Only The Top 4 Percent Of People Can Work Out Answer To Mind-Bending Egg Puzzle
The brainteaser might seem like a simple matter of breaking down the steps but it challenges your assumptions about how we interpret actions
This brainteaser left people stumped (Stock Photo) (Image: Getty Images/PhotoAlto)
A tricky brain teaser involving eggs has been doing the rounds online, only 4% of people can solve it. All you have to do is figure out how many eggs are left after one is broken, one is cooked, and one is eaten. It might sound simple, but as with all good puzzles, there’s a sneaky twist – and it’ll have you second-guessing everything. The puzzle was posted by The Gooch on Facebook. The video shows a person holding three eggs and asks: “I have three eggs. I break one, cook one, and eat one. How many eggs are left?”
At first glance, it’s a straightforward question, right? Break one, cook one, eat one… surely that means there’s just one egg left? But here’s where it gets interesting. Commenters have flooded the post with their answers, but there’s no consensus. Some users have said it’s a trick of the tenses. “You have 3 (present tense); broke, cooked, and ate are all in the past tense. That means you started with 4,” he writes. It’s a clever theory, but is it correct?
Then another person commented with a different answer: “Two. You break one to cook it, then you cook it, then you eat it. There are two eggs left.” Seems simple enough, right?
A third commenter offered a fresh perspective: “Two. Breaking and cooking doesn’t mean you no longer have the egg – it’s only the one you ate that’s truly gone.”
Offering a completely different answer a fourth person said: “He’s literally telling you the answer, and showing you at the same time. The key is in the very first sentence: “I have 3 eggs.” He’s saying it in the present tense – he has three eggs right now. The rest of the sentence is in the past tense, but that doesn’t change what’s in front of you. He starts by telling you he has three eggs, and then breaks, cooks, and eats one of them. But at that moment, he still has three eggs.”
The convincing commenter says it’s all about the language. “I have 3 eggs” isn’t a trick – it’s a clue.” And according to them the answer is right there in front of you! This puzzle is all about thinking beyond the obvious. While it might seem like a simple matter of breaking down the steps, it challenges your assumptions about how we interpret actions. It’s not just a test of logic – it’s also testing how you take in and then process language.
The only clue given is: “The answer is very tense.” While the answer is always open to interpretation, the overwhelming consensus is that there are two eggs left, and that it really is a puzzle about the tenses.
