Brain Teasers with Answers
A good brain teaser makes you feel dumb, then smart, in about ten seconds. These run from easy to hard, so start anywhere. Answers stay hidden until you want them.
Easy brain teasers to warm up
Short questions with satisfying answers. A river with a mouth is about as mean as the openers get.
Brain teasers with answers for adults
The two coins puzzle has started arguments for decades. Bring patience and read every word.
Quick brain teasers for kids and classrooms
Most fit in a single breath, which makes them perfect brain breaks between lessons.
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1. I have two coins that add up to 30 cents. One of them is not a nickel. What are the two coins?
Need a hint?
Read the wording very carefully.
Show answer
A quarter and a nickel. The quarter is the one that is not a nickel.
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2. A rooster sits on the very peak of a barn roof and lays an egg. Which side does the egg roll down?
Show answer
Neither. Roosters do not lay eggs.
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3. If you stand facing east and walk ten steps backward, which direction are you facing?
Show answer
East. Walking backward does not turn you around.
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4. A night guard dreams that his boss's morning flight will crash. He warns him, the flight is cancelled, and the plane really does have engine trouble. The boss thanks him, then fires him. Why?
Show answer
He was sleeping on the job. Night guards are not paid to dream.
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5. A farmer has 17 sheep. All but 9 die. How many sheep are left?
Show answer
9. All but 9 died, so 9 survived.
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6. An electric train is heading east at 100 kilometers per hour. The wind is blowing hard from the north. Which way does the smoke blow?
Show answer
There is no smoke. It is an electric train.
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7. Two fathers and two sons go fishing. They catch exactly three fish, and each of them takes home one whole fish. How is that possible?
Show answer
There are only three people: a grandfather, his son, and his grandson. The middle man is both a father and a son.
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8. What happens when you throw a white hat into the Black Sea?
Show answer
It gets wet. That is all.
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9. Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the tallest mountain on Earth?
Show answer
Mount Everest. It was still the tallest, just not discovered yet.
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10. What do people ask for every day, receive for free, and almost never take?
Show answer
Advice.
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11. A cowboy rides into town on Friday, stays for three days, and leaves on Friday. How is that possible?
Show answer
His horse is named Friday.
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12. A truck driver goes the wrong way down a one way street. He passes two police officers, and neither one stops him. Why not?
Show answer
He is walking, not driving.
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13. A plane crashes exactly on the border between two countries. Where do they bury the survivors?
Show answer
Nowhere. You do not bury survivors.
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14. A rope ladder hangs over the side of an anchored ship. The rungs are 30 centimeters apart and the bottom rung touches the water. The tide rises 60 centimeters every hour. After three hours, how many rungs are underwater?
Need a hint?
The ladder is attached to something floating.
Show answer
None. The ship rises with the tide, so the ladder rises too.
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15. A hardware store sells red paint for 3 dollars, blue paint for 4 dollars, and green paint for 5 dollars. Every can is exactly the same size. What is the store really charging for?
Need a hint?
Forget the paint and look at the color names.
Show answer
One dollar per letter. Red has three letters, blue has four, green has five.
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16. If there are three apples on the table and you take away two, how many apples do you have?
Show answer
Two. The ones you took.
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17. How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
Show answer
Just drop it. Concrete floors are very hard to crack.
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18. How do you spell hard water with just three letters?
Show answer
ICE.
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19. A boy kicks a ball as hard as he can, and it comes straight back to him. Nobody touched it and nothing was in the way. How?
Show answer
He kicked it straight up into the air.
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20. The more of these you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?
Show answer
Footsteps.
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21. I am light as a feather, yet the strongest person in the world cannot hold me for more than a few minutes. What am I?
Show answer
Breath.
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22. Which is heavier, a full moon or a half moon?
Show answer
The half moon. A full moon is lighter.
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23. Can you spell the word enemy using only three letters?
Show answer
N M E. Say the letters out loud and you hear the word.
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24. A woman gives a beggar fifty cents. The woman is the beggar's sister, but the beggar is not the woman's brother. How?
Show answer
The beggar is her sister.
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25. You are driving a bus. At the first stop 4 people get on. At the second stop 8 get on and 3 get off. At the third stop 2 get off and 4 get on. What color are the bus driver's eyes?
Need a hint?
Reread the very first sentence.
Show answer
Whatever color your eyes are. You are the driver.
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26. You are outside a room with three light switches. Inside the room is a single lamp, and you cannot see it from outside. You may flip the switches however you like, but you may enter the room only once. How do you find out which switch controls the lamp?
Need a hint?
A light bulb gives off more than light.
Show answer
Turn on the first switch for a few minutes, then turn it off and turn on the second. Enter the room. If the lamp is lit, it is the second switch. If it is off but the bulb is warm, it is the first. If it is off and cold, it is the third.
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27. What is at the end of everything?
Show answer
The letter G.
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28. Ten fish are in a tank. Three swim away, two drown, and one hides. How many fish are in the tank?
Show answer
Ten. Fish cannot drown, and none of them can leave a tank by swimming away.
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29. I am a five letter word. Take away my first two letters and only one remains. What am I?
Show answer
Stone. Remove the s and the t, and one is left.
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30. What gets sharper the more you use it?
Show answer
Your brain.
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31. How many 9s appear when you count from 1 to 100?
Need a hint?
Ninety, ninety one, ninety two...
Show answer
Twenty. Do not forget the nineties.
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32. What starts with gas but has only three letters?
Show answer
A car.
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33. A man went out for a walk in heavy rain with no umbrella, no hat, and no hood, yet not a single hair on his head got wet. How?
