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Logic riddles
Which is correct: “the yolk of the egg are white” or “the yolk of the egg is white”?
A grammar question that is not about grammar. Both options are built around the same wrong fact, and you are meant to be too busy checking verbs to notice.
Which is correct: “the yolk of the egg are white” or “the yolk of the egg is white”?
Hint: Picture a fried egg.
Reveal the answer
Neither, yolks are yellow
Egg yolks are yellow, so both sentences are wrong.
How to solve it (spoilers)
How to think about it
- The riddle offers two sentences and asks which is correct, so your attention goes to “are” versus “is”.
- Grammatically, “the yolk is” wins, and that is the trap.
- Now check the content. What color is an egg yolk?
- Yolks are yellow, so neither sentence is correct no matter which verb it uses.
Why “Neither, yolks are yellow” is the answer
Egg yolks are yellow, not white, so both sentences state something false, and the grammar comparison is a decoy. The riddle rewards people who check facts before they check verbs. If you answered “is”, you were grammatically right and factually wrong, which is the whole joke.
Common wrong answers
- “The yolk of the egg is white”. The grammar is fine, but the yolk is not white.
- “The yolk of the egg are white”. Wrong on grammar and wrong on color.
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