Lateral Thinking Puzzles

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Category:Puzzles - Mycoted

Category:Puzzles

From Mycoted

This page is a category. It makes a table of contents of the pages in this "group".

To add a page to this Category: 1. go to that page

2. click the edit tab 3. put this in the page:

[[Category:Puzzles]]

The page will then be listed here!

An Eskimo? or an Indian head?

The puzzles on these pages range from the image type puzzle shown here, through to riddles and other puzzles.

Subcategories

There is 1 subcategory to this category.

R

● Riddles

Articles in category "Puzzles"

There are 56 articles in this category.

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1

● 100 Factorial

4

● 4 men in hats

A

● A Puzzle by Lewis Carroll ● Actual Newspaper

Headlines

● Anthony and Cleopatra

B

● Bottled Money

C

● Circles

● Coin Balance ● Count the faces ● Crossing the bridge

D

● Death in a Field ● Drinking Glasses

F

● Falling Wine ● Family Problems ● Friday

L

● Light Switches

M

● Manhole Covers ● Matches Puzzle 1 ● Matches Puzzle 2 ● Matches Puzzle 3 ● Matches Puzzle 4 ● Matches Puzzle 5 ● Matches Puzzle 6 ● Matches Puzzle 7 ● Matches Puzzle 8 ● Maths Product

N

● Nine Dots

P

● Physics Problems ● Push that Car

S

● Sheep ● Sheep Pens ● Straight Lines ● Summer Months

T

● The Arm of the Postal

Service

T cont.

● The Blind Beggar ● The Broken Match

● The Coal, Carrot and Scarf ● The Deadly Dish

● The Deadly Party ● The Elder Twin ● The Man in the Bar ● The Man who Hanged

Himself

● The Music Stopped ● The Realisation ● The Royal Mint

● The Swimmer in the Forest ● The bird and the cars

● The man in the Elevator ● There are many correct

ways to answer a test question

● Triangle Ratios ● Trouble with Sons

W

● Wetter as it Dries ● What is it...

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G

● Gaining Space

H

● Heaven

● How many stamps

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Category:Puzzles" Category: Categories

● This page was last modified 21:14, 18 April 2006. ● This page has been accessed 6,943 times.

● Privacy policy ● About Mycoted ● Disclaimers

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Image:Eskimo-indian-s.gif - Mycoted

Image:Eskimo-indian-s.gif

From Mycoted

● Image ● File history ● Links

Eskimo-indian-s.gif (2KB, MIME type: image/gif) Eskimo? or North American Indian Head? (small)

File history

Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version.

Click on date to see the file uploaded on that date.

● (del) (cur) 16:15, 18 April 2006 . . Andy (Talk) . . 139x200 (1609 bytes) (Eskimo? or North

American Indian Head? (small))

● Edit this file using an external application

See the setup instructions for more information.

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Image:Eskimo-indian-s.gif - Mycoted

Links

The following pages link to this file:

● Category:Puzzles

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Image:Eskimo-indian-s.gif"

● This page was last modified 16:15, 18 April 2006. ● This page has been accessed 286 times.

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http://www.mycoted.com/mwiki/images/a/a4/Eskimo-indian-s.gif

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User:Andy - Mycoted

User:Andy

From Mycoted

Andy Beckett Mycoted Ltd my useful links;

To edit the navigation window: MediaWiki:Sidebar Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/User:Andy"

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Login required to edit - Mycoted

Login required to edit

From Mycoted

You have to login to edit pages. Return to Main Page.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/User_talk:Andy"

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Mycoted:Privacy policy - Mycoted

Mycoted:Privacy policy

From Mycoted

There is currently no text in this page, you can search for this page title in other pages or edit this page. Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Mycoted:Privacy_policy"

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Mycoted:About - Mycoted

Mycoted:About

From Mycoted

Mycoted is a UK based company that specialises in Creativity and Innovation.

As part of our aim to help spread creativity and innovation across the world, we have provided this wiki of techniques for everyone to take part in.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Mycoted:About"

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Mycoted:General disclaimer - Mycoted

Mycoted:General disclaimer

From Mycoted

There is currently no text in this page, you can search for this page title in other pages or edit this page. Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Mycoted:General_disclaimer"

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Category:Riddles - Mycoted

Category:Riddles

From Mycoted

Riddles...

