Here are some more lateral thinking puzzles:
- A man is found dead on a floor. His pockets are full of gold coins. Even though he fell from several thousand feet onto the floor, the floor is completely undamaged. How could this be?
- During a war, an army had to cross a wide river. There were no boats available and there was only one narrow bridge. Crossing the bridge would have made the troops sitting ducks for enemy fire. How did the entire army cross in relative safety?
- Both David and John are travelling from the same location in Silver Spring, Maryland to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. David drove at a regular speed, while John started on foot. Traffic was light, and David reached an average speed of about 20 miles per hour. However, they both reached the Mall at the exact same time. How could this be?
- You have nine identical-looking coins. One of them is counterfeit. The counterfeit coin weighs slightly less than the other coins. You have a balance scale. What is the minimum number of weighings required to find the counterfeit coin?
- Near the end of the baseball season, Smith and Jones are tied for the league lead in batting average, with an average of .332. They both have had the same number of at-bats, and each have two games remaining. In those final two games, Smith hits .750, while Jones hits .875. However, Smith, not Jones, wins the batting title. Can you explain?
- Two fathers and two sons were on a boat fishing. Each caught a fish; however, there were only three fish caught in total. How could this occur?
- A woman from New York City married ten different men. None of these men died and she was never divorced, yet she did not break any laws. How could this be?
- A woman is studying in a library and listening to the radio. The radio announcer says that he has hidden $100 between pages 75 and 76 of a certain library book. Even though the book is on a shelf right next to her, and she is in need of money, she doesn't open the book. Why?
- Two children are attempting to divide a piece of cake. However, no matter where the one child places the knife, the other child says that the first child is cutting himself too large a piece. Can you suggest a way for them to divide the cake fairly?
- Sarah is driving home after a hard day's work. She drives through a curious town. All of the roads, pavements, buildings, and everything else had been painted black. Sarah's headlights were not working, no moon was out, and the power was off, so the street lights were not working. After rounding a curve, Sarah sees a completely black dog sitting in the road. The dog is deaf and does not move when the car approaches. However, Sarah was easily able to swerve around the dog easily. How was this done?
The answers can be found at Lateral Thinking Puzzles #3 Answers. Need a hint?
If you enjoyed these puzzles, you can also see the first page of lateral thinking puzzles, the second page of lateral thinking puzzles, the fourth page, or the fifth page.