Brain Teasers
Kittens
A cat had three kittens: Mopsy, Topsy and Spot. What was the mother's name.
Hint
Consider the punctuation.Answer
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Comments
There is no answer to this since no question was asked
Beelzebub's comment is true.
clever
I can't believe that I didn't catch that.
this is like those, "railroad crossing whatch out for cars" spell that w/o any r's!! i feel so stupid!!
I wondered why there wasn't a ?
there is no question though.
that could have gone in the trick category and there should have been a question
I didn't get it until i read the answer. But there isn't a question, so maybe you should reword it. I liked it though.
If the second sentence is a statement, then what is the answer answering?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Funny, I liked it!
i just saw a verry similar riddle on a different site the other day. i think it ws talking about children, but i didn't get it then either.
i think i'm just really tired for getign up at 3 am to go to after-tahnksgiving sales.
i think i'm just really tired for getign up at 3 am to go to after-tahnksgiving sales.
Good one.
I was totally lost on this one...
OH my! I just got it DUH!!!
Totally fun ( I hated it at first lol)teaser! rotflmao
Totally fun ( I hated it at first lol)teaser! rotflmao
Thump. Ineed to pay more attention! Nice job!
Hard until you read the hint then it's simple I liked it it's tricky.
HA HA !!!
I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T LISTEN TO THE HINT!!! It was so obvious after I saw the answer... Stupid me...
Didn't What play second base?
graet teeser, da answer didnt need to be ther, ther was no question
i agree with Beelzebub and everyone else that agreed with him/her
people- the point of no ??? was that the mothers name is what, and if you just read it and dont pay attention to the puncuation first, it makes sense
just let it go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
just let it go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i dont get it help
It dont' really matter if it was a question or not! It's a brain teaser and thats what this site is for right? to submitt brain teasers! who cares if it wasn't a question, it got all of you didnt' it!? including me!
Jun 01, 2006
Old and easy
i didnt get this 1 till i looked at the hint. i think i herd this 1 b4 though...its a good 1
great i didnt get it
when u said punctuation i thought it was calma bcause u 4got 2 put one after topsy. good and clevr
Sad to say, but you got me on that one! This was a good one!
heard this one before - i was totally stumped the first time i heard it. the guy kept saying 'what was the mother's name' and i got so confused...
Doh!
I can't believe I didn't get it after the hint. I got it after I saw the answer though...! Heh.
Anyways, I don't support the above suggestions that this was not a real question or whatever. It's a trick, and it probably tricked those people, and they should just chuckle and get over it!
I can't believe I didn't get it after the hint. I got it after I saw the answer though...! Heh.
Anyways, I don't support the above suggestions that this was not a real question or whatever. It's a trick, and it probably tricked those people, and they should just chuckle and get over it!
haha. easy. but whats scary: its the GIRLS that have most the problems getting it!! C'mon, we're supposed to be the smart ones! lol!
♥*Allie
♥*Allie
But there wasn't a real question so how can there be an answer?
I like that.
very clever you got me there.
that was good, but there should have been some sort of question. I liked it!
I get it. Clever.
Great one!
-coolcow35
-coolcow35
excuse me there was no question to answer for this riddle how were we supposed to know the question was what was the mothers name......so i say this is not very good sorry
I don't get
really old and easy
Old and already in many copyrighted books
there's no aswer to this
you were just stating the mom's name
you were just stating the mom's name
the hint gave it away
not vey good i read one in a book and it was way better there isnt even an answer 2 it there was no question..
YOU ARE NOT SUPPOST TO PUT A COMMA AFTER THE WORD TOPSY!!!
DUHHH!!!!!
DUHHH!!!!!
Though I doped this out, I agree with those who pointed out that, since no qestion was really asked, this riddle had no answer. And kudos to the commenter who remembered that in the classic Bud Abbot/Lou Costello routine, "Who's on First," "What" was indeed the second-basseman.
I thought this was very easy. I've seen or heard many of these trick type quizes. But it makes you think for a couple of seconds,
What? a strange name.
Groaner...
Of course, I agree with those who pointed out that there was no question to answer, but that was the trick. Our brains "assume" that the word What was making that statement into a question and we tend to ignore the punctuation because we are already working on the possible answer. I liked the teaser.
I agree with IrishChick...the brain is already trying to figure it out because of "what." I noticed right away that there was no question mark and then the answer hit me. Great teaser!
I needed the hint, shame on me.
I agree with everyone that said there was no question, so this riddle can have no answer. There are two statements presented - that's all. Where's the riddle?
Just to add, the "answer" could just as well have been Topsy. Why not?
With all the poor grammar floating around nowadays, I assumed the period was unintentional; I had to look at the hint to understand.
