As with the other pages, this page has a plain background colour and no wallpaper graphics. This is to allow the clues and solutions on the same page, without them being immediately "in your face"...
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!
As before, the tabs below will send you directly to any specific puzzle in this third set.
[ 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 100 | 101 | 102 | 103 | 104 | 105 | 106 | 107 | 108 | 109 ]
Clues: He is NOT asking for four, ten, or two hundred items. Sixteen thousand and fifty-nine would cost $15..Solution: The man was buying house numbers - each digit costs $3...
82. A man walks into his apartment and find his wife hanging from a rope tied to the ceiling fan. Under her, a chair is lying on its side. He is so upset with her suicide that he kicks the chair. He immediately knows that she was murdered. How does he know?
Clues: The chair has EVERYTHING to do with it...Solution: When he kicked the chair, it righted itself, and the he saw that it was too short for his wife to hang herself with. Therefore, someone had to hang her and then put the chair underneath so anyone else would think it was suicide...
83. On her first birthday she turned eight. How could this be?
Clues: Think about calendar anomalies (really complex ones)...Solution: She was born on February 29, 1896. Since only centuries divisible by 400 are leap years, the year 1900 was not a leap year. Thus, the next February 29th was in 1904, when she turned eight...
84. Everyday a woman takes the bus to work. She can get off at one of two stops. The first stop is 100 metres from the office building in which she works. The second stop is 200 metres past the building. She always rides past the first stop, and gets off at the second. Why?
Clues: Think topographically...Solution: Her office building is on a hill. When she gets off at the stop farthest from the building she is walking downhill...
85. Those who make them don't need them. Those who buy them don't want them. And those who use them don't know it. What are they?
Clues: Those who use them are dead...Solution: Headstones...
86. Mr Jones broke his leg on Saturday afternoon. He was immediately attended to by expert medical practitioners, and suffered no other injury. Sadly, he died later that day as a result. Why?
Clues: He was killed because he broke his leg. Mr Jones is not human...Solution: Mr Jones is a racehorse, who was put down...
87. Mr Smith, who doesn't like what passes for art these days, ran into the National Gallery and caused millions of dollars in damage to several masterpieces. Later that day, he was invited to meet the manager and was warmly thanked for his actions. Why?
Clues: He was doing his job - the fact that he does not like art has nothing to do with it...Solution: Mr Smith is a fireman. The water from his hose damaged the paintings as he put out a fire in the Gallery...
88. A man is standing on the platform of a train station. As a train pulls out of the station, he sees a woman aboard it waving. He runs over to the train, gets on it and kills the woman. He gets off the train, goes to police and confesses to the murder. He then walks away from the police station without consequence. Why?
Clues: He knew the woman very well, and had good reason to dislike her. This puzzle involves a legal technicality...Solution: The woman was the man's wife. Years ago she faked her own death and framed her husband. Her husband was convicted and served time for murder. In the country where this occurred, a person can not be prosecuted for the same crime twice. Since he had already served time, he could not be sentenced again...
89. A man sits dead at his desk, with a wound in his back. On the desk are his work papers and a glass of red water. The door is open, and footprints lead to the back of his chair. How did he die?
Clues: It is winter. The water is red because there is blood in it...Solution: Since it is winter, and the assailant broke off an icicle before entering the house. He stabbed the man with the icicle, and left it in the glass (bloodstained), where it eventually became the red water...
90. On the way to work a woman stops at a shop and makes a purchase. She continues to her workplace, where she is accidentally killed. Her purchase is directly related to her death. What is her occupation?
Clues: She bought a clothing item. Her job, which consisted of a performance in front of many people, was VERY dangerous...Solution: She was the assistant to the knife-thrower at the circus. One of his performances was to burst a balloon attached to the top of his assistant's head whilst blindfolded. She had bought a pair of shoes which were slightly higher than her previous pair. She died from a knife wound to the head...
