Questions tagged [situation]
A puzzle that involves figuring out what happened with regard to a certain incident.
186
questions
15
votes
1answer
764 views
The Old Man and the Police Officer
An old man walks into a Police Station.
He asks for help.
A Police Officer on duty asks a short question. The old man is scared
and starts sweating.
The officer grabs that old man from ...
5
votes
0answers
109 views
Zed's Order: Breakfast at Elon's
My friend Elon and I constantly irritate each other. He recently built himself a rather respectable restaurant – a sort of bed-&-breakfast, minus the beds. Last week, he asked if I could ...
1
vote
2answers
164 views
The Mansion Murder
One Monday in early July, Holmes and I were summoned to a mansion about a half an hour’s drive from London. The previous morning, at around eleven o’clock, a shout had been heard in the master bedroom....
0
votes
1answer
183 views
Holmes, Scrambled
Tired of the constant challenges Holmes was setting me, I decided to set him one of my own.
“Here’s a conundrum for you, Holmes. How long a word you can make from your own full name? That is, to say, ...
13
votes
8answers
3k views
How could Larry get his friends on a plane without knowing their weights? [duplicate]
This riddle was inspired when I watched the latest (as of this post) episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm (S10E4), in which Larry is faced with a dilemma that he never really solved. The dilemma is as ...
2
votes
7answers
2k views
Hungry for pistachios [closed]
You are locked in a completely empty room with no tools. You are given a bag with cooked pistachios. Most of the pistachios are fully open, but some are only partially open. You are not able to open ...
5
votes
1answer
140 views
A Tale of Wintry Tragedy
$$\def\T{\text}\scriptsize{\begin{array}
\\\T{`Twas weather chilly in winter's dark} & \T{Absconded with them far away}
\\\T{When brothers five went out to lark} & \T{Made a mistake they could ...
-1
votes
1answer
181 views
The Death Recording
A woman was found dead in her house. She lay slumped on her desk, holding a gun in her hand. A cassette tape recorder was on her table. The police on entering the house saw the cassette recorder and ...
-4
votes
2answers
142 views
The Riddle of Eugene [closed]
Eugene died after a long life of 87 years but on his headstone the
following epitaph was written:
“Eugene lived a good long life - He loved his sons and pretty wife -He
was kind, generous and ...
2
votes
2answers
122 views
The Three-Legged Race
At a festival, you and your friends (Jacky, Chris, Martha) are competing in a
Three-Legged Race. The race starts with 2 people at a time with ankles tied
together navigating a track. At the end of the ...
2
votes
5answers
289 views
The Angry Astrologist [closed]
The angry astrologist has locked you up in a series of a room. With your
superior thinking abilities, you escape them one by one, until you reach
the final room.
There’s a locked door with an ...
-1
votes
3answers
146 views
Three different Jobs!
Three people named Mary, Alice, and Steve. All have different jobs as either a nurse, an elementary school teacher, or a police officer. If Mary is afraid of blood, neither she nor Steve likes kids.
...
10
votes
4answers
3k views
Lost Time at Motel?
Jack is a truck driver from Springfield, Illinois. On one of his trips to Louisville, Kentucky, something bizarre happened. He left Springfield at 8:00 PM and arrived at Louisville 4 hours later. Then ...
8
votes
14answers
3k views
How did everyone fit in the Car? [closed]
John and his wife own a car that fits a maximum of 5 people. He drives Molly to work every day. On his way, he drops his three kids off at school, and his mom at the mall.
How did everyone fit in ...
1
vote
6answers
2k views
Driverless car Puzzle
2 self driving vehicles are being tested. Both vehicles are exactly the same. Both are fitted with a camera on the
Dashboard, although in car A it is a slightly older model and is 1 kg heavier than in ...
1
vote
3answers
110 views
How do I find the least number of times a shuttle can travel from one place to another?
I often see this situation in exams and I'd like to know if there is any kind of algorithm or shortcut that I can use to solve this riddle instead of just guessing or trying to play Where's wally with ...
