have a go
University Challenge fans stumped by baffling boiled egg question – but can you solve it?
THIS tough question has baffled University Challenge fans - but can you figure it out?
Throughout the years, some of the country's brightest minds have been put to the test on the iconic BBC quiz show, but one question has left them puzzled.
3
3
Jeremy Paxman hosted the legendary show from 1994 to May 2023, and now Amol Rajan has taken over.
And one of the most difficult questions Paxman ever posed is still leaving fans stumped today.
So can you answer it?
Q: In Gulliver's Travels, which island is separated from Lilliput by an 800-wide channel, the two empires involved in an ongoing war over which end of a boiled egg should be broken?
Students from Imperial College and King's College were both left scratching their heads at this one during the series 51 Quarter Final in January 2022.
Before Jeremy gave the answer, a student from Imperial College took a guess but it was wrong.
While King's College didn't even attempt it - and we seriously understand why, it's so hard.
So don't rush, take your time and see if you can work it out.
Most read in TV
The correct answer is: Blefuscu.
In the first section of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, published in 1726, the imaginary island countries Lilliput and Blefuscu are mentioned.
As stated in the question, an 800-yard-wide waterway separates the two South Indian Ocean neighbouring islands.
Which end should the faithful break their eggs at: the big end or the little end? is where the argument began.
The novel claims that although the Lilliputians must break their eggs at the little end, the Blefuscudians do so in the traditional manner at the big end.
Did you manage to get that one right?
3
Topics