Questions tagged [situation]
A puzzle that involves figuring out what happened with regard to a certain incident.
164
questions
5
votes
1answer
199 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
430 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
244 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. ...
30
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
712 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
873 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
527 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
397 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
322 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
380 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 ...
39
votes
4answers
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
134 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
370 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
445 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
305 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
382 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
299 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
193 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?
21
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
1k 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
178 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
152 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 ...
6
votes
14answers
518 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 ...
-5
votes
7answers
591 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
238 views
Who is this contact?
When I'm on Whatsapp, there is this one contact that is always online when I'm checking status of contacts. However, a friend of mine has this exact same contact and on his phone the contact doesn't ...
18
votes
3answers
651 views
Another Sensational Crime Fiction?
William Herschel III, heir to the Herschel Paper Company, is dead. His body was found in fishing gear, discovered near the family estate's lake by his Labrador. Police immediately suspected foul play. ...
8
votes
1answer
354 views
A Bunch of Rocks
An entry in Fortnightly Topic Challenge #35: Restricted Title 1.
"Mind passing me the salt & pepper please Rick?" Jean leaned on the table asking the man in black suit sitting opposite her.
"I ...
57
votes
1answer
3k views
The Evicted Tenant
Today, I started my job as a package delivery man. As chances have it, one of the delivery addresses was right on my apartment floor! However, the handwriting was so bad I couldn't even make out the ...
11
votes
5answers
1k views
A Pleasant Story
A woman walked into a room in the state of Maryland. She discovered that bits and pieces of her dead mother were packed in a freezer inside that room. After regaining her composure, she was notified ...
18
votes
9answers
8k views
That's What SHE Said!
An entry in Fortnightly Topic Challenge #35: Restricted Title 1.
Bob and Alice were talking about their friend Jenny. Alice was asking Bob why...
Jenny bought an item for 6 dollars, then she ...
4
votes
3answers
467 views
The Magical Prison Riddle
(I made up this riddle myself, hope you enjoy it)
A criminal was using magic to flatten a building, while everyone, except 2 people, ran away being super scared. The police of magic came, and with ...
-4
votes
1answer
228 views
What did the Wise Man Say? [duplicate]
An Arab sheik is old and must will his fortune to one of his two sons. He makes a proposition. His two sons will ride their camels in a race, and whichever camel crosses the finish line LAST will win ...
-3
votes
10answers
534 views
Why you can't buy fish on hot days? [closed]
My personal situation during my first summer job:
I loved the fish sold by an old man in his little wooden booth, but when the weather was sunny and hot like hell, you were not able to buy the fish....
5
votes
3answers
518 views
Espionage at the Chinese Restaurant
The Republic of Lateralia had been beset on all sides by hostile nation-states, each of which were eager to diminish the Republic's sovereignty. Lateralia's behemoth of an economy was an object of ...
0
votes
2answers
331 views
A man was found on the grassland [closed]
A man bought a package. On the next day, his body was found on a grassland. The package was unopened. He was dead.
What happened'?
Hint: He did not need to consume anything (or anything inside the ...
4
votes
13answers
2k views
How can the baby live? [closed]
One day, while in a twenty-story building, Mary was holding her 2 month old baby. As Mary was playing with the baby, she accidentally dropped it out the window. The baby, though, survived. How?
(The ...
19
votes
3answers
5k views
Why the 7 Apples?
A doctor and a bus driver are both in love with the same woman, a girl named Sarah. The bus driver had to go on a long bus trip that would last a week. Before he left, he gave Sarah seven apples. Why?
2
votes
5answers
1k views
The car, the cliff, and the detective
A car is speeding down a winding road through the Rocky Mountains. It strikes the guardrail, throwing the driver out of the vehicle. The car tumbles hundreds of feet down the cliff side.
The police ...
-7
votes
5answers
268 views
cowboy rodeo riddle [closed]
First, the cowboy went to the rodeo on Monday.
Three days later, he went back home on Friday.
Can you solve it?
-4
votes
2answers
254 views
Death in the Dungeon [closed]
You are located in a dark dungeon that has only one hole to the outside, so that air can be let in so you won’t die from suffocation.
This suits you just fine, as you were a former secret agent and ...
-6
votes
4answers
222 views
You are in a box [closed]
Imagine that you are in a box.
There are no windows, doors or exits of any kind.
You have no tools of any sort.
How do you get out?
-2
votes
2answers
198 views
Marching Puzzle [duplicate]
Here is another puzzle:
The year is 1895 and subaltern Henry Faversham, of the British army, is being interviewed by Maude Muckraker for the Independent London Times. It looks as if Maude is having ...
