J-Word Play: Apr ’11

コーラの中に隠れている生き物はなんですか?

(こうらのなかにかくれているいきものはなんですか?)

(SELECT THE AREA BELOW TO SEE THE ANSWER)

Answer: かめ (turtle).

First off, the meaning of the question. Read as it is, the riddle translates to: “What creature is hidden inside cola?”

The solution to this one lies in the fact that コーラ, when katakana-ized like this, reads “cola.” When written in hiragana, however, it is こうら(甲羅; shell). So what creatures hides inside a shell? And the answer is a turtle. I suppose anything along those lines, like hermit crabs or snails, would have been acceptable.