As a concession to the way I've set up this page, you'll have to make do with a pretty plain background colour and no wallpaper graphics.
For each Lateral Thinking Exercise:
- The "Situation" is shown in black text on the grey background.
- The "Clues" are hidden as grey text on the grey background. To view the Clues, click your left mouse button at the start of the word "Clues" and drag down to the start of the word "Solution". This will highlight the Clues on the screen.
- The "Solution" is also hidden as grey text on the grey background. To view the Solution, click your left mouse button at the start of the word "Solution" and drag down to the start of the next puzzle. This will highlight the Solution on the screen.
- Each section of "Clues" and "Solution" ends with three dots: "..."
Note that some of the puzzles are so easy that the clue is simply "What are you assuming?". In other words, step back, examine your assumptions, and see if that helps!
Just click on the tab below if you want to go directly to one. Note also that I have accumulated too many of these puzzles to fit on one page, so I have placed 40 on this page, 40 on Page #2, and the remainder on Page #3. You can proceed directly to the second and third pages via the tabs below.
I wish you the very best of luck ..... you'll need it!
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Clues: The man does NOT like the exercise. A rainy day provides an accessory which allows him to use the elevator the whole way...Solution: The man is extremely short, so on any ordinary day he cannot reach further than the button for floor #10 in the elevator. When it rains, he can use his umbrella to reach the elevator button #20...
2. A woman is dead on an island and there is nothing else on the island with her. How did she die?
Clues: The island is not an ordinary island. There is NOTHING on the island with her...Solution: The island is a traffic island, and the woman was hit by a car...
3. A man is hanging from a rope in a locked room. Below him is a puddle of water. How did he hang himself?
Clues: There is no furniture. When he hung himself, the puddle was not there...Solution: The puddle is all that is left of a large block of ice. The man stood on this in order to hang himself...
4. A man is dead in a desert with a rock lying beside him. There are no footprints leading to or away from him, nor have any been covered over. How did he die?
Clues: The man is not an ordinary man, and neither is the rock. The rock has particular significance for this particular man...Solution: The man is Superman, and the rock is kryptonite...
5. A man wakes up one morning, looks out of his window, and knows that he has caused the deaths of hundreds of people. How does he know?
Clues: The man lives in an isolated place, and the people depended on him doing his job for their safety. He did not know the people...Solution: The man is a lighthouse keeper who forgot to turn the light on the previous evening. He sees the ships that have been shipwrecked during the night...
6. A man is driving to work. He turns on the radio and knows that he will be going to prison. How does he know?
Clues: The man works at the radio station. He has committed an illegal act just prior to setting out for work...Solution: The man is a DJ at the radio station. He had left a CD playing at the station and gone to kill his wife's lover, thinking he would have work as an alibi. However, after he kills the man and is then heading back to work, he hears the CD skipping on the radio...
7. Two men went into a restaurant. They both ordered the same dish from the menu. After tasting it, one of the men knew that he had eaten his friend. How did he know?
Clues: They ordered albatross soup. The man's friend was a human...Solution: The men had been shipwrecked on an island with some other people many years earlier. At that time, they had been given some soup and told that it was albatross soup. It was, in fact, cooked from the meat of a human friend who had "disappeared" earlier. The two soups had different tastes...
8. A man is dead in a telephone box. The phone is off the hook and there are two holes in the glass walls. There is a small box in the phone booth with him. How did he die?
Clues: There is nothing sinister about the box. He was on the phone prior to dying. The holes are on opposite sides of the booth, at the same height, and of the same size. The holes have jagged edges...Solution: The box is a fishing tackle box. The man was talking to a friend on the phone about the fishing trip he'd just had, and was describing "the one that got away". He said, "It was this big!", and in doing so, he punched the glass walls on either side - effectively slitting his wrists...
9. A man's car breaks down in the country and he goes to a nearby farmhouse to make a phonecall for help. As soon as the farmer shows the man the room where the phone is, the man making the call realises that he won't make it out of the house alive. How does he know?
Clues: There is something behind the room's door which gives it away (a clothing item). The man does not need to use the telephone to know his death is imminent...Solution: The man making the phonecall is dark-skinned, and as the door closes he notices the hood and cloak belonging to a member of the Ku Klux Clan hanging on a hook behind the door...
10. A man pushes his car up to a hotel and immediately knows that he will have to pay hundreds of dollars. How does he know?
Clues: The car is not an ordinary car, and neither is the hotel. The car is VERY small...Solution: He is playing a game of "Monopoly", and has just moved his "car" up to a property with a "hotel" on it...
11. Antony and Cleopatra are lying dead on the floor of an Egyptian villa. Their bodies are unmarked and they have not been poisoned. There is a broken bowl lying nearby. How did they die?
Clues: Antony and Cleopatra are NOT human. The bowl is VERY significant...Solution: Antony and Cleopatra are goldfish. Their bowl was knocked off its stand by the household dog brushing against the stand...
12. Two Americans are standing at the entrance to a British Museum, and are about to enter. One of them is the father of the other's son. How is this possible?
