Cafés, coffee shops, and restaurants are starting to get quite creative with the signage they put up outside their locations. Signs that once advertised menu items now often have clever jokes, puns, or even riddles.

When a café put a clever riddle on the signage outside of its location, it had a big impact on one local mother. Lacey Read-Cue was stumped by the head-scratcher and posted to Facebook about it.

https://www.facebook.com/Invesnecky/posts/4502932436405800

The café’s clever word puzzle stumped the internet.

The riddle posted appears quite simple, but it has stumped a large percentage of people who have been faced with it.

“What has 4 letters, sometimes 9 letters, but never has 5 letters.”

Lacey’s Facebook friends struggled with the riddle.

Lacey posts the riddle to social media.

The local mom posted the riddle to Facebook and included the caption:

“This really screwed w my head 😂😭”

Lacey’s FB friends who saw the message began posting messages in frustration.

“Hey bro WHATS THE ANSWER?!?!?!” wrote one rather impatient Facebook friend.

“Someone just comment the answer already. I keep coming back to check,” wrote another.

Solving the riddle.

Okay, no problem. This can’t be that hard, right? Let’s think this out together. 5 letters, but sometimes has 9 but never has 5. Surely, some brainstorming will solve this riddle for us.

Like most riddles, it’s best to look at what the riddle is really asking or, in this case, if it is actually asking anything at all. The biggest clue in this riddle is the punctuation used. Take some time to think about that before scrolling down.

The riddle isn’t asking a question at all.

The riddle ends with a period and not a question mark. It’s not asking anything at all and is, in fact, a statement being made. With this understood, try reading the riddle again.

“What has 4 letters, sometimes 9 letters, but never has 5 letters.”

“What” is a word that has 4 letters. Since this is a statement and not a question, What is the word being talked about. W-H-A-T.

Sometimes has 9 letters

While “What” doesn’t have 9 letters, the word “sometimes” does.

“What has 4 letters.
Sometimes has 9 letters.”

Never has 5 letters.

You’ve probably guessed how the rest of the riddle goes now. The word “never” has 5 letters. So the riddle was essentially making 3 separate statements but the sound of the 3 statements being read together made it appear as though a question was being asked.

“What has 4 letters.
Sometimes has 9 letters.
Never has 5 letters.”

If you were asked this by a troll, there is a good chance you would never be permitted to cross their bridge.

Palm-to-face reactions

This is one of those riddles where once you figure it out, you are mad at yourself for not getting it earlier. People shared on Lacey’s FB their reaction to finding out the answer.

“Well I get it now and I can’t believe I was so confused for so long 🙄 I can’t live my life in peace now.”

“Once I got it, i was really mad at myself I made it harder than what it was lol”

Café has a knack for funny signs.

The Inversnecky Café has a knack for putting up funny signs. They post their best ones to Facebook as well.

https://www.facebook.com/Invesnecky/photos/a.469195666446184/1565679450131128

Did this riddle have you stumped?

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Source: Lacey Read-Cue/Inversnecky Cafe