Can You Answer These 21 Mind-Blowingly Funny Interview Questions?

“When a hot dog expands, in which direction does it split and why?” This is a real interview question. Could you answer it on the spot? Here’s a hint: you can’t provide a black or white, right or wrong answer. The trick to succeeding is all in the gray area.

Funny interview questions, or brain teasers, are popular with hiring managers because the way you answer will provide some indication of your ability to do the job.

Whether you perceive brain teasers to be difficult or just a bunch of funny interview questions, the answers you provide will help the interviewers evaluate your problem-solving skills, critical thinking process, creativity, and your ability to perform under stress.

Funny interview questions are common during any interview. The interviewer is not necessarily trying to catch you off-guard, but rather wants to see how you work through the problem and arrive at your conclusion. The route you take in your explanation says a lot about the way your mind works. Are you a deep and focused thinker? Does your method of solving the problem jive with the team?

Though there is technically no right or wrong answer, the more you question the original inquiry, chances are, the more the conversation will flow and an answer will appear.

When you are asked funny interview questions, it’s always a good idea to walk the interviewer through your thought process to show how you arrive at a conclusion. Below are three tips to assess and answer funny interview questions:

1. Take your time to think about the question. Don’t feel pressured to answer quickly. You want show the interviewer that you are considering a variety of options, not jumping to a conclusion.
2. Ask questions. To ensure you understand the question, ask the interviewer more questions. You may find that their answers provide you with more data to help you arrive at a good answer.
3. Talk out your thinking process. Verbalize the steps you take to solve the brain teaser. Emphasize your approach, not on the final answer.

So if you find yourself in an interview and the hiring manager asks you, “When a hot dog expands, in which direction does it split and why?” Here’s a way to answer:

Start by asking, “Is the hot dog boiled, microwaved, or grilled?” Think about their answer, and envision a hot dog in the microwave, on the grill, and boiled in water. Break down the question and then answer in a way that shows your creative problem-solving skills.

If you have the knowledge that the hot dog is being heated up in the microwave, for example, you may talk your answer out by stating, “A microwave tends to heat up faster than a grill, and therefore the hot dogs will expand faster. In a microwave, the ends of the hot dog would crack first, and then the hot dog would eventually split from one end to the other.”

Remember, when it comes to funny interview questions, the answer is usually irrelevant. Hiring managers are not looking for the correct answer; they look at how you arrived at the answer.

Here are 21 funny interview questions that can get your creative juices flowing:

1. What would you do if you found a penguin in the freezer?
2. If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why?
3. Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck, or 100 duck-sized horses?
4. How would you sell hot cocoa in Florida?
5. How many basketballs would fit in this room?
6. You’re a new addition to the crayon box, what color would you be and why?
7. What is the funniest thing that has happened to you recently?
8. Describe the color yellow to someone who is blind.
9. If you were a pizza deliveryman how would you benefit from scissors?
10. Why is a tennis ball fuzzy?
11. If you could throw a parade of any caliber through your office, what type of parade would it be?
12. What would you do if you were the one survivor in a plane crash?
13. If you woke up and had 2,000 unread emails and could only answer 300 of them how would you choose which ones to answer?
14. If you could have a machine that produced $100 dollars for life, how much would you be willing to pay for it?
15. How lucky are you and why?
16. If you could only choose one song to play every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life, what would it be?
17. If you could get rid of any one state, which would it be and why?
18. A penguin walks through the door right now wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why is he here?
19. You’re in a room with three light switches, each of which controls one of three light bulbs in the next room. You need to determine which switch controls which bulb. All lights are off to begin, and you can’t see into one room from the other. You can inspect the other room only once. How can you find out which switches are connected to which bulbs?
20. How would people communicate in a perfect world?
21. Why are manhole covers round?

Brain teasers are funny interview questions that will get you thinking creatively and strategically. Remember, there isn’t a correct answer, so take your time and engage the interviewer.