115+ Brain Teasers For Adults & Kids (With Answers!)

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Plus, prep for job interviews with possible brain-teasing questions
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Calling all brainiacs! It’s always a good time to up your intellect, and flexing your riddle-busting muscles is a great way to keep your mind as sharp as can be. We’ve put together the ultimate list of mind twisters and brain teasers—from funny riddles to kid-friendly brain busters and complex mind teasers. Keep reading for our most mind-blowing questions 🧠🤯

The Best Brain Teaser Questions (& Answers)

  1. What is faster, hot or cold? You can catch a cold, so hot is faster.
  2. What word has three double letters in a row? Bookkeeper.
  3. What kind of band doesn’t play music? A rubber band.
  4. What loses its head in the morning and gets it back at night? A pillow.
  5. What building has the most stories? The library.
Section 1 of 9:

Funny Brain Teaser Questions

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  1. Who said that getting smarter has to be boring? These mind teasers are as tricky as they are chuckle-inducing, but at least you know you’ll be coming away just a little bit smarter and a lotta bit gigglier. [1]
    • Question: What can you put in a bucket to make it weigh less?
      • Answer: A hole.
    • Question: What is faster, hot or cold?
      • Answer: You can catch a cold, so hot is definitely faster.
    • Question: What kind of running also means walking?
      • Answer: Running out of gas.
    • Question: Who is bigger: Mr. Bigger, Mrs. Bigger, or their baby?
      • Answer: Their baby, because he is a little bigger.
    • Question: What has a lot of teeth but can't bite?
      • Answer: A comb.
    • Question: When two snakes get married, what do their towels say?
      • Answer: Hiss and hers.
    • Question: What has a bottom at the top?
      • Answer: Your legs.
    • Question: What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
      • Answer: Short.
    • Question: Which side of a chicken has more feathers?
      • Answer: The outside.
    • Question: How can a man who shaves many times a day still have a long beard?
      • Answer: He’s a barber.
    • Question: Which tire doesn’t move when your car turns left?
      • Answer: The spare tire.
    • Question: What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?
      • Answer: A palm tree.
    • Question: How far can a bear run into the woods?
      • Answer: Halfway. After that, he’s running out of the woods.
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Section 2 of 9:

Hard Brain Teaser Questions

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  1. If you’re up for a challenge of epic proportions, you’ve definitely come to the right place! These are the most difficult mind teasers that we could muster up, so if you can answer them correctly…you may want to go ahead and get your Mensa application ready. [2]
    • Question: What is special about these words: job, polish, herb?
      • Answer: They are pronounced differently when the first letter is capitalized.
    • Question: Turn me on my side and I'm everything. Cut me in half and I'm nothing. What am I?
      • Answer: The number 8.
    • Question: What word has three double letters in a row?
      • Answer: Bookkeeper.
    • Question: What is unique about the number 8,549,176,320?
      • Answer: Each number, zero through nine, is listed in alphabetical order.
    • Question: What is made and bought by people who have no use for it, while the person who uses it can't see it or feel it?
      • Answer: A coffin.
    • Question: What is yours, but everyone else you know uses it?
      • Answer: Your name.
    • Question: If I am holding a bee, what do I have in my eye?
      • Answer: Beauty. (It's a play on the famous proverb, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder”).
    • Question: What can go up a chimney when down but can't go down a chimney when up?
      • Answer: An umbrella.
    • Question: What runs but never walks, has a bed but never sleeps, a mouth that never speaks, and a head that never weeps?
      • Answer: A river.
    • Question: A cowboy rides into town on Friday, stays for two nights, and leaves on Friday. How is this possible?
      • Answer: His horse is named Friday.
    • Question: What can fill an entire room without taking up any space?
      • Answer: Light
    • Question: What word's first two letters signify a man, first three letters signify a woman, first four letters signify a great man, while the whole word signifies a great woman?
      • Answer: Heroine.
    • Question: Two men wearing backpacks are in a desert. One is dead. The man who is alive has his backpack open, and the guy who is dead has his backpack closed. What's in the dead man’s backpack?
      • Answer: A parachute.
Section 3 of 9:

