15 lateral thinking puzzles

1. Popular Lateral Thinking Puzzles

2. A BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS T UVWXYZ ABCD E FGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQ R STUVWXYZ A BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJK L MNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS T UVWXYZ ABCDEFG H IJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJK L MNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLM N OPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJ K LMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLM N OPQRSTUVWXYZ

3. A BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS T UVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQ R STUVWXYZ A BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJK L MNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS T UVWXYZ ABCDEFG H IJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJK L MNOPQRSTUVWXY Z ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLM N OPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJ K LMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLM N OPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEF G HIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

4. A T E R A L T H L I N K I N G A BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS T UVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQ R STUVWXYZ A BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJK L MNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS T UVWXYZ ABCDEFG H IJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJK L MNOPQRSTUVWXY Z ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLM N OPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJ K LMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLM N OPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEF G HIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

5. Lateral thinking Many problems require a different perspective to solve successfully -- Edward de Bono

6. 1

7. RIGHT WRONG Two mathematicians are sitting opposite to each other for a cup of coffee. They looked at the matter written on the paper which is kept on the table . One said “ Its Wrong”, another said “ Its Right”. Both are correct. How is it possible? What is written on the paper? ?

8. I + IX = X Right Wrong Answer:

9. I + IX = X Right

10. I + IX = X Wrong

11. 2

12. There are six eggs in the basket. Six people each take one egg, how can it be that one egg is left in the basket?

13. 1 2 3 4 5

14. 1 2 3 4 5 6

15. 3

16. Truck height is 1 inch taller than tunnel height Then how the truck passes through the tunnel

17. Answer: Deflate the tires till the truck height is lesser than tunnel height.

18. 4

19. A police officer saw a truck driver clearly going the wrong way down a one-way street, but did not try to stop him. Why ?

20. First thoughts …

21. Answer: The truck driver was walking on the one-way street But…

22. 5

23. Three of the glasses are filled with cool drink; the other three are empty. By moving only one glass, can you arrange them so the full and empty glasses alternate

24. 6

25. The school inspection A schoolteacher knew that the school superintendent would visit the next day. The superintendent would ask questions such as spellings or mental arithmetic of the class, and the teacher would choose a pupil to answer. The teacher wanted to give the best impression of the school. What instructions did she give the children, in order to create the best impression and maximise the chances that the right answer was given to each question?

26. Teacher instructed the students to raise hand for every question but with one condition i.e. those students who know right answer will raise their right hands and those students who do not know the answer will raise their left hands

27. 7

28. Remove 2 matchsticks from this figure to make 2 squares remain

29. Answer:

30. 8

31. Two trains are crossing the country, from coast to coast, over 3,000 miles of railroad track. Train A is going from west to east at 70 miles per hour, and Train B is going from east to west at 80 miles per hour. Which train will be closer to the west coast when they meet ?

32. Train A Train B 70 miles per hour 80 miles per hour

33. Train A

34. Which train will be closer to the west coast when they meet? Now !!! You know the answer. Both trains are at same distance from west coast when the meet.

35. 9

36. A man called to a waiter in a restaurant, "There's a fly in my tea!" The waiter replied, "I will bring you a fresh cup." After a few moments, the man called out, "This is the same cup of tea!" How did he know?

37. Hint is here only. Try………

38. Answer: The man had already put sugar into the tea .

39. 10

40. A black man dressed all in black, wearing a black mask, stands at a crossroads in a totally black-painted town. All of the streetlights in town are broken. There is no moon. A black-painted car without headlights drives straight toward him, but turns in time and doesn't hit him.

41. Answer: It's broad daylight.

42. 11

43. Manhole Covers Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?

44. Side is smaller than diagonal of square cover. It means, there is a chance that the cover may fall inside.

45. So round cover is better

46. 12

47. Make the line smaller without erasing it

48. Draw another line larger than the existing one adjutant to it. Now the first line is smaller

49. 13

50. Interviewer -- He ordered a cup of coffee for the candidate. Coffee arrived kept before the candidate, then he asked what is before you?  Candidate: Instantly replied "Tea“ He got selected.   Why?

51. Here “You”  means “U” ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS T U VWXYZ

52. 14

53. Arrange four tennis balls in such a way that the distance between each ball is same.

54. Arrange it in equilateral-triangle - pyramid shape so that distance between each tennis ball is same

55. 15

56. Two persons are sitting with a table in between them but they can not see each other. Why?

57. They are sitting in the opposite direction and not facing each other

58. A presentation by Dr.P.Madar Valli Professor, Industrial Engineering Department, GIT, GITAM University Visakhapatnam, India. [email protected] ; [email protected]