Think Laterally!

Here are some of the lateral-thinking puzzles that I've come across over the years. A warning, though: a lot of lateral-thinking puzzles are typically "how did they die?" types of questions. I've tried to include a number of non-death-related questions as well. And I've tried to sort them roughly by difficulty.

Enjoy!

The Train
A train pulls into a station, but none of the waiting passengers move.

The Man in the Mask
Joe wants to go home but can't, because the man in the mask is waiting for him.

The Policeman
A policeman was walking past a house. He heard somone cry, "Don't shoot me, John! Don't shoot!" There was one gunshot. The policeman entered the house and saw a lawyer, priest, and an engineer, gathered around a dead body. The priest was immediately arrested.

A Suit and Glove
A woman is wearing a suit and one glove. She is dead.

Obedience
A woman tells her children to do something, but just one boy obeys. The woman says something to him, and he stomps away, sits down, and sulks.

The Barn
There is a large wooden barn, which 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.

The Monks
Two monks sit in a tower. The queen kills the king. The monks shake hands and part company.

Mr. Black and Mrs. White
Mr. Black asks for tea and gets $5,000. Then he asks for eyes, but Mrs. White can't give him any.

The Ocean
A woman tries to drop a man into the ocean -- by his own request -- but when she tries, he blows back in.

The Iron Bar
Jason is lying dead, he has an iron bar across his back and some food in front of him.

Stuck? Email me for a hint. Please include the title of the puzzle.

Need more puzzles? Try these links:

Eluzions - Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Paul Sloane's Lateral Thinking Puzzles - he's an author of a number of lateral-thinking puzzle books.

Back to my Think Laterally! page.

Back to my homepage!

Page created: April 10, 2004.
Last updated: May 5, 2004.