1.

The Man in the Elevator

A man lives on the tenth floor of a building. Every day he takes the elevator to go down to the
ground floor to go to work or to go shopping. When he returns he takes the elevator to the seventh
floor and walks up the stairs to reach his apartment on the tenth floor. He hates walking so why
does he do it?

This is probably the best known and most celebrated of all lateral thinking puzzles. It is a true classic. Although
there are many possible solutions which fit the initial conditions, the canonical answer is the most satisfying.
2. 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.

3. The Man who Hanged Himself
Not far from Madrid, there is a large wooden barn. The barn is completely empty except for a dead
man hanging from the middle of the central rafter. The rope around his neck is ten feet long and his
feet are three feet off the ground. The nearest wall is 20 feet away from the man. It is not possible to
climb up the walls or along the rafters. The man hanged himself. How did he do it?
4. Death in a Field
A man is lying dead in a field. Next to him there is an unopened package. There is no other creature
in the field. How did he die?
5. Anthony and Cleopatra
Anthony and Cleopatra are lying dead on the floor of a villa in Egypt. Nearby is a broken bowl. There
is no mark on either of their bodies and they were not poisoned. How did they die?
6. The Coal, Carrot and Scarf
Five pieces of coal, a carrot and a scarf are lying on the lawn. Nobody put them on the lawn but
there is a perfectly logical reason why they should be there. What is it?
7. Trouble with Sons
A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year. But they
were not twins. How could this be so?
8. Push that Car
A man pushed his car. He stopped when he reached a hotel at which point he knew he was
bankrupt. Why?
9. The Arm of the Postal Service
One day a man received a parcel in the post. Carefully packed inside was a human arm. He examined
it, repacked it and then sent it on to another man. The second man also carefully examined the arm
before taking it to the woods and burying it. Why did they do this?

This one probably has more variations than any other. A great one to puzzle out. It requires plenty of good
questions.
10. Heaven
A man died and went to Heaven. There were thousands of other people there. They were all naked
and all looked as they did at the age of 21. He looked around to see if there was anyone he
recognised. He saw a couple and he knew immediately that they were Adam and Eve. How did he
know?
11. Friday
A man rode into town on Friday. He stayed for three nights and then left on Friday. How come?
12. Manhole Covers
Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?
This puzzle is supposedly used by a very well-known software company as an interview question for prospective
employees.
13. The Deadly Party
A man went to a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early. Everyone else at the party
who drank the punch subsequently died of poisoning. Why did the man not die?
14. The Deadly Dish
Two men went into a restaurant. They both ordered the same dish from the menu. After they tasted
it, one of the men went outside the restaurant and shot himself. Why?

15. The Realization
A man was walking downstairs in a building when he suddenly realized that his wife had just died.
How?
16. 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).
17. The Broken Match
A man is found dead in a field. He is clutching a broken match. What happened?
18. The Music Stopped
The music stopped. She died. Explain.
19. Swimmer in the Forest
Deep in the forest was found the body of a man who was wearing only swimming trunks, snorkel
and facemask. The nearest lake was 8 miles away and the sea was 100 miles away. How had he
died?
This is supposedly based on a true incident. Does this make it an urban legend? Many urban legends can be
restated as lateral thinking puzzles. This is a very good one of this type.
20. The Elder Twin
One day Kerry celebrated her birthday. Two days later her older twin brother, Terry, celebrated his
birthday. How come?


1. The man in the Elevator
The man is a dwarf. Variants of this puzzle include the clue that on rainy days he goes up in the elevator to the
tenth floor (he uses his umbrella!)
2. The Man in the Bar
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. Surprisingly this classic puzzle seems to work in different cultures and
languages.
3. The Man who Hanged Himself
He climbed on a block of ice which has since melted. This one is often stated with the clue of a puddle of water,
but surely this is too much assistance. It is one of several problems which depend on the change of state of
water (snow or ice to water or steam).
4. Death in a Field
The man had jumped from a plane but his parachute had failed to open. It is the unopened package.
This is sometimes given with the following rather elegant clue as he approached the centre of the field he
knew he was going to die. This is another of the top classics which is right up there with The Man in the Bar. If
the solver is thinking along the wrong lines (i.e. in the two dimensions of the ground) then the lateral jump to
the third dimension can be tough to make.
5. Anthony and Cleopatra
Anthony and Cleopatra were goldfish whose bowl was knocked over by a clumsy dog. This is one of a set of
puzzles which deceive by using human names for animals. This is not a very satisfactory basis for a good puzzle
but despite that, the puzzle has enduring popularity.
6. The Coal, Carrot and Scarf
They were used by children who made a snowman. The snow has now melted. Another change of state puzzle.
After this you should be on the look-out for them!
7. Trouble with Sons
They were two of a set of triplets (or quadruplets etc.)
This simple little puzzle stumps many people. They try outlandish solutions involving test-tube babies or
surrogate mothers. Why does the brain search for complex solutions when there is a much simpler one
available?
8. Push that Car
He was playing Monopoly.
9. The Arm of the Postal Service
The three men had been stranded on a desert island. Desperate for food, they had agreed to amputate their left
arms in order to eat them. They swore an oath that each would have his left arm cut off. One of them was a
doctor and he cut the arms off his two companions. They were then rescued. But his oath was still binding so he
later had to have his arm amputated and sent to his colleagues.
This is often told with a further twist whereby a doctor pays a tramp a large sum in order to amputate the
tramps arm which the doctor then sends to another man who inspects it etc. This variation can make for a long
night of questioning!
10. Heaven
He recognized Adam and Eve as the only people without navels. Because they were not born of women, they
had never had umbilical cords and therefore they never had navels.
This one seems perfectly logical but it can sometimes spark fierce theological arguments!
11. Friday
The mans horse was called Friday. OK, so this is really a schoolboy riddle but people keep asking it!