Clues: What are you assuming?Solution: They are husband and wife...
13. In the middle of a green field lie two pieces of coal, a carrot, and a scarf. When they are discovered by the local boys they are not at all surprised at finding such unusual items in such a place. Nobody specifically placed them there, so how did they get there?
Clues: The items were a part of a whole entity which no longer exists. They did not fall from the sky. The "entity" was constructed by the boys...Solution: They are (respectively) the eyes, nose, and scarf of a snowman the boys had made. The snow has melted, leaving only these items in the middle of the field...
14. A bomber is flying a bombing strike against an enemy position in World War II. When they reach the target, the bombadier orders the bomb doors open. They are opened. The bombadier then gives the order for the bombs to be released. They are released. However, the bombs do not hit the ground. How is this possible?
Clues: The bombs are not fixed to the inside of the plane. The bombs do not leave the plane. The men in the plane do NOT expect the bombs to fall...Solution: The bomber is flying upside-down...
15. Whilst hiking in the mountains, a woman discovers a locked cabin with three people dead inside. How did they die?
Clues: It snowed the night before. The cabin is NOT an ordinary "cabin" - for a start, it is constructed of metal...Solution: The cabin is a plane's cockpit. The people are the flying crew, whose plane had crashed during the snowstorm the night before...
16. A man walks into his home, does not see sawdust, and screams in anguish. Why does he do this?
Clues: The man's home is not a house. He works in a circus. He wanted to see sawdust, but he did not really expect to see it. There has NEVER been sawdust in his home at any previous time...Solution: The man is a midget who bills himself as the shortest man in the world, and "performs" in a travelling circus. His home is a caravan. A jealous rival has surreptitiously sawn the legs of his funiture off so that by comparison he appears taller. The effect of this is that the man mistakenly believes that he is growing. The lack of sawdust demonstrates to the man that his furniture has not been shortened...
17. A man walked into a bar and asked the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulled out a gun and pointed it at the man. The man said, "Thank you," and walked out. Explain.
Clues: The man and the barman did now know one another. He did not need the water anymore...Solution: The man had hiccups. The barman recognised this from his speech and drew the gun in order to give him a shock. It cured the hiccups, so the man no longer needed the water...
18. A man is lying dead in a field. He has a backpack on and a ring in his hand. How did he die?
Clues: The backpack is VERY significant. Think 3D...Solution: The man had jumped from a plane, but his parachute had failed to open. The backpack is the parachute, and the ring is the pull for the ripcord...
19. 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 can this be?
Clues: What are you assuming?Solution: They were two of a set of triplets...
20. A certain doctor paid a tramp a large sum of money in order to amputate the tramp's arm. He then sent the arm via the post to another man. This man then examined the arm, repacked it, and sent it on to another man. The second man also carefully examined the arm before taking it to the forest and burying it. Why did they do this?
Clues: The three men had spent some time together in the past. The other two men were each missing one arm...Solution: The three men had been stranded on a desert island. Desperate for food, they had agreed to amputate their left arms in order to eat them. They swore an oath that each would have his left arm cut off. One of them was a doctor and he cut the arms off his two companions. They were then rescued. But his oath was still binding. In order to escape with both arms still intact, he amputated the tramp's arm and sent it on to the other men...
21. A man died and went to Heaven. There were millions of other people there. They were all naked and all looked as they did at the age of 21. He looked around to see if there was anyone he recognised. He saw a couple and he knew immediately that they were Adam and Eve. How did he know?
Clues: Supposedly, Adam and Eve were "made"...Solution: He recognised Adam and Eve as the only people without navels. Because they were not born, they had never had umbilical cords, and therefore they did not have navels...
22. A man rode into town on Friday. He stayed for three nights and then left on Friday. How is this possible?
Clues: What are you assuming?Solution: The man's horse was called Friday...
23. A large, heavyset 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?
Clues: The punch contained the poison. Nothing was added to the punch after the man left. However, the punch did change slightly...Solution: 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...
24. A man was walking downstairs in a building when he suddenly realised that his wife had just died. How?
Clues: The time has nothing to with it. The lights in the stairwell blacked out for a couple of minutes...Solution: The man had visited his wife in hospital. She was on a life-support machine. As he was walking down the stairs all the lights went out. There had been a power shortage and the emergency back-up systems had failed. He knew that she had died...
25. A blind beggar had a brother who died. What relation was the blind beggar to the brother who died? (Brother is not the answer).
Clues: What are you assuming?Solution: The blind beggar was the sister of her brother who died...
26. A naked man is found dead in a field. He is clutching a broken match. What happened?
Clues: The fact that he is naked has some minor significance. The match IS important. Think 3D...Solution: He and a number of other passengers were making a balloon trip in a desperate attempt to flee a country. The balloon had to lose weight to stop it from crashing. After throwing all possible ballast out (including their clothes) they decided someone had to jump out. To do this, they drew straws (in this case matches), whereupon he drew the short match...
