The Impossible Quiz Question 79: Why You Keep Clicking the Wrong Button

Flash gaming is dead, but the trauma remains. If you grew up in the late 2000s, specifically around 2007, you likely spent hours staring at a blue background, haunted by the taunts of a crude, hand-drawn face. Splapp-Me-Do, the creator of the legendary Impossible Quiz, didn't just make a game; he made a psychological experiment designed to punish logic. Most players hit a massive brick wall when they reach The Impossible Quiz question 79. It’s not just a puzzle. It's a cruel trick of muscle memory.

By the time you reach this stage, your brain is fried. You've dodged bombs, remembered that a "can" can't, and survived the "Mars Bars" insanity. Question 79 presents a simple-looking screen with a few colorful buttons and a prompt that seems straightforward. But in this game, "straightforward" is a lie.

What Actually Happens on Question 79?

Look at the screen. You see a blue background. You see a small, white "79" in the corner. Then, there are the buttons. They look like standard UI elements, the kind you’ve been clicking for the previous 78 questions. The prompt asks you to click a specific button. Specifically, it says "Click this."

Here is where the frustration peaks.

Most people click the button that literally says "this." They fail. The bomb goes off. Back to the start—or at least back to your last skip. The trick isn't in the text. It's in the meta-commentary of the game's design. The "this" in question isn't the word on the button. It’s a tiny, almost microscopic piece of the interface you've been ignoring the entire time.

Honestly, it’s brilliant. Frustrating, but brilliant.

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The actual answer is to click the "u" in the word "Question." Or, more accurately in the original version, you are looking for a very specific "this" that isn't part of the main choices. Wait, let me clarify that because even experts get the versions mixed up. In the classic Impossible Quiz, Question 79 features a task where you must click the "u" in the word "Minutes" or a similar hidden piece of text depending on which iteration you are playing (the mobile port vs. the original Flash file).

Actually, let's get precise. In the primary version of The Impossible Quiz, question 79 is the one where the task is "Click this." The correct "this" is actually the "u" in the word "question" located at the top of the screen. No, wait—that's question 74.

See? This is what the game does to you.

On The Impossible Quiz question 79, the prompt is "Click this." The buttons are labeled "this," "that," "the other," and "something else." If you click the button that says "this," you lose. The actual solution is to click the word "this" within the prompt itself. It’s a classic linguistic trick. It isn't asking you to select the option labeled "this." It is giving you a direct command to interact with the specific word "this" in the instruction text.

The Psychology of the "Gotcha" Moment

Why do we fail this? It's called functional fixedness.

When we play a game, we accept a "contract" with the developer. We agree that the buttons are the interactive elements and the instructions are the static elements. Splapp-Me-Do breaks that contract constantly. By the time you reach Question 79, the game has already trained you to be suspicious, yet it still manages to catch you off guard by making the instruction part of the solution.

It's "meta-gaming" at its most basic level.

Think about the context of 2007 internet culture. This was the era of Happy Tree Friends, Salad Fingers, and the Scary Maze Game. Developers weren't trying to provide a "smooth user experience." They were trying to troll you. They wanted you to fail so you'd go back to the playground or the forum and talk about how "random" and "impossible" the game was.

The difficulty isn't in the logic; it's in the subversion of UI standards. In a normal application, the text "Click this" is a label. In The Impossible Quiz, that text is a physical object in the game world.

The Evolution of the Solution

If you're playing the iOS or Android versions that floated around a few years ago, or the HTML5 remasters found on sites like Poki or Newgrounds today, you might notice subtle differences.

1. The Flash Original: Precision was everything. The hitboxes were notoriously finicky. If you clicked the "t" in "this" instead of the "h" or "i," sometimes it wouldn't register, leading players to think the solution was something else entirely.
2. The Mobile Port: Touch screens changed the game. Tapping a tiny word with a thumb is way harder than using a mouse cursor. Developers had to slightly enlarge the "active area" around the word "this" to prevent accidental Game Overs.
3. The "Skip" Factor: Many players use their "Skips" (the green arrows) on Question 79 because they simply get tired of the trial and error. But saving skips is vital for the 90s and 100s, where the game truly becomes a nightmare.

Why Question 79 Still Matters in Game Design

We talk about Dark Souls being the pinnacle of "hard but fair," but The Impossible Quiz is the king of "unfair but memorable." Question 79 is a masterclass in teaching players to look outside the box.

Modern puzzle games like Baba Is You owe a massive debt to this style of thinking. In Baba Is You, the rules of the game are physical blocks you can push around. You can literally change the rule "Wall is Stop" to "Wall is Push." This is exactly what Question 79 was doing in a more primitive, "trolly" way. It forced you to realize that the rules themselves—the text on the screen—were just another set of objects you could manipulate.

It’s about breaking the fourth wall.

When you finally click that tiny word in the prompt and the screen advances to Question 80, there’s a genuine sense of relief. It’s not the relief of having solved a math problem; it’s the relief of having outsmarted a bully. You’ve seen through the trick. You’ve refused to play by the "button" rules and looked at the screen as a whole.

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions

People often confuse Question 79 with Question 74 (the "no-one expects" question) or Question 76.

• The "U" Trick: Many players think you have to click the "u" in "Question." That's a different level.
• The Bomb Timer: By question 79, the bomb timers are getting shorter. You don't have time to sit there and contemplate the philosophical meaning of "this." You have seconds. This time pressure is what forces the "panic click" on the big, inviting "this" button.
• The "That" Button: Some people swear that clicking "that" works on certain versions. It doesn't. It’s a red herring.

Actionable Steps for Beating Question 79

If you are currently staring at the screen, heart racing, bomb ticking down, here is the exact protocol to survive and move toward the final stretch of the game.

Identify the Prompt Text
Ignore the four large buttons in the center of the screen. Look at the top where the instruction "Click this" is written.

Precision Clicking
Move your cursor (or finger) to the word "this" in the instruction sentence. Aim for the center of the word. Do not click the period if there is one; focus on the letters.

Prepare for Question 80
As soon as you click it, be ready. Question 80 is "Filthy Hands" or "Flashy Flashy," depending on the version. You'll need to move your mouse away from the center or prepare for a quick reaction.

Conserve Your Skips
Do not use a skip on 79. It is a "static" puzzle, meaning once you know the answer, you can do it every single time without fail. Save your skips for the "sonic" questions or the end-game marathons where clicking precision is harder than mental logic.

The legacy of The Impossible Quiz lives on because it tapped into a very specific kind of frustration. It reminded us that software is just a set of rules, and rules can be interpreted in ways the user doesn't expect. Question 79 is the perfect microcosm of that philosophy. It’s simple, it’s deceptive, and it makes you feel like an idiot—until it makes you feel like a genius.

Stop clicking the buttons. Start reading the instructions. Actually, don't just read them—interact with them. That is the only way you’re getting to Question 110. Honestly, if you can’t handle the linguistic tricks of the 70s, the final ten questions are going to break your spirit. Stick with it. The "all-clear" screen is worth the madness.

Next Steps for Mastering the Quiz

• Check your version: If you’re playing on a "Flash emulator" site, the hitboxes might be slightly offset. If clicking "this" doesn't work, try clicking slightly to the left of the word.
• Memorize the sequence: From 75 to 85, the game ramps up the speed. Write down the answers on a physical sticky note if you have to. There's no shame in it.
• Watch the bomb: Never let the bomb get below 3 seconds on Question 79, as the transition animation to Question 80 takes a moment, and you can actually die during the screen fade.