8
votes
7answers
2k views
Ball-passing game with a surprise ending
You are organizing the following game:
Requirements:
Participants: About 15 players. You are Player 1, and the other 14 players have (preferably) no prior knowledge of the game.
...
9
votes
2answers
353 views
The Strange Abductor
Someone, or something, has been abducting members of your community! Though no deaths are reported, recovered victims are said to have suffered from a severe, albeit temporary, case of what could best ...
22
votes
1answer
1k views
The case of the pranking snowplow
It’s circa 1990, and there is a big snowfall in Some City, USA. The mayor has left his car parked in a public parking lot, and the next morning, he discovers that the lot has been plowed, but the ...
9
votes
2answers
445 views
Two men on a road
Two men are on the side of a long, straight road that runs east to west, waiting for a tow truck. They stand facing opposite directions, one east, one west, in order to scan the road.
"Stop making ...
3
votes
1answer
265 views
A balloon and a vacuum
You have a metal water bottle entirely filled with a vacuum and you have a rubber party balloon (lets make it red). How can you use only the bottle to inflate the balloon with the air surrounding you. ...
31
votes
4answers
6k views
Half filled water bottle
If you are given a marker and a transparent water bottle partially filled with water, can you tell if the bottle is half filled or not?
0
votes
8answers
737 views
How could an angel have written an essay about today's weather that's perfect, but they also could've done better? [closed]
Here is a short puzzle story that I created. People on other forums seem to not understand it for some reason, but everyone I spoke to in real life understood it. But no one I knew so far got it right ...
17
votes
15answers
4k views
Sun setting in East! [closed]
It was a bright and sunny day during April- May(can say, peak of summer) in a country in the northern hemisphere, near to the equator.
I was wandering(on foot) through this country's vast and open ...
16
votes
6answers
4k views
Which household object drew this pattern?
In my home is a common household object. I securely attached a marking pen to some point on the household object, and I placed a sheet of graph paper next to the pen, so the paper would not move. I ...
5
votes
7answers
886 views
Natural Pattern [closed]
Once, while I was traveling on a vehicle in the Caribbean, I watched a pattern form over the course of about 30 minutes. The rendering below is an approximation of that pattern from memory. The gray ...
3
votes
5answers
537 views
Get to the guest chair without turning your back on the host or the audience [closed]
On many TV talk shows, the guest enters the stage from the right side (from the audience’s perspective), walks past the front of the host’s desk, then turns around just before sitting in the guest ...
17
votes
11answers
5k views
No Shirt, No Shoes, Service [closed]
I was walking outside on a hot summer day, when I suddenly got hungry and walked to a restaurant to eat. I tried to go in, but I was rebuffed at the door. The server pointed to a sign outside that ...
4
votes
3answers
407 views
Tricky Tropical Water Temperatures
Herman lives in a house on the Caribbean island of Kinja, where the weather is warm all year. Let’s assume all Kinjan houses are of similar construction, and no houses have a water heating system. ...
15
votes
11answers
3k views
Three Subway Escalators
This is not my puzzle, and I don't remember the source, but I don't see it posted here yet, so...
Update: After reading some of the alternative answers, I realize this puzzle would be better with an ...
2
votes
7answers
327 views
Mysterious loss revamped
This is a revamped version of my puzzle
Mysterious loss of weight
. I plan to make a series of puzzles on mysterious loss of ... say a number.
A man went into a black room full of white papers lying ...
0
votes
6answers
427 views
How did the prisoner escape from the police car?
The police handcuff a prisoner, place him in the back seat of a four-door sedan police car, and close all the doors. The controls in the back seat are disabled so the prisoner cannot use the inside ...
42
votes
5answers
7k views
How did the hit man miss?
Harry the hit man is hired to whack Vic the victim. Vic lives in the apartment complex illustrated below, and Vic parks overnight in the circled parking spot, and always leaves for work around 8am. At ...
