Lateral Thinking Questions - #61 to #70

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 #61. Question #62. Question #63. Question #64. Question #65. Question #66. Question #67. Question #68. Question #69. Question #70.

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L.T.Q. #61 Date: Tue, 21 Jan 1997 14:23:28 -0500 (EST)

They say that timing is everything in Life.

Here is this week's question:

Why is it that, in general, the hair on a man's head goes grey before the hair in his mustache does?

I don't know about other men, but my head certainly went grey a lot sooner than my mustache (if I had one, that is) did. Of course, I just tell myself that I'd rather be grey than bald, and I feel a lot better! $8-)

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L.T.Q. #62 Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 22:26:49 -0500 (EST)

Did you know that it is duck hunting season? The next couple of questions will be all about ducks.

Here is this week's question:

A man was travelling across the country carrying a fox, a duck, and a bag of corn, when he came to a river. There was a small boat in which he could ferry only one of the three items across the river at any one time. He could not leave the fox alone with the duck or the duck would be eaten. And he dare not leave the duck alone with the corn or the corn would be eaten. So how did he get all three across?

This reminds me of an old joke about a nun, a duck, and a rubber hose. I forget the punch line, which is probably just as well!

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L.T.Q. #63 Date: Tue, 4 Feb 1997 23:08:59 -0500 (EST)

It's still duck hunting season... and no fair Peking at the answer!

Here is this week's question:

John and his pet duck, Saltene, were watching television. Just after the midnight news there was a weather forecast: "It is raining now and will rain for the next two days." This made Saltene very happy. "However," the forecast continued, "in 72 hours it will be bright and sunny." John laughed. "Wrong again!" He was correct, but how did he know?

Bonus points will be awarded if you can tell me the title of the Late Night Movie that came on after the news. It was one of Saltene's favourites.

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L.T.Q. #64 Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 13:01:00 -0500 (EST)

We're coming to the end of duck hunting season, but we still have time for one more.

Here is this week's question:

A woman gave a man something to eat. It caused him to die. It was not poisoned or poisonous. They both knew it was dangerous, because they had been given warnings by a duck who was sitting in a pond in their garden. Why did the man die?

No, he didn't die from a broken skull. [Old joke, to be retold with the answer.]

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L.T.Q. #65 Date: Mon, 17 Feb 1997 23:47:44 -0500 (EST)

We've found a new source for questions. This one is an oldie.

Here is this week's question:

Carey Queen works on the 35th floor of an office tower. Most mornings Carey will ride the elevator as far as the 25th floor, then climb the stairs to the 35th. On mornings when it's raining, however, he will always ride the elevator to the 35th floor. Since Carey is neither fond of exercise nor superstitious, what could be the reason for this rather bizarre behaviour?

Some people just have trouble reaching the heights of their potential.

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L.T.Q. #66 Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 23:35:48 -0500 (EST)

Jamie's Birthday is tomorrow, so in her honour, we will get our kicks with LTQ 66!

Here is this week's question:

Wrongway Blacktopp, the famous African explorer, claims that when he is in the far north, he can point his car north on an ordinary road very much like Route 66, drive it for one kilometre, and without turning around, end up one kilometre south of where he started. How does he do it?

I used to have this problem in the mornings, but now I take the subway to work instead!

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L.T.Q. #67 Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 23:00:55 -0500 (EST)

The following comes to us from Wesley Crusher's final exam on Quantum Physics and the Time-Space Continuum at the Starfleet Academy.

Here is this week's question:

When the day after tomorrow is yesterday, today will be as far from Wednesday as today was from Wednesday when the day before yesterday was tomorrow. What is the day after this day?

Is it any wonder that I couldn't tell that today was today when it should have been yesterday that was today so that today would have been tomorrow... Beware the Ides of March!

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L.T.Q. #68 Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 23:01:40 -0500 (EST)

"He who approaches the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three..."—Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Here is this week's question:

In classic mythology, there is the story of the Sphinx, a monster with the body of a lion and the upper part of a woman. The Sphinx lay crouched on the top of a rock along the highroad to the city of Thebes, and stopped all travellers passing by, proposing to them a riddle. Those who failed to answer the riddle correctly were killed. This is the riddle the Sphinx asked the travellers:
"What animal walks on four legs in the morning, two legs during the day, and three legs in the evening?"

Me thinx the Sphinx stinx!

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L.T.Q. #69 Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 23:50:09 -0500 (EST)

Well, the Temptation to go Overboard was great, but not too great, so I was able to keep this question open to those under 18 years of age.

Here is this week's question:

What is it that has six legs, two heads, and flies?

And the first one who says "Twenty bucks, just like downtown!" gets unsubscribed real quick! (No, I am NOT kidding!)

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L.T.Q. #70 Date: Tue, 25 Mar 1997 23:17:40 -0500 (EST)

Hail, Hale, the Bopp's all here!

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy, an utterly insignificant little blue green planet orbits a small unregarded yellow sun. Recently, the amazingly primative ape-descended life forms looked up from their digital watches perchance to see one (or two or three) of the most spectacular celestial sights.

In honour of the Hale-Bopp Comet (and a lunar eclipse and a great view of Mars on the same night!), we have a faster-than-light question.

Here is this week's question:

Galilea is afraid of big, green and blue, pyjama-eating monsters hiding under her bed. She usually runs from her bedroom door and leaps onto her bed so the monsters can't get her. Even though Galilea's bed is twelve feet from the door, she manages to switch off her light and jump into bed before her room is dark. Since Galilea doesn't use The Clapper or any other devices to flip the switch, how is she able to accomplish this remarkable feat and protect herself from the Boogeyman?

All of you who made an effort to view the Wonders of the Heavens can give yourself an Awesome Viewing Bonus Point. If you live in a part of the world where the view wasn't available to you, but you would have made the effort if it was, you can give yourself an Auxiliary Awesome Viewing Point.

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