Lateral Thinking Questions - #21 to #30

Lateral Thinking: The ability to test your powers of questioning, deduction and persistence. If at first the direct approach leads nowhere, try coming at the problem from the side; in other words, lateral thinking.

Jump to: Question #21. Question #22. Question #23. Question #24. Question #25. Question #26. Question #27. Question #28. Question #29. Question #30.

===============
L.T.Q. #21 Date: Wednesday, November 08, 1995 1:53PM

In all the excitement, I almost forgot to send out this week's question!

Here is this week's question:

Mr. Greenwich owns a rugged cottage that is without power. There is a grandfather clock in it which he frequently forgets to wind. One day when this happened, he went to Professor Quantum's to check the time. When Mr. Greenwich returned, the first thing he did was set his grandfather clock to the correct time. Since he does not have a TV, telephone, or radio, how could he set his clock without knowing the length of the trip to Professor Quantum's?

My cottage (in the city so not all that rugged, but still within walking distance to the lakefront) has power, but does not have a grandfather clock. How am I going to tell the time without a grandfather clock?

Jump to the Answer. Return to top.

===============
L.T.Q. #22 Date: Friday, November 17, 1995 1:58PM

Once again, but for a slightly dissimilar reason, I nearly forgot to send this out!

Here is this week's question:

Art Conn bought a used car for $600 and sold it to Hardy Pyle for $800. He later bought it back for $1000 and resold it for $1200. Did Art make any profit and if so how much?

In other news: I Have Established a Web Presence!
If you have access to the Internet, then check out http://www.rose.com/~mjourard/ on the World Wide Web. (HTML = Netscape 1.2N compliant). OK, so it isn't much to look at at the moment, but stay tuned for future developments!

Jump to the Answer. Return to top.

===============
L.T.Q. #23 Date: Wednesday, November 22, 1995 3:19PM

This week's question will help get you in the mood for our annual Christmas* Dinner and Dance*, where in case you haven't heard, there will be a Murder Mystery!

I suggest... it was Mr. Butler in the Banquet Hall with the Speech!

Here is this week's question:

Mrs. Shady is lying dead on a bed, and on the floor beside it is a pair of scissors. The scissors were instrumental in her death, yet there is no trace of blood. Mrs. Shady's body reveals no signs of any cuts or bruises. How could she have been murdered with the pair of scissors?

Speaking of beds, one of the things I'm going to do to get over my post-I-didn't-get-the-house blues is to do some re-deranging and maybe even some artistic-type painting. How does the image of little butterflies, fluffy clouds, and the great hulking carcass of a dead tree sound to you? Keep in mind that the rest of my bedroom is pink! (It's a long story... No, actually it's a short story, but none of your business!)

* The organizing committee had some debate over the Political Correctness of the name of this function. However, "Non-Denominational Generally Festive End of Year Season Eat Food and Wiggle Your Fat Ugly Butt Around in Time to Music Event" just didn't have the same ring to it. And they would have needed invitations twice the size just for the name!

Jump to the Answer. Return to top.

===============
L.T.Q. #24 Date: Tue, 28 Nov 1995 10:36:00

I don't know if I'm having a bad week or what, but I could sure use a drink! Anyone care to join me?

Here is this week's question:

Picture a litre of milk and a litre of Kahlua. A cup of Kahlua is poured into the milk and mixed thoroughly. Then, a cup of this mixture is poured back into the Kahlua. Is the amount of Kahlua now in the milk more, less, or the same as the amount of milk in the Kahlua?

A couple of years ago while on a tour up the east coast of Australia, I learned that Kahlua and milk is not a "beach-friendly" beverage, especially if it is not pre-mixed! Talk about sand getting in everywhere! There's a sticky wicket, eh wot?

P.S. I'm working on adding these Lateral Thinking Questions to my web site...

Jump to the Answer. Return to top.

===============
L.T.Q. #25 Date: Mon, 11 Dec 1995 11:10:00

The "Oh, drat, I didn't buy a house after all" blues are recovering quite nicely. See below if you want the details, but in the meantime, back to the business at hand:

Here is this week's question:

Shadow was just about to board his flight to the West Coast when his assistant approached him and begged him not to fly. When Shadow enquired about the strange request, the junior detective said that the previous night he had had a terrible dream that Shadow's plane would crash. Shadow turned away and boarded the plane without a word. When he landed, he phoned back to his office and ordered the immediate dismissal of his young assistant. Why?

