Benefits of Brain Teasers

Have you ever tried out some brain teasers? Surprisingly, not only are they fun, but they also have some great benefits as well.

Scroll down for 10 great brain teasers and test yourself out. So, if you’re feeling bored or stressed out, or just want a fun and engaging way to stimulate your brain give them a try.

What’s a Brain Teaser Anyway?

Brain teasers are fun puzzles or problems that challenge your thinking and reasoning skills. They come in many different forms, from riddles and logic puzzles to math problems and even optical illusions.

Try our optical illusions test as well, from one of our first articles.

Can You Solve These Brain Teasers?

Here are some fun brain teasers to try out. Scroll down below for the solutions as well!

The Man In The Elevator

A man who lives on the 10th floor of a building takes the elevator to the ground floor every morning to go to work. When he returns in the evening, he takes the elevator to the 7th floor and then walks up the stairs to the 10th floor. Why does he do this?

The Three-Light Switches

In a room there are three light switches that control three bulbs in another room. You can turn any of the switches on or off, but you can only go into the other room once. How can you determine which switch controls each of the three bulbs?

Coin Weighing Puzzle

You have eight coins and a balance scale. One of the eight coins is counterfeit and weighs slightly less than the others. You can only use the scale twice to determine which coin is counterfeit. How can you do it?

River Crossing Puzzle – The Farmer, the Wolf, the Goat and The Cabbage

A farmer wants to take a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage across a river, but can only take one at a time in his boat. If he leaves the wolf alone with the goat, the wolf will eat the goat. If he leaves the goat alone with the cabbage, the goat will eat the cabbage. How can he get all three across the river safely?

What am I? Teaser

I am not alive, but I grow;
I don’t have lungs, but I need air;
I don’t have a mouth, but water kills me.
What am I?

The Two Ropes

You have two ropes and a lighter. Each rope takes exactly one hour to burn, but they don’t burn at a consistent rate throughout their entire lenghts (meaning, for example, that one rope might burn the first half quickly but then take a long time to burn the second half). How can you measure exactly 45 minutes using only these ropes and the lighter?

Now let’s take a break from the brain teasers and take a look at the benefits of trying a few:

Mental stimulation: Brain teasers provide a mental workout and challenge the brain to think creatively and critically, which can help improve overall cognitive functioning.

Problem-solving skills: By solving brain teasers, individuals can develop better problem-solving skills and learn to approach problems from different angles.

Memory improvement: Brain teasers can help improve memory skills, as they often require the brain to remember information, patterns, and clues.

Stress reduction: Engaging in brain teasers can help reduce stress and anxiety by providing a fun and engaging distraction.

Entertainment: Brain teasers are a fun and challenging way to pass the time and can provide a sense of accomplishment when successfully solved.

Skill development: Depending on the type of brain teaser, individuals can develop specific skills such as logic, spatial reasoning, and pattern recognition.

Overall, brain teasers are an enjoyable and beneficial way to challenge and improve mental abilities while also providing a fun and entertaining activity.

Brain Teasers Solutions

We won’t keep you in suspense, would we? NO. Here are the solutions to all the brain teasers that we put in above.

The three-light switches solution:

Turn on the first switch for a few minutes
Then turn it off and turn on the second switch.
Go into the other room and observe which bulb is on and which bulb is hot.
The bulb controlled by the second switch is the one that is on. The bulb controlled by the first switch will be warm to the touch, and the bulb controlled by the third switch will be off and cold.

The coin weighing puzzle solution:

Divide the coins into three groups – two of the groups with 3 coins and one group with 2 coins.
Place the two groups of 3 coins on the balance scale, one on each side of the balance.
If the scale balances, that means:
- he 3 coins in each of the two groups weigh the same. So, they can be eliminated.
- In this case, the counterfeit coin is one of the two coins in the group that has 2 coins.
- Weigh one of the coins from the remaining group against one of the good coins. If they balance, the counterfeit coin is the remaining one. If the scale tips, the counterfeit coin is in the group that was heavier.
If the scale does not balance, that means:
- The 3 coins in each of the two groups do not weigh the same.
- The lighter group has the counterfeit coin, since we know the counterfeit coin weight less than the real ones.
- Pick any 2 coins from the lighter group and put them on the balance. If they weigh the same, that means the counterfeit coin is the one that was not weighed. If one is lighter than the other, the counterfeit coin is the lighter one.

Man In The Elevator Solution:

The man is too short to reach the button for the 10th floor, but can reach the buttons for the lower floors.
So in the morning, he takes the elevator from the 10th floor to the ground floor, and,
In the evening, he takes the elevator to the 7th floor where he can reach the button for the 10th floor, and then walks up the stairs to his apartment.

The River Crossing Puzzle Solution: The farmer can follow this sequence of steps to get all three across the river safely:

Take the goat across the river and leave it on the other side. That will leave the wolf alone with the cabbage, but the wolf is a carnivore, and won’t eat the cabbage. Likewise the wolf will not be alone with the goat, so it cannot eat the goat.
Go back and get the wolf, but bring the goat back with to the original side. Now the wolf is on the other side of the river, but is not alone with the goat, so the goat stays safe.
Leave the goat on the original side and take the cabbage to the other side. This way, the cabbage is not with the goat, and the goat cannot eat the cabbage.
Finally, go back and get the goat and bring it to the other side.

What Am I? Solution: Think of it … a fire. A fire isn’t alive, but can grow larger. It sucks up all the air, but does not breath. And, water kills it.

The Two Ropes Solution:

Light both ends of the first rope and one end of the second rope at the same time.
When the first rope burns completely, you know that 30 minutes have passed, and you should then light the other end of the second rope.
When the second rope burns completely 15 more minutes have passed. This is because you lit one end at the beginning and then after 30 minutes you lit up the second end of the second rope. You know that it will only burn for 15 more minutes since it can only burn 60 minutes total. Thus, 45 minutes will have passed in total when the second rope finishes burning.