Questions tagged [lateral-thinking]
A puzzle solved through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be obtainable only using logic.
1,140
questions
2
votes
1answer
143 views
How does 100 1000 becomes 200?
Turn these characters into 200:
100 1000
Using only one bit of information.
1
vote
0answers
104 views
A Loooooong Sequence of Calculations
$53466+25123+16334+86556+5856\cdot 32454+8565+2235+7067-2345\cdot 1086+|23457|+4754\cdot 89510+9523-3458-9234+84233-|947\cdot 137\cdot 98\cdot 142-407119|\cdot (-1024)\cdot 5^{10}+645\cdot 9814\cdot ...
3
votes
1answer
118 views
It sounds all good until
If
4 + 4 = 8
10 - 5 = 5
5 x 1 = 5
8 - 1 = 7
2 + 4 = 7
Then,
8 / 1 = ?
Is it 6 or 7 ?
-3
votes
3answers
155 views
Twisted Timekeeping [closed]
Two office workers need to arrive at work at the exact same time. However that's not likely to happen because the only thing they use for telling the time is their watches and their timekeeping is a ...
2
votes
1answer
130 views
A box of mutating birds
What is evolution but the result of countless mutations to genetic structures over time. Some mutations provide benefits such as the gift of flight, while others can be harmful, such as the burden of ...
4
votes
3answers
420 views
They say that I am sexy - who am I?
Who am I?
They say that I am sexy
And that I'm a lady
I have four syllables
Only when said slowly
Hint #1
Hint #2
Hint #3
Hint #4
4
votes
2answers
236 views
Arrange the wooden blocks in the box
Little Johnny is the naughtiest child in the kindergarden today. The kind who always wants more than the other children. When he saw that little Tim was playing with the same set of wooden blocks as ...
5
votes
1answer
331 views
Hero Worms and The Minotaur
And so, Wormeus had a great time, eating every apple in sight, surviving several close calls with the Pink Lady Stickotaurs, respawning after the occasional horribly squishy death, exploring different ...
5
votes
5answers
306 views
Three riddles of a common (and repetitive) format
What do you call it when a historically discredited means of contraceptive is vindicated by new research?
I was just looking over my son's book report on speed reading strategies; what are you doing ...
2
votes
1answer
469 views
You should mind your P's first
This should be short and sweet.
Given his strength, he must be the almighty. Given his health, he must use ointments. Given his status, should we board his ark?
Hint 1:
Hint 2:
Hint 3:
Hint 4:
...
4
votes
0answers
334 views
A splash of Minecraft?
I was playing Minecraft the other day and came across a beautiful splash message. Subsequently, I was inspired to create a puzzle for it.
Svir, look out below!
Shorty's slang stays surprisingly stout....
4
votes
1answer
546 views
Political Bantering Puzzle
Simply Puns Or Cryptic Clues In BOLD:
Sitting atop a tall chair in the garden, one English Politician P was having his Evening Beverage,
His American Neighbour N was asking "Our Admiral can write ...
5
votes
1answer
540 views
Four equations for the same number?
Using creative thinking can you show
9 = 4
9 = 8
9 = 14
9 = 24
All four equations follow the same logic/method.
While you are at it can you also show (same logic)
55 = 4
Hint:
6
votes
1answer
351 views
You see what I am a part of every day, yet you never see me! What am I?
You see what I am a part of every day, yet you never see me! What am I?
Some clues?
A5: The big, flying GG around me.
B3: Red, yellow, green or blue will all work.
B4: Hit my head too hard :(
(It's my ...
10
votes
1answer
282 views
A Standard English Daily Routine
At 10:30, I shear some fleece.
At 13:30, I grow a foot.
At 16:00, I strut.
At 16:30, I look at my palm.
At 19:30, I set a trap.
What am I?
My first riddle involving lateral thinking, enjoy!
Subtle ...
4
votes
3answers
936 views
Case of Punctured Tyre
A man drove his Innova car all the way from Shimla to Delhi only to discover at the end of the trip that he had a punctured tyre from the very start. Yet his Innova car was not at all affected by it. ...
