A seemingly ‘impossible’ riddle has left people scratching their heads as they struggle to solve it, but the answer is said to be so obvious that it’s ‘staring you in the face’
You’ll need to be able to think outside of the box if you want to solve this riddle. We all know that exercising our brains is just as important as keeping the rest of our body fit and healthy, as physical health and mental health are equally vital.
One of the best ways to work your brain is through brainteasers and other puzzles that can boost your cognitive function, as utilising your mind this way can improve problem-solving skills and can even help to slow the onset of degenerative diseases such as dementia. So if you’re in need of a brain boost today, why not give this tricky riddle a go?
The question was posed during an episode of Lateral with Tom Scott, which is a comedy panel game podcast about strange questions that have even stranger answers.
In a clip of the podcast shared on TikTok, host Tom Scott asked his panellists: “Massachusetts’ New England merch only names Irish cities. Why is this ironic?”
The statement left many people completely baffled, with panellists instantly pointing out the obvious fact that merchandise based on England wouldn’t make sense to include the names of Irish cities at all.
Several people were also confused by the first part of the statement. Massachusetts is a US state that is in the region known as New England, so it would seem strange for a state to be selling merchandise that encompasses multiple states outside of its own.
But there is a trick to solving this puzzling riddle – and it’s staring you right in the face.
After the panellists struggled with the answer for some time, Tom eventually told them the “same would be true of Maine”, letting them know that whatever the question is hinting at isn’t exclusive to Massachusetts.
He also corrected people several times when they repeated the question back to him but said “lists Irish cities” instead of “names”, telling them that the exact wording of the statement was very important.
Have you worked out the “impossible” riddle yet? Don’t scroll any further if you haven’t, as we’re about to give you the answer.
Answer
The statement is a mnemonic, a phrase used to help you remember important information or how to spell tricky words. Think “Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants” as a phrase to teach children how to spell “because”, or “Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain” as a way to remember the colours of the rainbow.
“Massachusetts’ New England Merch Only Names Irish Cities” is also a mnemonic, and the reason it’s ironic is because of the word it helps you remember how to spell – it’s a mnemonic for the word mnemonic itself.
The comments admitted that the riddle left their brains scrambled, with many saying they gave up trying to solve it long before the answer was given.
One person said: “I can’t handle the confusion.” Another added: “I would actually hang up the call.”
Someone else wrote: “I love this podcast, I hated this question. Not because it’s a bad question, I just had loading screen brain the whole time.”
Did you manage to solve the riddle? Let us know in the comments!