It's always the same: when ever I need a change in my life, I either grow a beard, shave it off, or paint something. Yesterday, I found some cheap dark baby blue paint ($4.99 for a 4-litre mis-tint the lumber yard wanted to get rid of). I painted the top half of one wall in the bedroom, and the next step is to sponge paint fluffy white clouds on the blue sky. I haven't figured out how to explain the pink ground, but then again, why do I have to?

Jump to the Answer. Return to top.

===============
L.T.Q. #26 Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 10:04:00

As promised, here is a Christmas/Hanukkah related questions, in keeping with the Festive Holiday Season.

Here is this week's question:

Heidi Claus (she's Santa's daughter) has a cottage situated on a well treed lot in Northern Ontario. She enjoys keeping her lot in top condition by fertilizing, pruning and removing deadwood and broken branches. However, Heidi has a rather strange habit regarding her little forest. Every once in a while she'll chop down a perfectly healthy tree and put it in a large pot. She'll water the tree and fertilize it etc. and a short time later when she grows tired of it, she burns it. Could there be any rational explanation for this seemingly strange behaviour?

Another question will be sent tomorrow, and the answers to both will follow in the new year.

Hope Santa (or Heidi, because she'll be taking over the family business when Santa retires) is good to you this year!

Jump to the Answer. Return to top.

===============
L.T.Q. #27 Date: Tue, 19 Dec 1995 17:22:00

Again in keeping with the Festive Holiday Season, I give you another Christmas/Hanukkah related question. Actually, it's two small questions combined.

Here is this week's question:

Part #1: Santa Claus has a vacation house that is positioned in such a way that all four sides face north. How is this possible?
Part #2: In Santa's cottage (not his vacation house mentioned in Part #1), where the temperature was below freezing, there was a newspaper, a fireplace, some kindling, and a kerosene lamp. What should he light first?

Here's a bonus Trivia Question for you: Why is Christmas celebrated on December 25th?

The answers will follow in the new year. Have a safe and happy holiday!

Jump to the Answer. Return to top.

===============
L.T.Q. #28 Date: Tue, 02 Jan 1996 18:02:00

Since I spent most of the last two weeks stuck at home doing On-Call Support, I got a chance to spend some quality time playing with my boys. This one's from them...

Here is this week's question:

Picture a bridge four kilometres long and strong enough to hold ten thousand kilograms, but no more. A loaded transport truck weighing exactly ten thousand kilograms drives onto the bridge. At the halfway point, a sparrow weighing 30 grams lands on the truck, yet the bridge doesn't collapse. How could this be?

Watch out for those Terrorist Budgies landing on Missle-Laden Cargo-Trucks!

Jump to the Answer. Return to top.

===============
L.T.Q. #29 Date: Mon, 08 Jan 1996 14:26:00

This question has been provided by Ross, who was reminded of it by last week's question about the gas-laden budgie truck.

Here is this week's question:

A truck was loaded with a flock of birds, but it was too heavy to cross the bridge. If the driver spooks the birds so that they are constantly flying about the back of the truck will this make the truck lighter and allow it to cross the bridge?

You realize that with all these questions about birds and trucks, Ridley and Orson are going to want to learn to drive now.

Jump to the Answer. Return to top.

===============
L.T.Q. #30 Date: Wed, 17 Jan 1996 14:47:00

Ok, so this question is not exactly as written on the game card, but the changes I made seemed to fit.

Here is this week's question:

Commander Riker was looking to buy a vacation house on the Planet of the Edo, an island in space where the natives, in addition to being Scantily Clad California Beach Blondes, always tell the truth and the visitors always lie. Riker was looking at one house he particularly liked, but wasn't sure if he could believe the things the owners were telling him about it, so he decided to determine if they were natives or visitors. Riker asked the man of the house if his wife was a visitor and he received a yes or no answer. Riker then asked the lady of the house if her husband was a visitor and she also gave him a yes or no answer. Were the two answers necessarily the same?

Come to think of it, I'm long over due for a vacation myself.

Jump to the Answer. Return to top.

===============

Jump back to:

Home Pages

This web page is maintained by Mike Jourard using HTML Notepad from cranial software.
Last modified on March 3, 1996. Converted to dot-com web site on May 22, 2000. Copyright © 1996,2000 by Badinage Publications. All rights reserved.