If You Can Solve These 16 Riddles, You’re Smarter Than Most People
Riddles are fun brain teasers that challenge your logic and ability to think outside the box. If you can solve all 16 of these without peeking at the answers, you might be smarter than the average person. Ready to test your brainpower?
The Missing Dollar Riddle
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Three people split a $30 bill. Each pays $10. Later, the waiter returns $5. They each take $1 and give $2 back as a tip. Now, they each paid $9 ($27 total) plus the $2 tip—$29. Where’s the missing dollar?
Answer: This riddle works by misleading your thinking with flawed math. There’s no missing dollar. They paid $27—$25 for the bill and $2 for the tip. The other $3 was returned.
The Man in the Elevator
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A man lives on the 10th floor. Every day, he takes the elevator to the ground floor to go to work. But when he comes back, he only takes the elevator to the 7th floor and walks the rest—unless someone else is with him. Why?
Answer: He’s short. He can’t reach the button for the 10th floor. If someone else is with him, they press it for him.
The Stuck Light Bulbs
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You’re in a room with three light switches. Only one turns on a light bulb in another room. You can only go into the other room once. How do you figure out which switch controls the bulb?
Answer: Turn on the first switch and wait a few minutes. Turn it off. Turn on the second switch. Enter the other room. If the bulb is on, it’s the second switch. If it’s warm, it’s the first. If it’s off and cold, it’s the third.
The River Crossing Riddle
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A farmer has a fox, a chicken, and a bag of grain. He must cross a river with only one item at a time. If he leaves the fox with the chicken, the fox eats it. If he leaves the chicken with the grain, the chicken eats it. How does he do it?
Answer: First, take the chicken. Come back alone. Take the fox, then bring the chicken back. Take the grain. Finally, return to get the chicken.
The Words Inside Words
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What English word has three consecutive double letters?
Answer: Bookkeeper (or bookkeeping). It contains double “o”, double “k”, and double “e”.
The Two Doors Riddle
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You’re in a room with two doors and two guards. One door leads to freedom, the other to danger. One guard always lies, one always tells the truth. You can ask one question. What do you ask?
Answer: Ask either guard, “If I asked the other guard which door leads to freedom, what would he say?” Then take the opposite door.
The More You Take
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The more of me you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Answer: Footsteps.
The Calendar Trick
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What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in a thousand years?
Answer: The letter “M”.
The Liar’s Paradox
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“This statement is false.” Is it true or false?
Answer: It’s a paradox. If it’s true, then it’s false. But if it’s false, then it’s true. It challenges how we define truth.
The Hourglass Swap
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You have two hourglasses—one measures 7 minutes, the other 11 minutes. How do you measure exactly 15 minutes?
Answer: Start both hourglasses. When the 7-minute time runs out, flip it. When the 11-minute time runs out, flip it. When the 7-minute time runs out again, 15 minutes have passed.
Father-Son Surgery
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A boy and his father are in a car crash. The father dies. The boy is rushed to surgery. The surgeon says, “I can’t operate on this boy. He’s my son.” How?
Answer: The surgeon is his mother. This riddle reveals our unconscious assumptions about gender roles.
The Time Riddle
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I have hands but no arms. I move but don’t walk. I tick but don’t talk. What am I?
Answer: A clock.
The Final Wordplay
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What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters?
Answer: “Short.” Add “-er” and it becomes “shorter.”
The Manhole Cover Question
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Why are manhole covers round?
Answer: A round cover can’t fall through its own opening. Shapes like squares or rectangles could drop in diagonally. This riddle is actually used in real-life job interviews at tech companies to test practical thinking.
The Coin Flip
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You have two coins. One isn’t a nickel. Together, they make 30 cents. What are they?
Answer: A quarter and a nickel. The trick? Only one of them isn’t a nickel. The other one is. It’s a play on how the information is presented.
The Spelling Riddle
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What word is spelled incorrectly in every dictionary?
Answer: “Incorrectly.” This riddle depends entirely on your focus and interpretation of the sentence structure.
The Apple Riddle
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You have a basket with five apples. You take away three. How many do you have?
Answer: You have three apples. The question asks how many you have, not how many are left in the basket. It tricks people into thinking they should subtract instead of refocusing on the wording.
The Heavy Lightness
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What is so light that even the world’s strongest person couldn’t hold it for long?
Answer: Your breath. You can’t hold it forever, no matter how strong you are. This one’s great for testing abstract thinking and wordplay.
The Final Destination
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No matter how fast you run, I stay in front of you. You can’t escape me. What am I?
Answer: The future. It’s always ahead of you, no matter how fast or slow you go. Some people also answer “your shadow” depending on the riddle’s wording, but in this form, the correct answer is the future.
The Numbers Game
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What number do you get when you multiply all the numbers on a phone keypad?
Answer: Zero. Because any number multiplied by zero equals zero, and the keypad includes the number 0.