27. The music stopped. She died. Explain.
Clues: The music had stopped many times in the past and she had not died. She was doing something VERY dangerous. She did not know she would die until it was academic...Solution: She was a circus tight-rope walker whose act was to walk blindfolded over a high wire without a net. The band played as she crossed, and when the music stopped it was the signal that she had reached the end of the walk and could safely alight. One day the conductor was taken ill and the stand-in conductor ended the piece of music too early. She stepped off, to her death...
28. Deep in a forest the body of a man wearing only swimming trunks, snorkel and facemask was found. The nearest lake was 8 kilometres away and the sea was over 50 kilometres away. How had he died?
Clues: He was swimming in the lake before he died. He died on the ground where he was found...Solution: During a forest fire, a fire-fighting plane had scooped up some water from the lake to drop on the fire. The plane had accidentally picked up the unfortunate swimmer. Apparently, this is a true story...
29. One day Kelly celebrated her birthday. Two days later her older twin brother, Anthony, celebrated his birthday. How come?
Clues: Think about calendar and time-zone anomalies...Solution: At the time she went into labour, the mother of the twins was travelling by boat. The older twin, Anthony, was born early on March 1st. The boat then crossed the International Date line and Kelly, the younger twin, was born on February the 28th. In a leap year the younger twin celebrates her birthday two days before her older brother...
30. Cindy's parents told her to never open the basement door. One day, while they were out, she could resist no longer. When she opened the door, she was shocked and surprised by what she saw. What did she see?
Clues: Most people would not be shocked. Something unusual WAS kept in the basement, but this was not what she saw...Solution: A hallway, living room and dining room. Maybe even the outside for the first time. Cindy was the unusual "thing" in the basement...
31. The husband and wife raced through the streets of Melbourne. Then the husband got out of the car and asked his wife to wait a couple minutes for him. When he returned she was dead. Not only that, a stranger was in the car. How did she die?
Clues: The doors and windows of the car were locked the whole time while the husband was away. The death was caused by the stranger, but not intentionally...Solution: The stranger was their new born baby. The expectant couple were headed for the hospital. When they arrived, the husband ran off to get a wheelchair. Unfortunately, the child couldn't wait and the mother didn't survive the birth...
32. A hunter aimed his gun carefully, and pulled the trigger. Seconds later he realised his mistake. Minutes later he was dead. What happened?
Clues: No living creature killed him. It was a cold winter's day. He had a VERY loud gun...Solution: The hunter was near a snowy cliff. When he fired the gun, he "triggered" an avalanche which buried him...
33. A heavyset man who works in the butcher's shop is 6' 2" tall. What does he weigh?
Clues: What are you assuming?Solution: The heavyset man weighs meat...
34. Two grandmasters played five chess games each but both of them won three games. How is this possible?
Clues: What are you assuming?Solution: The grandmasters didn't have five games against each other, just 5 games each...
35. A man hails a taxi, gets in and gives the driver the destination address. The taxi sets out, but then the driver stops in a secluded place and the driver kills the man. Why?
Clues: The men do not know each other. The address initiates the man's death...Solution: The taxi driver has suspicions that someone is having an affair with his wife while he works. The man asks to be taken to the driver's home address, where the wife is alone at home...
36. There is a man dead in a locked office, sitting at his desk. On the desk there are a couple of pieces of blank paper, a pen and a sealed envelope. How was he killed?
Clues: The office is locked from the inside - no-one has directly killed him. He was poisoned...Solution: The seal on the envelope was poisoned, so when he licked and sealed it, he was poisoned...
37. Joe wants to go home, but he can't because a man wearing a mask is waiting for him. What is the problem?
Clues: The masked man does not want to harm Joe. Home is not Joe's house...Solution: A baseball game is going on. The base-runner sees the catcher waiting at home plate with the ball, and so decides to stay at third base to avoid being tagged out...
38. There is a prison built on an island in the middle of a huge lake. One morning, the warden wakes up his deputy to tell him that one of the inmates has escaped, and all he had done was tie two pieces of string together. However, prison records show that the inmate was unable to swim. How did he escape?
Clues: It is winter. The pieces of string were very small, and they are a VERY common clothing item...Solution: The lake had frozen over, and the two pieces of string were the laces on his ice skates...
39. A man dressed entirely in black and wearing a black mask, is standing in the middle of a crossroad. All of the streetlights at the intersection are broken. A car speeds down the road, heading straight for the man, yet it turns in time and doesn't hit him. How does it manage to miss him?
Clues: What are you assuming?Solution: It's daytime...
40. A man sitting on a park bench reads a newspaper article headlined "Death At Sea" and knows that a murder was committed. How does he know?
Clues: The man vaguely knew the person who was killed. The person died on an international cruise, and was a woman...Solution: The man is a travel agent. He had sold someone two tickets for an ocean voyage, one ticket round-trip and one ticket one-way. The surname of the woman who "fell" overboard and drowned on the voyage (as reported in the newspaper) is the same surname as that of the man who bought the tickets...
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