Articles in category "Riddles"

There are 19 articles in this category.

A

● Anthony and Cleopatra

D

● Death in a Field

F

● Friday

H

● Heaven

P

● Push that Car

T

● The Arm of the Postal

Service

T cont.

● The Blind Beggar ● The Broken Match ● The Coal, Carrot and

Scarf

● The Deadly Dish ● The Deadly Party ● The Elder Twin ● The Man in the Bar

T cont.

● The Man who Hanged

Himself

● The Music Stopped ● The Realisation

● The Swimmer in the Forest ● The man in the Elevator ● Trouble with Sons

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Category:Riddles - Mycoted

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Category:Riddles" Category: Puzzles

● This page was last modified 14:14, 21 May 2006. ● This page has been accessed 305 times.

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Anthony and Cleopatra - Mycoted

Anthony and Cleopatra

From Mycoted

Anthony and Cleopatra are lying dead on the floor of a villa in Egypt. Nearby is a broken bowl. There is no mark on either of their bodies and they were not poisoned. How did they die?

Answer

Anthony and Cleopatra were goldfish whose bowl was knocked over by a clumsy dog.

This is one of a set of puzzles which deceive by using human names for animals. This is not a very satisfactory basis for a good puzzle but despite that, the puzzle has enduring popularity.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Anthony_and_Cleopatra" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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Death in a Field - Mycoted

Death in a Field

From Mycoted

A man is lying dead in a field. Next to him there is an unopened package. There is no other creature in the field. How did he die?

Answer 1

There was a package dropped from an overflying Chopper. The packet the person in the field and he was knocked dead.

Answer 2

The man had jumped from a plane but his parachute had failed to open. It is the unopened package.

Answer 3

The man is highly allergic to plant growth in the field and it suffocated him. The package is just something he was carrying and has no implication to the puzzle.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Death_in_a_Field" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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Friday - Mycoted

Friday

From Mycoted

A man rode into town on Friday. He stayed for three nights and then left on Friday. How come?

Answer

The man's horse was called Friday. OK, so this is really a schoolboy riddle but people keep asking it! Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Friday"

Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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Heaven - Mycoted

Heaven

From Mycoted

A man died and went to Heaven. There were thousands of other people there. They were all naked and all looked as they did at the age of 21. He looked around to see if there was anyone he recognised. He saw a couple and he knew immediately that they were Adam and Eve. How did he know?

Answer

He recognised Adam and Eve as the only people without navels. Because they were not born of women, they had never had umbilical cords and therefore they never had navels. This one seems perfectly logical but it can sometimes spark fierce theological arguments!

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Heaven" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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Push that Car - Mycoted

Push that Car

From Mycoted

A man pushed his car. He stopped when he reached a hotel at which point he knew he was bankrupt. Why?

Answer

The man pushing the car was a player in a monopoly game and his game piece was a car. Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Push_that_Car"

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The Arm of the Postal Service - Mycoted

The Arm of the Postal Service

From Mycoted

One day a man received a parcel in the post. Carefully packed inside was a human arm. He examined it, repacked it and then sent it on to another man. The second man also carefully examined the arm before taking it to the woods and burying it. Why did they do this?

Answer

The three men had been stranded on a desert island. Desperate for food, they had agreed to amputate their left arms in order to eat them. They swore an oath that each would have his left arm cut off. One of them was a doctor and he cut the arms off his two companions. They were then rescued. But his oath was still binding so he later had to have his arm amputated and sent to his colleagues. This is often told with a further twist whereby a doctor pays a tramp a large sum in order to amputate the tramp's arm which the doctor then sends to another man who inspects it etc. This variation can make for a long night of

questioning!

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/The_Arm_of_the_Postal_Service" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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The Blind Beggar - Mycoted

The Blind Beggar

From Mycoted

A blind beggar had a brother who died. What relation was the blind beggar to the brother who died? (Brother is not the answer)

Answer

The blind beggar was the sister of her brother who died. This puzzle is one of a type that depends on the listener making implicit assumptions about gender - in this case that a blind beggar is a man. Similar puzzles involve surgeons who refuse to operate on their sons etc. This is probably the best of the class because it is very simply stated and yet which has the power to baffle those who have not heard it before. Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/The_Blind_Beggar"

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The Broken Match - Mycoted

The Broken Match

From Mycoted

A man is found dead in a field. He is clutching a broken match. What happened?

