funny video on problem solving

Speech is Beautiful

10 Wordless Videos that Teach Problem Solving

Education · Tips

I work in teletherapy, which means that I use a computer to display my materials and activities for my students. I have a couple extremely quiet older elementary students and I decided that video was a way to engage and encourage them to answer questions and retell events. In particular I wanted them to think about solving hypothetical problems. I found 10 WORDLESS videos on YouTube that show interesting problems and make kids think about how to solve a problem — and they have to provide the language!

10 Wordless Videos I Love

• Piper Short Movie — A baby bird finds a way to survive a big wave. 
• Ormie the Pig — A pig attempts to get a jar of cookies off of the top of the fridge. 
• Let Me In! — Simon’s cat wants to come inside and makes some bad decisions!
• Sweet Cocoon — Figuring out how to fit in your cocoon is hard work.
• Rollin Safari  — What would animals be like if they were round? 
• Embarked — Should a tree house follow its friend? (minimal English words at the end)
• TV Dinner — What should you do if your cat won’t leave you alone? (Simon’s cat)
• Playmate — An old robot toy wants to play. Will the boy play with it? 
• Birds on a Wire  — Learn how you should treat others (that are different than you)
• Sticky Tape — What should the cat do when tape is sticking to him? (Simon’s cat)

Since it’s YouTube, so you must preview each video and usually there is an ad in front of it. I would get each video cued up (after the ad) and then share it with students. You will be surprised how much language you will get from your quietest kids as they figure out how to solve the characters’ problems. Enjoy!

If you LOVE wordless videos, check out my other post:

• 10 Absurd Wordless Videos that Teach Describing .
• 10 Wordless Videos for Speech Therapy that Teach Inferencing .

Additionally, I created a line of wordless videos focused on life skills. Check it out here:

• Wordless Life Skills: Recipe Video Series

Can you tell how much I like using video, specifically wordless videos, in my speech therapy sessions? They are a terrific, engaging therapy tool.

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March 30, 2017 at 7:54 am

Dear Sarah I really find this interesting nd liked it lot thnx for u to sharing with us I m also teacher nd from Pakistan

April 5, 2017 at 8:40 am

Thank you for sharing this Sarah! I teach in a dual language program and these videos are exactly what I was looking for.

April 5, 2017 at 10:52 pm

Thank you for letting me know! 🙂

April 5, 2017 at 4:15 pm

Just wanted to point out that the movie “Fat” might not be too appropriate for kids if you pay attention to the details….

Thank you for commenting. The title is off-putting, but when viewed the short, I saw that the animals turn into balloons and float around. If you feel like that is not appropriate for your students, you can omit sharing that with them.

April 7, 2017 at 9:08 pm

I wasn’t meaning the title. I was meaning the part where the cow he was milking floats away and then he ‘milks’ a bull…

31 Best Wordless Videos to Teach Problem Solving

Wordless videos are a fun and entertaining way to get your students learning and talking. Using wordless videos to teach problem-solving is a great way to keep your students stay engaged all while working on their goals.

Who Could Benefit From Wordless Videos?

Students who struggle to solve social problems can benefit from first practicing problem-solving someone else’s problems in a wordless animation, for example, prior to having to solve the social problems in their own lives. It’s easier to identify problems in someone else’s life than it is in your own life.

Ways in Which to Use Voiceless Videos

• Answering wh-questions: Have your students watch the animated short film and then ask them wh-questions.
• Retell a story/sequencing: After watching the films have your students retell or sequence the short film.
• Solving hypothetical problems: Use the following wordless videos to teach problem-solving. Stop the video throughout and have your students identify the problem and a possible solution to the problem. Then you can move on to practice solving problems in real life .
• Predictions/inferences: Stop the video throughout and have your students make predictions and inferences about what might happen next in the film.

Don’t Forget to Grab your Freebie!

