This CIA quiz has baffled Twitter users, but you could give it a shot yourself. If you’re familiar with recent viral puzzles, you’ll be pleased to know that it’s not a math problem this time. This challenge involves an overhead shot of a city with the question: “Are you able to determine the time of day in the image below?”
This CIA quiz is one of many. The organization posts one every #TuesdayTrivia as part of their #DiscovertheCIA campaign, where they encourage people to apply to their organization. All of these puzzles are often followed with a message saying, “If you do well, you should consider applying to #CIA”.
Here is the stupefying picture for this puzzle.
CIA Quiz #1 – What Time of Day is it?
Many people suggested the classic “zoom, enhance” method — as seen in every spy movie ever — to sneak the time from a person’s watch.
“7:32pm on August 3rd,” one commenter wrote. “I can tell by the wrist watch on the man’s wrist in the 3rd floor apartment. His name is Frank, he likes needlepoint but his friends don’t know that and he once won a bet on who could burp loudest in 5th grade.”
Jokes aside, some users decided to check the length of shadows from the buildings. There are other noteworthy details sprinkled into the picture, like the level of traffic on the street.
“Later afternoon/early evening,” one user guessed. “The solar panels on the right are situated for maximum sun exposure. Shadows on the buildings indicate the sun is on its way down.”
“7:00 am Long Shadows extra bright,” another person guessed. “Early morning auto traffic but no people on the sidewalks yet so people driving to work. Low clouds have not been burned off from the heat of the day.” [1]
Check your results against the answer key below.
CIA Quizzes and Puzzles for Kids
This challenge is featured on the CIA’s webpage called “Spy Kids” where they post challenges for kids to solve. This CIA quiz, called Aerial Analysis, includes multiple questions to test the user’s perception skill. The first question asks the time. Then it asks if it’s a holiday, a game day, or a workday. The next question is , what season is it? Then comes “what can be expected tomorrow, rain, celebration, eclipse, or danger? What type of business drives the economy?” The final question asks: where the city is located, along a border, in the heartland, near a coast, or near a desert?
You could test if you know the answers to these questions based on what you see in the image above.
When you enter the Spy Kids game zone, a message greets you: “Ready for a secret mission?” It encourages kids to embark “on their own top security mission” just like “a real CIA officer”. The challenges include code-breaking, solving puzzles, coloring book pages, analyzing photos, and memory games. Some of these are posted onto CIA’s Twitter for their followers to take a crack at as well.
Quiz #2 – What Time of Day is it?
Here’s a similar CIA quiz they posted on the first of December:
The same challenge stands; what time is it in this photo?
Quiz #3
Here’s another perception challenge: Spot the differences between these two photos.
Quiz #4 – Decipher the Code
Each Number Represents a Letter
Remember when I said this challenge wasn’t a math problem? In case, that disappointed you, try this one on for size. Well, it’s not math, but it might appeal to those who love cracking codes more than finding tiny clues.
Looks confusing? Here’s a hint: 1=Y;3=U and 14=C; 16=G
Quiz #5 – Decipher the Code
Each Number Represents a Letter
Here’s another CIA quiz that’s a little easier.
Here’s the hint: 11 = A; 10 = Z.
CIA Quiz Answer Key:
#1: 6:00 PM
#2: 7:00 AM
#3
#4: During world war two, the Germans used a cipher machine called the enigma it could send and receive messages quickly and secretly.
#5: The CIA is Located in Langley, VA.
If you got these answers right, the organization invites you to check out their CIA careers page, but the kids trying out these CIA quizzes may have to wait to sign up.
Read next: This Puzzle We Found Has Us Hunting for the Mouse Among the Mushrooms
Sources
- CIA. Twitter.