12. Manhole Covers
A square manhole cover can be turned and dropped down the diagonal of the manhole. A round manhole cannot
be dropped down the manhole. So for safety and practicality, all manhole covers should be round.
13. The Deadly Party
The poison in the punch came from the ice cubes. When the man drank the punch the ice was fully frozen.
Gradually it melted, poisoning the punch.
You were warned to be on the look-out for these ice puzzles!
14. The Deadly Dish
The dish that the two men ordered was albatross. They had been stranded many years earlier on a desert island.
When the man tasted albatross he realized that he had never tasted it before. This meant that the meat he had
been given on the island was not albatross as he had been told. He correctly deduced that he had eaten the
flesh of his son who had died when they first reached the island.
This has something in common with No. 9 above but is in my opinion even better. It is fiendishly difficult to
figure out from a standing start. A beautiful aspect of this problem is the subtle fact that he shot himself because
he did not recognise the taste of the dish.
15. The Realization
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.
16. The Blind Beggar
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.
17. The Broken Match
He and a number of other passengers were making a balloon trip in a desperate attempt to flee a country. The
balloon had to lose weight to stop it from crashing. He drew the short match and had to jump.
18. The Music Stopped
She was a circus tight-rope walker who walked blindfolded over a high wire. The band played as she crossed and
when the music stopped it was the signal that she had reached the end of the walk and could safely alight. One
day the conductor was taken ill and the stand-in conductor ended the piece of music too early. She stepped off
to her death.
19. Swimmer in the Forest
During a forest fire, a fire-fighting plane had scooped up some water from the lake to drop on the fire. The plane
had accidentally picked up the unfortunate swimmer.
20. The Elder Twin
At the time she went into labor, the mother of the twins was travelling by boat. The older twin, Terry, was born
first early on March 1st. The boat then crossed the International Date line (or any time zone line) and Kerry, the
younger twin, was born on February the 28th. In a leap year the younger twin celebrates her birthday two days
before her older brother.
This puzzle was submitted to Games Magazines How Come competition in 1992 by Judy Dean. It won.
More
1. A man lives on the 20th floor of an apartment building. If it is a rainy day, he gets into the elevator in the
morning, goes down to the ground floor and goes off to work. In the afternoon when he comes home, he gets
into the elevator and goes straight to the 20th floor. However, if it is a sunny day he goes down to the ground
floor in the morning, but when he comes home he only goes up to the 10th floor and then walks up 10 flights of
stairs. Why does he do this?
Clues: The man does NOT like the exercise. A rainy day provides an accessory which allows him to use the
elevator the whole way
Solution: The man is extremely short, so on any ordinary day he cannot reach further than the button for floor
#10 in the elevator. When it rains, he can use his umbrella to reach the elevator button #20
2. A woman is dead on an island and there is nothing else on the island with her. How did she die?
Clues: The island is not an ordinary island. There is NOTHING on the island with her
Solution: The island is a traffic island, and the woman was hit by a car
3. A man is hanging from a rope in a locked room. Below him is a puddle of water. How did he hang himself?
Clues: There is no furniture. When he hung himself, the puddle was not there

Solution: The puddle is all that is left of a large block of ice. The man stood on this in order to hang himself
4. A man is dead in a desert with a rock lying beside him. There are no footprints leading to or away from him,
nor have any been covered over. How did he die?
Clues: The man is not an ordinary man, and neither is the rock. The rock has particular significance for this
particular man
Solution: The man is Superman, and the rock is kryptonite
5. A man wakes up one morning, looks out of his window, and knows that he has caused the deaths of hundreds
of people. How does he know?
Clues: The man lives in an isolated place, and the people depended on him doing his job for their safety. He did
not know the people
Solution: The man is a lighthouse keeper who forgot to turn the light on the previous evening. He sees the
ships that have been shipwrecked during the night
6. A man is driving to work. He turns on the radio and knows that he will be going to prison. How does he know?

Clues: The man works at the radio station. He has committed an illegal act just prior to setting out for work
Solution: The man is a DJ at the radio station. He had left a CD playing at the station and gone to kill his wifes
lover, thinking he would have work as an alibi. However, after he kills the man and is then heading back to work,
he hears the CD skipping on the radio
7. Two men went into a restaurant. They both ordered the same dish from the menu. After tasting it, one of the
men knew that he had eaten his friend. How did he know?

Clues: They ordered albatross soup. The mans friend was a human
Solution: The men had been shipwrecked on an island with some other people many years earlier. At that time,
they had been given some soup and told that it was albatross soup. It was, in fact, cooked from the meat of a
human friend who had disappeared earlier. The two soups had different tastes
8. A man is dead in a telephone box. The phone is off the hook and there are two holes in the glass walls. There
is a small box in the phone booth with him. How did he die?
Clues: There is nothing sinister about the box. He was on the phone prior to dying. The holes are on opposite
sides of the booth, at the same height, and of the same size. The holes have jagged edges
Solution: The box is a fishing tackle box. The man was talking to a friend on the phone about the fishing trip
hed just had, and was describing the one that got away. He said, It was this big!, and in doing so, he
punched the glass walls on either side effectively slitting his wrists
9. A mans car breaks down in the country and he goes to a nearby farmhouse to make a phonecall for help. As
soon as the farmer shows the man the room where the phone is, the man making the call realises that he wont
make it out of the house alive. How does he know?
Clues: There is something behind the rooms door which gives it away (a clothing item). The man does not need
to use the telephone to know his death is imminent
Solution: The man making the phonecall is dark-skinned, and as the door closes he notices the hood and cloak
belonging to a member of the Ku Klux Clan hanging on a hook behind the door
10. A man pushes his car up to a hotel and immediately knows that he will have to pay hundreds of dollars. How
does he know?
Clues: The car is not an ordinary car, and neither is the hotel. The car is VERY small
Solution: He is playing a game of Monopoly, and has just moved his car up to a property with a hotel on
it
11. Antony and Cleopatra are lying dead on the floor of an Egyptian villa. Their bodies are unmarked and they
have not been poisoned. There is a broken bowl lying nearby. How did they die?
Clues: Antony and Cleopatra are NOT human. The bowl is VERY significant
Solution: Antony and Cleopatra are goldfish. Their bowl was knocked off its stand by the household dog
brushing against the stand
12. Two Americans are standing at the entrance to a British Museum, and are about to enter. One of them is the
father of the others son. How is this possible?
Clues: What are you assuming?

