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.
1,003
questions
0
votes
0answers
62 views
unsolvable Number pattern [closed]
This is the sequence:
24, 333333, x, x, 53, 44444444, 82, x, x, 222244444444, x, x,x, 444433333322221
In this sequence we could consider those couples:
24,333333
x,x
53,44444444
82,x
x,...
2
votes
1answer
302 views
A short puzzle especially for social isolation time
Solve the following analogy. ":" means "is to" and "::" means "as".
Text only:
1
vote
0answers
108 views
Complete the following analogical analogy
In an analogy ":" means "is to" and "::" means "as/like".
Now, since this is almost an analogy (maybe a future type), I will accept the solution if it's almost correct.
Kinberg : ‴niɘɈƨnɘƨiƎ‴ :: ?
3
votes
0answers
180 views
6
votes
1answer
156 views
Two related number sequences; 20,12,14,8,7 and 4,1,5,9,11
Can you predict the next numbers in these two sequences, which are strongly related to each other.
20,12,14,8,7
and
4,1,5,9,11
these number sequences do not appear in oeis.org
2
votes
0answers
130 views
Help Kevin come out of this mysterious world!
Kevin is stuck in a mysterious world. Your task is to help him find the correct route to get back to Earth.
He finds the following pieces of paper on the ground.
Kevin collects these notes and ...
13
votes
5answers
349 views
I'm not a Tesla
Here goes:
I won't say Yes 6 months from now
Cast your net, as soon possible
To Kevin Spacey: Who won the sequel?
Play me once but skip the major
I'm not a Tesla. What am I?
Note that the ...
-2
votes
1answer
317 views
You don't know what this means
What name is missing from the second place in the following line?
Rembrandt ? Heinrich
Replace the question mark.
Hint 2
5
votes
1answer
140 views
A Balanced Breakfast
An European mathematician likes to have a balanced breakfast every day.
It always includes whole milk and exactly one ingredient out of the list below:
Butter
Cheese
Yoghurt
What is the ...
10
votes
0answers
381 views
5
votes
1answer
70 views
Find the two numbers not fitting the sequence
This sequence is complete (cannot be extended in any direction), however, two numbers don't fit. Which two?
15 68 53 8 66 6 73 5 57
5
votes
1answer
342 views
A unique rebus+
I'd call this a rebus+ (complexity, visual components, lateral thinking). The answer is a letter.
Short story of the problem:
I was happy, I felt I finally invented something solvable, easy, and ...
14
votes
5answers
1k views
+50
Check my drawing skills!
I was never too good at drawing, but... if this is the case, there is a word associated with this bmp image. Find out which one.
Hint 1:
Hint 2:
Hint 3:
Hint 4:
10
votes
3answers
386 views
Ten squares inside a rectangle
You are given 10 squares with side length of 1 to 10 units each. You want to put them in a rectangle such that there is no overlapping and no piece of a square
is outside the rectange. The sides of ...
9
votes
3answers
258 views
Seventh System Shattered
By Jove! I just dropped my seventh calculator, and now it's telling me that a circle with an area of nothing has radius 3. You know that:
The calculator calculates perfectly well
The calculator's ...
-1
votes
1answer
159 views
A sensitive lent
The number of days from the first day of Lent to the last day, inclusive, may be best described by:
a) XL
b) Xl + VI
12
votes
3answers
323 views
Equal distribution of coins to pirates
Ten pirates are sitting around a table. Each of them has an even number of coins.
At order of the captain, each pirate passes half of his coins to the neighbor to the right. After that round, each ...
8
votes
2answers
362 views
Divisibility when dropping digits
A positive integer has all digits different and none of the digits is 0.
If any digit d is dropped from this number, the new number is divisible by d.
Find the greatest number with this property.
...
19
votes
3answers
3k views
A chess board with numbers
A 8x8 chess board is marked with the numbers from 1 to 64 sequentially from left to right, row by row and top to bottom.
Now a minus sign is added to 32 of those numbers such that in each row and in ...
23
votes
1answer
919 views
Using burning ropes as timer - how to measure 1 hour and 8 minutes with 3 ropes?
This is a variation of a well known puzzle, you can find the other versions on PSE.
You have three ropes and a box with ten matches.
As usual each rope takes one hour to burn completely when lighted ...
5
votes
1answer
266 views
What's the word this cryptic message refers to?
Constantly move more than 1850 needles to renew your life!
1
vote
0answers
100 views
My friend got poisoned but I didn't [duplicate]
Last night I went to a bar with my roommate. We ordered the same drink (Campari spritz of course) and I quickly begin to drink mine.
My friend is much slower than me: when I finished my drink they had ...
17
votes
2answers
2k views
What was this unstoppable vehicle?
I've made a small edit to this puzzle to try to make it slightly more difficult; see the edit history for the original version.
The other day, I was taking a driving lesson. My instructor was sitting ...
4
votes
1answer
381 views
Calculators are bad at Arithmetic
Consider the following fraction:
17/30
Punch this into a calculator and you'll get the following answer:
0.566666666666666666666666666667
However, I disagree. I say the answer is most ...
14
votes
3answers
836 views
Returning with solution in hand
My beginning, as you may see,
has a unit of account.
That it does take first parts for me
is clearly paramount.
My middle, for writing refined,
is a symbol for its correction.
If you look, then you ...
46
votes
14answers
11k views
Almost half a million, yet smaller than a hundred [closed]
Consider, for example, the number 420109. It's quite big, isn't it? Not so far from half a million. Yet it can be made to be smaller than a hundred with a very simple trick, without putting any ...
