A landlord is
threatening to evict a father and his beautiful young daughter, unless she agrees to marry
him. In a false gesture of sincerity, he offers her an opportunity for her and her father
to remain in the house, without marrying him. He has a silk bag in which he says he has
placed a white and a black stone from the footpath on which they're standing. If she picks
the white stone from the bag, without looking, she wins; if she picks the black, she
loses. However, the young girl saw him place two black stones in the bag. She can't expose
him in front of the witnesses without angering him and making things worse. How does the
clever girl win? Answer
In this
puzzle, there are no tricks - everything is pretty much as it seems. It calls for a novel
solution. Well, perhaps it could be argued that the assumption that needs checking is the
one about how the drawn stone is known...
So, be
prepared to think outside the box for these classic lateral thinking puzzles. Enjoy!
Three switches
outside a windowless room are connected to three light bulbs inside the room. How can you
determine which switch is connected to which bulb if you may
enter the room only once? Answer
A man is
replacing a wheel on his car, when he accidentally drops the four nuts used to hold the
wheel on the car, and they fall into a deep drain, irretrievably lost. A passing girl
offers him a solution which enables him to drive home. What is it? Answer
You are on an
island (in the center) that is one mile long and 100 yards wide. The vegetation is very
dry from a long drought. Suddenly it catches fire at one end of the island, and a strong
wind is blowing it towards you, burning the whole width of the island. There's no beach,
only sheer cliffs, and the sea is infested with sharks. What can you do? Answer
The day before
yesterday, Jenny was 17 years old. Next year, she'll be 20 years old. How is this
possible? Answer
A man enters a
bar and asks for a glass of water. The bartender draws a gun and shoots into the ceiling.
The man thanks him and walks out. Why? Answer
A truck is
stuck at a road under a bridge. It's just a couple of inches too high to pass under. Any
other route, avoiding the bridge would add a couple of hours to the journey. A young boy
comes along and again saves the day. How? Answer
An American
who has never been to another country sees the
A man lives on
the tenth floor of a building. Every day he takes the elevator to go down to the ground
floor to go to work. When he returns he takes the elevator to the 7th floor and walks up
the stairs to reach his apartment on the 10th floor. He hates walking so why does he do
it? Clue: on rainy days he goes up in the elevator to the tenth floor. Answer
A large wooden
barn is completely empty except for a dead man hanging from the middle of the central
rafter. The rope around his neck is ten feet long and his feet are three feet off the
ground. The nearest wall is 20 feet away from the man. It is not possible to climb up the
walls or along the rafters. The man hanged himself. How did he do it? Answer
A man is lying
dead in a field. Next to him there is an unopened package. There is no other creature in
the field. How did he die? Answer
Anthony and
Cleopatra are lying dead on the floor of a room. Nearby is a broken bowl. There is no mark
on either of their bodies and they were not poisoned. How did they die? Answer
Five pieces of
coal, a carrot and a scarf are lying on the lawn. Nobody put them on the lawn but there is
a perfectly logical reason why they should be there. What is it? Answer
A woman had
two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year. But they were
not twins. How could this be so? Answer
A man pushed
his car. He stopped when he reached a hotel at which point he knew he was bankrupt. Why? Answer
A man rode
into town on Friday. He stayed for three nights and then left on Friday. How come? Answer
A blind beggar
had a brother who died. What relation was the blind beggar to the brother who died?
(Brother is not the answer). Answer
Deep in the
forest was found the body of a man who was wearing only swimming trunks, snorkel and
facemask. The nearest lake was 8 miles away and the sea was 100 miles away. How had he
died? Answer
A man has
recently escaped from prison and is making his way home on foot. He is walking along a
straight rural country lane in bright daylight. He has walked about two miles from the
prison, when he sees a police car coming toward him. Despite knowing that all squads would
be out looking for him, he ran towards the car for a short while, and only when he was
about ten feet away, did he turn and run into the woods to hide. Why did he run towards
the police car? Answer
Arthur lives
with his parents in
During World
War II, three Russian V.I.P.'s,
Molotov, Vishinsky and Malenkov,
were travelling on a train in
He said to
them: "Before I show you a mirror, I have an idea. Your answers will show me which of
you is the quickest thinker."
The three men
immediately sat up and paid strict attention, for each was anxious to show Stalin how
smart he was.
"Now,"
said Stalin, "each of you gentlemen will please look at the other two, and if you see
one whose forehead is smudged with soot, raise your hand."
All three
quickly raised their hands.
Stalin
continued, "As soon as any one of you knows with certainty whether he himself has
been smudged or not, drop your hand."
Looking at
each other for a few moments, the three men kept their hands raised. Then Malenkov dropped his hand and said, "I know. I am
smudged." Could he really have known? Or was he guessing?