Test your skills with 'simple' maths puzzle that leaves many stumped

Time to get those mental gears grinding over this riddle that's been causing headaches for many.

Physical fitness and mental well-being go hand in hand. To keep your brain in robust shape, it's advised you challenge yourself regularly with intricate brain teasers that compel you to consider different approaches. Maths provides an excellent source of such enigmas.

So, if you're up for a little cerebral workout today, try tackling the following brain teaser. It seems "simple" on the surface but it appears that "many people" trip up when solving it.

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The riddle was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by @quiz_riddles, who posted: "Many people will get this wrong. What is the answer?"

Accompanied by an image depicting some unconventional addition sums, the puzzle doesn't yield the results you'd typically expect. Though it begins innocuously with 1 + 4 = 5, it then asserts that 2 + 5 = 12 and that 3 + 6 = 21.

The teaser culminates by requesting the sum of 8 + 11. Of course, under ordinary circumstances, 8 + 11 equals 19, but that's not the right answer for our perplexing conundrum here.

Can you figure out the correct solution? If you haven't cracked the code yet, don't scroll down, because we're about to reveal the real answer!

8 + 11 = 96.

There are two methods to solve this conundrum. The first approach involves adding the result of the previous sum to the current one.

For instance, 1 + 4 equals 5, and to make 2 + 5 equal 12, we add the 5 from the previous answer. Similarly, 3 + 6 equals 21 if the full sum is 3 + 6 + 12.

This does require some additional calculations between the sums, as you need to determine the values of 4 +