13
votes
8answers
1k views
My Boss Gave Me A Task
This is an original puzzle. My first. Hope you enjoy it.
Inside my lunchbox
My charge goes every night,
Stored in my cupboard
Until brought back first light.
You see, boss gave me a ...
4
votes
0answers
154 views
We name everything
Hint: We name everything. And then I mean everything. E V E R Y T H I N G. Hard to sum it all up.
Well, have a go at it:
13/59-21/18 11/36/15/19(2)/14 12/1/19/37 17/17(2)/53/36(2)/31/43 32/...
2
votes
6answers
482 views
Why are the tires flat on one side?
I have a long commute, so I spend a lot of time staring at the cars ahead of me. One unusual thing I've observed is that on most cars the left-hand side tires look like they have less air than the ...
30
votes
1answer
3k views
How to get a bowl with one liter of water
You are given a rectangular bowl with size 5 x 30 x 40 cm and you should put exactly one liter of water into the bowl. You go to your kitchen, where you can put the water directly into the bowl from ...
11
votes
3answers
539 views
Sorting marbles based on weightings
You have 50 marbles which look all the same. However, 25 marbles have weight l and the other 25 marbles weight h with l < h.
A person creates two piles and claims he has sorted all 50 marbles by ...
4
votes
0answers
373 views
Zed's E-mail: My Good Ol' Uncle Sugar
My friend Gabby and I constantly look out for each other. Just the other day, she received a strange message from what I thought was an uncle of hers. "Problem is," she started with a worried look, "I ...
4
votes
2answers
530 views
Unusual series of events [closed]
If you are alert, you might clearly see an object in your imagination when you read the sentence:
"It lasted only from CTScan to Face Palm."
What is the object?
3
votes
1answer
273 views
Weren't we supposed to know more of the story by now…?
This happened almost exactly a decade ago, so excuse me if I get some of the details wrong.
I overheard a couple of people talking about somebody I assumed was a mutual acquaintance who had died very ...
7
votes
10answers
3k views
What's the girl's name? [closed]
Here is what happened:
He sailed along 25 reefs, passing 1 chameleon, in order to see her sweet bosoms.
What's her name?
Hint:
Hint 2:
Hint 3:
2
votes
1answer
430 views
An original non-recursive sequence
16, ?, 19, ?, ?, 15, 16, 9, ?, ?, 14, ?, ?, ?, ?, 1
According to my measure, this sequence is more original than that of Fibonacci.
Replace the question marks with the missing numbers.
21
votes
6answers
9k views
What world is this where 6 + 6 = 10?
Upon traveling the world, I found myself in a peculiar place which was called Gauss. The locals there were a peculiar people, as I soon found out. I stopped to grab a bite to eat and learn about the ...
9
votes
3answers
1k views
9
votes
1answer
243 views
A shocking event
When I'm all over the place - give me a yelling
When I need hair washing - give me a frightening
When I need a clutch - give me soft singing
When I need an aromatic - give me a whole county
When I ...
7
votes
0answers
413 views
Zed's Phone: Failure to Communicate
My friend Beto and I constantly buy things for one another. One day, he gave me a strange-looking phone and said it was my birthday gift (My birthday wouldn't be until 3 more months). He said he ...
10
votes
2answers
860 views
A letter sequence with curious repetitions
There was a time when I created some letter series puzzles. This one is an old one. Replace the question marks.
P, Ca, ?, ?, O, Ca, P, Ca, ?, ?, ?, Ca
Hints(1-3): I will reveal three question marks....
2
votes
0answers
255 views
5
votes
1answer
193 views
Body Language, Perhaps?
You should be able to tell what I'm saying by looking at what I'm doing with my hands and combining the expressions on my face. Just be careful to mind your p's and q's (and your i's and j's).
...
8
votes
6answers
2k views
What is the verbal association to the following picture?
My first puzzle of this type. In the following visual design the hidden clues will lead you to the final verbal association. It is only one word.
Hint 1
Hint 2
Hint 3
Hint 4
Hint 5
Hint 6
Hint ...
7
votes
3answers
793 views
What is the missing sequence in this pattern?
I have here a simple binary-like pattern, consisting of crosses (X) and circles (O).
...
0
votes
1answer
200 views
A loyal traitor
Two countries are at war, Albekistan and Uzbania. The leader of the Albekistanian army asks, "Who ___ me?". The Uzbanian army's leader replies, "I ___ you!" She is promptly shot by her own army for ...
7
votes
3answers
1k views
Photographic Companions
What do we all need to breathe which connects the concepts of "photographic equipment" and "companion", based on the etymology of their synonyms?
7
votes
3answers
1k views
A shoe in the safe
A woman travels often, and when she does, she stays in hotels. Every night, before going to bed in a hotel, she takes off her shoes and puts one of the shoes into the hotel safe.
Why?
4
votes
2answers
261 views
Same word on both sides makes it right
Insert same one word on both sides (in place of the ?) of the following to make it correct.
(No inserting any math operators or not equal to, > or < signs)
? (? V(LXVII)) = ? XIII
Explain why.
...
1
vote
7answers
2k views
What kind of help does he need? [closed]
Old newspaper ad:
"Handler of purple cows needed on farm. Leave a message on lj36@dropmail.me or call (31)725-618171421"
What does he need help with?
Hint 1
Hint 2
Hint 3
Hint 4
Hint 5
Hint 6
...