Be sure to grab the freebie that goes along with this bundle of wordless videos. The freebie comes with:

• Problem-solving
• A set of wh-questions
• Story retell with predictions

There are 31 sets of the following worksheets.

Before you begin…

• I have watched all of these short animations to make sure they are appropriate. However, please preview the entire video prior to showing your students as you know best what is appropriate for your level of comfort and for your individual students.
• Almost all of these videos show ads prior to the start of the animation short. I suggest cueing up the video prior to showing the video to your students as some ads may not be appropriate.

31 Wordless Videos to Teach Problem Solving

1. t he small shoemaker: 5:32 minutes.

This short is about Mr. Botte’s shoemaker’s shop, and the passionate and skillful shoemaker’s daily life is about to be disturbed as another shoemaker creates a street vendor stall just in front of Mr. Botte’s store!

2. The Sweet Cocoon: 5:57 minutes

End video by 4:55. Please preview the end of this video prior to showing it to your students. I have decided to end this video by 4:55 minutes to avoid the sad ending for some of my students.

This animation is about two insects that decide to help a struggling caterpillar in her metamorphosis process!

3. The Wishgranter: 4:48 minutes

This short film is about a world where wishes are granted by mythical beings that live under fountains. The wish granter is forced to go above ground in order to grant a wish of love.

4. Dustin: 7:45 minutes

This super cute animation is about a pug learning to have a new roommate of an automatic cleaning robot.

5. Rollin’ Safari: 2:01 minutes

Enjoy this fun short film about what the world would be like if animals were round.

6. Piper: 3:20 minutes

Watch a hungry sandpiper hatchling as she ventures from her nest for the first time to dig for food by the shoreline. However, the only problem is that the food is buried under the sand where scary waves roll up onto the shore.

7. Hola Llamingo: 3:52 minutes

Enjoy this film about the beautiful, fleeting friendship between a boy and his pinata which comes to life.

8. Soar: 6:14 minutes

This short film called Soar is about a young girl who must help a tiny boy pilot fly home before it’s too late.

9. Brush A Fox Tale: 3:37 minutes

A young fox who enjoys painting has a crush on his neighbor. When he tries to hide it his other paintings come to life to try to convince him otherwise.

10. Fishing with Sam: 5:53 minutes

A pesky little penguin keeps stealing all the fish from a bear, a seal, and two other penguins, but they disguise a plan to take care of that pesky little penguin.

11. The Box: 7:01 minutes

This animation is about an old man who finds a mouse in his house. He ends up taming the mouse he first wanted to get rid of.

12. Coin Operated: 5:14 minutes

Watch this short film about the life of a young man that spans over 70 years in the life of one naive explorer.

13. Partly Cloudy: 5:49 minutes

Enjoy this super cute film. Everyone knows that it is a stork that delivers babies, but where do the storks get the babies from? The answer comes from the clouds, where cloud people sculpt babies from clouds and bring them to life.

14. Lifted: 5:03 minutes

A cute animation about a young alien who is in training to capture a human but gets overwhelmed with all the switches.

15. Ormie The Pig: 3:52 minutes

This fun short is about a pig named Ormie. Ormie wants a cookie. But they are out of reach…or are they? See Ormie’s attempts to gain the warm sweet taste that is his obsession.

16. Embarked: 4:24 minutes

Watch this super cute short about a treehouse who follows his family even after the young boy moves away.

17. SpellBound: 3:06 minutes

A young girl who is jealous of her sister must save her after writing negative thoughts that unexpectedly transform into monsters.

18. The Birds: 3:25 minutes

An animated short about a group of small birds that make fun of a larger funny-looking bird, but when they try and get rid of the larger funny-looking bird their plan backfires and the large bird is soon laughing at his bullies.

19. A Fox and A Mouse: 6:23 minutes

Enjoy this sweet animation as a lonely fox hunts a mouse – and their relationship evolves as two owls begin to get in the middle of the fox’s hunt!

