Lateral Thinking
20 Super Starter Activities
Lateral Thinking
Improve
your ability
to infer,
deduce and
speculate!
1. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
There is a man who lives on the top floor of a
very tall building. Everyday he gets the lift down
to the ground floor to leave the building to go to
work. However, upon returning from work he
can only travel half way up in the lift and then
has to walk the rest of the way - unless it's
raining!
Why?
ANSWER
The man is very, very short and can only reach
halfway up the lift buttons. However, if it is
raining then he will have his umbrella with him
and can press the higher buttons with it.
2. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
A man and his son are in a car accident.
The father dies at the scene, but the child
is rushed to the hospital. When he arrives
the surgeon says, "I can't operate on this
boy, he is my son! "
How can this be?
ANSWER
The surgeon was his mother.
3. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
A man is wearing all black. Black shoes, socks,
trousers, coat, gloves and a ski mask. He is walking in
the road with all the street lamps off. A black car is
speeding towards him, with its lights off, but the
driver somehow manages to stop before he crashes
into the man dressed in black!
How did the driver see the man?
ANSWER
It was day time
.
4. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
A man went to a party and drank
some ice cold punch. He was very
tired so he decided to leave the party
early. Everyone else at the party, who
drank the punch, subsequently died of
poisoning!
Why did the man not die?
ANSWER
The poison had been put in ice cubes. When the
man drank the punch, the ice was fully frozen.
Gradually over the evening the ice melted,
poisoning the punch and everyone who drank it!
5. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
A man is found dead in his office. His head is on his
desk soaked in a pool of blood. By his feet, on the
floor, is a small handgun that has recently been fired.
Forensics show that this is the gun that killed him.
He has been shot in the left temple at close range.
On the desk is a suicide note, and in his left hand is
the pen that wrote the note.
How did the police know this was a
murder and not a suicide?
ANSWER
The man died with a pen in his left hand – if it
was suicide he would have died holding the gun!
6. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
When Suzy Smith was six years old she
hammered a nail into a tree in her garden to
record her height. Fifteen years later she
decided to see how much higher the nail
was. The tree had grown by four
centimetres each year.
How much higher was the nail?
ANSWER
It was in exactly the same place!
Trees grow from the top.
7. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
Two English professors were discussing the English
Language. Professor Green had just told Professor
Red about a very special word. “How can that be?”
Said Professor Red. “Ah therein lies the secret!”
replied Professor Green. “It’s true there is a seven
lettered word in the English language that contains
eight words without rearranging any of the letters.”
What is the word?
ANSWER
Therein
the, there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere.
8. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
A man has committed murder and is
condemned to death. He is given the chance
to enter one of three rooms. The first is a
raging inferno, the second is full of assassins
with loaded guns, the third contains a lion
who has not eaten for three years.
Which room is the safest to enter?
ANSWER
The room with the lion – the lion would be dead
as it had not eaten for three years.
9. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
What is the beginning of
eternity, the end of time,
the beginning of every end,
and the end of every
place?
ANSWER
The letter ‘e’
Eternity, time, end, place
E
E E E EE
10. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
When you add 2 to 11 the
correct answer is 1.
How is this possible?
ANSWER
When you add two hours to
eleven o’clock you get one o’clock!
11. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
A woman was found dead in the middle of
a terrible snow storm. There were no
tracks leading to or from the body. The
cause of death was partially due to the
unopened pack on her back.
What was in the pack and what killed
her?
Answer
An unopened parachute. The cause of death
was impact with the ground.
12. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
Professor Boffin and Professor Clever
were playing chess. They played seven
games; each won the same number of
games and there were no draws.
How can this be true?
ANSWER
They were not playing each other!
13. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
Mrs Summer is eighty five years old and getting rather
absent minded. Every Tuesday she does her weekly
shopping. However, recently she has been forgetting
how to get to the supermarket! Last Tuesday on her
way to the shops she did not stop at a red light and
then turned down a one way street in the wrong
direction. A policeman saw everything but did nothing
about it?
How could Mrs Summer get
away with such behaviour?
Answer
Mrs Summer was not driving she was walking!
14. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
During a terrible snow storm a man gets
lost in the mountains. Almost dead from
the cold he stumbles across a log cabin.
Inside the cabin there is a newspaper, a
fireplace, some kindling and a kerosene
lamp.
What should he light first?
ANSWER
A match! It’s the only way to light the other
things!
15. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
A famous actor was found shot dead while
sitting in his car outside his home. Forensics
could not find any trace of gunpowder in the
car. This suggests he was shot by someone
outside the car however, the only bullet holes
were found on the body. The doors and
windows were closed and locked and the car
was completely undamaged.
How did someone manage to kill
him?
ANSWER
The actor was in a convertible. He was shot
when the top was down!
16. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
An aeroplane carrying German citizens
crashes on the border between America
and Canada.
In which country would the survivors
be buried?
ANSWER
Neither! Survivors are not buried!
17. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
It had started to rain very heavily. Rather than walk Mr Chatty
decided to get a taxi home. As soon as he sat down in the taxi he
began talking non-stop. The taxi driver realised he was going to
have to put up with his talking all the way to Mr Chatty’s house! So
he looked in his rear view mirror and said, “Sorry mate I can’t hear
a word you’re saying. I broke my hearing aid this morning and
without it I’m completely deaf!” Mr Chatty remained silent for the
rest of the journey. When they arrived at his house Mr Chatty got
out, paid his fare and went inside. A few moments later he realised
that the taxi driver had lied to him about being deaf!
How did Mr Chatty know he was lying?
ANSWER
Mr Chatty must have told the driver his
destination. Had the driver not heard him he
would not have known where to go!
18. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
A woman was driving alone in her car when she spun
off the road at high speed. She crashed through a
fence, and plunged into a fast flowing river. As the car
came to a stop the woman realised she had broken
her arms and could not release her safety belt and get
out of the car. The car sank to the bottom of the river
and she was trapped in the car! The police and fire
brigade arrived two hours later; the woman was still in
the car alive!
How was this possible?
ANSWER
The water in the river only came up to the
woman’s chest.
19. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
Police, acting on a tip off, raid a house to arrest a man
suspected of robbing a bank. They have no idea what
he looks like but they know his name is Peter. When
the police break down the door they find a carpenter,
a lorry driver, a mechanic and a fireman playing cards.
Without hesitation or asking the card players any
questions they immediately arrest the fireman.
How do they know they have the right person?
ANSWER
The fireman is the only man in the room, the
rest of the card players are women.
20. You have 5 minutes to think of an
answer and write it in your book.
An empty yacht, which had been missing for a
week, is discovered in the middle of the ocean. It
is not damaged in any way. Nearby in the water
are five drowned bodies. When the lifeboat
arrives they can’t work out what happened.
How could the people drown so near a
boat?
ANSWER
The people on the yacht decided to go for a
swim and jumped into the sea. Unfortunately
they forgot to put the ladder down and
therefore could not climb back onto the boat.
Eventually they drowned!