Easy Brain Teaser Questions

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  1. There’s nothing wrong with sometimes taking the easier road in life (or riddles ), and while these mind teasers may be easi er , they’re still pretty brain-busting! However, these brain teasers will definitely be a good fit if you’re just looking to have some fun without working your noggin too hard. [3]
    • Question: You live in a one-story house made of redwood. What color are the stairs?
      • Answer: There aren't any stairs. It's a one-story house!
    • Question: If an electric train is heading north, which way is the smoke going?
      • Answer: There is no smoke. It's an electric train.
    • Question: I have two newly minted coins in my pocket. One isn't a nickel, but they total 30 cents. What are the coins?
      • Answer: A quarter and a nickel—one isn’t a nickel but the other is.
    • Question: What kind of band doesn’t play music?
      • Answer: A rubber band.
    • Question: I'm not psychic, but I can always predict the score of any baseball game before it starts. How do I do this?
      • Answer: The score is always zero to zero before the game starts!
    • Question: Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?
      • Answer: Mt. Everest was still the highest mountain in the world—it just hadn't been discovered yet.
    • Question: What has a lot of keys but can’t open a lock?
      • Answer: A piano.
    • Question: A plane crashes on the border of the U.S. and Mexico. Where are the survivors buried?
      • Answer: You don't bury survivors!
    • Question: There are 12 months in a year, and seven months have 31 days. How many months have 28 days?
      • Answer: All of them.
    • Question: What can you hold without ever touching it?
      • Answer: Your breath.
    • Question: I won't cry if you cut me, but you will! What am I?
      • Answer: An onion.
    • Question: What 2 things can you never eat for breakfast?
      • Answer: Lunch and dinner.
    • Question: You’re in a power outage with only one match. Do you light the candle, the oil lamp, or the fire first?
      • Answer: You light the match first.
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Section 4 of 9:

Mathematical Brain Teaser Questions

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  1. We can’t promise that these mathematical brain teasers will be as easy as pi , but we’re certain that you’re up to the challenge! After all, if you can master maths, you can definitely master some exponentially excellent mind teasers. [4]
    • Question: Using only addition, how can you add eight 8s to get the number 1,000?
      • Answer: 888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 1,000.
    • Question: Mr. and Mrs. Smith have six sons, who each have one sister. How many people are in the Smith family?
      • Answer: Nine. Each brother shares the same sister, so there are six boys and one girl, plus Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
    • Question: How do you make the number 7 even without using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division?
      • Answer: Drop the "s" and "seven" becomes "even."
    • Question: How can you use the numbers 2, 3, 4, and 5 and the symbols + and = to make a true math equation?
      • Answer: 2 + 5 = 3 + 4.
    • Question: A farmer has 24 cows. All but seven of them ran away. How many does he have left?
      • Answer: Seven.
    • Question: What 4-digit number multiplied by 4 gives the same number in reverse?
      • Answer: When multiplied by 4, the number 2178 is 8712.
    • Question: Which weighs more: 16 ounces of gold or a pound of feathers?
      • Answer: They weigh the same. 16 ounces = 1 pound, no matter what's being weighed.
    • Question: How can 6 + 12 = 6?
      • Answer: When you think in terms of time. 6 a.m. + 12 hours = 6 p.m.
    • Question: What three numbers give the same result whether they're added or multiplied together?
      • Answer: 1, 2 and 3 (1 + 2 + 3 = 6 and 1 x 2 x 3 = 6).
    • Question: What can you place between 5 and 6 to make the outcome greater than 5 but less than 6?
      • Answer: A decimal point.
    • Question: Chet purchased a pair of pants and a shirt for $150. The pants were $100 more than the shirt. How did each item cost?
      • Answer: The pants cost $125, the shirt $25.
    • Question: The ages of a mother and his daughter add up to 55. If you reverse the digits of the mother's age, you get the daughter's age. How old are they?
      • Answer: The mother is 41, and the daughter is 14.
Section 5 of 9:

Brain Teaser Questions for Kids

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  1. We can’t let the grown-ups have all the fun! Kids also deserve a chance to get big-brained with some whimsically wacky mind teasers. And if you’re an adult, you can try your hand at these brain teasers as well…are you really smarter than a 5th grader? [5]
    • Question: What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?
      • Answer: Silence.
    • Question: I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old, what am I?
      • Answer: A candle.
    • Question: What is as big as you are and yet does not weigh anything?
      • Answer: Your shadow.
    • Question: What word is spelled wrong in the dictionary?
      • Answer: Wrong.
    • Question: What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?
      • Answer: A postage stamp.
    • Question: What can run but not walk, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?
      • Answer: A river.
    • Question: Do you know what you can hold without ever touching it?
      • Answer: Your breath.
    • Question: Flat as a leaf, round as a ring; Has two eyes, can't see a thing. What is it?
      • Answer: A button.
    • Question: Where can you find roads without cars, forests without trees, and cities without houses (without people)?
      • Answer: A map.
    • Question: What loses its head in the morning and gets it back at night?
      • Answer: A pillow.
    • Question: Which side of a turkey has the most feathers?
      • Answer: The outside.
    • Question: What always goes to bed with its shoes on?
      • Answer: A horse.
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Section 6 of 9:

