Tricky quiz: can you answer without saying "yes" or "no"?

The Latvian news portal Latvijas Avīze has published a lighthearted quiz in its test section, inviting readers to try a task that sounds simple but proves surprisingly tricky. The rule is straightforward: when answering the quiz's questions, participants are not allowed to use either the word "yes" or the word "no".

At first glance, following such a rule might seem easy, but it turns out to be far more difficult for most people than expected. These two words are used so frequently and automatically in everyday speech that avoiding them requires heightened concentration and quick thinking.

Why it's harder than it looks

The quiz plays on the fact that the human brain is conditioned to respond to questions with the shortest, simplest answers — often exactly "yes" or "no". To complete the task successfully, a participant must search for alternative phrasing and think through each response before giving it.

According to the published information, only a small fraction of participants manage to achieve a perfect score in this test — reportedly around one in ten. This suggests that a task appearing simple on the surface actually tests attentiveness and the ability to override automatic verbal reflexes.

The quiz falls into a broader category of entertainment content regularly offered by news portals — short, interactive challenges that let readers test themselves and share their results with others. Such content is typically unrelated to serious news but remains popular as light entertainment during free time.