2004-01-15 - 9:48 p.m.
[email]Lateral Thinking
An interesting quiz for ur Lateral Thinking abilities --- Think!
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 the building to go to work.
Upon returning from work though, he can only travel half way
up in
the lift and has to walk the rest of the way unless it's
raining!
Why?
(This is probably the best known and most celebrated of all
lateral thinking puzzles. It is a true classic. Although there
are
many possible solutions which fit the initial conditions, only
the
canonical answer is truly satisfying. )
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2. A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on
the
scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital. When he
arrives
the surgeon says, "I can't operate on this boy, he is my son!
"
How can this be?
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3. A man is wearing black. Black shoes, socks, trousers,
lumper,
gloves and balaclava. He is walking down a black street with
all
the street lamps off. A black car is coming towards him with
its
light off but somehow manages to stop in time.
How did the driver see the man?
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4. Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square
ones?
This is logical rather than lateral, but it is a good puzzle
that
can be solved by lateral thinking techniques. It is supposedly
used by a very well-known software company as an interview
question for prospective employees.
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5. 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?
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6. 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.
(This puzzle claims to be the best of the genre. It is simple
in
its statement, absolutely baffling and yet with a completely
satisfying solution. Most people struggle very hard to solve
this
one yet they like the answer when they hear it or have the
satisfaction of figuring it out. )
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Solutions
1.The man is very, very short and can only reach halfway up
the elevator buttons. However,if it is raining then he will have his umbrella with him and can press the higher buttons with it.
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2. The surgeon was his mother.
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3. It was day time.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*4. 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.
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5. 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.
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6. 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.