Lateral Thinking Puzzles A man lives on the tenth floor of a building. Every day, he goes down to the ground floor in the lift to go to work, then when he comes home he goes up to the seventh floor in the lift, then gets out and walks up the rest of the way by the stairs. Why is this?   Five bits of coal, a carrot and a scarf are in the middle of a lawn. Nobody put them there. What is the reason they are there?   There were two Americans waiting at the entrance to the British Museum. One was the father of the other one's son. How is this so?   Two chess players played five games of chess. Each won the same number of games and lost the same number of games. There were no draws in any of the games. How is this possible?   A pet shop was advertising puppies for sale. One man came in and put ten pounds on the counter and asked for a puppy. The assistant asked him whether he wanted a poodle, a labrador or an alsatian. He chose the poodle and left. Another man came in and asked for a puppy. The assistant did not say a word, but simply handed him an alsatian puppy. How did she know that this is what the man wanted?   Romeo and Juliet are lying dead on the floor of an Italian house. Nearby is a broken bowl. There are no marks on any of the bodies, and they were not poisoned. No person was in the house when they died. How did they die?   Two sisters cleaned out an old shed. When they had finished, one of them had a clean face and one had a dirty face. The sister with the clean face went and washed her face, but the girl with the dirty face did not wash. Why was this?   What is it that gets wetter as it dries?   A man walks into a caravan. He picks up a thin piece of wood, looks at it, then shoots himself. He does not notice a tiny pile of sawdust in the corner. Another man comes in, sees what has happened, laughs, then goes out. What has happened?   A man walks into a cafe and asks for a glass of water. The owner, who he has never met before, pulls out a gun and points it at the man. He says 'Thank you' and walks out. What has happened?   A man had a picnic with two farmers, one of whom had three cakes and one had five cakes. All the cakes were of the same size. They all agree to share the cakes equally amongst them. After the meal, the man gives the farmers eight pound coins to pay for the meal. How should the farmers divide the money fairly?   A man lies dead in a field. Next to him is an unopened package. There is no other living thing in the field. How did he die?   What object is it that the man who makes it does not need it, the man who buys it does not use it himself, and the man that uses it does so without knowing?   On an island, you come to a fork in the path. You know that one path leads to the cannibal village where you will get eaten, the other leads to the friendly village. You do not know which path is which. Standing at the road is a native, but you do not know which village he comes from. If he is a cannibal he will try to send you to his own village to be eaten. What one question can you ask to find the safe path?   The day before yesterday Fred was 17. Next year he will be 20. How can this be so?   A man walked one mile due south from his camp, then one mile due east. He then shot a bear. He then dragged it back one mile due north to arrive back at his camp. What colour was the bear?   A car is driven from Oxford to London at an average speed of 60 mph and then driven back along exactly the same route at 40 mph. What is the average speed of the journey?   Sarah says that her grandmother is younger than her mother. Could this be true?   On the table is a box containing six eggs. If six people each take one egg, how can it be that one egg is left in the box?   Six crows are sitting on a fence. The farmer shoots one with his shotgun. How many are left?   A man pushed his car until he reached a hotel, then immediately knew he was bankrupt. How?   A man in a restaurant returned his soup because there was a fly in it. The waiter returned with a new bowl of soup, but the man sent the soup back as he said that it was exactly the same soup, only with the fly removed. How did he know?   A woman liked the sun coming through the windows, and told a builder that she wanted him to build her a house where the windows in all the rooms faced south. How did he do this?   A father and a son were involved in a car accident and rushed to hospital. On seeing the unconscious boy, the doctor said, "That's my son!". How can this be true?   In five years time, I will be three times as old as I was three years ago. How old am I now?   A woman had two sons who were born in the same hour of the same day in the same year, but they were not twins. How could this be?   Five men were going together down a country path. It began to rain. Four of the men walked more quickly, but the fifth man made no effort to walk any faster. However, he remained dry. He did not have a hat or umbrella. The other four men got wet. They all arrived at their destination together, and there were no vehicles involved. How could this be?   One night during World War Two, a British bomber was on a mission. The plane was in perfect condition and everything on it worked properly. When it reached its target, the pilot ordered the bomb doors opened. They opened. He then ordered the bombs released. They were released, but the bombs did not fall from the plane. Why was this?   In the days before watches were invented, clocks were valuable items. There was a man who had one clock in his house. It kept good time, but one day he found it had stopped. he had no idea of the correct time. He walked to the next valley to visit his friend, who had a clock showing the right time. He spent a little while chatting to his friend, then walked home. He did not know the exact length of the journey before he started. How did he manage to set his one clock correctly when he returned?   A true story - a few years ago, a hijacker held up a passenger plane a plane in flight. He told the police at a nearby airport by radio that he would release the plane and the hostages in return for $100,000 and two parachutes. The plane landed and he was given the money and the parachutes. He ordered the plane to take off and fly at slow speed and low altitude, and when they were over a deserted area he strapped on one of the parachutes, took the money and jumped out of the plane. The plane and the hostages returned safely. The hijacker was never caught. Why did he ask for two parachutes rather than one?   A man looked at a photograph and said of the subject in the picture, 'Brothers and sisters have I none, but this man's father is my father's son.' Who is in the photograph?   What are the next 2 letters in this series: O T T F F S S ? ? Answers

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