Solution: They are husband and wife
13. In the middle of a green field lie two pieces of coal, a carrot, and a scarf. When they are discovered by the
local boys they are not at all surprised at finding such unusual items in such a place. Nobody specifically placed
them there, so how did they get there?
Clues: The items were a part of a whole entity which no longer exists. They did not fall from the sky. The
entity was constructed by the boys
Solution: They are (respectively) the eyes, nose, and scarf of a snowman the boys had made. The snow has
melted, leaving only these items in the middle of the field
14. A bomber is flying a bombing strike against an enemy position in World War II. When they reach the target,
the bombadier orders the bomb doors open. They are opened. The bombadier then gives the order for the
bombs to be released. They are released. However, the bombs do not hit the ground. How is this possible?
Clues: The bombs are not fixed to the inside of the plane. The bombs do not leave the plane. The men in the
plane do NOT expect the bombs to fall
Solution: The bomber is flying upside-down
15. Whilst hiking in the mountains, a woman discovers a locked cabin with three people dead inside. How did
they die?
Clues: It snowed the night before. The cabin is NOT an ordinary cabin for a start, it is constructed of metal
Solution: The cabin is a planes cockpit. The people are the flying crew, whose plane had crashed during the
snowstorm the night before
16. A man walks into his home, does not see sawdust, and screams in anguish. Why does he do this?

Clues: The mans home is not a house. He works in a circus. He wanted to see sawdust, but he did not really
expect to see it. There has NEVER been sawdust in his home at any previous time
Solution: The man is a midget who bills himself as the shortest man in the world, and performs in a travelling
circus. His home is a caravan. A jealous rival has surreptitiously sawn the legs of his funiture off so that by
comparison he appears taller. The effect of this is that the man mistakenly believes that he is growing. The lack
of sawdust demonstrates to the man that his furniture has not been shortened
17. A man walked into a bar and asked the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulled out a gun and
pointed it at the man. The man said, Thank you, and walked out. Explain.
Clues: The man and the barman did now know one another. He did not need the water anymore
Solution: The man had hiccups. The barman recognised this from his speech and drew the gun in order to give
him a shock. It cured the hiccups, so the man no longer needed the water
18. A man is lying dead in a field. He has a backpack on and a ring in his hand. How did he die?
Clues: The backpack is VERY significant. Think 3D
Solution: The man had jumped from a plane, but his parachute had failed to open. The backpack is the
parachute, and the ring is the pull for the ripcord
19. A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year. But they were
not twins. How can this be?
Clues: What are you assuming?
Solution: They were two of a set of triplets
20. A certain doctor paid a tramp a large sum of money in order to amputate the tramps arm. He then sent the
arm via the post to another man. This man then examined the arm, repacked it, and sent it on to another man.
The second man also carefully examined the arm before taking it to the forest and burying it. Why did they do
this?
Clues: The three men had spent some time together in the past. The other two men were each missing one
arm
Solution: The three men had been stranded on a desert island. Desperate for food, they had agreed to
amputate their left arms in order to eat them. They swore an oath that each would have his left arm cut off. One
of them was a doctor and he cut the arms off his two companions. They were then rescued. But his oath was
still binding. In order to escape with both arms still intact, he amputated the tramps arm and sent it on to the
other men
21. A man died and went to Heaven. There were millions of other people there. They were all naked and all
looked as they did at the age of 21. He looked around to see if there was anyone he recognised. He saw a
couple and he knew immediately that they were Adam and Eve. How did he know?
Clues: Supposedly, Adam and Eve were made
Solution: He recognised Adam and Eve as the only people without navels. Because they were not born, they
had never had umbilical cords, and therefore they did not have navels
22. A man rode into town on Friday. He stayed for three nights and then left on Friday. How is this possible?
Clues: What are you assuming?
Solution: The mans horse was called Friday
23. A large, heavyset man went to a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early. Everyone else at the
party who drank the punch subsequently died of poisoning. Why did the man not die?
Clues: The punch contained the poison. Nothing was added to the punch after the man left. However, the
punch did change slightly
Solution: The poison in the punch came from the ice cubes. When the man drank the punch the ice was fully
frozen. Gradually it melted, poisoning the punch
24. A man was walking downstairs in a building when he suddenly realised that his wife had just died. How?
Clues: The time has nothing to with it. The lights in the stairwell blacked out for a couple of minutes
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 shortage and the emergency back-up systems had
failed. He knew that she had died
25. A blind beggar had a brother who died. What relation was the blind beggar to the brother who died?
(Brother is not the answer).
Clues: What are you assuming?
Solution: The blind beggar was the sister of her brother who died
26. A naked man is found dead in a field. He is clutching a broken match. What happened?
Clues: The fact that he is naked has some minor significance. The match IS important. Think 3D
Solution: He and a number of other passengers were making a balloon trip in a desperate attempt to flee a
country. The balloon had to lose weight to stop it from crashing. After throwing all possible ballast out (including
their clothes) they decided someone had to jump out. To do this, they drew straws (in this case matches),
whereupon he drew the short match
27. The music stopped. She died. Explain.
Clues: The music had stopped many times in the past and she had not died. She was doing something VERY
dangerous. She did not know she would die until it was academic
Solution: She was a circus tight-rope walker whose act was to walk blindfolded over a high wire without a net.
The band played as she crossed, and when the music stopped it was the signal that she had reached the end of
the walk and could safely alight. One day the conductor was taken ill and the stand-in conductor ended the piece
of music too early. She stepped off, to her death
28. Deep in a forest the body of a man wearing only swimming trunks, snorkel and facemask was found. The
nearest lake was 8 kilometres away and the sea was over 50 kilometres away. How had he died?
Clues: He was swimming in the lake before he died. He died on the ground where he was found
Solution: During a forest fire, a fire-fighting plane had scooped up some water from the lake to drop on the fire.
The plane had accidentally picked up the unfortunate swimmer. Apparently, this is a true story
29. One day Kelly celebrated her birthday. Two days later her older twin brother, Anthony, celebrated his
birthday. How come?

