First-grade students in Hong Kong breezed through this puzzle in 20 seconds, but it has us stumped. Or at least it did before we looked up the answer!
Although the puzzle was invented two decades ago, it recently appeared on an elementary-school entrance exam in Hong Kong and has since gone viral.
The puzzle can be found on PuzzlersWorld.com, and both the Guardian and Daily Mail have reported on the trending mind game.
Can you solve it?
The key is to not get caught up in complicated calculations or algebra. And to not think so hard!
Here’s a tip: Try looking at the puzzle upside down.
Seems pretty darn clear now, doesn’t it?
The car, of course, is parked in spot number 87.
Children just look at things differently and sometimes even more simply, without the baggage of all those years of life us adults have shouldered.
Although children taking the elementary-school entrance exam successfully solved the puzzle in the allotted time, adults across the world are scratching their heads.
They say the younger you are (age 4), the faster you can solve this… http://t.co/lHNLcAUNz8
— RkyMtnLoJo (@rkymtnlojo) June 9, 2015
Anyone able to get this!? Logic puzzle stumps adults but 6-year-olds can solve it in 20 seconds http://t.co/7dihnqLD9a via @MailOnline
— Nicola Jane Turner (@Nicola_JaneT) June 17, 2015
http://t.co/5bkNYu5K9e
Moi? non.— Isambard Wilkinson (@IsambardW) June 17, 2015
If a six year old child solves this in 20 sec… does this mean I have a brain of a 6 month old child? ?? http://t.co/FAmLp2D7KY
— Esther (@esther_flu) June 17, 2015
The puzzle was invented by the famed puzzle author David Bodycombe, reports the Guardian. It was apparently inspired by a parking lot he saw in Portugal two decades ago.
Bodycombe was not aware his puzzle was used on the Hong Kong test, according to the Guardian.
Seriously thinking of updating my CV to read "inventor of THAT car park puzzle": http://t.co/dKtW2lJKFJ
— David J. Bodycombe (@DavidJBodycombe) June 17, 2015