20. Pigeon Impossible: 6:15 minutes

A newbie secret agent is faced with a problem seldom covered in basic training: what to do when a pigeon gets trapped inside your multi-million dollar, government-issued nuclear briefcase.

21. The Children’s Tree: 1:58 minutes

This short film is about an imaginative little girl, a good-hearted old tree, and a helpful butterfly.

22. Hey Deer: 6:15 minutes

This fun short film is about an adorable, cocoa-drinking deer who is eager to tidy and shovel show in front of his house every day. However, there is a suspicious earthquake every night which causes the mess day by day. Between two cups of cocoa, the amazing truth reveals itself which changes the deer’s life forever…

23. Catch It: 5:25 minutes

A group of meerkats takes care of their beloved and unique fruit but a twist happens when a vulture comes and disturbs their peace of mind.

24. Mouse for Sale: 4:16 minutes

This short is about a lonely mouse in a pet shop, craving to be bought by someone. But he’s got one big problem: his huge ears. The kids entering the store keep laughing at him. Will Snickers find the buddy he so desires, someone who will take him for who he is?

25. One Man Band: 4:02 minutes

Watch this super cute short about a young peasant girl with one coin left when she encounters two competing street performers who’d prefer the coin find its way into their tip jars. The little girl is caught in the middle as a musical duel ensues between the one-man-bands.

26. Dust Buddies: 4:05 minutes

A story about the friendship between two dust bunnies who live peacefully under a couch. When an evil maid comes to clean the house and sucks Fuzz into her vacuum, Lint must overcome his fears and set out to rescue his friend.

27. The Stubborn Donkey: 4:25 minutes

The short film is all about a stubborn donkey who is difficult to move but a bit of greek music just could do the trick.

28. The Egyptian Pyramids: 3:36 minutes

This cute animation is about an archaeologist who is about to discover the secret of the Egyptian Pyramids.

29. Minuscule: 5:09 minutes

The short film revolves around the day-to-day existence of slugs and how a caterpillar tries to blend into the family.

30. Jinky Jenkins and Lucky Lou: 3:52 minutes

When the misfortunate Jenkins and the Lucky Lou run into each other one morning, they find a thrilling and fulfilling change of pace as they hurtle down the hills of San Francisco in an ice cream cart.

31. Can I Stay: 3:48 minutes

This sweet short animation is about an apprehensive homeless girl who must traverse a dangerous, wintry city in order to escape her adorable pursuers.

Get me my Problem Solving Wordless Videos Freebie!

Problem Solving Restorative Justice Graphic Visual :

Use this Flip Book Graphic Visual to help your students solve their conflicts with others and to make things right.

• 1. Identify the Problem: Fill out the scenario by writing down what happened and drawing what happened.
• 2. Have your Student Identify their Feelings: Draw their emotions and write down their thoughts in the thought bubble.
• 3. Have the other Student Involved Identify their Feelings: Draw the other person’s emotions and write down the other person’s thoughts in the thought bubble.
• 4. Make Things Right: Identify how to make things better.
• 5. My Notes: Fill in any additional information you might find helpful to know or remember.

Get your students talking and problem-solving using these super cute wordless animation videos to teach them problem-solving skills. Also, you can use these short videos to teach story retell, sequencing, answering wh-questions, or inferences/predictions. Are your students ready to start solving real-life problems? Be sure to grab the 71+ problem-solving scenarios freebie to get additional problem-solving practice!

Tuesday 7th of February 2023

I have used this resource numerous times. This is amazing! I appreciate you taking the time to create this and for making it free. My students love them. you visuals and graphics are on point. Will you be making more. I would pay for it as I find it worth it and very useful. Some of the other Wordless Video I have seen that I like include: The Present, Snack Attack, Carrot Crazy, and The Bridge. There are others...Please let us know! Thanks again!

Melissa Berg

Wednesday 8th of February 2023

Hi Judith, Thanks so much for reaching out! I'm happy to know you like this resource. I currently don't have another set in the works, but since it is a fan favorite I can definitely add it to my list of ideas for the future. Thanks for the suggestion and additional videos to look into. All my best, Melissa

Monday 7th of November 2022

This is great for my high-functioning autism students!