Show answer
He is bald.
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34. What can travel all around the world while staying in the same corner?
Show answer
A postage stamp. It stays in the corner of the envelope.
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35. A cat jumps out of a window of a twenty story building and walks away without a scratch. How?
Show answer
It jumped from a window on the ground floor.
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36. What has hands but cannot clap?
Show answer
A clock.
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37. What has a mouth but never talks, and runs but never walks?
Show answer
A river.
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38. Feed me and I live. Give me a drink and I die. What am I?
Show answer
Fire.
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39. What can you serve but should never eat?
Show answer
A volleyball.
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40. The poor have it, the rich need it, and if you eat it you die. What is it?
Show answer
Nothing.
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41. During which month do people sleep the least?
Show answer
February. It has the fewest nights.
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42. Walking to school you count twenty houses on your right. Walking home you count twenty houses on your left. How many different houses did you count?
Show answer
Twenty. They are the same houses seen from the other side.
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43. I am full of holes, yet I can still hold water. What am I?
Show answer
A sponge.
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44. You are trapped in a sinking rowboat surrounded by sharks. How do you survive?
Show answer
Stop imagining.
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45. Where can you find cities without houses, rivers without water, and forests without trees?
Show answer
On a map.
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46. When can you add 8 to 8 and get 4?
Show answer
On a clock. Eight hours after 8 o'clock is 4 o'clock.
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47. A doctor gives you three pills and tells you to take one every half hour. How long do the pills last?
Need a hint?
The first pill goes down at minute zero.
Show answer
One hour. You take the first right away, the second after 30 minutes, and the third after 60.
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48. In a race you overtake the runner in second place. What place are you in now?
Show answer
Second place. You took their spot, not first.
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49. A bat and a ball cost 1 dollar and 10 cents together. The bat costs a dollar more than the ball. How much is the ball?
Need a hint?
The obvious answer of 10 cents does not add up.
Show answer
5 cents. Then the bat is 1 dollar and 5 cents, which is exactly a dollar more.
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50. A patch of lily pads doubles in size every day. It takes 48 days to cover the whole pond. How long does it take to cover half the pond?
Need a hint?
Work backwards from day 48.
Show answer
47 days. On the last day it doubles from half to full.
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51. Mr. Smith has 4 daughters. Each daughter has one brother. How many children does Mr. Smith have?
Show answer
Five. The four daughters all share the same one brother.
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52. David's father has three sons: Snap, Crackle, and who?
Show answer
David.
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53. It takes 12 minutes to boil one egg. How long does it take to boil four eggs together in the same pot?
Need a hint?
The eggs do not take turns.
Show answer
12 minutes. All four eggs sit in the same water and cook at the same time.
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54. A teacher says: the day before yesterday I was 25, yet next year I will turn 28. How can that be true?
Show answer
She said it on January 1. Her birthday is December 31.
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55. What time is it when the clock strikes thirteen?
Show answer
Time to fix the clock.
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56. How many sides does an egg have?
Show answer
Two. The inside and the outside.
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57. What word looks exactly the same upside down and backwards?
Show answer
SWIMS.
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58. Seven friends meet, and each one shakes hands with every other friend exactly once. How many handshakes is that?
Show answer
Twenty one.
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59. I have a head but no brain, and I drive nails instead of cars. What am I?
Show answer
A hammer.
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60. A man just turned twenty, yet he has only celebrated five birthdays. How?
Show answer
He was born on February 29. His birthday only comes in leap years.
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61. How can a man go eight days without sleep?
Show answer
He sleeps at night. The eight days are fine.
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62. A butcher is 5 foot 10, wears size 11 shoes, and works six days a week. What does he weigh?
Show answer
Meat. That is his job.
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63. Can you spell candy with just two letters?
Show answer
Yes. C and Y.
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64. Three doctors all say that Robert is their brother. Robert says he has no brothers. Who is lying?
Need a hint?
Check your assumptions about the doctors.
Show answer
Nobody. The three doctors are his sisters.
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65. Two ducks waddle in front of a duck, two ducks waddle behind a duck, and one duck waddles in the middle. What is the smallest number of ducks this could be?
Need a hint?
The same ducks can play more than one role.
Show answer
Three. They walk in a single line of three.
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66. If a red house is made of red bricks and a yellow house is made of yellow bricks, what is a greenhouse made of?
Show answer
Glass.
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67. What is black when it is clean and white when it is dirty?
Show answer
A chalkboard.
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68. What do you throw out when you want to use it, and take in when you are done with it?
Show answer
An anchor.
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69. If you drop me I am sure to crack, but give me a smile and I always smile back. What am I?
Show answer
A mirror.
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70. What starts with E, ends with E, and holds only one letter?
Show answer
An envelope.
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71. What word contains all 26 letters but is only three syllables long?
Show answer
Alphabet.
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72. What time of day is spelled the same forwards and backwards?
Show answer
Noon.
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73. What is easy to get into but very hard to get out of?
Show answer
Trouble.
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FAQ about Brain Teasers with Answers
What is the difference between a brain teaser and a riddle?
A riddle usually describes something and asks what it is. A brain teaser is broader, covering trick questions, mini logic problems, and wordplay. This page mixes all of those.
How many brain teasers are in this collection?
There are 73, running from easy to hard. Twelve include hints, and every single one reveals its answer on tap.
Can I use these brain teasers at work or school?
Yes. They are short, clean, and need no setup, which makes them easy openers for meetings, lessons, or long car rides.
The strangest puzzles we host live on the Lateral Thinking Puzzles page. If numbers are your thing, our Math Riddles with Answers will keep the streak going.