6
votes
3answers
427 views
Generalization of the two-surgeons-two-patients-and-two-gloves puzzle
This is the original puzzle with $n=2$. I recommend solving it before this one to get acquainted with the mechanisms.
There are $n$ patients in an hospital (let's call them $p_1 \dots p_n$), each of ...
3
votes
1answer
145 views
A rhyming riddle: "Line them up in order..."
Line them up in order,
And into teams as well.
Each of them’s a character,
Under someone’s spell.
Some have foreign accents
And put on different things:
A cute hat, something grave,
Tails and dots and ...
20
votes
1answer
3k views
Grandpa's Crazy Math. Yes? No?
"This is really straightforward if you are from the other side of the pond", said Grandpa.
"Put your lateral thinking hat on and prove this to me:
Yes x No = VIIX
Being from US, this ...
4
votes
1answer
314 views
How to Balance?
You are given a scale which has 4kg and 2kg stones on the left side and an 8kg stone on the right side of the scale. You have an additional 1kg. How will you balance the scale?
-4
votes
6answers
722 views
Variation of 100 coins puzzle (no flipping) [closed]
You have 100 coins laying flat on a table, each with a head side and a tail side. 10 of them are heads up, 90 are tails up. You can't feel, see or in any other way find out which side is up. You ...
1
vote
4answers
443 views
Who has betrayed me?
Imagine my horror to discover that I'd been betrayed. I knew it was one among five of my most trusted inner circle, so I sent them this message:
Dear Anna, Bess, Chrissy, Diana, and Eva,
I know one ...
5
votes
1answer
256 views
How did the king pay the worker? [duplicate]
A humorous king pays his worker with one inch gold bar everyday. He had a $31$ inches gold bar and he paid the worker $31$ days of a month cutting it in just $4$ places. How is this possible?
Taken ...
23
votes
7answers
2k views
What is the minimum number of helpers that an explorer need to cross the desert?
There is a desert which can be crossed only by walking and this takes six days. The explorers of the desert can carry at most four days' water and food. If they want, they can take helpers with them. ...
7
votes
1answer
189 views
Scientific Discovery Rebus Puzzle
What scientific discovery is represented by the following image?
NOTE: Some tags have been deliberately omitted since I don't wanna reveal too much 😊
7
votes
1answer
579 views
A variant of the doctor's dilemma
This puzzle is a variant of the Doctor's Dilemma.
There are two patients in a hospital (let's call them A and B), both of them need an operation by two different doctors (let's call them X and Y) ...
-3
votes
6answers
271 views
Make 93 using 2, 0, 2, 2 and a least powerful set of operations [closed]
Use some mathematical operations to make an expression equal 93.
You must use each one of the digits 2, 0, 2, 2 exactly once, and no other digits.
To score the solutions, your set of operations used ...
8
votes
0answers
448 views
Connect The Wall-Words:-
Edit:- We have a group of words here:- (Go check Hint 1)
ACIDITY
TIME
MICROSCOPE
MARKS
LIGHT
SCALE
CHEMISTRY
CLAW
REAL
LEAD
INTEREST
BIOLOGY
DUCK
RADICAL
ACADEMY
LEAF
Goal:- Group these $16$ ...
16
votes
1answer
1k views
The Dispute at the Milky Way Restaurant
Fifteen related guests visited a restaurant and got into an argument about who was the greatest among them. To settle the dispute, they asked the owner to decide.
He thought for a moment, then said “...
10
votes
2answers
599 views
2
votes
1answer
100 views
"Physical" height of an infinitely distant joint point
When driving along long straight roads, this is what you would typically see:
Photo by Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash
As you're probably aware, the solid lines on the sides of the road are parallel, in ...
0
votes
1answer
193 views
Totally not spam; don't delete me
Thanks for registering for our super-not-spam mailing list! We'll let you unsubscribe if you can find a super-special password!
Here are the criteria for the password:
Matches the following regex ...
5
votes
2answers
200 views
Odd numbers to Even numbers
Remember the old puzzle?
"Can you take just one letter out of an odd number and make it even?"
Note the clever wording. It just says make it even; not "make it an even number"...
...
