What Is the Fastest Way to Empty the Bathtub? Can You Solve This Baffling Bath Brainteaser?

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There’s nothing like a nice hot bubble bath to sooth and relax the mind.

This bathtub brainteaser might just be the next best thing, however, freshening up your mind when it’s feeling a bit dull from boredom. If you really want, though, you can try this puzzle and take a bubble bath at the same time!

So, go ahead and fill up the tub!

The puzzle goes like this: You have just taken a bath. Now, you’ve gotten out, dried off, and gotten dressed. You haven’t drained the tub, however, and it’s still almost full.

You have three objects: a pail, teacup, and tablespoon. What is the fastest way to empty the water still left in the tub?

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Take a moment to ponder this puzzle, as it may not be as simple as it seems. Once you’re certain that you have the right answer, or if you are totally bewildered and ready to throw in the towel (pun intended), scroll down below to see the correct answer.

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The correct answer: Pull the plug and let the tub drain normally!

It’s deceptively simple, and you might not have guessed that the three objects, the pail, the teacup, and the tablespoon, were just decoys to distract you from the simplest answer of all! Though thinking outside the box, you might have guessed that there was more to this brainteaser than met the eye.

Bonus answer: There is a second secret answer to this puzzle that we hadn’t mentioned at the beginning. Would you care to take another stab at it by figuring out this second solution?

Take another moment to ponder what it could be. Remember, the bathtub is almost full, and you still have the three objects—same as before. When you think you know the answer, scroll down below to see what it is.

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Illustration - TaraPatta/Shutterstock

The secret second answer: Tip the bathtub over!

Another deceptively simple answer that does not involve the three decoy objects, tipping the bathtub might be the fastest of all ways to empty the water (though it would not have worked had it not been a freestanding tub).

Did you get the answer on your second try? Regardless of whether or not you solved it, brainteasers are a good way to coax your thinking outside of the box—or the bathtub in this case!