23 surprisingly simple riddles and brainteasers that most people get wrong

Updated

2021-01-29T15:21:20Z

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Some riddles are ridiculously simple.
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  • Insider rounded up difficult riddles and brainteasers that most people can't answer.
  • The answers are so obvious and simple that they often get overlooked.
  • What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years? The letter "M."
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Sometimes puzzles are so obvious that they're nearly impossible to solve.

Insider rounded up 23 riddles and brainteasers with simple answers that anyone could get wrong.

Read on to see if you can figure them out.

What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?

Big Ben in London, England.
antb/Shutterstock

Answer: The letter "M"

Source: Quora

What always ends everything?

This one shouldn't be too tricky.
Insider

Answer: The letter "G"

Source: UpVee

I have keys, but no locks. I have space, but no room. You can enter, but you can't go outside. What am I?

Think hard, but not too hard.
Shutterstock/Robert Brown Stock

Answer: A computer keyboard

Source: Republic World

I have seas without water, coasts without sand, towns without people, and mountains without land. What am I?

Aerial view of Santa Maria beach in Sal Island Cape Verde.
Shutterstock

Answer: A map

Source: Riddles.com

A man shaves several times a day but still has a beard. Who is he?

Why is he shaving so much?
Veles Studio/Shutterstock

Answer: A barber

Source: Grin

What coat is best put on wet?

Not the kind of coat you would wear.
Getty Images

Answer: A coat of paint

Source: Answers King

A clerk in a butcher shop stands 5'10" and wears size 13 shoes. What does he weigh?

A butcher hard at work.
Frank Bean/Getty Images

Answer: Meat

Source: Quora

How much dirt is in a hole that measures 2 feet by 3 feet by 4 feet?

A huge mound of dirt.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Answer: None

Source: RBT

Which is correct to say: "The yolk of the egg is white" or "The yolk of the egg are white?"

An egg sizzling on a pan.
Shutterstock

Answer: Neither, egg yolks are yellow

Source: Riddles.com

This belongs to you, but everyone else uses it more.

Students raising their hands in class.
Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock

Answer: Your name

Source: Riddles.tips

How many letters are in the alphabet?

Don't over think this one.
Getty Images/John Moore

Answer: There are 11 letters in "the alphabet."

Source: Riddles.com

Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?

Hikers make the trek up Mt. Everest.
Tashi Sherpa/AP

Answer: Mt. Everest

Source: RBT

Why can't you take a picture of a man with a wooden leg?

A man snaps a photo.
Elaine Thompson/AP

Answer: Because a wooden leg can't take pictures, only a camera can.

Source: Riddles.com

You see a boat filled with people. It has not capsized, but when you look again you don't see a single person on the boat. Why?

Are your eyes fooling you?
f11photo/Shutterstock

Answer: Everyone on the boat is married.

Source: Riddles.tips

What goes all the way around the world, but stays in the corner?

The answer is in the photo.
AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

Answer: A stamp

Source: Riddles.com

What has four fingers and a thumb, but isn't alive?

It's something you wear.
Shutterstock

Answer: A glove

Source: Grin

What gets bigger the more you take away?

This is an easy one.
Shutterstock

Answer: A hole

Source: RBT

The man who built it doesn't use it, the man who bought it doesn't need it, and the man who uses it doesn't know it. What is it?

This one is life or death.
Reuters

Answer: A coffin

Source: Riddles.tips

What runs but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?

A beautiful river flows through mountains.
Sergey Uryadnikov/Shutterstock

Answer: A river

Source: Riddles.com

Many have heard me, but nobody has seen me. I will not speak until spoken to first. What am I?

Think of what happens when you shout in a tunnel.
REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

Answer: An echo

Source: Grin

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