This tricky brainteaser recently shared on X asks users to work out what something is from two clues that appear completely contradictory upon first reading them
Riddles can either leave you feeling like pulling your hair out or hugely satisfied at solving them.
One recently posted on X (formerly Twitter) asked people to work out what something is from just two clues. The brainteaser was shared by a user called Brainy Bits Hub and was viewed more than 6,000 times. with dozens of people offering up their answers.
The full post reads: “Riddle me this. “I can fly but I have no wings, I can cry but I have no eyes. What am I?” The contradictory hints turns this word puzzle on its head and requires you to think outside the box, no matter how much you want to shout out ‘bird’ or some other type of animal.
Answers varied from ‘rocket’ and ‘a drone’ to ‘fireworks’ and ‘bat’. Some went very abstract with their attempts, saying ‘time’ and ‘dreams’, while another joked, ‘My Google cloud storage’. It’s likely that the latter really knew the probable answer, which wasn’t shared by the poster, as the majority of responses said ‘cloud’. As one person explained: “I am a cloud floating through the sky. When I cry I rain.” Another added: “I was going to say rain but a cloud seems more like it.”
If you’re feeling good about working this riddle out then there are five other questions below designed to catch you out. They come courtesy of come from quizmaster Mahan Lankarani, who has amassed a huge 1.5 million followers on TikTok alone. Our advice is to read each of them carefully before jumping to an answer because it’s easier than you might realise to make as mistake:
- How many pairs of animals did Moses take on the Ark?
- You’re in a race and pass the person in 3rd place. So, what place are you in now?
- John’s father had three sons: Snap, Crackle, and…?
- If a plan crashes right in between France and Spain. Where do you bury the survivors?
- If it takes seven people seven minutes to eat seven burgers, how long will it take 30 people to eat 30 burgers?
You can check your answers here and give yourself a pat on the back if you managed to get all of them correct. But if you didn’t then take consolation in the fact that research has shown that doing brainteasers like these has a positive impact on our central nervous system, which in turns benefits our cognitive abilities such as concentration levels.
