 2017 at 16:42
  • $\begingroup$ i could never let go off of the two word answer clue :P $\endgroup$
    – WeShall
    Oct 20, 2017 at 17:18
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You are

a sponge.

I grow by consuming one thing

Water.

The more I consume the larger I get

As a sponge becomes saturated, it gets heavier.

Regardless of my size you don't see more of me

Regardless of the amount of water, the amount of sponge material remains the same.

I am lighter than what I consume

A dry sponge is lighter than the same amount of water.

I am something real, something tangible that you can put your hands on, something that can become quite heavy.

Well indeed.

Previous answer

Are you

a balloon?

I grow by consuming one thing

A balloon consumes gas to become larger.

The more I consume the larger I get

Clearly.

Regardless of my size you don't see more of me

No matter how large it gets, there's still the same amount of balloon material, just stretched thinner and wider.

I am lighter than what I consume

Depends what kind of gas you put into it.

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  • $\begingroup$ I don't think that last statement is true. $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Oct 19, 2017 at 16:22
  • $\begingroup$ @Rand al'Thor Thanks for the edit. Check out my recently added hint. An empty balloon would not be lighter than air or helium etc. Good try though $\endgroup$
    – Dr t
    Oct 19, 2017 at 21:02
  • $\begingroup$ @Drt Edited to change my answer after your hint. $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Oct 19, 2017 at 21:07
  • $\begingroup$ @Gareth Fair point; I've now changed it to a different answer. $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Oct 19, 2017 at 21:08
  • $\begingroup$ @Rand al'Thor check for the change I made to the hint. You are on track. You are forcing me to purify my hint for the riddle. thank you $\endgroup$
    – Dr t
    Oct 19, 2017 at 21:25
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you are

Sun light

I grow by consuming one thing

you consume darkness

The more I consume the larger I get

more things illuminated causes more light refraction, creating more lighted space

Regardless of my size you don't see more of me

your sight is limited to the area of sunlight you can see, regardless of how much 'bigger' it gets

I am lighter than what I consume

I may be taking some liberties here, but you are 'lighter' because you ARE light. which is 'lighter' than darkness:)

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  • $\begingroup$ check out the new hint. I like your literary license but it is off. $\endgroup$
    – Dr t
    Oct 19, 2017 at 21:00
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The two words just means this is more specific, but you can madlib the first word to my guess which is:

______ virus (e.g. flu, ebola, etc.)

I grow by consuming one thing

Healthy Cells. Viruses live (e.g reproduce) by injecting their genetic material into a healthy cell which is then consumed to make more viruses

The more I consume the larger I get

The more virus present the larger the infection and the more people infected/sick the larger the epidemic

Regardless of my size you don't see more of me

It's a virus, you never "see" it as it exists at the microscopic level.

I am lighter than what I consume

A virus is smaller than a cell and is often transported by physical contact/airborne transmission/etc which implies it's lighter than a cell.

Hint: I am something real, something tangible that you can put your hands on, something that can become enormous.

A virus is quite real and tangible and often time is transmitted when you put your hands on it. An epidemic, given the proper circumstances, can also become enormous.

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  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Nice "out-of-the-box" answer! $\endgroup$
    – Jason V
    Oct 20, 2017 at 16:56
  • $\begingroup$ @John Eisbrener Wow!! I never would have thought this would be an answer. Nice shot at it. $\endgroup$
    – Dr t
    Oct 20, 2017 at 17:55
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This might be way off but I want to say...

Forest Fire

I grow by consuming one thing

It consumes mostly one thing - wood

The more I consume the larger I get

More wood it burns, bigger it gets

Regardless of my size you don't see more of me

There are only few big forest fires every year

I am lighter than what I consume

Fire is lighter then the wood it consumes

And...

It is a two words answer

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  • $\begingroup$ You are strangely kind of on target...just go the other direction...way the other direction $\endgroup$
    – Dr t
    Oct 19, 2017 at 21:03
  • $\begingroup$ @Drt : is it snow-storm? $\endgroup$
    – WeShall
    Oct 19, 2017 at 22:34
  • $\begingroup$ It isn't a snow storm but if you combine that thinking with what Rand al'Thor submitted and you will be oh so close!! Yippeeee Yay $\endgroup$
    – Dr t
    Oct 19, 2017 at 23:23
  • $\begingroup$ sponge storm? :D:D just kidding $\endgroup$
    – Red fx
    Oct 20, 2017 at 8:14
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maybe you are

A cloud ?

I grow by consuming one thing

Grow in size by absorbing water

The more I consume the larger I get

The more water comes in, the bigger it gets

Regardless of my size you don't see more of me

??? if "more of me" is used as "a bigger surface of me", could be because clouds grow in height (idk about this one ^^')

I am lighter than what I consume

clouds fly

Hint | I am something real, something tangible that you can put your hands on, something that can become enormous.

Not everybody can touch it, but it's made of water, which is tangible. And it can grow enormous as cloud can be kilometers long

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Is it

Fire

grow by consuming one thing

It grows by consuming air

The more I consume the larger I get

The more air it get, the more heavily it burns

Regardless of my size you don't see more of me

The fire disappears as smoke upwards

I am lighter than what I consume

Fire is lighter than air

Hint: I am something real, something tangible that you can put your hands on, something that can become enormous.

Fire is tangible, and it burns enormously when someone or something comes in contact with it.

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  • $\begingroup$ Guess we all though fire first, consume would be a huge hint, but if the fire is bigger in size you do see more fire right ? $\endgroup$
    – Damien
    Oct 20, 2017 at 13:05
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I think the answer is a black hole. It grows by consuming masses. It gets larger in the process. But since it is so heavy not even light can escape it and therefore you can not see it. Since it radiates energy while absorbing masses via gravitational waves it is lighter than its components.

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  • $\begingroup$ Okay, to make things clear there is no theory of quantum physics required for this one. Nice try though. It surprised me. It made me smile. Thank you lots. t $\endgroup$
    – Dr t
    Oct 19, 2017 at 21:27
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Are you

A hot air balloon

I grow by consuming one thing

Air

The more I consume the larger I get

Obviously

Regardless of my size you don't see more of me

It gets larger but its amount doesn't change.

I am lighter than what I consume

The weight of a hot air balloon is less than air. That's how they fly.

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It could be

cotton / cotton ball

I grow by consuming one thing

Water

The more I consume the larger I get

Becomes heavier

Regardless of my size you don't see more of me

it remains same just stretches and consume water

I am lighter than what I consume

lighter than water

I am something real, something tangible that you can put your hands on,

True

something that can become enormous

can stretch cotton

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It could be a

Water bed

As,

It grows in size by consuming water
though it grows by consuming water, we cannot see it more of it Usually an empty water bed is much lighter than the water it can hold

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  • $\begingroup$ this is not the right answer but i really like it. Up vote for a fun answer $\endgroup$
    – Dr t
    Oct 20, 2017 at 16:26
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Probably a big stretch but could this be a

Star - or specifically a red dwarf?

I grow by consuming one thing

flammable gasses?

The more I consume the larger I get

I'm pretty sure some stars (or all?) grow in diameter as they shrink in mass

Regardless of my size you don't see more of me

These stars are actually made up of less matter and emit less light so you kind of see less of them as they grow?

I am lighter than what I consume

Lighter could mean emits more light?

Hint:

I am something real, something tangible that you can put your hands on, something that can become enormous.

Real, tangible, ..., enormous. Ok... so probably not but maybe-almost-ish

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