Lateral Thinking Puzzles

Use lateral thinking:

Today it is undeniably recognized that lateral thinking is a force

important and necessary for change. It is a skill that can enable us
solving problems at home or at work. It may be the only way to overcome the
apparently unsolvable problems of our society.
Lateral thinking is not a privileged or particularly complex skill, but rather
what is a latent power that we all possess. It can be developed through
training, requiring only a change in mental attitude and an open approach to the
problem solving.

What is lateral thinking?

The term lateral thinking was conceived by Edward de Bono to describe a

Type of thinking different from conventional or logical thinking. In thinking
conventional (or vertical), we move along familiar lines using
experiences and assumptions that stem from similar situations. We rely on the
logic and the assumptions we used before. We used a logical approach and
rational.
However, sometimes this process stops being useful for us. We are faced with limits that
we can only overcome by putting aside our basic assumptions and focusing on
problem from a completely new angle, for example, through the
lateral thinking.
Lateral thinking problems are often strange situations that
They require an explanation. They are resolved through a dialogue between the one who knows the
solution and he, or those who intend to imagine the answer. These enigmas
they generally do not contain enough information, which makes the solution difficult. The
The key to the process is to ask questions. Questions can only receive three.
posibles respuestas: si, no o irrelevante.

Smart Riddles:
1. EARRING IN THE COFFEE. This morning I dropped an earring in the coffee.
café. And although the cup was full, the earring didn't get wet. And why is that?
2. FORGETTING THE DRIVER'S LICENSE. A lady forgot it in
house the driver's license. Did not stop at a level crossing,
he ignored a no entry sign and traveled three blocks in
opposite direction down a one-way street. All of this was
observed by a traffic agent, who, however, did not take action
the slightest attempt to prevent him. Why?
3. THREE KINGS' GIFT. Carlos and Daniel started the year with only 1,000.
pesetas each. They neither borrowed nor stole anything. On the day of
Kings of that same year had over a thousand million pesetas among
the two. How did they do it?
4. TWO CANS OF WATER. We have two cans full of water and a large
empty container. Is there any way to put all the water inside?
from the large container in such a way that it can later be distinguished that
water came out of each can?
5. SAVING ONESELF FROM THE BURNING. Let's place ourselves on a small island of
abundant vegetation, which is surrounded by sharks. If one side
 the island starts to burn, and the wind is in favor of the fire, how
What will we do to save ourselves from that hell?
6. CANINE INGENUITY. A dog is tied by the neck to a 2-meter rope.
meters long. How will a tasty bone be reached
4 meters away from him?
7. WALKING ON WATER. The Reverend Horacio Buenaspalabras
he announced that on a certain day, at a certain hour, he would perform a great miracle:
for twenty minutes I would walk on the surface of the Hudson River
without sinking into its waters. A large crowd gathered to
witness the feat. The Reverend Goodwords performed
exactly what he claimed he would do. How could he manage it?
8. A FORTUNE TELLER IN FOOTBALL. Uria Fuller, famous for his feats
psychic, is able to predict the score of a football match before
let the meeting begin. So far it has never failed. Will it be
Is it possible to always be right?
9. THE TUNNEL AND THE TRAINS. On a railway line, the track has
double track except in a tunnel, which is not wide enough to
accommodate both. Therefore, in the tunnel, the line is single track. A
In the evening, a train entered the tunnel heading in one direction, and another train
he entered the same tunnel, but in the opposite direction. Both were going at full speed
speed; and yet they did not collide. Explain it.
10. THE ESCAPED PRISONER. An escaped prisoner was walking along a road.
comarcal when he saw a police car approaching quickly.
Although the fugitive's intention was to escape into the woods, they started to run.
10 meters in the direction of the approaching vehicle. Did he do this to
to show disdain for law enforcement, or may have had another reason
more powerful?
11. THE TRUTHFUL SELLER. "This little parrot is capable of repeating everything that
"Listen," assured the owner of the bird store to the lady. But a
A week later, the lady who bought it was back in the
store, protesting because the parrot didn't say a single word. And without
embargo, the seller had not lied. Can you explain it?
[Link] BOTTLE AND THE CORK. A bottle of wine, corked with a
the cork is half full. What can we do to drink it
wine without removing the cork or breaking the bottle?
13. THE PARKED CAR. On a straight road, a car
parked facing west. You get in and start driving.
After walking for a while, he discovers that he is 1 km to the east.
from the starting point. How can it be?
14. IN THE MOUNTAIN SHELTER. Upon entering one night of much
wind in a mountain shelter, you find that you have a
A single match and there, on the table, a candle, and in the fireplace a torch.
What would you light first?
15. BATH BY IMMERSION. You decide all of a sudden to take a bath by
immersion. Since he is not at home, but in a hotel in a country.
foreigner, does not know for sure which of the bathtub faucets is
the hot water one, is it the one on the right or the one on the left? How
You can do to be sure not to open the cold before the
hot?
16.A BED STORY. Due to work matters, Mr. Barrunto
