Bloggers, now I give
writing that makes you think twice or
maybe more (sort
of quiz). Hopefully your answer is equally true that I could answer .. Good
luck ..
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 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 th 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 such as 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 tostop in time. How did the driver see the man?
4. Why is it better to have round manhole covers
than square ones? This islogical rather than lateral, but it is a good puzzle
that can be solved bylateral thinking techniques. It is suppoesedly 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 satisfyig solution. Most people struggle very hard to solve this one
yet they like the answer shen they hear it or have the satisfaction of figuring
it out).
The solutions are:
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 far safety and practically, 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.