5
votes
2answers
150 views
Through the Looking-Glass
Two friends are discussing concepts for a new fantasy story:
A: There exists a magical mirror that leads to a mirrored universe. In this universe, people drive on the left side of the road, and you ...
4
votes
1answer
380 views
Lying under arrest
I'm in a custody, under arrest, no contact with the outside world.
I do not know if in that jurisdiction authorities are allowed to lie.
Some real-world knowledge suggest lying by authorities is ...
0
votes
17answers
5k views
I’ve officially counted to infinity! [closed]
Sarah called me today and explained that she had counted to infinity. I shrugged and said it was impossible. She said that since I didn’t believe her, she would do it again, and this time in only ten ...
18
votes
9answers
1k views
One-one communication
5 people are standing in a circle - person A needs to tell his salary to person B, but none of the others should know A's salary.
How is this possible, if every person only whispers to the person on ...
8
votes
1answer
450 views
A case of the sniffles
The cubicle farm at the Colla-R water treatment plant is laid out in a neat square: eight rows of eight cubicles with a narrow corridor between each cubicle (in the diagram the thin black lines are ...
5
votes
2answers
313 views
Why is my question off-topic? [dupIicate] [closed]
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀I have an old puzzle I half-remember.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀It was a great puzzle, and I remember the solution.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀I could not for the life of me remember how the solution worked.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀I must have been ...
0
votes
2answers
389 views
The weather forecast
Justin was watching a radio. Just after the midnight news there was a weather forecast: "It is raining now and will rain for the next two days. However, in 72 hours it will be bright and sunny."
"...
1
vote
5answers
318 views
How does the boy retrieve his ball?
A boy was playing with his bouncy ball in the forest, far from home and with no one around. Suddenly and without warning, his bouncy ball fell into a cement hole, about 1 foot down, and too tight for ...
1
vote
2answers
197 views
What relation is she to Bill?
Bill asked his brother’s wife’s mother-in-law’s only husband’s only daughter to join him and his wife for dinner. What relation is she to Bill?
22
votes
11answers
8k views
Why do I always catch Bus B instead of Bus A?
Each day, I will catch either Bus A or Bus B on my journey home from work. Both take the same route, run every ten minutes, and take the same time to reach my destination. Neither is busier, cheaper ...
16
votes
12answers
2k views
A man is trapped in a cage and wants to escape but doesn't, even when given the keys. Why? [closed]
Note: I have invented this puzzle myself as far as I know. I'm certainly not aware of having read it anywhere else. I have no idea whether it will be hard or easy.
A man is imprisoned in a strong ...
0
votes
3answers
189 views
What was in the dead person's bag? [duplicate]
There are two people—they went to the city, and one of them died. The dead person's bag is closed and the living person's bag is open.
What was in the dead person's bag?
-3
votes
4answers
159 views
A Strange Way to Purchase [closed]
A person asks for an item or service, and is told that if they want 2, it'll be free and it would be much faster. The person did not have any medical disorder, nor were they asking for a task to be ...
-1
votes
1answer
139 views
Wait just a minute [duplicate]
A man goes into a room and sits down.
Suddenly his weight increases, then eventually resumes back to normal.
After several hours - suddenly his weight decreases, then eventually resumes back to ...
6
votes
14answers
527 views
Mysterious Trams
I ride a tram six stops to work. I don't worry about the time or check a clock: I just go to work when I'm ready to go, and go home when I'm done for the day. Never at set times.
Each tram line ...
14
votes
4answers
2k views
All hail the Victor
Victor Vauxhall set off in his Vauxhall Victor to drive from Vauxhall to Victoria in London. He drove at a constant velocity of 30mph. There was no other traffic on the roads at that time, however ...
-4
votes
7answers
673 views
Stranded on a deserted Island
Mary Jane is stranded on a deserted island in the middle of a huge and deep lake. She cannot swim and all she has is two strings, each one one foot long. All of the boats she would be able to use are ...