Answer

He and a number of other passengers were making a balloon trip in a desperate attempt to flee a country. The balloon had to lose weight to stop it from crashing. He drew the short match and had to jump.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/The_Broken_Match" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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The Coal, Carrot and Scarf - Mycoted

The Coal, Carrot and Scarf

From Mycoted

Five pieces of coal, a carrot and a scarf are lying on the lawn. Nobody put them on the lawn but there is a perfectly logical reason why they should be there. What is it?

Answer

They were used by children who made a snowman. The snow has now melted. Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/The_Coal%2C_Carrot_and_Scarf" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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The Deadly Dish - Mycoted

The Deadly Dish

From Mycoted

Two men went into a restaurant. They both ordered the same dish from the menu. After they tasted it, one of the men went outside the restaurant and shot himself. Why?

Answer

The dish that the two men ordered was albatross. They had been stranded many years earlier on a desert island. When the man tasted albatross he realised that he had never tasted it before. This meant that the meat he had been given on the island was not albatross as he had been told. He correctly deduced that he had eaten the flesh of his son who had died when they first reached the island. This has something in common with No. 9 above but is in my opinion even better. It is fiendishly difficult to figure out from a standing start. A beautiful aspect of this problem is the subtle fact that he shot himself because he did not recognise the taste of the dish!

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/The_Deadly_Dish" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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The Deadly Party - Mycoted

The Deadly Party

From Mycoted

A man went to a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early. Everyone else at the party who drank the punch subsequently died of poisoning. Why did the man not die?

Hint

He drank as much punch as those who drank it later and died .... The poison had been in the punch bowl all the time ....

Answer

The poison in the punch came from the ice cubes. When the man drank the punch the ice was fully frozen. Gradually it melted, poisoning the punch.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/The_Deadly_Party" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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The Elder Twin - Mycoted

The Elder Twin

From Mycoted

One day Kerry celebrated her birthday. Two days later her older twin brother, Terry, celebrated his birthday. How come?

Answer

At the time she went into labour, the mother of the twins was traveling by boat. The older twin, Terry, was born first early on March 1st. The boat then crossed the International Date line (or any time zone line) and Kerry, the younger twin, was born on February the 28th. In a leap year the younger twin celebrates her birthday two days before her older brother.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/The_Elder_Twin" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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The Man in the Bar - Mycoted

The Man in the Bar

From Mycoted

A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says 'Thank you' and walks out.

Answer

The man had hiccups. The barman recognised this from his speech and drew the gun in order to give him a shock. It worked and cured the hiccups - so the man no longer needed the water.

This puzzle has claims to be the best of the genre. It is simple in its statement, absolutely baffling and yet with a completely satisfying solution. Most people struggle very hard to solve this one yet they like the answer when they hear it or have the satisfaction of figuring it out.

It is a simple puzzle to state but a difficult one to solve. It is a perfect example of a seemingly irrational and incongruous situation having a simple and complete explanation. Amazingly this classic puzzle seems to work in different cultures and languages.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/The_Man_in_the_Bar" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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The Man who Hanged Himself - Mycoted

The Man who Hanged Himself

From Mycoted

Not far from Madrid, there is a large wooden barn. The barn is completely empty except for a dead man hanging from the middle of the central rafter. The rope around his neck is ten feet long and his feet are three feet off the ground. The nearest wall is 20 feet away from the man. It is not possible to climb up the walls or along the rafters. The man hanged himself. How did he do it?

Answer

He climbed on a block of ice which has since melted.

This one is often stated with the clue of a puddle of water, but surely this is too much assistance. It is one of several problems which depend on the change of state of water (snow or ice to water or steam).

An alternative solution is that he climbed the rope, then put the end of the rope around his neck and let go.

Many thanks to Bob Kew for another intriguing solution: He used a bale of hay to stand on, or jump off, which has been eaten by sheep (which have left).

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/The_Man_who_Hanged_Himself" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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The Music Stopped - Mycoted

The Music Stopped

From Mycoted

The music stopped. She died. Explain.

