1. There is a man who lives on the top floor of a very tall building.Everyday he gets the elevator down to the ground floor to leave thebuilding to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can onlytravel half way up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the wayunless it's raining! Why? (This is probably the best known and mostcelebrated of all lateral thinking puzzles. It is a true classic.Although there are many possible solutions which fit the initialconditions, only the canonical answer is truly satisfying. )
2. A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on thescene, but the child is rushed to the hospital. When he arrives thesurgeon says, "I can't operate on this boy, he is my son! " How canthis be?
3. A man is wearing black. Black shoes, socks, trousers, lumper,gloves and balaclava. He is walking down a black street with all thestreet lamps off. A black car is coming towards him with its light offbut somehow manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?
4. Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones? Thisis logical rather than lateral, but it is a good puzzle that can besolved by lateral thinking techniques. It is supposedly used by a verywell-known software company as an interview question for prospectiveemployees.
5. A man went to a part y and drank some of the punch. He then leftearly. Everyone else at the party who drank the punch subsequently diedof poisoning. Why did the man not die?
6. A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. Thebarman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says 'Thankyou' and walks out. (This puzzle claims to be the best of the genre.It is simple in its! statement, absolutely baffling and yet with acompletely satisfying solution. Most people struggle very hard to solvethis one yet they like the answer when they hear it or have thesatisfaction of figuring it out. )
SOLUTIONS..........Are.....
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1. The man is very, very short and can only reach halfway up theelevator buttons. However,if it is raining then he will have hisumbrella with him and can press the higher buttons with it.
2. The surgeon was his mother.
3. It was day time.
4. A square manhole cover can be turned and dropped down the diagonalof the manhole. A round manhole cannot be dropped down the manhole. Sofor safety and practicality, all manhole covers should be round.
5. The poison in the punch came from the ice cubes. When the man Drankthe punch, the ice was fully frozen. Gradually it melted, poisoning thepunch.
6. The man had hiccups. The barman recognized this from his speech anddrew the gun in order to give him a shock. It worked and cured thehiccups-so the man no longer needed the water.
