30 seconds. One “easy” question. 23 contestants eliminated. The 1% Club gave players a deceptively simple question about John writing with his right hand and Keith writing with his left — then asked what the final word of the sentence would be. It sounds like there must be some clever trick hiding in the handwriting. But the question was actually testing whether contestants could avoid overthinking the wording. The answer was simply “be” — because changing the hand you write with doesn’t change the order of the words. Yet 23 players got it wrong, leaving Lee Mack stunned by how many contestants had been caught out.

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The 1% Club question eliminates 23 contestants with a deceptively simple logic puzzle

A question that sounded almost too straightforward left 23 contestants out of the game on The 1% Club — and the answer required little more than resisting the urge to overthink it.

The ITV quiz show, hosted by Lee Mack, puts 100 contestants through increasingly difficult questions based on logic, reasoning and common sense rather than general knowledge. Each question is assigned a percentage based on how many members of the public answered it correctly, with the ultimate challenge being the 1% question.

The latest episode once again demonstrated how quickly a seemingly simple question can catch players out.

He revealed: 'He was very tall, he was a bit smelly at the time, I must admit.' 'Wow, most people end those anecdotes with, 'What a lovely man,' Lee quipped

23 contestants fall at the 70% question

However, the 70% question proved to be difficult for some players and read: 'John writes with his right hand and the last word he'd right if he was writing this sentence would be be. If Keith writes with his left hand, what would be the last word he would write in the sentence above?'

The question asked players to consider whether writing with the right or left hand would affect the final word of a sentence.

It read:

“John writes with his right hand and the last word he’d write if he was writing this sentence would be ‘be’. If Keith writes with his left hand, what would be the last word he would write in the sentence above?”

Contestants had just 30 seconds to work it out.

The correct answer was “be”. The fact that Keith writes with his left hand does not change the order of the words in the sentence, meaning the final word remains exactly the same.

Despite the straightforward logic, 23 players got the question wrong and were eliminated.

Lee Mack was visibly surprised by the number of contestants who had fallen for the question.

“Wow, we lost 23 on that one,” he said before revealing the answer.

He later added: “We lost 23, that is a lot of people.”

The question quickly drew attention because of how easy the answer appeared once the explanation was given. The trap was seemingly in assuming that the direction someone writes with their hand could somehow alter the order of the words.

A surprising story from one contestant

A contestant on The 1% Club left Lee Mack shocked with a swipe at 'smelly' Brad Pitt after a surprising run-in with the Hollywood superstar

The episode also featured contestant Neil, who was eliminated during the 40% question.

When Lee asked about his career, Neil revealed that he was a professional archer and had been teaching the sport for around 24 years.

His students have apparently included some very well-known names. Neil explained that he had taught everyone from novices to famous people before revealing that he had even taught Brad Pitt’s children.

That prompted Lee to ask what the Hollywood star was like.

Neil’s answer was unexpectedly blunt.

“He was very tall, he was a bit smelly at the time, I must admit,” he said.

Lee joked that most people would normally end a celebrity story by describing the person as a lovely man.

Neil went on to explain that Brad Pitt had been involved in a game with his former housemates to see who could go the longest without showering, and Pitt would often win.

Neil added that he did not believe the actor still did that, but said Pitt could go a long time without showering back then.

The 1% Club continues to test common sense

The question tripped up a lot of contestants and Lee commented: 'Wow we lost 23 on that one, lets have a look at the answer.'

The episode highlighted exactly what makes The 1% Club different from a traditional quiz show. The questions are not necessarily difficult because they require specialist knowledge; instead, contestants are often challenged to avoid making assumptions and focus on what the question actually says.

For the 23 players eliminated by the handwriting puzzle, the answer was hiding in plain sight.

The 1% Club airs on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.