This clever riddle asks:
“How many sides does a circle have?”
At first, you might think the answer is zero because a circle has no straight edges or corners. In geometry, that would make sense.
But this is a riddle, so the question is using the word “sides” in a different way.
The answer is:
Two sides — the inside and the outside.
A circle has an area inside its boundary and an area outside of it, giving the riddle its playful answer.
The trick works because most people immediately start thinking about geometric sides, like those on a triangle, square, or rectangle. Since a circle has no straight edges, zero seems like the obvious response.
But once you stop thinking strictly about shapes and consider another meaning of the word “side,” the answer becomes much easier to see.
Answer: Two — the inside and the outside.
Did you think of zero first, or did you catch the trick right away?