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20 Problem Solving Activities to Improve Creativity

Creative problem solving requires creative problem solving activities. Even if you know all of the problem solving steps , it’s important to know exercises to actually execute each phase.  These exercises are techniques on how to improve problem solving skills and the art of problem solving.

Listed below are 20 interactive exercises that will help you through each step of the problem solving process.

Problem Solving Activities

Note: For the sake of demonstration, we use the same example for each exercise, in this case, the difficult problem of opening a jar of peanut butter (to make a delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich of course).

Step 1: Define the Problem

Problem solving activities that help you phrase and understand the problem you are trying to solve:

#1. Newspaper Headline – Try writing your problem as if it were a headline in a newspaper. You can write it as if the problem still exists, or as if the problem were already solved. Try Tabloid headlines for even more creative ideas.

Example: “Local man attempts to provide joy to the world by opening a jar of peanut butter.”

#2. Future Party – Imagine it’s one year from today; what did you solve in the last year? How is the world different based on the solution? What were the steps you took to solve the problem?

Example:  “I can’t believe it’s been a year since we ate all the peanut butter from that crazy tight jar.”

#3. 40-20-10-5 – Explain your problem in up to 40 words. Then cut it down to 20 words; then to 10, then finally to only 5 words. These 5 words are the root of your problem (and likely the root of your solution as well).

Example:  (Starting at 10 words) “I want to open up this jar of peanut butter.” -> “Open this peanut butter jar.”

#4. Explain Life I’m Five – Explain your problem as if you were talking to a 5-year old kid. Use basic language and simple metaphors if necessary. Inspired by the subreddit ELI5 .

Example:  “There’s yummy-ness in this jar that I want to get out.”

Step 2: Brainstorm Ideas

Problem solving activities that help you generate a list of possible solutions that will solve your problem*:

#5. Ad Game – Have people mill about the room. When someone offers up an idea, everyone emphatically says “Yes!” and then the group continues to generate ideas, often building off the last idea that was just offered.

Example:   “We should use a tool to open this jar.” “Yes!” “And it should not hurt our hands.” “Yes!” “And it’ll be nearly effortless.” “Yes!”

#6. Dumbest Idea First – Hold a contest to get the dumbest idea out first. Encourage everyone to think of the absolute dumbest possible solutions to the problem. After you have a long list, go back through and see which ones may not be all that dumb.

Example: “Let’s open it using C4 explosives.”

#7. What Would X Do – Pretend you’re someone famous (or someone you admire) and ask yourself how they would solve the problem, what options would they consider?

Example:  (as Gandhi) “I will go on a hunger strike until the jar is ready to be open.”

#8. 10x10x10 Matrix – Generate a list of 10 ideas for solving the problem. Pick one of those ideas and generate 10 variations of that idea. Pick one idea from the new list and generate 10 more variations.

Example: (with just 5 ideas): –Round 1 (based on tools)–Dynamite, Power Drill, Vise grip, Scissors, Hammer. –Round 2 (based on vise grip)–Metal clamp, Pliers, Glue, Cement, Sticky Glove. –Round 3 (based on sticky glove)–Lots of tapping, Rubbing the seal, Punching, Soft caresses, Really strong hand.

*Note: Some of the exercises may not produce the perfect solution, but they can get you thinking differently.

Step 3: Decide on a Solution

Problem solving activities that help you narrow your list of possible solutions down to the best solution.

#9. Futures Wheel – Pick a possible solution and write it in the center of a piece of paper. List possible direct results/consequences of the solution around the center idea. List possible indirect results/consequences based on the direct results/consequences. Find more info here .

Example: Really strong hand leads to: ability to open other types of jars as well, big forearms, possible blisters, …

#10. Thiagi’s 35 – Use a point system to determine the preferred solution among your team, turning a possibly subjective discussion into an objective group decision. You can find a more detailed explanation on Thiagi’s site .

