hamendra
October 17th, 2005, 08:26 PM
Lateral Thinking
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.)
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?
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ *
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.
(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.)
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Scroll down for the solutions.
SOLUTIONS
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ *
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.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
2. The surgeon was his mother.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
3. It was day time.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ *
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.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
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.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
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
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.)
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?
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ *
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.
(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.)
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Scroll down for the solutions.
SOLUTIONS
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ *
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.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
2. The surgeon was his mother.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
3. It was day time.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ *
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.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
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.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
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