traveled abroad and returned two months later. Upon entering his house
he found his wife sharing the bed with a stranger.
Mr. Barrunto was very happy. How is it explained?
 17. THE TAXI DRIVER WAS VERY SHARP. A lady has had the rare fortune of
find a free taxi. But on the way, the lady turned out to be so talkative,
that the taxi driver almost lost his patience.
Taxi driver: I'm very sorry ma'am, but I can't hear anything you say.
I am as deaf as a wall and my hearing aid is broken.
Upon finding out, the passenger cut off the chatter. But as soon as she got out of the taxi.
he realized that the taxi driver had not told the truth. How could he
realize?
18. INTERRUPTED GAME OF TUTE. Having given approximately
half of the cards, the person who dealt in a game of tute
he had to go answer the phone. When he returned, no one remembered who
received letter for the last time. Without knowing the number of letters of
none of the partially dealt hands, nor the number of the
what is still left to distribute, how will the distribution be continued,
so that each player receives exactly the same cards
that would have corresponded to them if it had not occurred
interruption?
19. MURDER IN SIERRA NEVADA. When Carlos arrived in Marbella, the
the headlines of the newspapers were dedicated to one of the playboys
locales. His wife and he had been skiing in Sierra Nevada. The
woman had died as a result of an accident in the mountain. And
the only one who saw her plunge over a cliff was her famous
husband. But an employee of a travel agency in Marbella
he called the police. The playboy was arrested as a suspect of
murder. The journalists were very surprised by their
Statements. Employee: "I don't know that man or his wife.
And I had no suspicion until I found out about the accident.
Who then called the police?
20. KNOWING THE CONSTITUTION. By having a democratic regime, the
the first civic duty of Spaniards is to know the Constitution and its
correct interpretation. Do you know it? Article 157, which talks about
the resources of the Autonomous Communities, establishes in its
section d), which will become part of those resources
income from your assets and income from rights
"private". Can a person living in Barcelona be buried?
in Madrid without special permission from the Administration of the
Government?
21. BIPEDALS AND QUADRUPEDS. A circus has some animals
wild animals that together have 11 heads and 20 legs. It is known that
There are double the number of quadrupeds than bipeds. What type of
What wild animals are there in the circus?
[Link] THE POOL: To fill a pool with water, there are three
pump. The first pump takes 30 hours to fill it, the second
the first takes 40 hours and the third takes five days. If all three dispensers
They connect together, how long will it take for the pool to fill up?
23. MARÍA AND JUAN: María has a brother named Juan. Juan has
as many brothers as sisters. Maria has twice as many brothers.
What about sisters? How many boys and girls are in the family?
Quick Riddles:
1. SAND IN THE HOLE. How much sand is there in a hole of 30x30x30?
subways?
2. BOIL AN EGG. How much time is needed to boil an egg?
hard?
3. THEY DO NOT STUDY. Why do students study little in spring?
 4. NAME OF THE ELEVATOR. What is an elevator called in France?
5. AROUND THE BLOCK. What goes around the block?
without moving?
6. BEFORE GETTING MARRIED. What do men do before getting married?
7. WEIGHING JUGS. A full jug, what does it weigh less than?
8. THROUGH THE MAGNIFYING GLASS. What will be the measure of an angle of 10 if it
Do we observe through a 5x magnifying glass?
9. IT HAPPENS IN THE JUNGLE. What happens in the Amazon jungle every
days (including holidays) from 7 to 8 in the evening?
10. OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM: On the Moon it is the first and the second on Pluto.
on Earth it is not found and it is the last in the Sun.
Mathematical Riddles:
FIVE POTATOES AND SIX CHILDREN. A mother has 6 children and 5 potatoes.
How can you distribute the potatoes evenly among the 6 children?
(Fractions are not valid).
2. BALLS IN BOXES. How can we place 9 balls in 4 boxes of
so that each one has an odd number of balls and different from the others.
each of the other three?
3. ODD NUMBERS. Is it possible to sum using five odd numbers?
20?
4. 10 and 11 COINS IN THREE CUPS. When placing 11 coins in three
vases, in such a way that each vase contains an odd number of
coins; we can achieve it in many ways. For example,
putting 7 coins in one glass, 3 in another, and 1 in the last.
embargo, would you know how to distribute 10 coins among these same three?
vases, so that there remains an odd number of coins in
Each glass? The matter is feasible, but you will have to come up with one.
trick to achieve it.
5. THE INHERITANCE OF 17 CAMELS. An Arab left upon his death to his three
children an inheritance of 17 beautiful camels, specifying that
they were to distribute it in the following way: to the eldest half of the
camels, to the medium one a third part, and to the smallest one a ninth part. The
young heirs were desperate, as they were evidently not
they could distribute the 17 camels in this way without the collaboration of
butcher. They finally sought the advice of an old and wise man.
friend who promised his help. The next day he showed up at the
a square carrying a camel of his own. He got it at 17 and said to
the brothers who could now proceed with the distribution. The eldest took the
half of 18, that is 9, the median a third of 18, that is 6; and
the little one a ninth of the 18, that is 2. When they had already
having taken the first 17 camels, the old man took his and
It worked. What's the trick?

