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Lateral Thinking · Ages 18+

Riddle #222

What can go up a chimney down, but cannot go down a chimney up?

You solved this one before

Open-ended riddle: think it through, then reveal the answer.

Answer: An umbrella

A closed ("down") umbrella fits up a chimney; an open ("up") one does not fit down a chimney.

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More Lateral Thinking riddles for Ages 18+

#223 A warship's captain radios a light dead ahead on a collision course and orders it to alter course 15 degrees north. Back comes: 'Alter YOUR course 15 degrees south.' Furious, the captain radios that he commands the largest ship in the fleet and demands they give way. The reply: 'I am a lighthouse.' Who moves?
#224 A man born in Portugal, who has lived there his entire life, cannot legally be buried anywhere in Spain — whatever his will says, and however much his family is willing to pay. Why not?
#225 A man needs to cross a long bridge into the next country. A guard steps out of his hut every five minutes to check the bridge, and orders anyone he sees back the way they came. The crossing takes eight minutes on foot, and there is no other route. How does he get across?

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