91. A wizard has two white helmets and three black helmets that he shows to three gnomes. The gnomes close their eyes, and the wizard places a white helmet on the first gnome, and a black helmet on the last two. They open their eyes and the wizard asks them what colour helmet they are wearing. After a moment, the last gnome announces that his helmet is black. How does he know?
Clues: The gnomes cannot see the colour of their own helmets. The key is in the moment of pause...Solution: If the last gnome had been wearing a white helmet, then the second-last gnome (with the other black helmet) would have immediately answered "black". Since there was a moment's pause, the last gnome knew his helmet had to be black...
92. The only child of a wealthy couple is kidnapped and held for ransom. The criminal demanded that a large, valuable diamond be left in a certain telephone booth in a certain park. The police, suspecting that the criminal will have an accomplice waiting in the park, surround it with plainclothes detectives in order to follow the accomplice back to the criminal. However, this clever kidnapper was not caught. How did he get away?
Clues: There was an accomplice in the park, and the criminal did recover the diamond without being caught. The accomplice was very unusual...Solution: The criminal had a carrier-pigeon waiting in the phone booth, along with instructions to place the diamond in a small bag around the bird's neck and set it free. The carrier-pigeon knew its way back to the criminal. Not expecting this, the detectives were powerless to follow the bird...
93. An old man was searching the forest frantically for an oligole when a change in the weather forced him to leave. This caused the oligole's extinction. How?
Clues: The oligole was a species of animal. The oligole drowned...Solution: The old man was Noah, looking for a second oligole to take on the Ark. When it started to rain, he had to leave, distraught...
94. Two people are going skydiving. One of them is a skydiving instructor, and the other is going for the first time. They both jump out of the plane, and tragically neither of their parachutes open. The instructor dies and the first-timer survives. How is this possible?
Clues: The instructor dies immediately upon impacting the ground; the first-timer walks away completely uninjured. Nothing cushions the first-timer's descent...Solution: The first-timer got scared and jumped out of the plane before it took off. The instructor went on and made a routine jump but when the chute didn't open, he did not survive the impact...
95. Early one morning a man peers into his neighbour's garbage bin before driving off to work in some irritation. The following week he peers into his other neighbour's garbage bin before driving off in an even more irritated frame of mind. Why was he irritated?
Clues: There is NOTHING in either bin each time he looks in. He has no quarrel with either neighbour. He wanted to see something in each bin...Solution: He looked into bins on successive Mondays, the day for garbage collection on his street. He had forgotten to put his bin out on each Monday, and was irritated that he had forgotten to do so. The bins of his neighbours were empty (hence the garbage had been collected)...
96. Mary and John were very close. She watched as he boarded the 3:15 flight from Sydney to Adelaide. She then drove home from the airport and sat back to enjoy a movie. After about a half hour, the movie was interrupted by a news flash. The 3:15 flight from Sydney to Adelaide had crashed, with no survivors. Although Mary loved John very much, she continued to happily watch her movie. How come?
Clues: John did not die as a result of the crash. He was on the 3:15 for the total duration of the flight...Solution: The movie Mary was watching had been taped the previous week on her video recorder. Since the news flash was a week old, John was safe...
97. A painter was hired to repaint the water tower for the township of Dubbo. The tower was located just off a busy street in the downtown area. Every day for 2 weeks the man painted diligently, but was never seen working by anyone and no change was noticed on the tower. At the end of the two weeks, the painter was was thanked and paid a large sum by the city. Why?
Clues: NO-ONE expected to see the painter doing his job. He was a very honest and conscientious painter...Solution: The painter was hired to repaint the protective coating inside the watertower...
98. Mr Murphy wanted a new house built for him. He wanted to see the sun shine into every room, so he told the contractor to build his house so that all the walls face north. The igenious builder actually managed to do this. How?
Clues: Think about geographical anomalies...Solution: The contractor built the house at the South Pole...