6. INHERITANCE OF 39 COWS. A father divided among his four sons 39

cows. I wanted to leave half of the cows to the first one, to the second
fourth part, to the third the eighth part and to the fourth the tenth part. Not
he knew how to do it until a neighbor lent him another cow; with
40 cows could give to the first 20, to the second 10, to the third 5 and to the
room 4, and returned the cow to the neighbor. Did he do well? Could you explain?
What is happening?
7. SUM OF THREE EQUAL DIGITS. A sum with three equal digits gives
As a result, 60. The numbers are not 20. What will they be?
numbers?
 8. WITH JUST ONE STRIPE. Add just one short, straight stripe to
the two numbers 10 so that the result is 9.50. 10 10. (In 10
seconds).
9. ALPHABETICAL PRODUCT. Calculate the value of the following product:
0
10. THE CUBES AND THE SUGAR. There are three cups of coffee and fourteen
sugar lumps. How to sweeten the three cups using a
odd number of lumps in each one?

Smart Riddle Solutions:

1. PENDING IN THE COFFEE. The erroneous presumption is that coffee means 'coffee'
liquid." But if the slope fell into a cup of coffee in grain, or in powder,
It's no miracle that it remained dry.
2. FORGETTING THE DRIVER'S LICENSE. The lady was on foot, not in a car.
3. Epiphany Gift. Carlos and Daniel went that day of Epiphany to the Bank of
Spain. Carlos got into position
in front, while Daniel turned around positioning himself behind the bench.
4. TWO CANS WITH WATER. Freeze the contents of both cans, and place in
the large container the two pieces of ice.
5. SAVING ONESELF FROM THE BURNING. We set fire in the middle of the island, of
so that when the flames from the initial fire arrive they don't have
vegetation to burn.
6. CANINE INGENUITY. You must head towards the bone as soon as possible, since
there is a lot of competition.
7. WALKING ON WATER. The Hudson River was frozen when the
Reverend Buenaspalabras walked over his waters.
8. FORTUNE TELLER IN SOCCER. Before starting a soccer match, the score
it is always 0 to 0.
9. THE TUNNEL AND THE TRAINS. A train passed through the tunnel an hour later than
the other.
10. THE ESCAPED PRISONER. The fugitive was near the entrance of a long
bridge. He had to run towards the police car that was looking for him to
to be able to get off the bridge before the car reached him.
11. THE TRUTHFUL SELLER. The parrot was deaf.
12. THE BOTTLE AND THE CORK. Sink the cork into the bottle.
13. THE PARKED CAR. The car went in reverse.
14. IN THE MOUNTAIN SHELTER. The match, no doubt.
15. BATH BY IMMERSION. Opening both at the same time.
16. A BEDTIME STORY. The stranger was a baby who had been born
during the absence of
Barrunto.
17. THE TAXI DRIVER WAS VERY CLEVER. If he has not been able to solve the problem
At first glance, try to put yourself in the woman's shoes, reconstructing
mentally all the series of events. What is the first thing we would do when
take a taxi? Of course, tell the driver our destination. But if the
If the taxi driver were deaf, how could he know where we want to go? The lady,
