Lateral Thinking: riddles for every age, with answers

#215 Ages 18+

A man is found dead in an open field, holding an unopened package. There are no other footprints anywhere nearby, and he clearly died from a fall — but there's no cliff, building, or ledge anywhere around. How did he die?

#216 Ages 18+

A woman gives birth to two sons, born in the same hour of the same day of the same year, to the same two biological parents — yet they are not twins. How is that possible?

#217 Ages 18+

You're on a game show facing three closed doors: a car behind one, goats behind the other two. You pick door #1. The host, who knows what's behind every door, opens door #3 to reveal a goat, then offers you the choice to switch to door #2 or stay with door #1. To maximize your odds of winning the car, what should you do, and what are your odds?

#218 Ages 18+

A woman living in a small town has legally married ten different men from that same town. None of them died, none of them divorced her, and she broke no law. How is that possible?

#219 Ages 18+

A man is walking the wrong way down a one-way street, and passes at least ten police officers along the way. None of them stop him or say a word. Why not?

#220 Ages 18+

A man drinks a glass of punch at a party and leaves early. Later that night, everyone else who drank the punch becomes seriously ill. He's completely fine. Why didn't he get sick too?

#221 Ages 18+

A woman claims she can predict the exact final score of any football (soccer) match before it even kicks off, every single time, without fail. How is this possible?

#222 Ages 18+

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

#223 Ages 18+

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 Ages 18+

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 Ages 18+

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?

#226 Ages 18+

A window cleaner falls from a window on the thirtieth floor of an office tower and walks away without a scratch. There was no net, no awning, and nothing broke his fall. How?

#227 Ages 18+

A dying king tells his two sons that whichever son's camel reaches the distant city LAST will inherit the kingdom. The brothers wander the desert for weeks, each refusing to get ahead of the other. Finally a passing sage whispers two words, and both leap into the saddle and gallop off at full speed. What did the sage say?

#228 Ages 18+

Manhole covers are round almost everywhere in the world. There is one practical reason squares, rectangles, and triangles all fail on. What is it?

#159 Ages 12–15

A man lives on the 12th floor of an apartment building. Every morning he takes the elevator all the way down to the ground floor. Every evening, he rides the elevator back up to only the 7th floor and walks the rest of the way — except on rainy days, when he rides it all the way to the 12th floor. Why?

#160 Ages 12–15

A woman 'shoots' her husband, then holds him underwater for five minutes, and finally hangs him up. Five minutes later, the two of them sit down and enjoy a lovely dinner together. How is this possible?

#161 Ages 12–15

A man is found dead in a locked room with no windows. The only things in the room are a puddle of water and a rope hanging from the ceiling. How did he die?

#162 Ages 12–15

Two men play five games of checkers. Each man wins the same number of games, and there are no ties. How is this possible?

#163 Ages 12–15

A boy is rushed to the hospital emergency room. The ER doctor looks at him and says, 'I can't operate on him — he's my son!' But the doctor is not the boy's father. How is this possible?

#164 Ages 12–15

How can a man go eight full days without sleep?

#165 Ages 12–15

You're in a room with no doors and no windows. All you have is a mirror and a table. How do you get out?

#166 Ages 12–15

A cowboy rides into town on Friday, stays for three days, and rides back out on Friday. How is that possible?

#167 Ages 12–15

A woman sits alone in a pitch-dark room — no lamp, no candle, no phone, no screen of any kind — and reads a whole book from cover to cover. How?

#168 Ages 12–15

A night watchman tells his boss he dreamed the boss's morning flight would crash. The boss cancels his ticket, the plane really does go down — and the boss fires the watchman anyway. Why?

#169 Ages 12–15

A man walks into his living room and finds Bubbles and Splash lying dead on the carpet, surrounded by broken glass and a spreading puddle of water. Nobody else has been in the house all day. What happened?

#170 Ages 12–15

In the middle of an empty field, a carrot, two lumps of coal, and an old scarf lie together on the wet grass. Nobody put them there and nobody dropped them. How did they get there?

#171 Ages 12–15

A shopkeeper sells 1 for one dollar, 25 for two dollars, and 300 for three dollars. Every customer knows exactly what they are buying, and nobody finds the pricing strange. What is she selling?

#172 Ages 12–15

Whoever makes me has no use for me. Whoever buys me is not buying me for themselves. Whoever ends up using me never knows it. What am I?

#95 Ages 10–12

Two fathers and two sons go fishing together. Each of them catches exactly one fish, but they only bring home 3 fish in total. How is that possible?

#96 Ages 10–12

You have two ropes and a lighter. Each rope takes exactly 60 minutes to burn all the way through, but they burn unevenly — some parts fast, some parts slow. How can you measure exactly 45 minutes?

#97 Ages 10–12

A man is looking at a photograph and says: "I have no brothers and no sisters, but this man's father is my father's son." Whose photo is he looking at?

#98 Ages 10–12

A red house is built from red bricks. A blue house is built from blue bricks. A pink house is built from pink bricks. What is a greenhouse built from?

#99 Ages 10–12

You're standing inside a one-story house where absolutely everything is pink — the walls, the furniture, even the curtains. What color are the stairs?

#100 Ages 10–12

A man is pushing his car when he stops at a hotel — and suddenly realizes he's bankrupt. What's going on?

#101 Ages 10–12

A girl says she is 10 years old, but she has only celebrated 2 birthdays. How is that possible?

#102 Ages 10–12

What can you hold in your left hand any day of the week, but can never actually hold using your right hand itself?

#103 Ages 10–12

Which is heavier: a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?

#104 Ages 10–12

A thirsty man walks into a bar and asks the bartender for a glass of water. Instead, the bartender reaches under the counter, pulls out a gun, and points it right at him. The man smiles, says 'thank you,' and calmly walks out without ever getting his water. What just happened?

#105 Ages 10–12

A man leaves his house, walks in a straight line, then turns left. He walks the same distance again and turns left a second time. He walks the same distance a third time, turns left once more, and ends up back at his own house — where two people wearing masks are waiting for him. He isn't in any danger. What's going on?

#106 Ages 10–12

"I was born in 1955 and I died in 1935, at the age of 25." How can that sentence be true?

#107 Ages 10–12

A boy stood outside in a heavy rainstorm for a whole hour with no umbrella, no hat, and no hood — yet not one hair on his head got wet. How is that possible?

#108 Ages 10–12

A man stands on one bank of a wide river and calls his dog, who is standing on the opposite bank. The dog runs straight across to him without getting wet, without swimming, and without using a bridge or a boat. How?

#109 Ages 10–12

Mary's mother has four children. Three of them are named April, May, and June. What is the fourth child's name?

#110 Ages 10–12

A woman has three daughters, and each of her daughters has exactly one brother. How many children does the woman have in total?

#111 Ages 10–12

You have two coins that add up to 30 cents in total, and one of them is not a nickel. What are the two coins?

#112 Ages 10–12

A rope ladder hangs over the side of a boat floating in the ocean, with 6 rungs showing above the waterline. Each rung is 20 cm apart, and the tide is rising at 20 cm per hour. After 3 hours, how many rungs are still showing above the water?