Clues: Think about calendar and time-zone anomalies

Solution: At the time she went into labour, the mother of the twins was travelling by boat. The older twin,
Anthony, was born early on March 1st. The boat then crossed the International Date line and Kelly, the younger
twin, was born on February the 28th. In a leap year the younger twin celebrates her birthday two days before
her older brother
30. Cindys parents told her to never open the basement door. One day, while they were out, she could resist no
longer. When she opened the door, she was shocked and surprised by what she saw. What did she see?
Clues: Most people would not be shocked. Something unusual WAS kept in the basement, but this was not what
she saw
Solution: A hallway, living room and dining room. Maybe even the outside for the first time. Cindy was the
unusual thing in the basement
31. The husband and wife raced through the streets of Melbourne. Then the husband got out of the car and
asked his wife to wait a couple minutes for him. When he returned she was dead. Not only that, a stranger was
in the car. How did she die?
Clues: The doors and windows of the car were locked the whole time while the husband was away. The death
was caused by the stranger, but not intentionally
Solution: The stranger was their new born baby. The expectant couple were headed for the hospital. When
they arrived, the husband ran off to get a wheelchair. Unfortunately, the child couldnt wait and the mother
didnt survive the birth
32. A hunter aimed his gun carefully, and pulled the trigger. Seconds later he realised his mistake. Minutes later
he was dead. What happened?
Clues: No living creature killed him. It was a cold winters day. He had a VERY loud gun

Solution: The hunter was near a snowy cliff. When he fired the gun, he triggered an avalanche which buried
him
33. A heavyset man who works in the butchers shop is 6 2 tall. What does he weigh?
Clues: What are you assuming?
Solution: The heavyset man weighs meat
34. Two grandmasters played five chess games each but both of them won three games. How is this possible?
Clues: What are you assuming?
Solution: The grandmasters didnt have five games against each other, just 5 games each
35. A man hails a taxi, gets in and gives the driver the destination address. The taxi sets out, but then the driver
stops in a secluded place and the driver kills the man. Why?
Clues: The men do not know each other. The address initiates the mans death
Solution: The taxi driver has suspicions that someone is having an affair with his wife while he works. The man
asks to be taken to the drivers home address, where the wife is alone at home
36. There is a man dead in a locked office, sitting at his desk. On the desk there are a couple of pieces of blank
paper, a pen and a sealed envelope. How was he killed?
Clues: The office is locked from the inside no-one has directly killed him. He was poisoned
Solution: The seal on the envelope was poisoned, so when he licked and sealed it, he was poisoned
37. Joe wants to go home, but he cant because a man wearing a mask is waiting for him. What is the problem?
Clues: The masked man does not want to harm Joe. Home is not Joes house
Solution: A baseball game is going on. The base-runner sees the catcher waiting at home plate with the ball,
and so decides to stay at third base to avoid being tagged out
38. There is a prison built on an island in the middle of a huge lake. One morning, the warden wakes up his
deputy to tell him that one of the inmates has escaped, and all he had done was tie two pieces of string
together. However, prison records show that the inmate was unable to swim. How did he escape?
Clues: It is winter. The pieces of string were very small, and they are a VERY common clothing item
Solution: The lake had frozen over, and the two pieces of string were the laces on his ice skates
39. A man dressed entirely in black and wearing a black mask, is standing in the middle of a crossroad. All of the
streetlights at the intersection are broken. A car speeds down the road, heading straight for the man, yet it turns
in time and doesnt hit him. How does it manage to miss him?
Clues: What are you assuming?
Solution: Its daytime
40. A man sitting on a park bench reads a newspaper article headlined Death At Sea and knows that a murder
was committed. How does he know?
Clues: The man vaguely knew the person who was killed. The person died on an international cruise, and was a
woman
Solution: The man is a travel agent. He had sold someone two tickets for an ocean voyage, one ticket round-
trip and one ticket one-way. The surname of the woman who fell overboard and drowned on the voyage (as
reported in the newspaper) is the same surname as that of the man who bought the tickets
41. Jim is a sailor on a certain shipping vessel. He is the worst sailor the captain has ever had on his crew: he is
lazy, ignorant, and a creates trouble regularly. He is so bad at his job that the captain once commented, I wish I
had ten sailors like Jim. Why?
Clues: There is nothing unusual about the ship. There are twenty crew-members aboard
Solution: There are more than ten sailors like Jim on his ship and he wishes he had less
42. A woman lies dead in her bed. She has no bruises, markings, or signs of a scuffle. Next to the woman are a
pair of scissors. How was she killed?
Clues: The bed is an unusual bed. The scissors were not used on her in any way
Solution: Shes lying on a water bed. The killer punctured the water bed with the scissors and then drowned the
woman
43. A man sees a bear. He walks one mile due South, one mile due East, and then one mile due North (returning
to his starting place). What colour was the bear?
Clues: Think about geographical anomalies
Solution: White. The only place you could walk one mile due South, one mile due East and one mile due North
and ends up exactly where you started is at the North Pole
44. It is a dark and stormy night. A man comes home to find his cat curled up in front of a cozy fire, dead. How
did the cat die?
Clues: The cat has not been touched by anyone, nor has it been burned. There is a collar around its neck
Solution: The cat had been outside in the storm and had been thoroughly soaked. He had come inside to warm
himself by the fire. The cat was wearing a leather collar, and as the collar dried, it shrank, strangling the cat
45. A woman is lying dead on the road. There is broken glass, ice and a crushed lemon nearby. What happened?
Clues: The lemon is not an ordinary lemon. Nothing has hit her
Solution: Her car (the lemon) skidded on the ice and hit a tree. As a result the car was crushed and she was
projected through the windscreen
46. In the middle of the ocean is a yacht. Several dead bodies are floating in the water nearby. What has
happened?
Clues: The people willingly and eagerly entered the water. They have drowned
Solution: Some people were on an ocean voyage in a yacht. One afternoon they all decide to go swimming, so
they dove off the side into the water. Unfortunately, they forgot to place a ladder on the side of the boat. Since
theres no way for them to climb back aboard, they drown
47. A man is lying dead in a room. The floor has many valuable treasures scattered over it, and a chandelier is
on the ceiling. There is a large, shattered window nearby. How did the man die?
Clues: The man is wearing some unusual clothing. He entered the room through the window
Solution: The room is the ballroom of an ocean liner which sank some time ago. The man ran out of air while
diving in the wreck
48. A woman arrived home after shopping with her bag of groceries, got the mail, and walked into the house.
On her way to the kitchen, she walked through the living room and looked at her husband, who had blown his
brains out. She then continued into the kitchen, put away the groceries, and cooked her dinner. Explain.
Clues: Her husband has been dead for a LONG time
Solution: Her husband had killed himself a few years ago, and it is the urn on the mantelpiece containing his
ashes that the wife looks at
49. A body is discovered in a park in Chicago in the middle of summer. It has a fractured skull and many other
broken bones, but the cause of death was hypothermia. Why?
Clues: The man has been dead for less than a day. When he entered the park he was already dead
Solution: A refugee from eastern Europe desperately wants to get to the US. Not having enough money for the
airfare, he stowed away in the landing gear compartment of an airliner. He died of hypothermia mid-flight, and
fell out when the landing gear opened as the plane made its final approach
50. A woman gives undeniable evidence in court that her husband was murdered by her sister. However, the
judge determines that her sister cannot be punished. Why?
Clues: She is VERY close to her sister. This would be a very interesting court case
Solution: The sisters are Siamese twins
51. A man is driving his car to work. He turns on the radio and listens for a few minutes, before returning home,
and killing his wife. Why?
Clues: He hears his wife on the radio. However, nothing she says annoys him to the point of killing her
Solution: The radio program is one where the DJ calls a listener and asks them a question for a prize. They
announce the name of the listener they are calling it is the mans wife, yet another man (her lover) answers
the phone before she takes the phone
52. The music stopped and Charlie was immediately crushed to death. Explain.
Clues: Charlie is NOT human. It is a Sunday
Solution: Charlie was an insect sitting on a pew in a church service. When the music stopped everyone sat
down, and Charlie was squashed
53. A woman sees her husband leaving a certain establishment and immediately insists on dissolving their
partnership. What is going on?
Clues: The establishment deals in a particular branch of medicine. She remains happily married to him for many
years to come
Solution: Her husband is a knife-thrower in a circus act, and she is the target in the act. She sees him leaving
an optometry clinic, and decides that if hes having trouble with his eyes she doesnt want him throwing knives at
her
54. A man is sitting in bed. He makes a phonecall, says nothing, and then goes to sleep. What was the point of
the call?
Clues: He does not know the person he calls. He wakes the other person up
Solution: He is in a hotel, and is unable to sleep because the man in the adjacent room is snoring. He calls the
room next door, where the snorer wakes up and answers the phone. The first man hangs up without saying
anything and goes to sleep before the snorer can get back to sleep and start snoring again
55. A man dies of thirst in his own home. How is this so?
Clues: His home is NOT a house (but it is a home). No-one had turned the water off, and he was capable of
turning the taps on in his home

