This riddle sounds mysterious at first: What has 13 hearts but no other organs?
The correct answer: A deck of playing cards
A standard 52-card deck contains four suits: hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. Each suit has thirteen cards, so there are 13 cards in the hearts suit.
Although we call them hearts, they’re simply symbols printed on the cards—not actual organs. That’s why a deck can have thirteen hearts without having a brain, lungs, or any other body parts.
How the riddle tricks you
The question encourages you to think about living things, because hearts and organs normally belong to people or animals. The trick is recognizing that “hearts” has another meaning in card games.
The number thirteen is an important clue. In a standard playing-card deck, every suit has exactly thirteen ranks: ace, two through ten, jack, queen, and king.
Try asking someone else
Share the riddle and give a friend a few seconds to think. Once they remember the hearts suit, the answer becomes obvious. Did you guess a deck of cards right away?