Interesting idea for a riddle, but I agree with the others: technically there is no question here.
Interesting idea for a riddle, but I agree with the others: technically there is no question here.
same as the others: no question.
nice teaser, though
nice teaser, though
How does reading the hint imply the answer, to have an answer,there has to be a question,since no question is asked, there can be no answer ?Braingle answer is thus illogical.
I had already heard this one somewhere else. Kinda easy, considering Braingle is very strict about errors. Still fun!
I didn't get it at first, but I finally figured out.
I understand the official answer, but what about Spom? Think about it: Topsy is Spot backwards plus Y, so Mopsy would be Spom backwards plus Y.
As most have figured out, this is Not a trick and there really is no answer since there was no question. Only a statement of fact.
I think what this shows is most people today ignore punctuation if they even use it at all. And Braingle showed they're fallible by providing an answer where there is no question instead of an explanation.
I think what this shows is most people today ignore punctuation if they even use it at all. And Braingle showed they're fallible by providing an answer where there is no question instead of an explanation.
Got it!
hahah!! how cute is this??!! lol --> love it!
easssy.... : P
There's no answer because there is no question. Stop hurting our brains.
I thought it was "she", because of the saying, "Who's she, the cat's mother?". I liked it.
Old and lame!
Old, lame, easy, and given away by the fact that "What was the mother's name" is followed by a period rather than q
Old, easy,and fundamentally dishonest, since, as others have pointed out, no question has beeen asked to which the word "What" would be an snswer.
Beating a dead horse here, but I have to agree that since no question was asked there can be no answer. These were simply two statements. Yes it was a trick in that we were intended to think it was a question. Aside from that, my main complaint is again that with all the new materiel that is out there, the "Teaser o the Day" is instead an 8 year old dud (It befuddles me how it got a 3-star rating).
All I can say is GIVE ME A BREAK. Old and worn out.
Sorry, folks, but I must be in a different mood from most other people. It just made me laugh. Of course, each of you is correct - it was a silly trick. Have a great day!!
I had decided that "A cat" must have been the mother's name, but I was wrong since her name was "What" even though there was no question asked!
and No, I didn't pay any attention as to the punctuation! (and I am a retired teacher!)
and No, I didn't pay any attention as to the punctuation! (and I am a retired teacher!)
I would have preferred:
Answer: "What" is the mother's name. I already told you that.
Answer: "What" is the mother's name. I already told you that.
Why do I always attempt these before coffee? answer: ???
It's a fun teaser. It's challenging, cute, innovative, and a "trick".
Live with it.
And love and cherish Braingle for giving us the opportunity to discuss it thusly, even though Braingle is dying because most of you fail to realize or deal with that opportunity.
Here's a couple of other things related to possible contemporary changes in grammar and punctuation "rules":
01. Should a comma be placed - in a series or group of items - before the last item and prior to a qualifier such as "and" or "or"?
This teaser is a good example and has inflamed some commenters as to usage. Are there three items (Mopsy, Topsy, and Spot) or are there two items (Mopsy, Topsy and Spot)?
Some writers, editors, and language mavens are using the extra comma to reduce confusion about the number of items.
02. Should a sentence stop (., ?, !, etc.) be placed inside or outside a final quotation mark (")? Again, some users now prefer placing it inside OR outside the quotation mark to clarify whether the sentence stop refers to just the item within quotation marks or refers to the entire sentence.
Check it out.
US (the BunnyBunch, again)
Live with it.
And love and cherish Braingle for giving us the opportunity to discuss it thusly, even though Braingle is dying because most of you fail to realize or deal with that opportunity.
Here's a couple of other things related to possible contemporary changes in grammar and punctuation "rules":
01. Should a comma be placed - in a series or group of items - before the last item and prior to a qualifier such as "and" or "or"?
This teaser is a good example and has inflamed some commenters as to usage. Are there three items (Mopsy, Topsy, and Spot) or are there two items (Mopsy, Topsy and Spot)?
Some writers, editors, and language mavens are using the extra comma to reduce confusion about the number of items.
02. Should a sentence stop (., ?, !, etc.) be placed inside or outside a final quotation mark (")? Again, some users now prefer placing it inside OR outside the quotation mark to clarify whether the sentence stop refers to just the item within quotation marks or refers to the entire sentence.
Check it out.
US (the BunnyBunch, again)
Loud groan!
Why is there an answer, when no question was asked?
I LOVED it! I thought the answer was A CAT.
A cat had three kittens...
Thanks for a good laugh!
A cat had three kittens...
Thanks for a good laugh!
liked it, but it says "what WAS the mother's name", which is past-tense, so it can't actually be her name. just saying
HOW COME I CANT CORRECT THIS DANG THING
Fun and entertaining teaser; I also thought the answer was "cat".
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