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My cousins come in many colors.
They are bought and sold.
But me, I am always with you.
Even when you're old.
My cousins are more useful.
But there is no use for me.
I cannot be worn on clothing
You were born with me.

Who or what am I?

Note:

The above poem is updated to make it less broad, especially note the last line.

The correct answer consists of two parts, as there are two subjects in the riddle.

Who or what are the cousins? Who or what is the main object?

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  • $\begingroup$ The correct answer is fitting and quite clever, but there are near-misses that can make a good case as well. I think this can be helped with some oblique clues towards other aspects of the answer, like it's location and form. $\endgroup$
    – xnor
    Feb 17, 2015 at 23:46
  • $\begingroup$ Trying to find that balance between too easy and too difficult for this site is a challenge. You want me to add another line or two to it, even now that it is finished? I can if you like. $\endgroup$
    – Michael Rize
    Feb 17, 2015 at 23:53

8 Answers 8

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You are a

belly button,

and your cousins are

ordinary buttons.

Explanation:

My cousins come in many colors.

Colourful buttons

They are bought and sold.

In stores for clothes and accessories

But me, I am always with you.

Even when you're old.

Obviously! :)

My cousins are more useful.

Holds together shirts, jackets, suits, etc.

But there is no use for me.

After birth, that is!

I cannot be worn on clothing

It's 'worn' under clothes, not on top of them.

You were born with me.

Actually, maybe not quite true - I'm not a medical doctor, but I thought it's what's left after the umbilical cord is cut.

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  • $\begingroup$ Where do you look to find instructions on how to make a field invisible until mouse-over? I've been looking around and can't find it - I also didn't see it among the standard editing icons. $\endgroup$
    – Lawrence
    Feb 17, 2015 at 10:19
  • $\begingroup$ Use the >! function at the start of a line. $\endgroup$
    – Bulldogg6404
    Feb 17, 2015 at 10:20
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Also, if you click the edit button under someone's post (assuming it is visible), you can see how it is formatted and learn how to style accordingly. Glad I could help! =) $\endgroup$
    – Bulldogg6404
    Feb 17, 2015 at 10:21
  • $\begingroup$ @Bulldogg6404 Thanks again! I'm fairly new here and didn't get enough rep points to do much for a while. I tried looking in the help pages etc. Glad you helped! $\endgroup$
    – Lawrence
    Feb 17, 2015 at 10:25
  • $\begingroup$ I also have a link to some formatting documentation, which is where I learned how to do spoiler blocks. puzzling.stackexchange.com/editing-help $\endgroup$
    – Bulldogg6404
    Feb 17, 2015 at 10:26
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Who or what am I?

Spectacles or Eyeglasses or contact lenses

They are bought and sold.

Shops buy it or sell it. They may even be resold

My cousins come in many colors.

Sunglasses or colour Contact lenses

Even when you're old.

Most old people suffer from Hyperopia

My cousins are more useful

Coloured Contact lenses/Sunglasses can be worn with or without refractive index

But what is the use of me?

Restores your vision

I cannot be worn on clothing

You cannot wear a glass with its wrapper

I am just there for you to see.

This was the most obvious hint

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  • $\begingroup$ Nice try. I will add a note to the riddle for clarity. $\endgroup$
    – Michael Rize
    Feb 17, 2015 at 8:58
  • $\begingroup$ I edited the riddle for clarity. There is no use for the central object. You had a really good guess, but it doesn't satisfy the criteria also because of the line "I am always with you" Not everyone needs glasses. Also, with laser surgery, its possible to grow old without them. $\endgroup$
    – Michael Rize
    Feb 17, 2015 at 9:06
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This is close, but there are two obscure points of contention near the end.

Who or what am I?

Belly button.

My cousins come in many colors.

Buttons on clothing.

They are bought and sold.

One can buy replacement buttons

But me, I am always with you.

Part of the body.

Even when you're old.

They don't go away (although, I have never inspected an elderly person to see if they still had a belly button). But I think this is common knowledge.

My cousins are more useful.

Buttons hold your clothes together.

But there is no use for me.

