A recent clip from ITV's quiz show The 1% Club has left viewers divided, with some calling the final question 'impossible' while others insist it is 'so easy'. The puzzle, designed for the top 1% of the population, challenges contestants to rearrange letters after removing underlined ones from a four-word sentence.
The Question That Stumps 99%
The question presented to contestants was: 'If you remove all the underlined letters from the sentence below, what word can be spelt if you rearrange all of the remaining letters?' The sentence was: 'ONE SELLING FRESH SALMON.' Participants have only 30 seconds to solve it without writing anything down.
The programme, hosted by Lee Mack, features a series of progressively harder questions. The difficulty is based on the percentage of people who answer correctly, starting with puzzles 90% can solve and ending with the 1% question.
Viewers React: 'Impossible' vs 'Easy'
On TikTok, commenters were split. One user admitted: 'This is impossible.' Another said: 'Couldn't figure it out, went to the comments for the answer. Didn't even see the four words staring me in the face as a clue.' However, a third countered: 'It's easy if you read the clue in the sentence.'
Some viewers submitted incorrect answers like 'fisherman', while others guessed 'freshing', 'aloneness', or 'reformings'. The correct answer, as revealed, is 'fishmonger'.
The Solution Explained
After removing all underlined letters from 'ONE SELLING FRESH SALMON', the remaining letters are: O, N, E, S, I, G, F, R, H, M. Rearranging these letters spells 'FISHMONGER'. The original sentence itself serves as a clue, as a fishmonger is 'one selling fresh salmon'.
The puzzle requires both careful attention to the underlined letters and the ability to solve an anagram under time pressure, a challenge that only the top 1% can typically handle.
