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 Cologne
A man tries the new cologne his wife gave him for his birthday. He goes out to get some food and is killed.

The Motel Room
A man leaves a motel room, goes to his car, honks the horn, and returns.

The One-Legged Man
A man meets a one-legged man on a subway, who pulls a gun and shoots him.

The Room with the Wood Chips
A man is dead in a room with a small pile of wood chips and sawdust in the corner.

The Broken Match
A man is found dead in a field. He is clutching a broken match.

The Question
A man was brought before a tribal chief, who asked him a question. If he had known the answer, he probably would have died. He didn't, and lived.

Ice and Glass
Three men die. On the pavement are pieces of ice and broken glass.

Doing the Chores
A woman came home with a bag of groceries, got the mail, and walked into the house. On the way to the kitchen, she went through the living room and looked at her husband, who had blown his brains out. She continued to the kitchen, put away the groceries, and made dinner.

The Igloo
Two men are found dead outside of an igloo.

Albatross Soup
Two men went into a restaurant. They both ordered the same dish - albatross soup - from the menu. After they tasted it, one of the men went outside the restaurant and shot himself.

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.

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