Solution: His home is a houseboat and he has run out of water while on an extended cruise
56. Three men are dead. On the footpath are pieces of ice and some broken glass. How did they die?
Clues: There is also a refrigerator on the footpath. Two of the dead men are on the footpath, and the other is in
the apartment building beside the footpath
Solution: A strong man comes home to the penthouse apartment he shares with his beautiful young wife,
taking the elevator up from the ground floor. He sees signs of lovemaking in the bedroom, and assumes that his
wife is having an affair and that her beau has just escaped down the stairs. The husband looks out of a large
floor-to-ceiling window and sees a good-looking man leave the main entrance of the building. The husband then
pushes the refrigerator out through the window onto the young man below. The husband dies of a heart attack
from overexertion; the young man below dies when the refrigerator falls on him; and the wifes boyfriend, who
was hiding inside the refrigerator, naturally dies from the fall
57. A man is running along a corridor with a piece of paper in his hand. The lights flicker, at which point the man
drops to his knees and cries out, Oh no! What has gone wrong?
Clues: The corridor is in a prison. The flickering of the light is due to a power surge
Solution: The man is delivering a pardon in a death row prison, and the flicker of the lights indicates that the
person to be pardoned has just been electrocuted
58. When going around a corner on Roberts Street, motorcycle riders travel at the same speed on both sunny
and rainy days. However, if its cloudy but not raining, they usually go faster. Why?
Clues: Traction is the key factor. The business on the corner contributes to the behaviour described

