Most famous fictional riddles in literature are also the most exasperating. Not only because you would need to spend longer time to solve it but also because it came without an answer.
A riddle that was recently shared on Facebook with a caption: “This really screwed w my head.” smashed the head of the public.
Lacey Read posted the photo of a chalkboard sign in her Facebook, which everyone assumed that it was a riddle, missing the point completely.
The sign states: “What has 4 letters, sometimes 9 letters, but never has 5 letters.”
According to AWM, we have all seen riddles that start with “What has…” and pose a question for the reader to solve; this one is a little bit different. Ever since we immediately assumed that something beginning with “What has…” is a question, which is totally screwing people’s idea and answer.
After many brilliant minds tried to answer the riddle but understandably got more confused, Lacey provided this tip, which is the key to figuring it out: “Read it slowly & not as a question.”
If you will examine the riddle properly, there is no question mark to specify that it is a question; rather it ends with a period, making it a statement.
Yes, it is literally a ‘statement’. ‘What’ has four letters. W-H-A-T. The word ‘sometimes’ has nine letters: S-O-M-E-T-I-M-E-S. And literally, the word ‘never’ has five letters: N-E-V-E-R.
After Lacey posted the photo on her Facebook page, she was surprised as it captured the attention of others. Within a week, her post had over 35,000 reactions and over 145,000 shares. It has also flooded with comments from people who are trying to find the answer.
The most effective key in answering a riddle is to read it properly as what Lacey said on her post: “Read it very slowly over and over don’t over think it, just read it like a regular sentence.”
Article Sources: American Web Media, The Little Things, The Shred/Facebook Photo Credit: 9 Gag, The Little Things
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