These stories are also called: Lateral Thinking Puzzles
1. The man in the Elevator
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 or to go
shopping. When he returns he takes the elevator to the seventh floor
and walks up the stairs to reach his apartment on the tenth floor. He
hates walking so why does he do it?
2. The Man in the Bar
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.
3. The Man who Hanged Himself
Not far from Madrid, there is a large wooden barn. The 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?
4. Death in a Field
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?
5. Anthony and Cleopatra
Anthony and Cleopatra are lying dead on the floor of a villa in Egypt.
Nearby is a broken bowl. There is no mark on either of their bodies
and they were not poisoned. How did they die?
6. The Coal, Carrot and Scarf
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?
7. Trouble with Sons
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?
8. Push that Car
A man pushed his car. He stopped when he reached a hotel at which
point he knew he was bankrupt. Why?
9. The Arm of the Postal Service
One day a man received a parcel in the post. Carefully packed inside
was a human arm. He examined it, repacked it and then sent it on to
another man. The second man also carefully examined the arm before
taking it to the woods and burying it. Why did they do this?
10. Heaven
A man died and went to Heaven. There were thousands 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?
11. Friday
A man rode into town on Friday. He stayed for three nights and then
left on Friday. How come?
12. Manhole Covers
Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?
13. The Deadly Party
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?
14. The Deadly Dish
Two men went into a restaurant. They both ordered the same dish from
the menu. After they tasted it, one of the men went outside the
restaurant and shot himself. Why?
15. The Realization
A man was walking downstairs in a building when he suddenly realized
that his wife had just died. How?
16. The Blind Beggar
A blind beggar had a brother who died. What relation was the blind
beggar to the brother who died? (Brother is not the answer).
17. The Broken Match
A man is found dead in a field. He is clutching a broken match. What
happened?
18. The Music Stopped
The music stopped. She died. Explain.
19. Swimmer in the Forest
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?
20. The Elder Twin
One day Kerry celebrated her birthday. Two days later her older twin
brother, Terry, celebrated his birthday. How come?
Answers:
1. The man in the Elevator
The man is (of course) a dwarf. Variants of this puzzle include the
clue that on rainy days he goes up in the elevator to the tenth floor
(he uses his umbrella!)
2. The Man in the Bar
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.
3. The Man who Hanged Himself
He climbed on a block of ice which has since melted.
4. Death in a Field
The man had jumped from a plane but his parachute had failed to open.
It is the unopened package... This is sometimes given with the following rather elegant clue - as he
approached the centre of the field he knew he was going to die.
5. Anthony and Cleopatra
Anthony and Cleopatra were goldfish whose bowl was knocked over by a
clumsy dog.
6. The Coal, Carrot and Scarf
They were used by children who made a snowman. The snow has now
melted.
7. Trouble with Sons
They were two of a set of triplets (or quadruplets etc.)
8. Push that Car
He was playing Monopoly.
9. The Arm of the Postal Service
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 so he later
had to have his arm amputated and sent to his colleagues... This is often told with a further twist whereby a doctor pays a tramp
a large sum in order to amputate the tramp �s arm which the doctor then
sends to another man who inspects it etc....
10. Heaven
He recognized Adam and Eve as the only people without navels. Because
they were not born of women, they had never had umbilical cords and
therefore they never had navels.
11. Friday
The man �s horse was called Friday.
12. Manhole Covers
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.
13. The Deadly Party
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.
14. The Deadly Dish
The dish that the two men ordered was albatross. They had been
stranded many years earlier on a desert island. When the man tasted
albatross he realized that he had never tasted it before. This meant
that the meat he had been given on the island was not albatross as he
had been told. He correctly deduced that he had eaten the flesh of
his son who had died when they first reached the island.
15. The Realization
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 cut and the emergency back-up systems had
failed. He knew that she had died.
16. The Blind Beggar
The blind beggar was the sister of her brother who died.
17. The Broken Match
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. He drew the short match and had to jump.
18. The Music Stopped
She was a circus tight-rope walker who walked blindfolded over a high
wire. 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.
19. Swimmer in the Forest
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.
20. The Elder Twin
At the time she went into labor, the mother of the twins was
travelling by boat. The older twin, Terry, was born first early on
March 1st. The boat then crossed the International Date line (or any
time zone line) and Kerry, 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.
source:
http://rec-puzzles.org/index.php/Lateral%20Solution
