120+ Challenging, Funny & Easy Brain-Busting Trick Questions For All Ages

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Can you stump your family & friends with these tricky questions?
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Are you in the mood to conquer a bunch of clever trick questions—or are you eager to challenge someone else with them? Either way, you’ve come to the right place. Trick questions, riddles, and brain teasers are amazing for multiple reasons: they’re entertaining, often relaxing, and can improve your brain’s problem-solving skills, too! Read on for a long and expansive collection of trick questions—some simple and others challenging, funny, trivia-based, and more.

Section 1 of 9:

Easy Trick Questions

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  1. There’s nothing wrong with starting out simple, especially when it comes to trick questions and puzzles. Check out the options below to give yourself (or someone else) an idea of how riddles and trick questions work; it may help you develop a strategy for solving tougher questions, too.
    • What fish costs the most?
      A goldfish.
    • What has cities but no houses, forests but no trees, and rivers but no water?
      A map.
    • What has a head and tail but no paws?
      A coin.
    • What has one head, one foot, and four legs?
      A bed.
    • A girl kicks her soccer ball ten feet, and it comes back to her on its own. How is this possible?
      She kicked it up in the air.
    • I have teeth but can’t eat. What am I?
      A comb
    • How many letters are in the alphabet?
      10 letters: T-H-E-A-L-P-H-A-B-E-T
    • What has five fingers but isn’t a hand?
      A glove.
    • What comes down but never goes up?
      Rain.
    • Which word in the dictionary is always spelled incorrectly?
      “Incorrectly.”
    • What can you hold in your right hand but never in your left hand?
      Your left hand.
    • A group of nine ostriches are in a field. If three take off flying, how many are left in the field?
      All of them. Ostriches can’t fly.
    • He has married many men but has never been married. Who is he?
      The minister.
    • What’s something you can hold without touching?
      Your breath.
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Section 2 of 9:

Challenging Trick Questions

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  1. Now that you’re warmed up, it’s time to give your brain a real workout! Test yourself (or someone else) with the challenging questions below—and try not to worry about the outcome. Whether you get most of them right or not, working on these questions is a great opportunity to improve your puzzle-solving skills. [1]
    • How can you physically stand behind your father while he is standing behind you?
      You and your father are standing back-to-back.
    • The more of this there is, the less you see. What is it?
      Darkness.
    • What are the next three letters in this combination? OTTFFSS…
      E, N, and T. The pattern represents the first letter of each written number: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and so on.
    • You can always see me in front of you even if you close your eyes. Who Am I?
      The future.
    • Ask this question all day but always get entirely different answers, yet all the answers will be correct. What is the question?
      What time is it?
    • What’s blue but not heavy?
      Light blue.
    • You’ll find me in Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. But never Neptune or Venus. What am I?
      The letter “r”.
    • I have a head like a cat and feet like a cat, but I am not a cat. What am I?
      A kitten.
    • A man claims he went 42 days without sleep. How is that possible?
      He slept at night.
    • When it is alive we sing, when it is dead we clap our hands. What is it?
      A birthday candle.
    • A man pushes his car until he reaches a hotel. When he arrives, he goes bankrupt. What happened?
      He’s playing Monopoly and his piece is the car. He lands in a space with a hotel but doesn’t have enough money to pay the fee.
    • What keeps getting wetter while drying?
      A towel.
    • You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring. I’m quick when I’m thin and slow when I’m fat. The wind is my enemy. What am I?
      A candle.
    • What is able to go up a chimney when down but unable to go down a chimney when up?
      An umbrella.
    • How can the number four be half of five?
      The Roman numeral for four is IV, and “iv” are also two out of the four letters in the word “five.”
Section 3 of 9:

Funny Trick Questions

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  1. Just because a question is hard doesn’t mean it can’t be whimsical and fun, too. After all, laughter is a great stress reliever, so you might find trick questions a little more enjoyable with a humorous component to them. [2] For example:
    • What rock group consists of four famous men, even though none of them sing?
      Mount Rushmore!
    • What’s something that has a lot of problems not many people are eager to solve?
      A math book.
    • What has a bottom at the top and helps you stand?
      A leg.
    • What do you call a bear with no teeth?
      A gummy bear.
    • When is a door not a door?
      When it’s ajar.
    • Sometimes I run, but I never walk. What am I?
      A nose.
    • What kind of room has no walls or corners?
      A mushroom.
    • Tim fell from a 30-foot ladder but didn’t get hurt. How is that possible?
      He fell from the bottom rung.
    • What belongs to you but gets used by everyone else more than you?
      Your name.
    • I wave, even if you don’t say hello. What am I?
      A flag.
    • There are two kinds of keys that can’t unlock any doors. What are they?
      A donkey and a monkey.
    • How many times can you cut a cake in half?
      Only once (technically).
    • What is orange and sounds like a parrot?
      A carrot!
    • I make a loud sound when I’m changing. When I do change, I get bigger but weigh less. What am I?
      Popcorn.
    • Why is Europe like a frying pan?
      Because Greece is at the bottom.
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Section 4 of 9:

Trick Questions with Numbers

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  1. If you prefer using numbers and mathematics to solve problems, these trick questions may be right up your alley. And even if math isn’t your cup of tea, it’s great for your mind: math is proven to improve your brain’s cognitive functioning! [3]
    • If there are six apples in a bag and you take away two, how many do you have?
      Two.
    • What has three feet but can’t walk?
      A yardstick.
    • What is the next number in the series? 7,645 5,764 4,576…
      6,457. The last digit is moved to the front to make the next number.
    • Two is a duo, and three is a trio. So what do four and five make?
      Nine.
    • I am four times as old as my daughter. In 20 years, I’ll be twice as old as her. How old are we now?
      I am 40 and my daughter is 10.
    • Can you add five to nine to get two?
      Yes, if you add 5 hours to 9 am/pm to get 2 am/pm.
    • How many times can you subtract 4 from 8?
      Once. After 4 is subtracted from 8, the total is no longer 8.
    • Which weighs more: 16 ounces of cotton or 1 pound of gold?
      Neither, they both weigh the same (since 16 ounces = 1 pound).
    • A farmer had 17 cows. All but 9 ran away. How many cows does she have left?
      9
    • If you divide 30 by half and add ten, what do you get?
      70 (30 divided by 1/2 equals 60, then 60 + 10 equals 70).
    • Using only addition, how do you add five 5’s and get the number 70?
      55 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 70
    • What number do you get when multiplying all the numbers on a telephone’s number pad?
      Zero. Any number multiplied by zero is zero!
    • I am an odd number. Take away one letter, and I become even. What number am I?
      Seven. (If you remove “s,” the word becomes “even.”)
Section 5 of 9:

Trick Questions with Wordplay

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  1. Want to see how well you (or someone else) can analyze and interpret what you read? Wordplay puzzles and riddles can help sharpen your logic and reasoning skills—and, interestingly, help you relax simultaneously. Check out the following wordplay questions: [4]
    • What’s full of holes but can still hold liquid?
      A sponge.
    • What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
      A piano.
    • What 4 days of the week start with the letter T?
      Tuesday, Thursday, Today, and tomorrow.
    • You see a truck driver going the wrong way down a one-way street. He passes at least 6 police officers but doesn’t get stopped. Why?
      The truck driver was walking, not driving.
    • What building has more stories than any other building in the entire world?
      A library.
    • What can you make that no one—not even you—can see?
      Noise.
    • The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
      Footprints.
    • What gets bigger the more you take away from it?
      A hole.
    • I’m where yesterday follows today, and tomorrow’s in the middle. What am I?
      A dictionary.
    • What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in one thousand years?
      The letter M.
    • Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I?
      The word “ton.”
    • I’m not alive, but I grow; I don’t have lungs, but I need air; I don’t have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?
      Fire.
    • I am always coming, but I never arrive. What am I?
      Tomorrow.
    • Pronounced as one letter and written with three, two letters there are, and two only in me. I’m double, I’m single, I’m black, blue, and gray, I’m read from both ends, and the same either way. What am I?
      Eye.
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Section 6 of 9:

Trick Questions for Kids

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  1. Since the average kid probably isn’t used to super obscure or complicated brain teasers, it might be better to give them questions that are a bit more basic. These are still tricky questions—but they come with answers that a child might actually know!
    • What has hands but can’t clap?
      A clock.
    • What has words but never speaks?
      A book.
    • What can you hear but not touch or see?
      Your voice.
    • What kind of band never plays music?
      A rubber band.
    • What has a heart that doesn’t beat?
      An artichoke.
    • What is all over a house?
       A roof.
    • What moves faster: heat or cold?
      Heart—because you can always catch a cold.
    • What runs around the whole yard without moving?
      A fence.
    • What kind of umbrella do most people carry on a rainy day?
      A wet one.
    • What’s black and white and red all over?
      A sunburned zebra.
    • Jenn’s mother has three daughters. One is called Lara, and the other one is Sara. What is the name of the third daughter?
      Jenn.
    • If tomorrow I said, “The day before yesterday was Saturday,” which day is today?
      Sunday.
    • Some months have 31 days, and others have 30 days, but how many have 28 days?
      All 12!
Section 7 of 9:

Trick Questions for Adults

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  1. Adults have had more time to learn, collect knowledge, and develop their brainpower—so they can handle the questions that might make a younger child give up. If you’re an adult (or you’re posing trick questions to an adult), try some of these:
    • What can’t talk but always replies?
      An echo.
    • An electric train is moving north at 100 mph, and a wind is blowing to the west at 10 mph. Which way does the smoke blow?
      There is no smoke with an electric train.
    • Can a man legally marry his widow’s sister in Mississippi?
      No—the man is dead, so he can’t marry anyone.
    • What can fill a room but take up no space?
      Light.
    • What falls but never breaks, and what breaks but never falls?
      Night falls and day breaks.
    • Is it correct to say, “the yolk of eggs is white” or “the yolk of eggs are white”?
      Neither. Egg yolks are yellow.
    • What’s one question nobody can honestly say “no” to?
      “Are you awake?”
    • Every single person at a restaurant got sick, except for two people who were completely fine. How is that possible?
      The two people were a couple, meaning they weren’t single.
    • What was, before was was was?
      Is.
    • I travel the world, and I am drunk constantly. Who am I?
      Water.
    • What kind of cheese is made backward?
      Edam.
    • What has 13 hearts but no other organs?
      A deck of cards.
    • How can you spell enemy using only three letters?
      Foe (a synonym for enemy).
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Section 8 of 9:

Classic Trick Questions

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  1. Are you familiar with the “classics”? Classic trick questions are usually a little more well-known, but if there’s a question here you don’t recognize, see if you can make sense of it.
    • What invention lets you look right through a wall?
      A window.
    • What’s more useful when it’s broken?
      An egg.
    • What kind of bow can’t be tied?
      A rainbow.
    • What’s easy to life but hard to throw?
      A feather.
    • What always ends everything?
      The letter “g.”
    • What English word has three consecutive double letters?
      Bookkeeper.
    • What is so delicate that saying its name breaks it?
      Silence.
    • A cowboy rode into town on Friday. He stayed in town for three days and rode out on Friday. How is that possible?
      Friday was the name of his horse.
    • I am the beginning of the end and the end of time and space. I am essential to creation, and I surround every place.
      The letter “e.”
    • Lighter than what I am made of, more of me is hidden than is seen. What am I?
      Iceberg.
    • What goes up and down but stays in the same place?
      A staircase.
    • I’m a god, a planet, and a measurer of heat. Who am I?
      Mercury.
Section 9 of 9:

Trick Trivia Questions

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  1. Not all trick questions are elaborate riddles and imagined scenarios; plenty of trick questions fall under the trivia category. For example, are you an expert on different kinds of animals? How well do you know world geography? Test yourself with the following trivia questions:
    • Where is the world’s largest desert?
      Antarctica
    • In what section of the food pyramid do eggplants belong?
      The fruit section, as eggplants are technically considered a fruit.
    • What’s the capital of Singapore?
      Singapore (it’s an island city-state).
    • What continent covers all four hemispheres?
      Africa
    • Which of these is closer to a dinosaur: a chicken or a pterodactyl?
      Chickens are descendants of dinosaurs, while the pterodactyl is not considered a dinosaur.
    • What is the deadliest animal in the world?
      The mosquito (because they spread diseases).
    • With what country is France’s longest land border?
      Brazil, because of French Guiana.
    • Which US president is on the $100 bill?
      None. Benjamin Franklin is on the $100 bill, but he was never president.
    • How many bones do sharks have?
      Zero. They don’t have bones!
    • Which city is farther north: Rome, Italy or New York City, USA?
      Rome is slightly further north than New York City.
    • What is the better-known name of the actress born Norma Jeane Mortenson?
      Marilyn Monroe.
    • What was the tallest mountain on earth before Mount Everest was discovered?
      Mount Everest. It was still the tallest, even though it hadn’t been discovered!
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.progresslifeline.org.uk/news/the-benefit-of-puzzles-for-the-brain
      2. ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456
      3. ↑ https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.765754/full
      4. ↑ https://www.progresslifeline.org.uk/news/the-benefit-of-puzzles-for-the-brain

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