99. Mr Miller had lived in the same house for many decades. One day Mr Miller returned home to find it engulfed in flames. The fire department was on the scene, but they made no attempt to save Mr Miller's house. Even though he is in tears, Mr Miller says nothing. What is going on?
Clues: The house could have been saved if the fire department had acted. Mr Miller IS crying because his home is burning down...Solution: Mr Miller instructed the fire department to destroy his house to make way for the construction of a new house. As Mr Miller watches his home burn he is overcome with fond memories and begins to weep...
100. Mr MacDonald had a farm. On this farm lived many workers. One day as a direct result of Mr MacDonald's drinking, a terrible tragedy befell his farm. Many workers lost their lives, and much work was undone. Mr MacDonald went on as though nothing had happened and he was never questioned about the incident. Why?
Clues: The farm is a very unusual farm. The dead workers were not buried - in fact, they were cannibalised by their fellow-workers...Solution: Mr MacDonald accidentally spilled a large glass of water on his ant farm...
101. Jason (aged 6) and Jeremy (aged 7) are seated on the living room couch, watching a very explicit, XXX rated movie. Their father, Kevin, enters the room and sits down on the couch next to them. Kevin is a good father and not at all immoral. Kevin speaks to them, but says nothing about the porno movie that all three are now watching. How come?
Clues: What are you assuming?Solution: Jason, Jeremy and Kevin are all dogs...
102. Romeo is looking down on Juliet's dead body. She died of suffocation. What has happened?
Clues: Neither Romeo nor Juliet are human. Romeo looks VERY pleased...Solution: Romeo is the household cat, and Juliet is a goldfish. Romeo has knocked Juliet's bowl off its stand...
103. Jason is lying dead. He has an iron bar across his back, and some food in front of him. How did he die?
Clues: Jason is very small, and is not human...Solution: Jason is a mouse, in a mouse trap...
104. A policeman is walking past a house. He hears somone scream out, "Don't shoot me, John! Don't shoot!", followed by a gunshot. The policeman enters the house and sees a lawyer, a priest, and an engineer, all gathered around a dead body. The priest was immediately arrested. How did the policeman know?
Clues: Which one is John? And what are you assuming?Solution: Both the engineer and lawyer were women. The priest was a man, so the policeman was fairly sure that he was the one referred to as "John"...
105. A man walked into a bar, and before he could say a word, he was knocked unconscious. Why?
Clues: What are you assuming?Solution: The bar was an iron bar...
106. An elderly man gets up in the morning and shaves. He then puts on his glasses, and sees himself in the mirror. However, when he looks in the mirror, he sees himself with no glasses and a beard. How come?
Clues: He is still clean-shaven with glasses. The "mirror" is not an ordinary mirror...Solution: He is reading The Daily Mirror and sees a picture of himself as he was 20 years earlier...
107. Two men were drinking in a pub. Two women walked in. The first man said, "I have to go, my wife and daughter are here." The second man turned around and said, "I have to go too, my wife and daughter just arrived as well." How is this possible?
Clues: No-one else has walked in apart from these two women. The men are not married to the same woman...Solution: The two men in question were both widowers with a daughter from a previous marriage. They both married the other's daughter...
108. A windowless room has 3 light bulbs. Three switches are outside the room, and each switch operates one of the bulbs inside. If you only enter the room once, how can you determine which bulb is connected to which switch?
Clues: Think about what happens to a light bulb when you turn it on...Solution: Turn the first switch "On" and leave it "On". Turn the second switch "On", leave it for a few minutes before turning it "Off". Don't touch the third switch - leave it "Off". When you walk into the room, the light bulb for the first switch will be "On", the bulb for the second switch will be "Off" but still warm, and the bulb for the third will be "Off" and cold...
109. Why do Chinese men eat more rice than Japanese men?
Clues: What are you assuming?Solution: There are more of them...
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