Solution: There is a car wash on the corner. On rainy days, the rain reduces traction. On sunny days, water
from the car wash has the same effect. However, if rain is threatening the car wash gets little business, and so
the the road doesnt get wet, allowing for a faster speed
59. A woman throws an object out of the window and dies. How does she die?
Clues: She dies of a broken neck. The nature of the object is VERY important
Solution: The object she throws is a boomerang. It flies out, loops around, and comes back and hits her in the
head, killing her. Boomerangs do not often return so close to the point from which they were thrown, but it is
possible
60. An avid birdwatcher sees an unexpected bird. Soon hes dead. How does he die?
Clues: He is not birdwatching at the time. The bird does not directly kill him in fact, the bird itself died in the
process
Solution: He is a passenger in an airplane, and he sees the bird getting sucked into one of the engines while at
high altitude
61. An ordinary Australian citizen, with no passport, visits over thirty foreign countries in one day. He is
welcomed in each country, and leaves each one of his own accord. How is this possible?
Clues: He does not leave the country in any usual sense. His job involves courier work
Solution: He is a mail courier who delivers packages to the different foreign embassies in Canberra. The land of
an embassy belongs to the country of the embassy, not to Australia
62. Two children find a strange dead man on the floor in the living room. They stare at him in shock and cry
bitterly. How did he die?
Clues: The children did not know the man, but they knew who he was. There is a fireplace in the living room
Solution: The dead man was Santa Claus. He slipped while coming down the chimney and broke his neck
63. A man tries the new cologne his wife gave him for his birthday. He goes out to get some food, and is killed.
Why?
Clues: His job is to collect a certain kind of food. The new cologne changes his scent quite noticeably
Solution: The man is a beekeeper, and the bees attack him en-masse because they dont recognise his
fragrance. This has actually been known to happen
64. A man in uniform stands on the beach of a tropical island. He takes out a cigarette, lights it, and begins
smoking. He then opens a letter and begins reading it. The cigarette burns down between his fingers, but he
doesnt throw it away. He then cries. Why?
Clues: He cries because of the letters contents. He does not feel the cigarette burning his fingers
Solution: He is an attendant at a leper colony. The letter informs him that he has contracted the disease, and
he cries as a result. Because he has contracted leprosy, he cannot feel the burning sensation the cigarette is
causing
65. A married couple goes to a movie. During the movie the husband strangles the wife. He is then able to get
her body home without attracting attention. How?
Clues: There are many other people at the same theatre seeing the same movie. The husband is not accosted
at any time
Solution: The movie is at a drive-in theatre
66. A man ran into a fire, and lived. Another man stayed where there was no fire, and died. Why was this so?
Clues: The man who ran into the fire was burned. The man who did not was not burned at all he died of
asphyxiation (though not due to the smoke)
Solution: The two men were working in a small room protected by a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher system,
when a fire broke out in an adjoining room. One of the men ran through the fire and escaped with only minor
burns. The other one stayed in the room until the fire extinguishers started, and died due to a lack of oxygen
67. A writer with an audience of millions insisted that he was never to be interrupted while writing. After the day
when he actually was interrupted, he never wrote again. Why?
Clues: He wrote using an unusual medium. He died as a result of the interruption
Solution: He was a skywriter whose plane crashed into another plane
68. Tracy died in North Queensland, while Craig died at sea. Everyone was much happier with Craigs death.
Why?
Clues: Tracy and Craig are not living creatures

Solution: Tracy and Craig were cyclones

69. A poor man is travelling from Switzerland to his home in France by train. If he had been in a non-smoking
car he would have died. Why?
Clues: The train is not damaged in any way. His death would have been a suicide. He has only recently become
poor

Solution: The man used to be blind. He has just had an expensive eye operation to restore his sight, and his
eyes are bandaged. He has been told not to remove the bandage for 3 days, but unable to resist he takes a
peek. The train (which has no internal lighting) goes through a tunnel just as he peeks through the bandage,
and he almost kills himself thinking the operation was a failure. Fortunately, the glow of the lit cigarettes people
are smoking convinces him that he can see
70. A man leaves a motel room in the middle of the night, goes to his car, and honks the horn repeatedly. He
then walks back to his room. Explain.
Clues: His wife is asleep in their motel room. He has forgotten where their room is. At no point does she wake
up
Solution: The man goes outside to get something from his car, but as the parking lot is set apart from the
building, he forgets which room he was in. His wife is deaf, so he honks the car horn loudly, waking up everyone
else in the motel. The other residents all get up and turn on their room lights, at which point the man then
returns to the one dark room
71. A line of adults are holding children in a queue. The children are handed over to a man one at a time, who
holds them while a woman shoots them. If the child is crying, the man tries to cheer them up before they are
shot. Why?
Clues: The children are not shot in any usual sense. In fact, most of them (and the adults with them) want
them to be shot
Solution: The children are getting their photographs taken with Santa
72. A man marries twenty women in his town, but isnt charged with polygamy. Why?
Clues: He is not a Mormon. He does not have a wife
Solution: Hes a priest he is marrying them to other people, not to himself
73. A man working hard at doing his job when his suit tears. Fifteen minutes later, hes dead. How does he die?
Clues: His suit is a VERY specialised suit. He wears the suit only on his most dangerous assignments
Solution: The man is an astronaut on a space walk
74. A man lies dead. Nearby are a pile of bricks, and a beetle on top of a book. How did he die?
Clues: The beetle is not really a beetle. He has been crushed to death
Solution: The man was an amateur mechanic, and the book is a Volkswagen service manual. The beetle is a
Volkswagen car, and the pile of bricks were being used to hold the car up. Unfortunately, the car rolled off the
bricks and crushed him
75. A man is found dead in the arctic with a pack on his back. How did he die?
Clues: The pack actually killed him its not an ordinary pack
Solution: Its a wolf pack theyve killed (and eaten) most of the man
76. A horse jumps over a tower and lands on a man, who disappears. Explain.
Clues: The tower and the horse are about the same size. The man is about half as tall as the tower
Solution: Its a chess game. The move is knight takes pawn
77. Three large people are crowding together under one small umbrella, yet nobody gets wet. How is this
possible?
Clues: What are you assuming?
Solution: It isnt raining
78. A woman comes home and sees Spaghetti on the wall. She then kills her husband. Why?
Clues: Spaghetti is not a style of pasta
Solution: Spaghetti was the name of her dog. Her husband had it stuffed and mounted, and she retaliated
79. A man is born in 1972 and dies in 1952 at the age of 25. Explain.
Clues: What are you assuming?
Solution: He was born in room number 1972 of a hospital, and dies in room number 1952
80. A man jumps off a high building. On the way down his expression changes. Why?
Clues: He was calmly resolved when he jumped off the building. Something he heard changed everything
Solution: His expression changed from calm resolve to despair. There had been a nuclear war and the man
thought that he was the last person left alive in the world. He jumped off to kill himself and was quite okay until
half way down the building, when he hears a telephone ringing
81. A man goes into a hardware store and asks the assistant for something. The assistant responds, Four will
cost you $3, ten will cost you $6, and two hundred will cost $9. What is the man buying?
Clues: He is NOT asking for four, ten, or two hundred items. Sixteen thousand and fifty-nine would cost $15.
Solution: The man was buying house numbers each digit costs $3
82. A man walks into his apartment and find his wife hanging from a rope tied to the ceiling fan. Under her, a
chair is lying on its side. He is so upset with her suicide that he kicks the chair. He immediately knows that she
was murdered. How does he know?
Clues: The chair has EVERYTHING to do with it
Solution: When he kicked the chair, it righted itself, and the he saw that it was too short for his wife to hang
herself with. Therefore, someone had to hang her and then put the chair underneath so anyone else would think
it was suicide
83. On her first birthday she turned eight. How could this be?
Clues: Think about calendar anomalies (really complex ones)
Solution: She was born on February 29, 1896. Since only centuries divisible by 400 are leap years, the year
1900 was not a leap year. Thus, the next February 29th was in 1904, when she turned eight
84. Everyday a woman takes the bus to work. She can get off at one of two stops. The first stop is 100 metres
from the office building in which she works. The second stop is 200 metres past the building. She always rides
past the first stop, and gets off at the second. Why?
Clues: Think topographically
Solution: Her office building is on a hill. When she gets off at the stop farthest from the building she is walking
downhill
85. Those who make them dont need them. Those who buy them dont want them. And those who use them
dont know it. What are they?
Clues: Those who use them are dead
Solution: Headstones
86. Mr Jones broke his leg on Saturday afternoon. He was immediately attended to by expert medical
practitioners, and suffered no other injury. Sadly, he died later that day as a result. Why?
Clues: He was killed because he broke his leg. Mr Jones is not human
Solution: Mr Jones is a racehorse, who was put down
87. Mr Smith, who doesnt like what passes for art these days, ran into the National Gallery and caused millions
of dollars in damage to several masterpieces. Later that day, he was invited to meet the manager and was
warmly thanked for his actions. Why?