Example: Really strong hand – 7pts. Punching the jar – 3pts. A soft caress – 1pts.

#11. Idea Trial – When you can’t get agreement on which solution to choose, have the proponents of each idea represent them in “court.” Go through opening arguments, call witnesses and allow closing statements. Have the project board choose the winner.

Example: “Really strong hand, is it true you could also be used for terrible things, such as opening a can of sardines?”

#12. Coin-Flip – When deciding between two equally good solutions, flip a coin. When the coin is in the air, take note of what you secretly hope the result is and go with that (if you really can’t decide between the two, then go with the actual result of the coin-flip). Inspired by this poster.

Example: Heads is strong hands, tails is a soft cares. *Toss.* (I really don’t want to have to caress this jar of peanut butter…) Strong hands it is!

Step 4: Implement the Solution

Problem solving activities that help you implement the solution you have chosen:

#13. End in Mind – To create your plan, start with the end in mind and work backwards.  Establish key milestones and dates in reverse order, starting with the end-of-project celebration and ending with today.

Example: Eat delicious PB&J sandwich (5pm), Make delicious PB&J sandwich (4:58pm), Open Peanut Butter Jar (4:57pm), Build up grip strength (4:47), …

#14. Idea Mock-ups – Create a mock-up of the solution. You can a create physical mock-up using the various supplies in your office or a virtual mock-up using images from around the web.

Example: Tell me you wouldn’t buy this incredible product .

#15. Gamification – Turn the completion of your project into a game. Establish rules for how you earn points, create badges to celebrate milestones and track game progress. Learn more about gamification .

Example: For each squeeze of the PB Gripper, you get 1 point. 100 points earns you the Gripper Badge, 500 points earns you a pudding cup. After 1,000 points you should be able to open the Peanut Butter jar.

#16. Be a Character – Add some fun to your work by executing your plan as if you were a fictional character. Think about how they would operate and get into character.

Example: (as the Incredible Hulk): HULK SMASH!

Step 5: Review the Results

Problem solving activities that help you review the results you achieved and the way you achieved them:

#17. Apply McLuhan – Answer McLuhan’s tetrad of questions in context of your solution: 1) What does your solution enhance? 2) What does it make obsolete? 3) What does it bring back that was once obsolete and 4) What does it flip into when taken to the extreme?

Example: Using a strong grip to open the jar: 1) The ability to get peanut butter, 2) Other tools for opening jars, 3) The joy of cooking my own food, 4) Only eating peanut butter and nothing else.

#18. Word on the Street – Conduct “word-on-the-street” type interviews with members of your team, asking them how they felt about the project and the solution.

Example: “Sir, what’s your opinion on this new development on the ability to consume delicious peanut butter?”

#19. Stop-Start-Continue – Review the way you completed your project and pick activities you should stop (things you did on this project that you don’t think are necessary for future projects), start (things you didn’t do on this project but that you should do on future projects) and continue (things you did on the project that you should do on future projects).

Example: STOP doing every single exercise for one solution. START finding snacks to eat while waiting to get to the solution. CONTINUE eating peanut butter.

#20. Find the Funny – Write a monologue or stand-up set that covers some of the funny moments or ideas from the project. Share it with your team.

Example: What’s the deal with airline peanut butter?

Creative Problem Solving

The purpose of the above problem solving activities is to get you to think about the problem in a different way and have some fun while solving it–both of which will enhance your creativity in finding and implementing a solution. And as Einstein ( probably ) said:”The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”

Note: The example used may be a bit facetious but these exercises do work for tougher problems. I wanted to include an example to facilitate understanding and it happened to be around snack time.

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9 thoughts on “20 Problem Solving Activities to Improve Creativity”

Thanks for sharing this article.