3
votes
1answer
191 views
Knights of the Square Table
I am of the order of the valiant Knights of the Square Table, an elite fraternity—far more so than those so-called Knights of the Round Table. There are so many of them, but only two of us! I serve my ...
3
votes
1answer
176 views
Strange addition
Professor Devonshire was losing his marbles, Dr. Wallaby thought, staring at the equations filling the board in Dr. Devonshire’s office. What kind of addition was this?
1+1 = 6
2+1 = 6
1+6 = 6
2+6 = 6
...
4
votes
1answer
191 views
Larry and Laura Literal
Larry Literal loved Laura Literal, his lovely long-suffering wife. They'd lived together as husband and wife 50 long years. Longing to live near long-lost loved ones, they'd recently re-located to a ...
10
votes
1answer
317 views
Don't Pair Program a Puzzle
My friend William and I wanted to make a word search (number search?) of five digit numbers in a 5x5 grid, filling all spaces to form 12 clues.
To simplify things, we decided we would add a single ...
-1
votes
1answer
105 views
Blindly choosing a ball from a bag [closed]
You are blindfolded. You are handed a bag and told that there are three balls and two cubes, all of which are the same size and are equally likely to be chosen. You blindly choose one of the items ...
1
vote
2answers
307 views
Who is the only pre-teen that has traveled to outer space?
Who is the only pre-teen that has traveled to outer space? Sort of a trick question. But also not quite a trick question. This is a person, not a dog or chimpanzee or other animal.
15
votes
6answers
2k views
Does this equation make sense?
"The two sides of this equation appear to be different, don't they?" asked Grandpa
I looked at the numbers he had written on a piece of paper and nodded in agreement.
2011 = 1012
"Can ...
1
vote
6answers
703 views
Bizarre number sequence
My friend sent me this tricky puzzle...
Please explain the reason for the mistake in the number sequence - what is it trying to communicate?
8139, 8140, 8141, 5493, 8143, 8144
Hints:
1.
-5
votes
1answer
104 views
Fun with Letters, Words and Sentences? [closed]
I have a game, but first, I need to explain how it works.
Take a sentence, completely meaningful. Suppose the sentence is, "Yes, yesterday we ate the meal sometime at night".
In this ...
15
votes
9answers
3k views
A fun lateral-thinking Chess puzzle [closed]
Which famous movie is suggested by the following chess position (by Trevor Tao)?
7
votes
7answers
884 views
Ma turned 34 in 2002. Really?
My friend said to me:
“In February of the year 1970 at 1:12 AM Ma turned 18. Ma turned 34 in
February of the year 2002 at 2:16 AM. How is this possible?”
“And yes. Same Ma!” he ended with that.
Hint
...
4
votes
1answer
289 views
A talk with Four Brothers
Once upon a time, on going to the small park nearby to take some fresh air, I met four quite peculiar brothers and had a talk with them. Each had a different story to tell.
The first two brothers ...
6
votes
1answer
481 views
Stop the robot by changing value of variable Z
You're a computer security expert (i.e a hacker who doesn't break law). Your neighbour is infamous professor MacGoofy himself. He specializes in designing programming languages and programming ...
8
votes
3answers
393 views
With a little effort, one can prevail
What is common between the following words and names?
(Inspired by this except that I actually know the answer to this one)
Defeat
Kleenex?
Guanaco
Nerdiest
Sardar
Ian McKellen
Dingo
Gun
Diablo
...
9
votes
1answer
371 views
An X-Mensa dq question
Which of the numbers should fill in the ?.
4, 3, 4, 7, 0, 45, 7, 15, 64, 0, 1111, 55, 5, 5, 0, 20, 32, 1, ?
a) 2
b) 0
c) 20
d) 1
Hints:
1.
1
vote
1answer
167 views
Ohh, NSA Again? #2
This puzzle is the second part of story Ohh, NSA again?. Hope like this story. Here it is:
John got the target, it was Stack. Problem is, it can be Stack Overflow or Stack Exchange.
Another problem ...
-1
votes
5answers
443 views
He's a real mama's baby
Monday morning baby Alex awoke in his mother's loving embrace. His mother changed him, fed him, and snuggled him, which he of course loved. But when she went to get her coat and suitcase baby Alex ...
