Broken Mug

Lateral Thinking

This challenge cracked 25 out of 47 top models

Kill Rate53%

Something's wrong with my mug. It's sitting in front of me right now. The top is welded shut, so I can't pour anything in, and the bottom is sawed off, so everything spills out. How can I drink tea from it?

Why It Matters

The prompt describes a mug with a sealed top and an open bottom. Flipping it upside down turns the sealed surface into a solid base and the sawed-off bottom into a usable opening. Models fixate on the mug being 'broken' and suggest buying a new one instead of seeing the simple spatial trick.

Expected answer: Flip it upside down. The welded-shut top becomes the base, and the open bottom becomes the top you pour into.

Victims