Lateral Questions and Answers

Lateral Questions and Answers

Here are thirteen lateral questions.  To deduce the answers you need to switch into lateral thinking mode.  Tip: Think like a wizard!

1) Just read out loud what you see!

    Man 
------------
   Board

Answer = See here

2) Apply what you have learned

   Stand
------------
      I

Answer = See here

3) Are you literate and intuitive?

/r/e/a/d/i/n/g/

Answer = See here

4) How are you travelling?

Cycle
Cycle
Cycle

Answer = See here

5) Did you meet another cycle?

     R
  Roads
    a
    d
    s 

Answer = See here

6) Getting colder now?

     0
------------
    M.D.
    Ph.D.

Answer = See here

7) Brighten up!

   Knee
   Light

Answer = See here

8) One to avoid?

                  Ground
-------------------------------------
  feet feet feet feet feet feet

Answer = See here

9) Impossibly difficult - Very lateral question

He's X himself

Answer = See here

10) Check to see if you are developing a chip on your shoulder

ecnalG

Answer = See here

11)  Maybe....

death ..... Life

Answer = See here

12) Don't belittle your performance so far

THINK

Answer = See here

13) Think quickly, classic lateral question

abababababababababababababababababababab..C

Answer = See here

More Lateral Questions with Answers

Friday

A man rode into town on Friday. He stayed for three nights and then left on Friday. How come?

A silly lateral thinking question - but it is surprisingly popular.

Solution

The man's horse was called Friday.

OK, so this is really a schoolboy riddle, but people keep asking it!

The Realization

A man was walking downstairs in a building when he suddenly realized that his wife had just died. How?

Solution

The man had visited his wife in hospital. She was on a life-support machine. As he was walking down the stairs all the lights went out. There had been a power cut and the emergency back-up systems had failed. He knew that she had died.

The Blind Beggar

A blind beggar had a brother who died. What relation was the blind beggar to the brother who died? (Brother is not the answer).

Solution

The blind beggar was the sister of her brother who died.

This puzzle is one of a type that depends on the listener making implicit assumptions about gender - in this case that a blind beggar is a man. Similar puzzles involve surgeons who refuse to operate on their sons etc. This is probably the best of the class because it is very simply stated and yet which has the power to baffle those who have not heard it before.

The Man in the Bar

A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says: 'Thank you', and walks out.

This puzzle has claims to be the best of the genre. It is simple in its statement, absolutely baffling and yet with a completely satisfying solution.  Most people struggle very hard to solve this one yet they like the answer when they hear it or have the satisfaction of figuring it out.

Solution

The man had hiccups. The barman recognized this from his speech and drew the gun in order to give him a shock. It worked and cured the hiccups - so the man no longer needed the water.

The is a simple puzzle to state but a difficult one to solve. It is a perfect example of a seemingly irrational and incongruous situation having a simple and complete explanation. Amazingly this classic puzzle seems to work in different cultures and languages.

Footnote:
Please send us your lateral questions.

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