Which object has four fingers and a thumb but is not a living hand according to this riddle?

Introduction / Context:
This riddle is very popular in school level puzzle books and is often used to introduce children to the idea of lateral thinking. The description four fingers and a thumb immediately makes you think of a human hand. However, the riddle adds that the object is not alive, which forces you to search for something that copies the shape of a hand but is not itself part of a body. This type of question appears in logic puzzle sections to test quick reasoning and the ability to visualise objects from short verbal clues.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The object has four fingers and one thumb. - It is not alive, so it is not a real human or animal hand. - It is likely to be something that fits over or imitates a hand. - The riddle expects a simple, everyday answer rather than complex technology.

Concept / Approach:
The essential idea is to think about objects that are designed in the shape of a hand. The most common one used in daily life is a glove. A glove has spaces or coverings for four fingers and a thumb, but the glove itself is made of cloth, leather, rubber or some other material. It has no bones, blood or life. When worn, it mimics the shape of the hand inside it, which is why the riddle uses that specific description. Once you remember this, the answer seems obvious.

Step-by-Step Solution:
1. Visualise a normal human hand with four fingers and one thumb. 2. Note that a real hand is alive, which contradicts the clue not alive. 3. Think of common everyday items shaped like hands. 4. Recall that a glove has five separate sections that fit over each finger and thumb. 5. Conclude that the object described by the riddle is a glove.

Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, imagine a glove lying on a table. It has a thumb section and four finger sections, clearly matching the first part of the description. Yet it is obviously not alive and cannot move on its own. When a person wears the glove, the fingers and thumb fit into those sections, which shows why the designer gave it that shape. Other options in the list do not match as neatly in everyday usage, which strengthens your confidence that glove is the intended answer.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
A statue of a hand copies a hand shape, but it is usually a solid piece of material and does not have five hollow sections. A puppet can have fingers and a thumb, but many puppets have different numbers of digits, and the riddle traditionally points to something more familiar. A robot arm may not be shaped exactly like a human hand and is associated with advanced technology rather than a simple puzzle. A painting of a hand is two dimensional and does not have real fingers that could be described in this way. Only a glove has four fingers and a thumb in a clear, practical sense and at the same time is not alive.

Common Pitfalls:
Some learners answer hand without reading the clue about life carefully, while others get distracted by more complicated ideas such as robots. This shows how a short extra phrase in a riddle can significantly change the correct answer. When solving such questions in exams, it is important to pay attention to every word, especially negative phrases like not alive or never moves, because they are used to exclude obvious but incorrect choices.

Final Answer:
The object that has four fingers and a thumb but is not alive is a glove, which is shaped like a hand but is only a piece of material.