Answer

She was a circus tight-rope walker who walked blindfolded over a high wire. The band played as she crossed and when the music stopped it was the signal that she had reached the end of the walk and could safely alight. One day the conductor was taken ill and the stand-in conductor ended the piece of music too early. She stepped off to her death.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/The_Music_Stopped" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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The Realisation - Mycoted

The Realisation

From Mycoted

A man was walking downstairs in a building when he suddenly realised that his wife had just died. How?

Answer

The man had visited his wife in hospital. She was on a life-support machine. As he was walking down the stairs all the lights went out. There had been a power cut and the emergency back-up systems had failed. He knew that she had died.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/The_Realisation" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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The Swimmer in the Forest - Mycoted

The Swimmer in the Forest

From Mycoted

Deep in the forest was found the body of a man who was wearing only swimming trunks, snorkel and facemask. The nearest lake was 8 miles away and the sea was 100 miles away. How had he died?

This is supposedly based on a true incident. Does this make it an urban legend? Many urban legends can be restated as lateral thinking puzzles.

Answer

During a forest fire, a fire-fighting plane had scooped up some water from the lake to drop on the fire. The plane had accidentally picked up the unfortunate swimmer.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/The_Swimmer_in_the_Forest" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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The man in the Elevator - Mycoted

The man in the Elevator

From Mycoted

A man lives on the tenth floor of a building. Every day he takes the elevator to go down to the ground floor to go to work or to go shopping. When he returns he takes the elevator to the seventh floor and walks up the stairs to reach his apartment on the tenth floor. He hates walking so why does he do it?

Answer

The man is too short to reach the number 10 button.

An alternative solution: The elevator only runs to the 7th floor. The riddle did not state that he takes the elevator from the 10th floor in the morning, just that he takes the elevator to the ground floor. He walks to the 7th floor each morning to take the elevator to the ground floor also.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/The_man_in_the_Elevator" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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Trouble with Sons - Mycoted

Trouble with Sons

From Mycoted

A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year. But they were not twins. How could this be so?

Answer

They were two of a set of triplets (or quadruplets etc.) This simple little puzzle stumps many people. They try outlandish solutions involving test-tube babies or surrogate mothers. Why does the brain search for complex solutions when there is a much simpler one available?

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Trouble_with_Sons" Categories: Puzzles | Riddles

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Categories - Mycoted

Categories

From Mycoted

The following categories exist in the wiki.

Showing below up to 11 results starting with #1.

View (previous 50) (next 50) (20 | 50 | 100 | 250 | 500). 1. Books (18 links)

2. Categories (3 links)

3. Creativity Techniques (187 links) 4. Idea Generation (1 links)

5. Idea Selection (5 links) 6. People (9 links)

7. Problem Definition (11 links) 8. Processes (1 links)

9. Puzzle Images (1 links) 10. Puzzles (57 links) 11. Riddles (19 links)

View (previous 50) (next 50) (20 | 50 | 100 | 250 | 500).

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Special:Categories"

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100 Factorial - Mycoted

100 Factorial

From Mycoted

One for the mathematicians this week, with thanks to Paul Kellet for sending it in. How many zeros are there at the end of 100! (factorial)?

Answer 24

The trick here is not to calculate 100! on your calculator (which only gives you ten digits of accuracy), but to figure out how high a power of 10 goes into 100! evenly. For every trailing zero, there is a power of 10 that divides 100! evenly. In order to do that, since 10 = 2*5, we need to figure the highest powers of 2 and 5 dividing 100! and take the lesser of the two exponents.

(Why?) Consider what happens when we multiply together 1*2*3*4*5*6*..., starting with the lowest numbers first. Every fifth number, starting with 5, is divisible by 5. That gives you 100/5 = 20 factors of 5 in 100!. But there are more. Every 25th number, starting with 25, has an extra factor of 5 beyond the ones already counted. That gives you 100/25 = 4 more factors of 5 in 100!. To get a third factor of 5 from a single number, it has to be a multiple of 125, and no number <= 100 is, so that is all.

The answer is: [100/5] + [100/5^2] + [100/5^3] + ... = 20 + 4 + 0 + ... = 24 Here [x] means the integer part of x, or the greatest integer not exceeding x.

