Please note! The information in this article applies to the previous version of the test. To access the current version and its explanations, please go here.
Here is an engaging logic test called “Idiot or Genius.” Many people who complete this test are surprised by their results and ask, “Where could I have made a mistake? What is the correct answer, and why?” Let’s look at the details.
1. There are 12 fish in an aquarium, and all but 9 of them died. How many live fish are left in the aquarium?
Correct answer: 9 fish.
If there were originally 12 fish in the aquarium and all except 9 died, then 9 fish survived. No complicated math is needed here.
2. Can a man marry his widow’s sister?
Correct answer: No.
If a woman is a widow, it means her husband has died. So the man cannot marry anyone, including his widow’s sister, because in our society people cannot get married after they are dead.
3. Imagine this situation: in front of you are 2 mothers, 2 daughters, 1 grandmother, and 1 granddaughter. How many people do you see in total?
Correct answer: 3.
So, there are 3 people in front of us: a little girl (let’s call her Emma), her mother (let’s say Sarah), and her grandmother (for example, Linda). In this situation, Emma is both a granddaughter (to Linda) and a daughter (to Sarah); Sarah is both a mother (to Emma) and a daughter (to Linda), and Linda is a grandmother to Emma and a mother to Sarah. Let’s count the highlighted words.
4. Three painters have a brother named John, but John has no brothers. Is this possible?
Correct answer: Yes.
Yes, it is possible if those painters are John’s sisters.
5. You can see six pairs of horse hooves under a fence. How many horses are behind the fence?
Correct answer: 3.
It’s simple: there are 6 pairs of hooves, and since one horse has 4 hooves (or 2 pairs), dividing 6 pairs by 2 gives us 3 horses.
6. A month usually ends on the 30th or 31st. Which month includes the 28th day?
Correct answer: All months.
The question is not “Which month ends on the 28th?” It asks, “Which month has a 28th day?” This is about paying attention. Every month has a 28th day.
7. In a three-story building with an elevator, a lawyer lives on the first floor, a doctor lives on the second, and a hairdresser lives on the third. Which floor does the elevator go to most often?
Correct answer: The first floor.
The elevator stops on the first floor most often.
8. One train is traveling from New York to Boston, and another is traveling from Boston to New York. They leave at the same time, but the first train is three times faster than the second. Which train will be farther from New York when they meet?
Correct answer: Neither; they are the same distance away.
Speed does not matter when we are talking about the moment they meet. If the trains have met, they are in the same place, so they are equally far from New York.
9. After a car crash, a father and son are taken to the hospital. The father dies, and a surgeon enters the son’s room and says, “This is my son.” Could that be true?
Correct answer: Yes.
This is completely possible if the surgeon is the child’s mother.
10. There are 100 red, green, and yellow Skittles in a bowl. 2/5 of them are yellow, and 1/4 are green. How many red Skittles are in the bowl?
Correct answer: 35 pieces.
If 2/5 are yellow, that gives us 40 yellow Skittles. If 1/4 are green, that gives us 25 green Skittles. So 65 candies are not red, which means the remaining 35 candies in the bowl are red.
11. If six foxes can catch six chickens in six minutes, how many foxes are needed to catch 60 chickens in 60 minutes?
Correct answer: 6.
If six foxes can catch six chickens in six minutes, then by multiplying the time by 10, the same six foxes can catch 60 chickens in 60 minutes.
12. A person has 10 fingers on their hands. How many fingers are there on 10 hands?
Correct answer: 50.
An average person (not counting unusual cases) has 10 fingers on two hands, as stated in the question. Since one hand has 5 fingers, 10 hands have 50 fingers in total.
13. How many digit 8s appear in the range from 1 to 88?
Correct answer: 18.
The count goes like this: 8, 18, 28, 38, 48, 58, 68, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, which gives a total of 18 digit 8s. Note that we are counting the number of digit 8s, not the number of numbers that contain this digit. For example, the number 88 contains two 8s.
14. A doctor tells a patient to get three injections, each half an hour apart. How much time will it take to complete all the injections?
Correct answer: One hour.
Forget the math for a moment: if the first injection is given right away, the next one will be half an hour later, and the third one will be one hour after the first.
15. How many digit 9s appear in the sequence of numbers from 1 to 100?
Correct answer: 20.
You need to count the nines in these numbers: 9, 19, 29, 39, 49, 59, 69, 79, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99. There is probably a faster mathematical way to count them (if you know one, share it in our VK group). As in question #13, we are counting the number of digits in the number sequence, not the number of numbers that contain a certain digit. For example, the number 99 includes two digit 9s.
16. A lonely security guard died during the night. Will he receive his pension?
Correct answer: No.
Since the security guard has died, he cannot receive a pension. We are not considering fake payments or corruption in this context.
17. A man went to the market and bought a horse for $50. Then he noticed that horse prices had gone up and sold it for $60. Later, he realized he needed transportation and bought the same horse back for $70. After that, thinking his wife might be upset about the expensive purchase, he sold the horse for $80. How much did he earn from these transactions in the end?
Answer: $20.
Just calculate it: -50 + 60 - 70 + 80 = $20.
18. A brick weighs 1 kilogram plus half of itself. How much does the brick weigh?
Correct answer: 2 kg.
This is a basic equation problem: X = 1 + 0.5X, where X is the weight of the brick we need to find. Solve the equation: X - 0.5X = 1; 0.5X = 1; X = 2. Therefore, the brick weighs 2 kg.
19. Under what kind of bush does a hare prefer to hide during rain?
Correct answer: A wet one.
Since it is raining, the hare will most likely find shelter under a wet bush. Maple bushes do not exist (a maple is a tree), and it is hard to imagine a dry bush during rain (unless the bush is under a canopy, the rain has just started and has not made it wet yet, or the bush has been treated with a water-repellent coating). If you have other ideas about how a hare could hide under a dry bush during rain, share them in the comments.
So, to get the highest score on the test, all you need is attention to detail and a little logic. There is a reason people say that true genius lies in simplicity.
We sincerely hope you read the correct answers after taking the test, not before starting it ;-)
