The maths puzzle that is confusing the internet

There's a maths puzzle that is currently confusing the internet because there are two possibly solutions, but according to the puzzle makers only 1 in 1000 will be able to to get the second one!

Emerging on the Wikr website, a social news and entertainment website started in Latin America, this puzzle has been confusing people all over the world because of its bizarre sequence of numbers.

The puzzle created by Go Tumble, a site that is no longer live, is featured on Wikr which tells people to 'think outside the box', explaining that the riddle isn't as simple as it looks.

Take a look and see what you make of it.

© Wikr / Go Tumble

The first solution

For the first solution, the one that most of the population will come up with, the answer is the number 40.

Starting on the top line 1 + 4 = 5 (simple right?).

Then 2 + 5 = 7, so adding the 7 to the 5 from the line above you get 12.

Continue this to the bottom and the number you come out with is 40.

The second solution

Now think about this problem slightly differently, and apparently you'll come out with 96!

While most people will do 1 + 4 = 5, some will do 1 + 1 x 4 = 5, continuing this thinking the second line will be 2 + 2 x 5 = 12 and so on, ending up with the final answer of 96.

How did you get on? Were you the 1 in 1000 who got 96?!

• Maths puzzle