# Can you solve this puzzle? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 4, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039 "2012-06-04T15:26:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/1 "2012-06-04T15:26:55Z")
2 + 2 = fish 3 + 3 = eight 7 + 7 = triangle No other clues. It just says “only smart people understand this”. Well, I’m a pretty smart guy but this one has me stumped. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/2 "2012-06-04T15:32:57Z")
Mirror one of each pair of numbers, then stick them together with a bit of overlap. The result is an image of the thing they’re “equal” to. (The fish is actually a stylized fish symbol.) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/3 "2012-06-04T15:34:06Z")
Take the mirror image of the second number, place it to the left of the first number, and it will look like a fish, an eight, and a triangle respectively. D’oh! Too slow ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/4 "2012-06-04T15:36:04Z")
Flip a two and superimpose it over the other 2. Flip a 3 and a 7 and match them up with their respective partners. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/5 "2012-06-04T15:45:43Z")
Hmmm. I can see the 8 and the triangle but that don’t look like no fish to me. Thanks all! Never mind. I see the fish now. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/6 "2012-06-04T15:45:53Z")
Is Inner the only guy here who knows how to type " [spoiler] "? 😃 You’re supposed to keep adding to the puzzle, e.g. 4 + 4 = Golden Gate Bridge 0 + 0 = infinity 13 + 13 = butterfly (sort of) ---
**Author:** ![TATG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/50afbb/32.png) [@TATG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TATG)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/7 "2012-06-04T15:48:31Z")
1 + 1 = 1 ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/8 "2012-06-04T15:54:14Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Hmmm. I can see the 8 and the triangle but that don’t look like no fish to me. Thanks all! If it makes you feel better, I’ll admit in public that it took me about 45 minutes of intense thought to figure out the “Four is cosmic” campfire game. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/9 "2012-06-04T15:57:27Z")
€ + € = probably not supposed to say… ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/10 "2012-06-04T21:11:42Z")
π + π = m ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/11 "2012-06-04T21:21:27Z")
> [@tatg](#): > > 1 + 1 = 1 1+1 = M … e ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/12 "2012-06-13T03:24:35Z")
I got all these almost immediately, which really surprised me. I usually don’t do particularly well on such spatial reasoning puzzles. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/13 "2012-06-13T18:15:54Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > € + € = probably not supposed to say… What? What’s wrong with Pisces? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/14 "2012-06-13T21:02:26Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > 2 + 2 = fish > > 3 + 3 = eight > > 7 + 7 = triangle > > No other clues. It just says “only smart people understand this”. Well, I’m a pretty smart guy but this one has me stumped. The only thing I can figure is this: If you mirror the letters and put them together, the threes look like an 8, the sevens form a triangle, and I guess the two’s form a Jesus Fish? ---
**Author:** ![Bluebird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Bluebird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluebird)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/15 "2013-09-27T03:44:08Z")
Yes, but I wonder if the riddle has additional meaning such as the fish representing Jesus and Christianity, the 8 for resurrection or new beginnings and the triangle for the Holy Trinity. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/16 "2013-09-27T08:13:10Z")
> [@Bluebird](#): > > Yes, but I wonder if the riddle has additional meaning such as the fish representing Jesus and Christianity, the 8 for resurrection or new beginnings and the triangle for the Holy Trinity. There’s a resurrection joke in there somewhere… ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/17 "2013-09-27T13:29:14Z")
8 + 8 = 4 pack ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/18 "2013-09-27T13:49:18Z")
> [@Bluebird](#): > > Yes, but I wonder if the riddle has additional meaning such as the fish representing Jesus and Christianity, the 8 for resurrection or new beginnings and the triangle for the Holy Trinity. You mean other than the thread coming back from the dead? No, there’s really no additional meanings. I will note, however, that human beings are good at seeing patterns even when there are none. So, if it makes you feel good to believe there’s a deeper hidden message, knock yourself out. But it’s a waste of both mental capacity and faith to delve deeper into what is actually a fairly simple brain teaser. Also, I would like to point out: [the Simpsons already did it](http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Lisa_the_Simpson) (back in 1998). ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/19 "2013-09-27T13:50:11Z")
5 + 5 = my coffee table ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039/20 "2013-09-27T14:10:57Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > But it’s a waste of both mental capacity and faith to delve deeper into what is actually a fairly simple brain teaser. It’s a fairly simple brain teaser if you think a certain way. I imagine most people are going to think ‘numbers, it must be a math problem’. It took me a while to even consider that there might be another way to look at it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-solve-this-puzzle/624039.md?page=2)