Using your brain in creative ways is important, and what better way to do it than with a brainteaser? They’re not just fun – they give your lateral thinking skills a proper workout. But be warned, some puzzles can leave even the sharpest minds scratching their heads.

That’s exactly what happened to TikTok users who grappled with a stumper from the game show 1% Club Australia. The challenge, as the clip states, says: “Only the top 5% of brains will be able to find the missing letter” within 30 seconds. The puzzle, laid out in grid form, had players scrambling to replace an asterisk with the correct letter.

The grid reads:

R E T T

E L G N

I S S I

M E H T

D N I *

While some TikTokers were quick to brag about cracking the puzzle in time, others were scouring the comments for a lifeline. One user claimed: “Got it in 30 secs, but have to pause, the pressure of the music, the countdown, the waffling presenter makes it more difficult than what it is!” Another boasted: “Got it within 2 seconds… so easy.”

Yet another commented: “Some of these are easy and some are impossible.” And one more agreed: “I thought d because then it would fit the pattern that every vertical line has only different letters, and the horizontal lines have different letters.”

Another participant commented: “Easier then expected. I saw ‘Missing’ and figured it out from there.” A final user chimed in: “F was the only letter I guessed but I had zero confidence in it.” Later in the video, the host unveils the answer to be the letter F before the grid rotates to clearly display the phrase ‘find the missing letter’.

Emphasising the significance of brainteasers, a statement on Mindvalley reads: “Lateral thinking is a form of problem-solving that utilises a more creative, less direct approach to the problem. Analytical, logical problem-solving encourages vertical thinking, which is an approach we’re often taught when dealing with math equations. Lateral thinking is the indirect approach. It helps us view problems in an entirely new light. It helps us find unique, creative solutions we might never have before imagined.

“The brain is neuroplastic, meaning it has the ability to shift and change over time. Many people believe our brains age as we do, growing less powerful, less capable, and less competent over time. What most don’t realise, however, is that you have the ability to manipulate your brain the way a sculptor molds clay. The brain is susceptible to all we expose it to-people, music, work- and even the physical environments we traverse on a day-to-day basis. Everything we partake in has the potential to subtly shift the wiring of our brain.”

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