Which jellybean do YOU choose? ‘Impossible’ brainteaser is making people’s brains hurt
Three different coloured beans rest on a tree stump, but two of them are poisonous
CAN you solve this pesky jellybean riddle?
Bloggers Tim Urban and Andrew Finn, who run , have created a ridiculously difficult brainteaser.
Three different coloured beans rest on a tree stump and two of them are fatally poisonous - the trick is to identify which one is safe to eat.
The riddle reads: “Two of the jelly beans on the stump are poisonous—you’ll die within 30 seconds of eating either one of them.
“But one of the jelly beans isn’t poisonous and won’t harm you at all...
“The situation works like this: You pick one of the jellybeans and eat it, and if you happen to pick the non-poisonous one, you’re free to go.”
Just before you reach to eat the sweet you’ve selected, the riddler tells you to stop.
The riddle-maker then takes one of the remaining jellybeans out of the equation, revealing that it’s poisonous.
One of the two beans left is not safe to eat.
The riddle then gives you the option of swapping the bean you initially chose or change your mind.
Would you choose to swap?
Although it looks like there will then be a 50 per cent chance of survival, sticking with the jellybean you first selected is actually less safe.
The riddle-markers reveal: “You should switch. The first door has a 1/3 chance of winning, but the second door has a 2/3 chance.
“Here’s a good way to visualize what happened. Suppose there are a million doors, and you pick door number one.
“Then the host, who knows what’s behind the doors and will always avoid the one with the prize, opens them all except door number 777,777.
“You’d switch to that door pretty fast, wouldn’t you?”
Did you solve the riddle? It’s definitely left us scratching our heads.