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Would you allow us to translate this (in Hungarian and Romanian) and use it in our class?

very good. on point!

i am a student doing my certificate in archives and records management, i hope this will help me and i think you too can help in in your class

can I use this for my class?

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its wonderful

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Humor Persona - Template B2B

I make an effort to appreciate the humor of everyday life....

This question helps us further the advancement of humor research to make it more equitable.

Humor Persona - Main B2C

A Positive Mood Allows Your Brain to Think More Creatively

• Emotional Control
• Performance
• Personality/Social
• Psychological Science
• Task Performance

People who watch funny videos on the internet at work aren’t necessarily wasting time. They may be taking advantage of the latest psychological science—putting themselves in a good mood so they can think more creatively.

“Generally, positive mood has been found to enhance creative problem solving and flexible yet careful thinking,” says Ruby Nadler, a graduate student at the University of Western Ontario. She and colleagues Rahel Rabi and John Paul Minda carried out a new study published in Psychological Science , a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. For this study, Nadler and her colleagues looked at a particular kind of learning that is improved by creative thinking.

Students who took part in the study were put into different moods and then given a category learning task to do (they learned to classify sets of pictures with visually complex patterns). The researchers manipulated mood with help from music clips and video clips; first, they tried several out to find out what made people happiest and saddest. The happiest music was a peppy Mozart piece, and the happiest video was of a laughing baby. The researchers then used these in the experiment, along with sad music and video (a piece of music from Schindler’s List and a news report about an earthquake) and a piece of music and a video that didn’t affect mood. After listening to the music and watching the video, people had to try to learn to recognize a pattern.

Happy volunteers were better at learning a rule to classify the patterns than sad or neutral volunteers. “If you have a project where you want to think innovatively, or you have a problem to carefully consider, being in a positive mood can help you to do that,” Nadler says. And music is an easy way to get into a good mood. Everyone has a different type of music that works for them—don’t feel like you have to switch to Mozart, she says.

Nadler also thinks this may be a reason why people like to watch funny videos at work. “I think people are unconsciously trying to put themselves in a positive mood”—so that apparent time-wasting may actually be good news for employers.

That’s an awesome study! I always felt it when I was in a positive mood things were going better not only with myself but the mood itself changes things outside myself and was motivated to do things I always wanted to do!

I’ve been saying this for decades starting in 1992 at the University of Arkansas with the Challenged Conquistadors, Inc., I am so glad others are catching up & realizing my wisdom. This slowness has cost millions of lives to be harmed, with billions, if not trillions in healthcare. Positivism conquers negativism as Dr. Carmadese, MD, affirmed at the Americansim Foundation in the 1990’s but few listened to us in Arkansas, could they have had a false reason? Talk to the UAM Missionary Baptist Student Fellowship at, since 1992 board of directors!

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For more information about this research, please contact study author: Ruby Nadler

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451 Problem Solving Funny Stock Videos, 4K Footage and Video Clips

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Five More Funny Teamwork Videos to Get Your Team Talking

by Will Ratliff | Nov 17, 2015 | Corporate Team Building , Team Building | 0 comments

In my last post on Funny Teamwork Videos , I found a few videos that might lighten up a team meeting or be good examples of what NOT to do as team members along with a few debriefing questions after each one.

Here are a few more funny videos that I’ve found since then. The first three are from the same duo, Tripp and Tyler , out of Georgia. You might need special permission to use some of these videos in any team meetings, so do your research before using these. (These guys are seriously funny, and I wouldn’t normally use three videos from the same people, but they are great!)

1. A Conference Call in Real Life

Has your team ever hosted a webinar or conference call? See if you can relate to this video, and answer some questions afterward.

Team process questions:

1.) Who do I identify with in this video?

2.) What issues does this video address that we need to address?

3.) What are some solutions for the issues discovered?

2. Every Meeting Ever

Team debrief questions:

4.) What ways can our meetings be improved?

5.) How can different personalities work together to improve meeting times?

