80% of People Failed the World’s Shortest IQ Test

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

If you want to check your IQ but don’t want to spend hours on a complex test, we have just the one for you! This is the world’s shortest IQ test, which consists of only three questions.

TikToker @chibimallo, admitted that she “failed immediately,” as did the majority of other people who took the test. In fact, this Cognitive Reflection Test was created by MIT professor Shane Frederick in 2005, and given to 3,428 people. Out of all those individuals, only 17% of them passed the test.

So, are you smarter than the majority of the world?

The Questions

  • A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total, the bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
  • If it takes five machines five minutes to make five widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?
  • In a lake, there’s a patch of lily pads. Every day the patch doubles in size, if it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake?

Apparently, this test is designed to “yield impulsive erroneous responses.” Meaning, you probably shouldn’t go with your first instincts on this one.

The Answers

  • The ball costs five cents, making the bat $1.05. Together, they total $1.10.
  • It would still take five minutes. Each machine produces one widget in five minutes, so 100 machines working simultaneously maintain the same time frame.
  • The patch could cover half of the lake on day 47. Most people were misled into thinking it’s 24 days, so don’t worry if that happened to you too.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

If you managed to answer at least one question correctly, you’ve outperformed the 33% who scored zero on this brief yet challenging IQ test.