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Siri Gets Feisty When You Ask Her This Question

Try to trick Siri with an unsolvable math problem, and she might just get a little nasty.

By Angela Moscaritolo
June 30, 2015
Sassy Siri

Siri is usually pretty pleasant when you ask her about the weather and other ransom questions.

But try to trick her with an unsolvable math problem, and she might just get a little nasty. Case in point: Grab your iPhone and ask Siri "What's zero divided by zero?"

You're in for an earful.

"Imagine that you have zero cookies and you split them evenly among zero friends," she says. "How many cookies does each person get?"

Her question was obviously rhetorical because she answers it right away: "See? It doesn't make sense," Siri says.

But she doesn't just leave it at that.

"And Cookie Monster is sad that there are no cookies," she continues. "And you are sad that you have no friends."

Burn. Yeah that's right, Siri — a freaking robot — just told you that you have no friends.

Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul noticed Siri's sassy reply and spread the word about it on Twitter early Tuesday, telling other iPhone users to try it out immediately. Given that he has more than 2.4 million followers, we're sure more than a few people took him up on it. The response is apparently only working for those who have upgraded to iOS 8, though.

Meanwhile, Siri might be the sassiest virtual personal assistant around, but that doesn't necessarily make her the best. In a study last year comparing the three most popular virtual mobile assistants, Google Now came out on top.

For more, check out Cortana vs. Google Now vs. Siri: Which Voice Assistant Wins?

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About Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

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