The simplest mistakes are often the hardest to spot. That is why words like there, their, and they’re or to, too, and two are often mixed up and not caught.
The problem above kind of follows this same logic. Just kind of—I don’t want to give too much away. There is a mistake there, but it is so simple and so cleverly hidden, it will be very difficult for most to see.
Now we are going to give you a chance to look at the problem again. Take a good look and see if you can find the mistake in 5 seconds. I mean, really take a good look. I would hate for you to see the answer and wonder why you never saw it before.
Are you ready? Go!
Remember, you only have 5 seconds!
Do you see it?
Don’t be too angry if you don’t!
Okay. Okay. Calm down! I’ll show you the answer!
Here it is! You should see it now!
As you see, the simplicity of the mistake—the fact that the “the”s are on different lines—and the bright numbers make it very easy to miss the repeated word.
