Lateral Thinking Questions - #41 to #50

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 #41. Question #42. Question #43. Question #44. Question #45. Question #46. Question #47. Question #48. Question #49. Question #50.

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L.T.Q. #41 Date: Tue, 3 Sep 96 23:16 EDT

Well, I'm back from my wonderful vacation in the Northern Wilderness. I almost forgot to send this out!

Here is this week's question:

In a town in ancient Greece there was a law stating that all men must be clean-shaven and that no man might shave himself. The only person allowed to shave people was the licensed town barber (who was forty years old). There was only one barber. Since the barber was bound by the same law, who shaved the barber?

Actually, I'm thinking of sporting a bit of a goatee for a while, just to see what it feels like. Why? Because I'm having trouble coping with the Real World right now, and I really don't feel like being a slave to the razor any more.

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L.T.Q. #42 Date: Tue, 10 Sep 96 11:06 EDT

Well, it's time for another question. Those of you who have kids will probably get this one.

Here is this week's question:

A father was speaking to his teenage daughter. "You arrived very late, at 3 o'clock in the morning, and you kept me and your mother up waiting anxiously for you. I do not want that to ever happen again."
"But, Father," the girl replied, "I will never be able to do that again." What did she mean?

This one stumped me, until I peeked at the clues, and then reread the question. Clues to Lateral Thinking Questions are available only by subscription to the mailing list. They are not available on the Badinage Publications web site.

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L.T.Q. #43 Date: Tue, 17 Sep 96 16:29 EDT

Yeah! It's Corn Season! You know, Corn? Corn on the Cob? Yum! Yum!

Here is this week's question:

In a small town in the United States, a teenage boy asked his parents if he could go to a friend's party. His parents agreed, provided that he was back before sunrise. He left the house that evening clean-shaven and when he returned just before the following sunrise his parents were amazed to see that he had a fully grown beard. What happened?

What happened? I'll tell you what happened! He didn't have his fill of fresh, sweet, corn on the cob while it was in season! That's what happened! I'm getting my fill, that's for sure! Anyone want to get together for a corn roast and help me eat some of this terrific stuff?

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L.T.Q. #44 Date: Tue, 24 Sep 96 14:13 EDT

Here is this week's question:

A healthy man was surprised and delighted when an attractive woman whom he had never seen before came up to him in the street, threw her arms around him, and gave him a long kiss. They were unknown to each other before this meeting. Why did she do it?

How come things like this never happen to me?

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L.T.Q. #45 Date: Tue, 1 Oct 96 19:29 EDT

Now that Autumn is officially here, it's time to say goodbye to Summer.

Here is this week's question:

A woman dived into a swimming pool where other people were safely splashing about. The woman was a good swimmer in perfect health. As soon as she dived in, however, she immediately realized that she should not have done so and shrieked in horror. Why?

I tried to go swimming when I was in Manitoulin. Brrrrrrr, but that water was cold!

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L.T.Q. #46 Date: Tue, 8 Oct 96 13:34 EDT

Do you ever have that feeling that you just need to get away from it all, to find some retreat far from the hustle and bustle of the big city?

Here is this week's question:

In the mountains there is a cabin. Inside, three people lie dead. The cabin is locked from the inside and all three died at the same time. Although there is no sign of a struggle or of any weapons, their deaths were violent but accidental. They knew they were going to die immediately before they died. They died because they were in the cabin. If they had gotten out of the cabin three hours earlier they would have lived. What happened?

It's Turkey Time! Everybody have a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday.

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L.T.Q. #47 Date: Tue, 15 Oct 96 16:11 EDT

It was a fine Thanksgiving feast. One of the things I gave thanks for was the love and support of my family and friends, especially during the trying times I have had over the past six months.

Here is this week's question:

A couple went on holiday for three weeks. They carefully locked their house, and had a neighbour check on the place while they were gone. When they returned, the wife was distressed to learn that because there had been a power failure she had lost all her fine jewelry. She had hidden the jewelry in what she thought was a very safe place. She was not robbed. Her jewelry was lost by accident. Why?

I'm gonna change the rules a bit, especially since the mailing list has shrunk because of my disassociation with friends at my former workplace.

So from now on, if you come up with a solution that is totally banananananananas, off the wall, bonkers, or just plain stupid, and it is funny, then send it you me, and you get brownie points. I mean after all the whole point of these L.T.Q.'s is the have fun! Wow!

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L.T.Q. #48 Date: Tue, 22 Oct 96 13:38 EDT

Ever wonder where your tax dollars are going?

Here is this week's question:

The Danish government issues all the staff in one government department free biscuits every morning. The biscuits are not for the staff's own consumption, but are given away for their own protection. Why does the government do this?

Talk about your cushy government jobs!

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L.T.Q. #49 Date: Mon, 28 Oct 96 23:16 EST

This question is hereby dedicated to my net.buddies over at alt.gothic. It has been re-worded to give it the appropriate flavour and to incorporate the clues given in the book.

Here is this week's question:

Brandon, a normal(?) businessman with no criminal tendencies or physical disabilities, was travelling to Convergence in Boston. Every time he came to an airport, he took off his NiceBoots™ to save himself trouble with airport security. He took his boots off for a few minutes only and then put them on again. Why?

I apologize to the rest of the Lateral Thinkers for some of the inside references that you might not get.

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L.T.Q. #50 Date: Wed, 6 Nov 96 12:25 EST

Sorry this week's question is a little bit late, but things, as they say, have been developing, and I've been a little bit busy. Anyway, the next couple of questions will be of the Logical Thinking style. Do you remember your High School Math?

Here is this week's question:

You have two traditional hourglass-type egg timers, named Ridley and Orson. One takes 7 minutes for the sand to run through, the other takes 11 minutes. You want to boil an ostrich egg for exactly 15 minutes. How can you do it? And how soon after the start of the whole process will the egg be ready? Needless to say, you want to consume the delicious ostrich egg as soon as possible, though not necessarily in front of Ridley and Orson, as that would be rude and cruel!

Now I'm getting a little bit hungry. Anyone have any idea how long it will take for me to make my lunch? And how many egg timers will I need to accomplish the task?

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