(Why do we use this [x] instead of x?) All the terms from some point on will be zero, so this is a finite sum. Now for 2's (or any other prime number), the same analysis holds. The answer for the highest power of 2 dividing 100! is [100/2] + [100/2^2] + [100/2^3] + [100/2^4] + ... = 50 + 25 + 12 + 6 + 3 + 1 + 0 + 0 + ... = 97 The smaller of the two is 24, so the highest power of 10 dividing 100! is 10^24, so 100! ends with 24 zeroes.The same analysis works for any factorial n! and any prime p. The highest power of p dividing n! is: [n/p] + [n/p^2] + [n/p^3] + [n/p^4] + ...

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/100_Factorial" Category: Puzzles

● This page was last modified 14:59, 21 May 2006.

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100 Factorial - Mycoted

● This page has been accessed 191 times. ● Privacy policy

● About Mycoted ● Disclaimers

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Categories

From Mycoted

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4 men in hats - Mycoted

4 men in hats

From Mycoted

Shown above are 4 men buried up to their necks in the ground. They cannot move so can only look forward. Between A and B is a brick wall which cannot be seen through. They all know that between them they are wearing 4 hats, 2 x black and 2 x white, but they do not know what colour they are wearing. In order to avoid being shot one of them must call out to the executioner the colour of their hat. If they get it wrong, everyone will be shot. They are not allowed to talk to each other and have 10 minutes to fathom it out.

After 1 minute, one of them calls out. Question: Which one of them calls out?

Question: Why is he 100% certain of the colour of his hat?

This is not a trick question. There are no outside influences nor other ways of communicating. They cannot move and are buried in a straight line. So A & B can only see their respective sides of the wall, C can see B, and D can see B & C

Answer

C calls out that he is wearing a black hat. Why is he 100% certain of the colour of his hat ? After a while, C comes to the realization that he must answer.

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4 men in hats - Mycoted

This is because D can't answer, and neither can A or B.

D can see C and B, but can't determine his own hat colour. B can't see anyone and also can't determine his own hat colour. A is in the same situation as B, where he can't see anyone and can't determine his own hat colour.

Since A, B, and D are silent, that leaves C. C knows he is wearing a black hat because if D saw that both B and C were wearing white hats, then he would have answered. But since D is silent, C knows that he must be wearing a black hat as he can see that B is wearing a white hat.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/4_men_in_hats" Category: Puzzles

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Image:4men.gif - Mycoted

Image:4men.gif

From Mycoted ● Image ● File history ● Links

4men.gif (5KB, MIME type: image/gif)

File history

● (del) (cur) 19:57, 18 April 2006 . . Andy (Talk) . . 709x383 (4853 bytes)

Links

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Image:4men.gif - Mycoted

● 4 men in hats

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Image:4men.gif"

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Categories

From Mycoted

(42)

A Puzzle by Lewis Carroll - Mycoted

A Puzzle by Lewis Carroll

From Mycoted

John gave his brother James a box: About it there were many locks.

James woke and said it gave him pain; So gave it back to John again.

The box was not with lid supplied Yet caused two lids to open wide: And all these locks had never a key What kind of box, then, could it be?

Answer

As curly haired James was sleeping in bed, His brother John gave him a blow on the head. James opened his eyelids, and spying his brother, Doubled his fists, and gave him another.

This kind of a box then is not so rare

The lids are the eyelids, the locks are the hair.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/A_Puzzle_by_Lewis_Carroll" Category: Puzzles

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Categories

From Mycoted

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Actual Newspaper Headlines - Mycoted

Actual Newspaper Headlines

From Mycoted

OK, not really puzzles, but a few headlines that show things can be read in more than one way.