3. Email in Real Life

Like or not, email is a part of every day work life. It doesn’t have to be painful, and it can be very productive. Look for issues that you can relate to and figure out how those issues could be addressed productively.

1.) What do I identify with in this video?

4.) How can we improve our email processes?

4. American Airlines Team Building Spoof

Every had one of those way-uncomfortable team building experiences where it seems like only the facilitator is having a good time? (Maybe at your expense?) Here’s a fun video to get you to think about the team building experience.

Debrief Questions:

1.) Share a funny team building story.

2.) What can you relate to in this video?

3.) How can we improve our team building experiences to make them more enjoyable and more effective?

5. Problem Solving with The Big Bang Theory

Where does your team hit roadblocks when you try to come up with solutions? Is it the same obstacle every time? Or are there multiple roadblocks? What alternative solutions can you come up with to help solve these dilemmas?

1.) What issues can we relate with on this video?

2.) What challenges do we have as a team when collaborating?

3.) How can we improve collaboration and make everyone feel a part?

Hope you enjoyed these videos as much as I enjoyed compiling them for you. I would love to hear how you used them with your team and what solutions you came up with to improved certain processes.

What was your favorite video and why? Which one will you use for a teachable moment with your team? Let me know in the comments below.

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20 funny flowcharts to help you navigate life’s toughest decisions

Georgina Guthrie

February 10, 2022

Flowcharts are a great way to distill big questions or complex processes into neat yes/no answers. They’re commonly used in organizations to help visualize decision processes , but that doesn’t mean they should be confined to the office. Flowcharts can actually help you navigate a multitude of big life choices. Or, in the case of funny flowcharts, they’re just as useful for working through comically trivial decisions.

For example, should you eat that slice of pizza you dropped on the floor? There’s a flowchart for that. Should you add an emoji to that email? Consult the flowchart! Should you leave the party early? At Nulab, we love funny flowcharts, so take a look at some of our top picks for the most entertaining diagrams .

1. Is this a flow chart?

First of all, here’s an essential flowchart for anyone who’s still a little fuzzy about the concept. This one’s jazzed up the original ‘yes/no’ questions with slightly different phrases, but they’re still affirmative/negative responses leading you towards your big reveal.

2. Is this a flowchart, simplified

It’s the same idea, but if you remove all the unnecessary steps, you could end up with a flowchart as simple as this one.

Humor that works

3. Do you need a flowchart?

Next, you need to decide whether a flowchart is right for you. Of course, there’s a flowchart to help you navigate that question as well.

4. Hey Jude?

Here’s an example of a looping flowchart designed to help you remember the lyrics to The Beatles’ most confusing song, Hey Jude . The loop comes at the bottom in the form of the ‘na’ lyric, which, if you know the song, goes on for hours. For those unfamiliar with the tune, you can listen to it right here on YouTube. All together now!

5. Is this flowchart a trap?

Flowcharts aren’t without their problems : all those arrows and loops could be your downfall if you’re not vigilant. Here’s a specially designed diagram to illustrate these potential pitfalls.

6. Are you hungry?

Deciding what it is you want to eat is no easy task. Do you choose the carrot sticks or chow down on the carrot cake? Luckily, there are funny flowcharts designed to help you navigate this complex decision-making process.

Now, you know what to do with those leftover birthday treats sitting in the office kitchen.

7. Should you get takeaway?

Reaching a decision at the end of a long day can be difficult, which is why a dinner-based flowchart is all the more useful. Should you roll up your sleeves and start cooking dinner or splurge on takeaway? Check the flowchart!

8. Should you stay?

After-work drinks. Networking. Team socials . Like accidentally hitting ‘reply all’ and tripping over in public, attending a career-based group activity is just one of those things that professionals have to do at least once in their working lives. Some people enjoy it. Others are indifferent. And then there are those who would quite literally rather have both their eyebrows waxed off.

It’s not that they don’t like their colleagues; it’s just that they find large groups of people exhausting. Not only are the small talk and mingling tiring, but the event itself is fraught with complex decisions. For example, when and why should you leave?

