The document contains a collection of lateral thinking puzzles and riddles. It includes puzzles involving math equations, objects arrangements, logical deductions, and more. The goal is to think creatively and from different perspectives to arrive at the right answers. Lateral thinking requires looking beyond surface details and making connections that may not be immediately obvious.

1. Popular
Lateral
Thinking
Puzzles

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5. Lateral thinking
Many problems require a different perspective
to solve successfully -- Edward de Bono

7. Two mathematicians are
sitting opposite to each
other for a cup of coffee.
They looked at the
matter written on the
paper which is kept on
the table .
One said “ Its Wrong”,
another said “ Its Right”.
Both are correct.
How is it possible? What
is written on the paper?
?

8. Answer:

9. I + IX = X
Right

10. I+IX=X
Wrong

12. There are six eggs in the
basket. Six people each
take one egg, how can it
be that one egg is left in
the basket?

16. Truck height is 1 inch taller than
tunnel height
Then how the truck passes
through the tunnel

17. Answer:
Deflate the tires till the truck height is lesser
than tunnel height.

19. A police officer saw a truck
driver clearly going the
wrong way down a one-
way street, but did not try
to stop him.
Why ?

20. First thoughts …

21. Answer:
The truck driver was
walking on the one-way
street
But…

23. Three of the glasses are filled with cool drink;
the other three are empty. By moving only one
glass, can you arrange them so the full and
empty glasses alternate

30. The school inspection
• A schoolteacher knew that the school superintendent
would visit the next day.
• The superintendent would ask questions such as
spellings or mental arithmetic of the class, and the
teacher would choose a pupil to answer.
• The teacher wanted to give the best impression of the
school.
• What instructions did she give the children, in order to
create the best impression and maximise the chances
that the right answer was given to each question?

31. Teacher instructed the students to raise
hand for every question but with one
condition i.e.
those students who know right answer
will raise their right hands and
those students who do not know the
answer will raise their left hands

33. Remove 2 matchsticks
from this figure to make
2 squares remain

34. Answer:

36. Two trains are crossing the country,
from coast to coast, over 3,000 miles
of railroad track.
Train A is going from west to east at
70 miles per hour, and Train B is going
from east to west at 80 miles per hour.
Which train will be closer to the west
coast when they meet?

37. Train A
Train B
70 miles per hour
80 miles per hour

39. Train A

40. Which train will be closer to the
west coast when they meet?
Now !!!
You know the answer.
Both trains are at
same distance from
west coast when the
meet.

42. A man called to a waiter in a restaurant, "There's
a fly in my tea!"
The waiter replied, "I will bring you a fresh cup."
After a few moments, the man called out, "This
is the same cup of tea!"
How did he know?

43. Hint is here only.
Try………

44. Answer:
The man had already put sugar into the tea.

46. A black man dressed all in black, wearing a black
mask, stands at a crossroads in a totally black-
painted town. All of the streetlights in town are
broken. There is no moon. A black-painted car
without headlights drives straight toward him,
but turns in time and doesn't hit him.

47. Answer: It's broad daylight.

49. Manhole Covers
Why is it better to have round manhole covers
than square ones?

51. Side is smaller than diagonal of square cover.
It means, there is a chance that the cover may
fall inside.

52. So round cover is better

54. Make the line smaller without erasing it

55. Draw another line larger than the existing one
adjutant to it.
Now the first line is smaller

57. Interviewer -- He ordered a cup of coffee for the candidate. Coffee
arrived kept before the candidate, then he asked what is before
you?
Candidate: Instantly replied "Tea“
He got selected. Why?

58. Here “You” means “U”
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60. Arrange four tennis balls in such a way that the
distance between each ball is same.

61. Arrange it in equilateral-triangle - pyramid shape
so that distance between each tennis ball is same

63. Two persons are sitting with a table in between
them but they can not see each other.
Why?

64. They are sitting in the opposite direction and not
facing each other

65. A presentation by
Dr.P.Madar Valli
Professor, Industrial Engineering Department,
GIT, GITAM University
Visakhapatnam, India.
drpmv@yahoo.com ; drpmv@gitam.edu