This familiar riddle asks: What gets smaller every time it takes a bath? It sounds as though the answer should be something alive, but it is actually an everyday bathroom item.
The answer is: a bar of soap.
Each time soap is used in water, a small amount dissolves and washes away. Over time, the bar becomes thinner and smaller until it eventually disappears.
The phrase “takes a bath” is what makes the riddle playful. Soap is not really bathing in the way a person does, but it spends time in water while helping someone else get clean.
Once you think about what repeatedly touches water and shrinks with use, a bar of soap is the natural answer.