Brain Teaser Questions for Adults

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  1. In theory, a grown-up person comes with a grown-up brain…although we know that that’s not always the case, we’ve definitely upped the ante to make these mind teasers just a little bit more difficult. Put that earned wisdom to use to solve each and every one of these brain-busters! [6]
    • Question: If you drop me I’m sure to crack, but give me a grin and I’ll always grin back. What am I?
      • Answer: A mirror.
    • Question: What begins and ends with an E but only has one letter?
      • Answer: An envelope.
    • Question: What building has the most stories?
      • Answer: The library.
    • Question: Give me food, and I will live. Give me water, and I will die. What am I?
      • Answer: Fire.
    • Question: In 1990, a person is 15 years old. In 1995, that same person is 10 years old. How can this be?
      • Answer: They were born in 2005 BC.
    • Question: If a sundial has the fewest moving parts of any timepiece, what has the most?
      • Answer: An hourglass. It has thousands of grains of sand.
    • Question: I'm always in you, sometimes on you, but if I surround you, I can kill you. What am I?
      • Answer: Water.
    • Question: Two fathers and two sons are in a car, yet there are only three people in the car. How is this possible?
      • Answer: They are grandfather, father, and son.
    • Question: What runs through cities and towns, forest and fields, but never moves?
      • Answer: Roads.
    • Question: Where does today come before yesterday?
      • Answer: The dictionary.
    • Question: First, I threw away the outside and cooked the inside. Then I ate the outside and threw away the inside. What did I eat?
      • Answer: Corn on the cob.
    • Question: A man is standing on one side of a river, and his dog is on the other. The man calls his dog, who crosses the river without swimming and without using a boat or a bridge. How did the dog get across?
      • Answer: The river was frozen.
    • Question: Sometimes they're green, sometimes they're brown, and both of these times make me frown. But in between, for a little while, they're perfect and yellow and make me smile. What are they?
      • Answer: Bananas.
Section 7 of 9:

Brain Teaser Questions for Job Interviews

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  1. 1
    Guesstimation Brain Teasers During a job interview, a guesstimation brain teaser aims to assess your ability to make an informed estimation—essentially an educated guess—without any presented facts or concrete data. Also known as a “market-sizing question,” it’s more important to approach these questions practically and calmly than to get a completely correct answer. Here are some practice guesstimation brain teasers: [7]
    • Question: An apple costs 40 cents, a banana costs 60 cents and a grapefruit costs 80 cents. How much does a pear cost?
      • Answer: 40 cents. The price of each fruit is calculated by multiplying the number of vowels by 20 cents.
    • Question: How much revenue does the average laundromat make per year?
      • Answer: $146,000 per year. Assuming that the average laundromat has about 20 washing machines, is open 365 days per year, and makes about $20 in revenue per machine per day.
    • Question: How many golf balls fit in a Boeing 737?
      • Answer: 23,800 to 31,640 golf balls. Assuming that the cabin volume is 3,000 – 4,000 cubic feet, golf ball volume is 2.5 cubic inches, and packing efficiency is 70%.
    • Question: How many gas stations are in the U.S.?
      • Answer: 132,400 gas stations. Assuming that the U.S. population is 331 million and one gas station per 2,500 residents.
  2. 2
    Logical Brain Teasers A logical brain teaser seeks to assess your hand at deductive reasoning and creative problem-solving. You might be presented with a situation without an easy path forward, and you’ll have to think outside the box in order to come up with a satisfactory solution. Here are some practice logical brain teasers:
    • Question: What day follows the day before yesterday if two days from now will be Sunday?
      • Answer: Thursday. “Two days from now will be Sunday,” so today is Friday. The “day that follows the day before yesterday" is just yesterday, which would be Thursday.
    • Question: An explorer found a silver coin marked 7 B.C. He was told it was a forgery. Why?
      • Answer: The concept of “B.C.” (Before Christ) didn’t exist until long after 7 B.C., so the coin must be a forgery.
    • Question: If five cats can catch five mice in five minutes, how long will it take one cat to catch one mouse?
      • Answer: 5 minutes. If 5 cats can catch 5 mice in 5 minutes, then each cat can catch 1 mouse in the same 5 minutes. Therefore, it will take 1 cat the same amount of time (5 minutes) to catch 1 mouse.
    • Question: Five people were eating apples, A finished before B, but behind C. D finished before E, but behind B. What was the finishing order?
      • Answer: C, A, B, D, E.
    • Question: Why are manhole covers round?
      • Answer: A round shape can’t fall through its own opening, so it's easier and safer to fit it into place. The round shape is also easier to manufacture and move.
  3. 3
    Mathematical Brain Teasers Unsurprisingly, a mathematical brain teaser tests your quantitative reasoning ability—which may or may not directly involve math. More often, these questions focus on probability and complex-problem solving, which may require you to approach a problem in an unconventional way. Here are some practice mathematical brain teasers: [8]
    • Question: What is half of two plus two?
      • Answer: 3. Half of two is 1, plus 2 is 3.
    • Question: How do you go from 98 to 720 using just one letter?
      • Answer: Add an "x" (or multiplication symbol) between the figures 90 and 8. 90 x 8 = 720
    • Question: How many 9's are there between 1 and 100?
      • Answer: 20.
    • Question: When my father was 31 I was 8. Now he is twice as old as me. How old am I?
      • Answer: 23.
    • Question: “In two years I know, I'll be twice as old as five years ago,” said Tom. How old is Tom?
      • Answer: 12.
  4. 4
    Illusion Brain Teasers The whole point of an illusion brain teaser is to try and trick you—fun! In all seriousness, these questions ask you to think critically and implore you to take your time to fully analyze what you’re being asked. You’ll have to challenge your assumptions and show that you won’t be easily caught off guard or rush to a conclusion. Here are some practice illusion brain teasers:
    • Question: A farmer has 17 sheep and all but 9 die. How many are left?
      • Answer: 9 sheep. This is a trick question —they gave you the answer already!
    • Question: How many two-cent stamps are there in a dozen?
      • Answer: 12 stamps. No multiplication is needed!
    • Question: If a doctor gives you three pills, telling you to take one every half hour, how many minutes will pass from taking the first pill to the last pill?
      • Answer: 60 minutes. There are only two 30-minute intervals.
    • Question: Is it possible for a man in California to marry his widow's sister?
      • Answer: No. The words “his widow” signify that the man has already died.
    • Question: Two U.S. coins add up to 30 cents. If one of them is not a nickel, what are the two coins?
      • Answer: A nickel (5 cents), and a quarter (25 cents). This question makes you believe that neither coin is a nickel, which isn’t the case.
  5. 5
    Riddle Brain Teasers Riddle brain teasers are a favorite because everyone is somewhat familiar with how they work. In order to solve a riddle , you have to think creatively and laterally in order to solve a problem or find a solution. Here are some practice riddle brain teasers: [9]
    • Question: What has keys but can’t open locks?
      • Answer: A piano.
    • Question: I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have nobody, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?
      • Answer: An echo.
    • Question: You are in a room with 3 monkeys. One monkey has a banana, one has a stick, and one has nothing. Who is the smartest primate in the room?
      • Answer: You!
    • Question: I am four times as old as my daughter. In 20 years time I shall be twice as old as her. How old are we now?
      • Answer: You are 40 and your daughter is 10.
    • Question: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?
      • Answer: Footsteps.
    • Question: A man says: "Brothers and sisters, have I none, but that man's father is my father's son." Who is he pointing at?
      • Answer: His son.
    • Question: If an electric train is traveling south, which way is the smoke going?
      • Answer: There is no smoke, it’s an electric train.
    • Question: The day before two days after the day before tomorrow is Saturday. What day is it today?
      • Answer: Friday.
    • Question: What has hands but can’t clap?
      • Answer: A clock.
    • Question: What do pandas have that no other animal has?
      • Answer: Baby pandas.
  6. 6
    Wordplay Brain Teasers A wordplay brain teaser assesses your linguistic knowledge and lateral thinking, often involving some clever play on words. These questions will most likely challenge you to creatively find a solution, but it’s crucial to thoroughly think through every letter, syllable, and word involved in the brain teaser you’ve been presented with. Here are some practice wordplay brain teasers:
    • Question: What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
      • Answer: Short.
    • Question: What is unusual about the following words: revive, banana, grammar, voodoo, assess, potato, dresser, uneven?
      • Answer: Each word spells the same word backward once you move the first letter to the end.
    • Question: Transform the word "CAT" into the word "DOG" by changing one letter at a time, with each step resulting in a valid English word.
      • Answer: Cat → Cot → Dot → Dog.
    • Question: What letter comes next in the following sequence? D R M F S L T __
      • Answer: D. Each letter represents one note in the diatonic musical scale: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do.
    • Question: What word is spelled incorrectly in every dictionary?
      • Answer: Incorrectly.
  7. 7
    Pattern Brain Teasers As the name implies, a pattern brain teaser aims to assess whether you can easily recognize patterns and predict upcoming sequences or trends. These mind teasers typically involve numbers, shapes, or symbols that have been placed in some sort of logical pattern. Your job is to both uncover the pattern and predict the next sequence. Here are some practice pattern brain teasers: [10]
    • Question: What comes next in the sequence: 2, 4, 8, 16, __
      • Answer: 32 (The pattern is doubling each number).
    • Question: Find the missing number: 3, 6, 9, 12, __ , 18
      • Answer: 15 (The pattern is adding 3 each time).
    • Question: What comes next in the sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, __
      • Answer: 13 (This is the Fibonacci sequence where each number is the sum of the two preceding ones).
    • Question: Which shape comes next: circle, triangle, square, pentagon, __
      • Answer: Hexagon (The pattern is increasing the number of sides by one.)
    • Question: What number fits this pattern: 1, 4, 9, 16, __ , 36
      • Answer: 25 (The pattern is the sequence of squares: 1 2 , 2 2 , 3 2 , etc.).
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Section 8 of 9:

What’s the best way to approach a brain teaser question?

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  1. When you’re trying to solve a brain teaser, there is a method to the madness—you aren’t meant to just immediately know the answer, like you might with a fact-based question. Instead, follow these steps and tips to master any brain teaser you might encounter: [11]
    • Understand the question: Make sure you’ve fully understood the question. Reread it or ask for it to be repeated as much as necessary. Identify exactly what the question is asking.
    • Ask for clarification: If you need to and it’s possible, feel free to ask any clarifying questions that you have.
    • Break it down: Divide the problem into smaller parts to make the teaser feel more manageable and easier to understand.
    • Think aloud: If you’re able, talk through your problem-solving out loud or use a piece of paper to work through the brain teaser.
    • State any assumptions: Some brain teasers require you to make educated assumptions or estimates—that’s fine, as long as you make sure to clearly state what assumptions you’re making.
    • Avoid rushing or panicking: The worst thing you can do when faced with a brain teaser is to blurt out the first thing you think of or working up a (metaphorical sweat). Take a deep breath, take your time, and slowly analyze the question and its potential answer.
Section 9 of 9:

Why do some interviewers ask brain teasers?

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  1. For certain positions, job interviewers and potential employers want to dig a little deeper and truly put you to the test—as a result, they may be able to learn more about you than what a resume and cover letter can tell them. For instance, a brain teaser can help an interviewer understand how you’d solve problems under pressure, including whether or not you’d react emotionally or rashly. [12]
    • Similarly, a brain teaser can give them a good idea of your critical thinking skills and creativity level—will you be able to think outside the box to come up with a good answer, even if it’s not a technically correct one?
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.scarymommy.com/funny-brain-teasers
      2. ↑ https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a41779999/riddles-for-adults/
      3. ↑ https://www.fatherly.com/entertainment/66-brain-teasers-for-adults-kids-and-everyone-in-between
      4. ↑ https://www.weareteachers.com/math-brain-teasers-for-kids/
      5. ↑ https://www.today.com/parents/family/brainteasers-for-kids-rcna48086
      6. ↑ https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a41779999/riddles-for-adults/
      7. ↑ https://money.cnn.com/2007/08/29/technology/brain_teasers.biz2/index.htm
      8. ↑ https://questromworld.bu.edu/udc/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2018/08/19003-UDCGrad-Center-Case-Interview-Guide-final-v2.pdf
      9. ↑ https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/what-riddles-teach-us-about-the-human-mind
      1. ↑ https://www3.sunybroome.edu/cjes-announcements/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/05/study-guide-practice-test-for-the-nysp-trooper-examination-updated-for-pv-testing.pdf
      2. ↑ https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/problem-solving-and-decision-making/using-brain-teasers-to-build-critical-thinking-skills/1/
      3. ↑ https://hbr.org/2003/05/beware-the-interview-inquisition

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