As soon as he paid for the ride, he realized that the taxi driver couldn't be.
deaf, because he knew how to lead her to the address she gave him.
18. INTERRUPTED TUTE GAME. The person dealing gives themselves to
put the last card of the deck face up and then proceed with the distribution giving
from the bottom counterclockwise.
19. MURDER IN SIERRA NEVADA. Because the man had commissioned him.
round trip ticket to Sierra Nevada for him, but only one way for his
woman.
20. KNOW THE CONSTITUTION. If you are living in Barcelona, you cannot
to be buried in Madrid neither with permission nor without permission. It is not customary.
bury the living.
21: FILLING THE POOL: 15 hours.
22. Maria and Juan Four boys and three girls.
Quick Riddle Solutions:
SAND IN THE HOLE. Nothing, it's just a hole!
2. BOILING AN EGG. Nothing, if it is a hard-boiled egg it is already cooked.
3. THEY DO NOT STUDY. Because they study little throughout the year.
4. ELEVATOR NAME. Pressing the call button.
5. AROUND THE BLOCK. The sidewalk.
6. BEFORE MARRIAGE. Whatever they want. After getting married it is
different.
7. WEIGHING JUGS. Of holes.
8. THROUGH THE MAGNIFYING GLASS. 10.
9. IT HAPPENS IN THE JUNGLE. One hour.
Solutions to Mathematical Puzzles:

FIVE POTATOES AND SIX CHILDREN. In mashed form, of course. This solution
it is valid regardless of the number of children and the number of potatoes. In
a competition held at the Fray Luis de León Institute of
Salamanca, one of the students (Moisés González Sánchez) gave a
very original solution, which we accept in this specific case,
would not be valid in others. The solution she provided was the following:
the 6 children line up and the potatoes are placed between them: N p
N p N p N p N p N.
2. BALLS IN BOXES. Three small boxes containing 1, 3, and 5 balls.
respectively are found inside a larger box that contains them
to all (9).
3. ODD NUMBERS. Yes. 1 + 1 + 5 + 13 = 20.
4. 10 and 11 COINS IN THREE CUPS. Put 7 in one cup, 2 in another and,
1, in the last one, but put the glass containing 1 inside the glass
What contains 2. There are a total of 15 solutions. Do you dare to
find them? The others: 1-0-9, 1-2-7, 1-4-5, 1-6-3, 1-8-1, 3-0-7, 3-2-
5, 3-4-3, 3-6-1, 5-0-5, 5-2-3, 5-4-1, 7-0-3, 9-0-1. (The third glass is
get inside the second).
5. THE INHERITANCE OF 17 CAMELS. It is contained in the stipulations.
of the father, who either was not doing very well in Arithmetic or wanted to give his
children something to think about; it turns out that the sum of the fractions
1/2, 1/3, and 1/9 do not result in one, as it was supposed to happen.
if you want nothing to be left over, but it is equal to 17/18.
6. INHERITANCE OF 39 COWS. Identical to the previous one.
7. SUM OF THREE EQUAL DIGITS. 55 + 5 = 60.
8. WITH ONLY A DASH. Put ten minus ten, which, like everyone...
What we have is a clock, we know, it's the same as nine fifty.
9. ALPHABETIC PRODUCT. Zero. One of the factors is zero, this is
(x-x).
10. THE CUBES AND SUGAR. For example: putting a cube in
each cup. At no point is it said that all of them should be used.
clods.