The ‘Legs on the Floor’ Riddle Is Trickier Than You Might Think—Can You Solve It?
Legs on the Floor Riddle
There's nothing quite like the satisfaction of figuring out the solution to a tough riddle. The "aha!" moment when you solve a real head-scratcher often leaves you wanting to solve another and another so you can keep experiencing that thrill.
Recently, a tricky riddle, known as the “Legs on the Floor” riddle has gone viral on social media, challenging people's problem-solving abilities. The riddle seems simple at first, but many find themselves stumped when trying to figure out the answer.
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What Is the 'Legs on the Floor' Riddle?
The riddle goes like this:
You walk into a room, and you see a bed. On that bed, there are two cows, four dogs, one cat, a bear, three chickens flying above the bed and a goose.
How many legs are on the floor?
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Hints to Figure Out the ‘Legs on the Floor’ Riddle
At first glance, this riddle might lead you to think some careful counting is required to solve it. You may think you need to count up the number of animals, keeping in mind which animals have four legs and which have two. But don't worry, with some logical thinking, you'll be able to figure it out.
First, visualize the scene described—you are walking into a room and seeing various animals and a bed.
Read the riddle carefully and think about what might be a red herring intended to throw you off.
Is there anything else in the room that could have legs on the floor?
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The ‘Legs on the Floor’ Riddle Answer Reveal
There are six legs on the floor.
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The ‘Legs on the Floor’ Riddle Explained
The riddle describes a room containing a large assortment of animals and a bed, then asks how many legs are on the floor. Solving the riddle requires breaking down the information provided to determine what is actually important and what is intended to mislead you.
Visualize the scene and all the animals described. Consider which animals are actually standing on the floor with their legs. The cows, dogs, cat and bear are all described as being on the bed. They would not have their legs touching the floor. The chickens and goose are flying above the bed, so their legs would not be on the floor either. Therefore, you can ignore all of the animals. It’s not important to the riddle’s solution which have four legs and which have two.
It might have occurred to you quickly that the bed itself has four legs. But the answer to the riddle is that there are six legs on the floor. How can this be?
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Go back and read the riddle again. Pay attention to the first sentence: “You walk into a room, and you see a bed.” This is the missing piece of the riddle’s solution. You are in the room as well. You are a human, and presumably, you have two legs.
Add your two legs to the bed’s four legs and there you have your answer: There are six legs on the floor.
The riddle relies on getting listeners to make assumptions and overthink the number of animals involved, when the true solution requires identifying the two key details: the bed has legs, and only one animal is actually standing on the floor—the person trying to solve the riddle.