Here’s a helpful flowchart for socially anxious individuals who find themselves in this predicament.

9. Do I say ‘hi?’

Getting someone’s name wrong is awkward for everyone involved. So, rather than put you both through the trauma of it, let’s take a step back and consider whether you should be saying ‘hi’ in the first place. Here’s a handy flowchart full of probing questions designed to help you make that initial decision.

10. Do you eat it?

Ever heard of the five-second rule? It’s essentially a very accurate scientific formula that determines whether the food you’ve dropped on the floor is safe to eat. If it was there for five seconds or less, then it’s good to eat. Six seconds or more? Bin it.

But, like many scientific processes, the five-second rule isn’t without its limitations. For example, was the event witnessed by anyone who is likely to be disgusted by the sight of you eating floor food? Was the item sticky and therefore likely to have fluff attached to it? Did the cat lick it? The funny flowchart below takes all these important complexities into consideration.

11. Are you sure you can eat it?

Flowcharts can be as simple or as detailed as you like. The example below expands upon the five-second rule by adding more layers of questioning to the process. It takes a little longer to create (and answer), but the outcome will be more thorough.

12. Should I use emoji?

One of life’s great questions: to emoji, or not to emoji? Use one and risk appearing unprofessional. Don’t use one and risk sounding grumpy, sarcastic, or stuffy. It’s a minefield! Luckily, there’s a way to help you decode emoji etiquette.

13. How do engineers fix a problem?

We don’t all have the passion or mathematic skills to go to engineering school. But that doesn’t mean life isn’t going to throw you some engineering problems. Here’s how to start fixing things like a professional.

engineering.com

14. Are you a horse?

Funny flowcharts can also help you get to know yourself a bit better. Consider this example, which is designed to help you work out whether you’re a horse or not. Go on, give it a go. You never know!

15. Do you have too many pets?

Now that you’ve figured out you’re not a horse… is it possible you have too many cats at home? Here’s a quick and easy way to find out. Of course, answers are subjective.

16. Which fruit are you?

Every once in a while, it’s therapeutic to engage in an extremely low-stakes analytical process. So, the next time you need to flex your mental muscles, why not figure out what type of fruit you are? Who knows? You might discover you’re really a papaya and not the blueberry you always imagined.

17. How to play games with kids

As any parent knows, it’s not how you play the game; it’s how you let your kid win. If you’re normally so competitive that you’d even brag about being struck by lightning the most times, being a parent exposes you to a lot of hard truths.

The most important one: young children always get to win. Always. If you have any doubts about this unspoken rule, this funny flowchart should clear things up for you.

18. Should you call me?

For those of us who love our alone time, it’s crucial to set some ground rules for our well-meaning friends. Getting an unexpected call when you were busy enjoying a solo celebration of 90s music is the worst. And to recover, you’ll have to spend hours recharging your energy with an 80s music playlist.

If you’d rather avoid the stress, turn to this flowchart to let others know exactly when they’re allowed to call you.

19. Should I cook more?

Some flowcharts aren’t about making a decision ; they’re about the inevitable failure of trying to force yourself out of your comfort zone. But don’t fret! Even if you never convince yourself to cook more or climb Mount Everest, at least you can learn how to master the art of creating funny flowcharts .

20. Did you wake up on time?

There’s one dilemma everyone has faced: does it make sense to get out of bed if you’re already late for work? Whether you stayed up late tending to children or binge-watching Game of Thrones (for the tenth time), the correct answer is always the same. Just take a personal day!

Final thoughts

Flowcharts are a great way to simplify the decision-making process , whether you have serious business goals or just fancy making funny flowcharts for you and your team. Using a specially designed diagramming tool can streamline the creative process, while a mixture of different colors and shapes keeps things looking vibrant and fun.

This post was originally published on December 11, 2018, and updated most recently on February 10, 2022.

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