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1.There is a man who lives on the top floor of a
very tall building. Everyday he gets the elevator down to
the ground floor to leave the building to go to work. Upon
returning from work though, he can only travel half way
up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the way unless
it's raining!
Why?
(This is probably the best known and most
celebrated of all
lateral thinking puzzles. It is a true classic.
Although
there are many possible solutions which fit the
initial
conditions, only the canonical answer is truly
satisfying.)
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2.A man and his son are in a car accident. The
father dies
on the scene, but the child is rushed to the
hospital.
When he arrives the surgeon says, "I can't
operate on this
boy, he is my son!"
How can this be?
3.A man is wearing black. Black shoes, socks,
trousers, lumper, gloves and balaclava. He is walking
down a black street with all the street lamps off. A black
car is coming towards him with its light off but somehow
manages to stop in time.
How did the driver see the man?
4. Why is it better to have round manhole covers
than square ones?
(This is logical rather than lateral, but it
is a good puzzle that can be solved by lateral
thinking
techniques. It is supposedly used by a very
well-known
software company as an interview question for
prospective
employees. )
5.A man went to a party and drank some of the
punch. He
then left early. Everyone else at the party who
drank the
punch subsequently died of poisoning.
Why did
the man not die?
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6.A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for
a glass
of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points
it at the
man.
The man says 'Thank you' and walks out.
Why?
(This puzzle claims to be the best of the
genre. It is
simple in its statement, absolutely baffling
and yet with a
completely satisfying solution. Most people
struggle very
hard to solve this one yet they like the answer
when they
hear it or have the satisfaction of figuring it
out.)
SOLUTIONS
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1. The man is very, very short and can only
reach halfway
up the elevator buttons. However, if it is
raining then he
will have his umbrella with him and can press
the higher
buttons with it.
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2. The surgeon was his mother.
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3. It was day time.
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4. A square manhole cover can be turned and
dropped down
the diagonal of the manhole. A round manhole
cannot be
dropped down the manhole. So for safety and
practicality,
all manhole covers should be round.
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5. The poison in the punch came from the ice
cubes. When the man Drank the punch, the ice
was fully frozen. Gradually it melted,
poisoning the punch.
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6. The man had hiccups. The barman recognized
this from his
speech and drew the gun in order to give him a
shock. It
worked and cured the hiccups-so the man no
longer needed
the water.
(This is a simple puzzle to state but a
difficult one to
solve. It is a perfect example of a seemingly
irrational
and incongruous situation having a simple and
complete
explanation. Amazingly this classic puzzle
seems to work in
different cultures and languages.)