Brain Teasers and Riddles That Are Tricky to Figure Out + Answers

reading — Some riddles are ridiculously simple. PIC SNIPE/Shutterstock

2021-01-29T15:21:20.000Z

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Sometimes puzzles are so obvious that they're nearly impossible to solve.

Insider rounded up 23 riddles and brainteasers with simple answers that anyone could get wrong.

Read on to see if you can figure them out.

What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?

big ben clock face — Big Ben in London, England. antb/Shutterstock

Answer: The letter "M"

Source: Quora

What always ends everything?

Answer: The letter "G"

Source: UpVee

I have keys, but no locks. I have space, but no room. You can enter, but you can’t go outside. What am I?

purse keys — Think hard, but not too hard. Shutterstock/Robert Brown Stock

Answer: A computer keyboard

Source: Republic World

I have seas without water, coasts without sand, towns without people, and mountains without land. What am I?

Aerial view of Santa Maria beach in Sal Island Cape Verde - Cabo Verde - Image — Aerial view of Santa Maria beach in Sal Island Cape Verde. Shutterstock

Answer: A map

Source: Riddles.com

A man shaves several times a day but still has a beard. Who is he?

Shaving — Why is he shaving so much? Shutterstock/Veles Studio

Answer: A barber

Source: Grin

What coat is best put on wet?

painting house wall — Not the kind of coat you would wear. Getty Images

Answer: A coat of paint

Source: Answers King

A clerk in a butcher shop stands 5'10" and wears size 13 shoes. What does he weigh?

pork ribs butcher — A butcher hard at work. Frank Bean/Getty Images

Answer: Meat

Source: Quora

How much dirt is in a hole that measures 2 feet by 3 feet by 4 feet?

house home dirt — A huge mound of dirt. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Answer: None

Source: RBT

Which is correct to say: "The yolk of the egg is white" or "The yolk of the egg are white?"

fried egg — An egg sizzling on a pan. Shutterstock

Answer: Neither, egg yolks are yellow

Source: Riddles.com

What disappears as soon as you say its name?

shh silence quiet silent woman finger over lips — It's not a person, place, or animal. Mark Davis /Getty Images

Answer: Silence

Source: Riddles.com

This belongs to you, but everyone else uses it more.

question — Students raising their hands in class. Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock

Answer: Your name

Source: Riddles.tips

How many letters are in the alphabet?

chalkboard alphabet — Don't over think this one. Getty Images/John Moore

Answer: There are 11 letters in "the alphabet."

Source: Riddles.com

Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?

Answer: Mt. Everest

Source: RBT

Why can't you take a picture of a man with a wooden leg?

digital camera — A man snaps a photo. Elaine Thompson/AP

Answer: Because a wooden leg can't take pictures, only a camera can.

Source: Riddles.com

You see a boat filled with people. It has not capsized, but when you look again you don’t see a single person on the boat. Why?

Boston Common Boats — Are your eyes fooling you? f11photo/Shutterstock

Answer: Everyone on the boat is married.

Source: Riddles.tips

What goes all the way around the world, but stays in the corner?

postage stamp letter envelope — The answer is in the photo. AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

Answer: A stamp

Source: Riddles.com

What has four fingers and a thumb, but isn’t alive?

old hands — It's something you wear. Shutterstock

Answer: A glove

Source: Grin

What gets bigger the more you take away?

dog digging garden fertilizer — This is an easy one. Shutterstock

Answer: A hole

Source: RBT

The man who built it doesn't use it, the man who bought it doesn't need it, and the man who uses it doesn’t know it. What is it?

Suherman, a 45-year-old coffin maker, prepares coffins ordered to be donated for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) victims at a workshop inside a funeral complex in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan — This one is life or death. Reuters

Answer: A coffin

Source: Riddles.tips

What can never be put into a saucepan?

Sauce Cooking in Pan — Hint: It's not food. Zvonimir Luketina / Shutterstock

Answer: Its lid

Source: Riddlesdb.com

What runs but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?

africa river — A beautiful river flows through mountains. Sergey Uryadnikov/Shutterstock

Answer: A river

Source: Riddles.com

Many have heard me, but nobody has seen me. I will not speak until spoken to first. What am I?

Think of what happens when you shout in a tunnel. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

Answer: An echo

Source: Grin

What can you hold in your left hand, but never in your right?

A loving couple holding hands. Rawpixel/Shutterstock

Answer: Your right hand

Source: RBT

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23 surprisingly simple riddles and brainteasers that most people get wrong

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Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

23 surprisingly simple riddles and brainteasers that most people get wrong

What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?

What always ends everything?

I have keys, but no locks. I have space, but no room. You can enter, but you can’t go outside. What am I?

I have seas without water, coasts without sand, towns without people, and mountains without land. What am I?

A man shaves several times a day but still has a beard. Who is he?

What coat is best put on wet?

A clerk in a butcher shop stands 5'10" and wears size 13 shoes. What does he weigh?

How much dirt is in a hole that measures 2 feet by 3 feet by 4 feet?

Which is correct to say: "The yolk of the egg is white" or "The yolk of the egg are white?"

What disappears as soon as you say its name?

This belongs to you, but everyone else uses it more.

How many letters are in the alphabet?

Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?

Why can't you take a picture of a man with a wooden leg?

You see a boat filled with people. It has not capsized, but when you look again you don’t see a single person on the boat. Why?

What goes all the way around the world, but stays in the corner?

What has four fingers and a thumb, but isn’t alive?

What gets bigger the more you take away?

The man who built it doesn't use it, the man who bought it doesn't need it, and the man who uses it doesn’t know it. What is it?

What can never be put into a saucepan?

What runs but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?

Many have heard me, but nobody has seen me. I will not speak until spoken to first. What am I?

What can you hold in your left hand, but never in your right?

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Read next

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know