Clues: He was doing his job the fact that he does not like art has nothing to do with it
Solution: Mr Smith is a fireman. The water from his hose damaged the paintings as he put out a fire in the
Gallery
88. A man is standing on the platform of a train station. As a train pulls out of the station, he sees a woman
aboard it waving. He runs over to the train, gets on it and kills the woman. He gets off the train, goes to police
and confesses to the murder. He then walks away from the police station without consequence. Why?
Clues: He knew the woman very well, and had good reason to dislike her. This puzzle involves a legal
technicality
Solution: The woman was the mans wife. Years ago she faked her own death and framed her husband. Her
husband was convicted and served time for murder. In the country where this occurred, a person can not be
prosecuted for the same crime twice. Since he had already served time, he could not be sentenced again
89. A man sits dead at his desk, with a wound in his back. On the desk are his work papers and a glass of red
water. The door is open, and footprints lead to the back of his chair. How did he die?

Clues: It is winter. The water is red because there is blood in it
Solution: Since it is winter, and the assailant broke off an icicle before entering the house. He stabbed the man
with the icicle, and left it in the glass (bloodstained), where it eventually became the red water
90. On the way to work a woman stops at a shop and makes a purchase. She continues to her workplace, where
she is accidentally killed. Her purchase is directly related to her death. What is her occupation?
Clues: She bought a clothing item. Her job, which consisted of a performance in front of many people, was
VERY dangerous
Solution: She was the assistant to the knife-thrower at the circus. One of his performances was to burst a
balloon attached to the top of his assistants head whilst blindfolded. She had bought a pair of shoes which were
slightly higher than her previous pair. She died from a knife wound to the head
91. A wizard has two white helmets and three black helmets that he shows to three gnomes. The gnomes close
their eyes, and the wizard places a white helmet on the first gnome, and a black helmet on the last two. They
open their eyes and the wizard asks them what colour helmet they are wearing. After a moment, the last gnome
announces that his helmet is black. How does he know?
Clues: The gnomes cannot see the colour of their own helmets. The key is in the moment of pause
Solution: If the last gnome had been wearing a white helmet, then the second-last gnome (with the other black
helmet) would have immediately answered black. Since there was a moments pause, the last gnome knew his
helmet had to be black
92. The only child of a wealthy couple is kidnapped and held for ransom. The criminal demanded that a large,
valuable diamond be left in a certain telephone booth in a certain park. The police, suspecting that the criminal
will have an accomplice waiting in the park, surround it with plainclothes detectives in order to follow the
accomplice back to the criminal. However, this clever kidnapper was not caught. How did he get away?
Clues: There was an accomplice in the park, and the criminal did recover the diamond without being caught.
The accomplice was very unusual
Solution: The criminal had a carrier-pigeon waiting in the phone booth, along with instructions to place the
diamond in a small bag around the birds neck and set it free. The carrier-pigeon knew its way back to the
criminal. Not expecting this, the detectives were powerless to follow the bird
93. An old man was searching the forest frantically for an oligole when a change in the weather forced him to
leave. This caused the oligoles extinction. How?
Clues: The oligole was a species of animal. The oligole drowned
Solution: The old man was Noah, looking for a second oligole to take on the Ark. When it started to rain, he
had to leave, distraught
94. Two people are going skydiving. One of them is a skydiving instructor, and the other is going for the first
time. They both jump out of the plane, and tragically neither of their parachutes open. The instructor dies and
the first-timer survives. How is this possible?

