This is so funny, but I didn’t get it until I read the explanation.
A restaurant might usually put a sign on the sidewalk with the day’s specials. But some restaurants are getting even better at getting the attention of people walking by.
When a mom named Lacey Read-Cue read the message on a cafe’s sign, she didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t because the menu was hard to understand. They had written a riddle that made people who walked by have to use their brains.
The word puzzle made Lacey scratch her head, but it also stumped the Internet. Let’s see if you’re able to figure it out.
At first, it was hard.
The following is written on the chalkboard sign:
“What has 4 letters, sometimes 9 letters, but never has 5 letters.”
I don’t blame you if you’re saying “Huh?” right now.
Lacey decided to share the riddle on social media, where it quickly went viral.
She typed:
“This really messed with my mind.”
Some people are great at puzzles and word games, but others need more time to get good at them (and a little help). One person on Facebook said, “Hey bro, WHAT IS THE ANSWER?!?!?” Others also said they were upset.
Alright, let’s figure it out together.
Like most riddles, this one is easy to figure out once you know the answer. It’s like, “Ohhhhh… “I don’t know how I missed that!”
You might think of it as a question when you read it. Since it starts with the word “what,” it sounds like it wants an answer.
But it ends with a period, which shows that it’s not really a question.
Try reading it as a statement to see what I mean. Do you get it? Don’t worry if it doesn’t turn on like a lightbulb. Just read each section at a time.
What contains four letters? Indeed, if you think about it! W-H-A-T.
Try the next section.
“There are 9 letters in sometimes.” If you write out the letters in the word “sometimes,” you’ll get S-O-M-E-T-I-M-E-S.
Just one more to go, and you’ve probably already seen it.
“But never has 5 letters.” N-E-V-E-R. There are five of them, that’s right.
It’s the kind of puzzle that makes you want to smack your head when you figure it out. People left comments on Lacey’s post like:
“Now I get it, and I can’t believe I was so confused for so long. I can’t live in peace anymore.”
Someone else wrote:
“Once I got it, I was mad at myself because I had made it harder than it was lol.”
It’s not the only sign the restaurant has put up that has gotten people’s attention.
The place is called Inversnecky Cafe, and it is in the beautiful UK city of Aberdeen. In addition to serving tasty food and drinks, they have daily messages that keep customers and passersby entertained.
People who work there often write funny puns.
Or, as BuzzFeed put it in an article about them, “Dad jokes!”
The funny things they say make everyone laugh.
Once, on their blackboard, it said:
The sun is like bread. “The yeast makes it rise, and the waist makes it fall.”
But if you can’t get to Aberdeen to see their clever sign in person, you can find pictures of it on their Facebook page to cheer you up.
Tell us if this puzzle stumped you or if you have a puzzle of your own.
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