# mental riddle that 98% all answer one way **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 15, 2003, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383 "2003-11-15T04:27:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ScottHaneda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@ScottHaneda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScottHaneda)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/1 "2003-11-15T04:27:51Z")
Can someone explain how this works to me please, I can only think that the answer has 6 chars in it… Here’s something that you may enjoy: Have you ever wondered if your mind is normal or different?? Well, do this little mind exercise and find out at the end!! Free will or synaptic wiring? You be the judge. Check out the following exercise, guaranteed to raise an eyebrow. There’s no trick or surprise. Just follow these instructions, and answer the questions one at a time and as quickly as you can. Again, as quickly as you can but don’t advance until you’ve done each of them…really. Now, scroll down (but not too fast, you might miss something)… What is: 1+5 2+4 3+3 4+2 5+1 Now repeat saying the number 6 to yourself as fast as you can for 15\< /B\> seconds. Then scroll down. QUICK!!! THINK OF A VEGETABLE! Then arrow down. Keep going. You’re thinking of carrot, right? If not, you’re among the 2% of the population whose minds are different enough to think of something else. 98% of people will answer with carrot when given this exercise. ---
**Author:** ![Thinks2Much](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Thinks2Much](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thinks2Much)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/2 "2003-11-15T04:30:47Z")
I think this should be in MPSIMS. I thought of a tomato, even though it is technically not a vegetable. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/3 "2003-11-15T04:32:02Z")
I thought of a red hammer. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/4 "2003-11-15T04:32:46Z")
close. i thought of an artichoke. i’m highly suspicious of the number that 98% thought of “carrot.” I suspect that a majority of Westerners do, being that a carrot is a default vegetable. This is why you would think of carrot. The sixes have nothing to do with it. The trick would work the same given any number or any setup. ---
**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/5 "2003-11-15T04:33:50Z")
I’d WAG it has to do with a carrot being such a “top o fmind” vegetable. When someone’s mind is jumbled, then you throw “NAME A VEGETABLE” to them…they just say carrot. I don’t think it has anything to do with the exercise. I bet if I jolted you out of sleep int he middle of the night yelling “NAME A VEGETABLE” 98% of the time people would say carot. Also, I think that’s probably North American specific, too. Someone in China might be as inclined to say “Bok Choy” or something. Now let’s wait patiently for someone with some real knowledge to prove me horribly wrong in fron of the world… ---
**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/6 "2003-11-15T04:35:57Z")
I’m enrolling at the **pulykamell** school of succinct writing… ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Eaton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Tom\_Eaton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Eaton)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/7 "2003-11-15T04:45:04Z")
I thought of celery. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/8 "2003-11-15T04:47:52Z")
Onion popped into my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Kaotic\_Newtral](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@Kaotic\_Newtral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaotic_Newtral)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/9 "2003-11-15T04:48:08Z")
I thought ‘corn’ Did I win!!!? ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/10 "2003-11-15T04:50:29Z")
[A related discussion with some theories.](http://sciscoop.com/story/2003/10/27/131431/06) ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/11 "2003-11-15T05:08:39Z")
I thought about strangling the people who come up with these stupid spam “facts”. Technically, that isn’t a vegetable, but what are you gonna do? ---
**Author:** ![Z\_Al](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/41988e/32.png) [@Z\_Al](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Z_Al)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/12 "2003-11-15T05:23:00Z")
I pictured cucumber but said carrot. Doh! ---
**Author:** ![Gopher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gopher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gopher)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/13 "2003-11-15T05:23:16Z")
I thought “vegetable.” Yes, I know, I’m a shining example of the brilliance on these boards. ---
**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/14 "2003-11-15T05:32:28Z")
mmmmmmmm… Twix! (drool)… ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/15 "2003-11-15T05:44:20Z")
I said “lettuce.” And I had a salad with dinner. Does this mean anything at all? ---
**Author:** ![SoulSearching](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@SoulSearching](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulSearching)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/16 "2003-11-15T05:51:12Z")
I thought of tomato too, even though it’s not technically a vetegetable ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/17 "2003-11-15T05:53:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Some Guy \* > \*\*Technically, that isn’t a vegetable, but what are you gonna do? \*\* Spam’s not a vegetable. I’m not even sure it’s meat. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ragerdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d07c76/32.png) [@ragerdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ragerdude)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/18 "2003-11-15T05:53:42Z")
My first thought was tomato, then a second later I changed it to celery, tomato being a fruit. Both thoughts were “instinctual/reflex.” I did not think of carrot at all. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/19 "2003-11-15T06:08:04Z")
I thought carrot, but I had heard this one before so I was already thinking carrot. I have tried this on people and my anecdotal evidence suggests that 5 out of 6 New Zealanders say “carrot”. I also tried it on my 5 year old brother, he too said “carrot”. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383/20 "2003-11-15T06:08:12Z")
I thought carrot for the simple reason that I ate one not an hour ago. And tomato is a vegetable. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-riddle-that-98-all-answer-one-way/213383.md?page=2)