Belly buttons collect lint, which is quite useless

I cannot be worn on clothing

Some sicko serial killer might disagree, but who knows?

You were born with me.

This is not quite accurate because the doctor gives the button, you were born with a feeding tube.

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  • $\begingroup$ Oops, I didn't see the same answer from 5 hours previous. TLDR; And I was quite proud of myself, but now I am dejected! $\endgroup$
    – Keith Payne
    Feb 17, 2015 at 15:35
  • $\begingroup$ I'll give you a vote for being dejected. $\endgroup$
    – bgmCoder
    Apr 8, 2015 at 0:38
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My cousins come in many colors.

Leather jackets come in different colours

They are bought and sold.

Leather jackets are bought and sold in shops

But me, I am always with you. Even when you're old.

Our skin is always with us

My cousins are more useful.

Leather jackets can protect us from harsh climate as well as they are for ornamental purpose

I cannot be worn on clothing

we can not put skin on clothing

You were born with me.

Everyone is born with skin

Answer:

Skin is the main object and leather jackets are the cousins

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At first I thought they were ruled out, but

the main subject is probably your irises and the cousins are contact lenses. Arguably, the iris does serve a purpose to the eye, as do all parts of the eye. However, the iris is what determines eye color, and whereas eye color has no function, it would be most likely considered the "cousin" of the colored contact lens. Your irises stay with you from birth until you're old, usually, and contact lenses are bought/sold in many colors and may have the added function of corrective eyesight. Your irises cannot be worn on clothes.

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  • $\begingroup$ Good guess, but doesn't satisfy all criteria, as the iris does serve a purpose. $\endgroup$
    – Michael Rize
    Feb 17, 2015 at 10:11
  • $\begingroup$ As expected. Still worth giving it a shot. $\endgroup$
    – Bulldogg6404
    Feb 17, 2015 at 10:19
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My guess is

Piercings as the main subject, with tattoos being the cousins.
Tattoos are more colorful, can be bought or sold as temporary tattoos (or you can figure the service of applying a tattoo as being bought/sold), and tattoos are useful for inscribing a message or having a meaning. On the other hand, the purpose of piercings is to be seen, and they are not worn on clothing.
Most importantly, both tattoos and piercings are permanent, and will stay with you unti you're old. =)

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  • $\begingroup$ Very creative answer.. "There is no use for me" is part of the riddle. Piercings do have a use. (for earrings) Also, I changed the last line to read "But you were born with me" for clarity and to make the riddle less broad. $\endgroup$
    – Michael Rize
    Feb 17, 2015 at 9:47
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Who or what am I?

Body Hair

My cousins come in many colors.

Wool. Off-course wool is the body hair of sheep

They are bought and sold.

Shops buy it or sell it. They may even be resold

Even when you're old.

We have body hair even when we are old

My cousins are more useful

Undoubtedly, wool is more useful than our body hair.

But there is no use for me.

What is the use of body hair. And its a nuisance to a women :-)

I cannot be worn on clothing

You cannot wear body hair on clothing

You were born with me.

Even an infant has body hair

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  • $\begingroup$ Very clever, but it doesn't quite satisfy the "always with you" requirement, as some people shave or wax all body hair from their body, like professional swimmers. Also, perhaps body hair can warm parts of your body in the cold winter months (like pubic hair for example). $\endgroup$
    – Michael Rize
    Feb 17, 2015 at 11:11
  • $\begingroup$ @MichaelRize I think that is pushing it to say that hair is not always with you. Only in rare cases do humans not have hair. But I agree that it isn't the answer. $\endgroup$
    – bgmCoder
    Apr 8, 2015 at 0:40
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Who am I ?

White Crayon

My cousins come in many colors.

crayons come in different colours.

They are bought and sold.

all crayons are bought and sold.

But me, I am always with you. Even when you're old.

once bought white crayon stays unused, making it stay always with us.

My cousins are more useful.

all other crayons are more useful.

But there is no use for me.

obviously

I cannot be worn on clothing

all other crayons can be used to color cloths except white.

You were born with me.

drawing paper is usually white, so you are born with it.

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