Clues: The instructor dies immediately upon impacting the ground; the first-timer walks away completely
uninjured. Nothing cushions the first-timers descent
Solution: The first-timer got scared and jumped out of the plane before it took off. The instructor went on and
made a routine jump but when the chute didnt open, he did not survive the impact
95. Early one morning a man peers into his neighbours garbage bin before driving off to work in some irritation.
The following week he peers into his other neighbours garbage bin before driving off in an even more irritated
frame of mind. Why was he irritated?
Clues: There is NOTHING in either bin each time he looks in. He has no quarrel with either neighbour. He
wanted to see something in each bin
Solution: He looked into bins on successive Mondays, the day for garbage collection on his street. He had
forgotten to put his bin out on each Monday, and was irritated that he had forgotten to do so. The bins of his
neighbours were empty (hence the garbage had been collected)
96. Mary and John were very close. She watched as he boarded the 3:15 flight from Sydney to Adelaide. She
then drove home from the airport and sat back to enjoy a movie. After about a half hour, the movie was
interrupted by a news flash. The 3:15 flight from Sydney to Adelaide had crashed, with no survivors. Although
Mary loved John very much, she continued to happily watch her movie. How come?
Clues: John did not die as a result of the crash. He was on the 3:15 for the total duration of the flight
Solution: The movie Mary was watching had been taped the previous week on her video recorder. Since the
news flash was a week old, John was safe
97. A painter was hired to repaint the water tower for the township of Dubbo. The tower was located just off a
busy street in the downtown area. Every day for 2 weeks the man painted diligently, but was never seen working
by anyone and no change was noticed on the tower. At the end of the two weeks, the painter was was thanked
and paid a large sum by the city. Why?
Clues: NO-ONE expected to see the painter doing his job. He was a very honest and conscientious painter
Solution: The painter was hired to repaint the protective coating inside the watertower
98. Mr Murphy wanted a new house built for him. He wanted to see the sun shine into every room, so he told
the contractor to build his house so that all the walls face north. The igenious builder actually managed to do
this. How?
Clues: Think about geographical anomalies
Solution: The contractor built the house at the South Pole
99. Mr Miller had lived in the same house for many decades. One day Mr Miller returned home to find it engulfed
in flames. The fire department was on the scene, but they made no attempt to save Mr Millers house. Even
though he is in tears, Mr Miller says nothing. What is going on?
Clues: The house could have been saved if the fire department had acted. Mr Miller IS crying because his home
is burning down
Solution: Mr Miller instructed the fire department to destroy his house to make way for the construction of a
new house. As Mr Miller watches his home burn he is overcome with fond memories and begins to weep
100. Mr MacDonald had a farm. On this farm lived many workers. One day as a direct result of Mr MacDonalds
drinking, a terrible tragedy befell his farm. Many workers lost their lives, and much work was undone. Mr
MacDonald went on as though nothing had happened and he was never questioned about the incident. Why?
Clues: The farm is a very unusual farm. The dead workers were not buried in fact, they were cannibalised by
their fellow-workers
Solution: Mr MacDonald accidentally spilled a large glass of water on his ant farm
101. Jason (aged 6) and Jeremy (aged 7) are seated on the living room couch, watching a very explicit, XXX
rated movie. Their father, Kevin, enters the room and sits down on the couch next to them. Kevin is a good
father and not at all immoral. Kevin speaks to them, but says nothing about the porno movie that all three are
now watching. How come?

Clues: What are you assuming?
Solution: Jason, Jeremy and Kevin are all dogs
102. Romeo is looking down on Juliets dead body. She died of suffocation. What has happened?
Clues: Neither Romeo nor Juliet are human. Romeo looks VERY pleased
Solution: Romeo is the household cat, and Juliet is a goldfish. Romeo has knocked Juliets bowl off its stand
103. Jason is lying dead. He has an iron bar across his back, and some food in front of him. How did he die?
Clues: Jason is very small, and is not human
Solution: Jason is a mouse, in a mouse trap
104. A policeman is walking past a house. He hears somone scream out, Dont shoot me, John! Dont shoot!,
followed by a gunshot. The policeman enters the house and sees a lawyer, a priest, and an engineer, all
gathered around a dead body. The priest was immediately arrested. How did the policeman know?
Clues: Which one is John? And what are you assuming?

Solution: Both the engineer and lawyer were women. The priest was a man, so the policeman was fairly sure
that he was the one referred to as John

105. A man walked into a bar, and before he could say a word, he was knocked unconscious. Why?

Clues: What are you assuming?

Solution: The bar was an iron bar
106. An elderly man gets up in the morning and shaves. He then puts on his glasses, and sees himself in the
mirror. However, when he looks in the mirror, he sees himself with no glasses and a beard. How come?
Clues: He is still clean-shaven with glasses. The mirror is not an ordinary mirror
Solution: He is reading The Daily Mirror and sees a picture of himself as he was 20 years earlier
107. Two men were drinking in a pub. Two women walked in. The first man said, I have to go, my wife and
daughter are here. The second man turned around and said, I have to go too, my wife and daughter just
arrived as well. How is this possible?
Clues: No-one else has walked in apart from these two women. The men are not married to the same woman
Solution: The two men in question were both widowers with a daughter from a previous marriage. They both
married the others daughter
108. A windowless room has 3 light bulbs. Three switches are outside the room, and each switch operates one
of the bulbs inside. If you only enter the room once, how can you determine which bulb is connected to which
switch?

Clues: Think about what happens to a light bulb when you turn it on

Solution: Turn the first switch On and leave it On. Turn the second switch On, leave it for a few minutes
before turning it Off. Dont touch the third switch leave it Off. When you walk into the room, the light bulb
for the first switch will be On, the bulb for the second switch will be Off but still warm, and the bulb for the
third will be Off and cold
109. Why do Chinese men eat more rice than Japanese men?
Clues: What are you assuming?
Solution: There are more of them