● Something went wrong in jet crash, experts say ● Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers

● Safety Experts say school bus passengers should be belted ● Drunk gets nine months in violin case

● Survivor of siamese twins joins parents ● Farmer Bill dies in house

● Iraqi head seeks arms

● Is there a ring of debris around Uranus? ● Stud tires out - Prostitutes appeal to Pope ● Panda mating fails; Veterinarian takes over ● Soviet virgin lands short of goal again ● British left waffles on Falkland Islands ● Eye drops off shelf

● Teacher strikes idle kids

● Reagan wins on budget, but more lies ahead ● Squad helps dog bite victim

● Shot off woman's leg helps Nicklaus to 66 ● Enraged cow injures farmer with axe ● Plane too close to ground, crash probe told ● Miners refuse to work after death

● Juvenile court to try shooting defendant ● Stolen painting found by tree

● Two soviet ships collide, one dies

● 2 sisters reunited after 18 years in checkout counter ● Killer sentenced to die for second time in 10 years ● Never withhold herpes infection from loved one ● Drunken drivers paid $1000 in '84

● War dims hope for peace

● If strike isn't settled quickly, it may last a while ● Cold wave linked to temperatures

● Enfiels couple slain; Police suspect homicide

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Actual_Newspaper_Headlines"

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Actual Newspaper Headlines - Mycoted

Category: Puzzles

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Categories

From Mycoted

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Categories

From Mycoted

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Bottled Money - Mycoted

Bottled Money

From Mycoted

If you put a small coin into an empty wine bottle and replace the cork, how would you get the coin out of the bottle without taking out the cork or breaking the bottle?

Answer

Push the cork into the bottle, and shake out the coin.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Bottled_Money" Category: Puzzles

● This page was last modified 13:22, 21 May 2006. ● This page has been accessed 1,928 times.

(49)

Categories

From Mycoted

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Circles - Mycoted

Circles

From Mycoted

Is the inner shape rearly a circle?

Answer

Both 'circles' are perfect circles.

Sometimes it is difficult to see the wood for the trees, and 'information' around the object or problem you are interested in can distort your view. Try covering the lines with a piece of card, or when looking at a problem try and remove some of the 'non-relevant information'.

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Circles"

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Circles - Mycoted

Category: Puzzles

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Image:Circles.gif - Mycoted

Image:Circles.gif

From Mycoted

Circles.gif (7KB, MIME type: image/gif)

File history

(53)

Image:Circles.gif - Mycoted

Links

● Circles

Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Image:Circles.gif"

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Categories

From Mycoted

(55)

Coin Balance - Mycoted

Coin Balance

From Mycoted

There are 12 boxes each containing a coin. There are a total of 11 pennies and 1 other coin in the boxes. You have a balance scale for comparing the weight of the boxes in which you can put any number of boxes on each side. You have at most, three weighings. In these three weighings you must find out which of the 12 boxes has the coin that is not a penny.

Answer

Balance any 4 coins (and call them A) with any other 4 coins (and call them B).

Case 1. - The coins balance.

You now have a stock of 8 coins (A and B) you know are ok. Weigh 3 good coins again 3 unknowns - if they balance then you have identified the coin and can use the last balance to determine if it is heavy or light. If they don't balance you know if it is heavy or light. Weigh 2 of the 3 unknown coins, and they will balance (identifying the unknown coin) or not.

Case 2 - Left hand balance (A) is heavier.

You have a stock of 4 known coins (C) and 8 unknown coins (A and B). Take 2 coins from group A (the left hand side) and 2 from group B (the right hand side) and balance these with 1 coin from A, 1 from B and 2 from C. If they balance, then the 4th coin from A or B is the unknown coin, and you can balance with a good coin to determine which. If A1, A2, B1, B2 are lighter than A3, B3, C1, C2 then either A1, A2 are lighter or B3 is heavier (and can be determined by a single balance) If A1, A2, B1, B2 are heavier than A3, B3, C1, C2 then either A1, A2 are heavier B3 is lighter (and can be determined by a single balance)

Case 3 - Left hand balance (A) is lighter.

As case 2, but swap all heaver / lighter.

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Count the faces - Mycoted

Count the faces

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How many faces can you see in the image?

Seven is good, but if you can see 10 you are doing better ...

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Image:Howmany.jpg - Mycoted

Image:Howmany.jpg

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Howmany.jpg (31KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) How many faces ? (Puzzle - large)

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Login required to edit - Mycoted

Login required to edit

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You have to login to edit pages. Return to Main Page.

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Crossing the bridge - Mycoted

Crossing the bridge

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"U2" has a concert that starts in 17 minutes and they must all cross a bridge to get there. All four men begin on the same side of the bridge.You must help them across to the other side. It is night. There is one flashlight. A maximum of two people can cross at one time. Any party who crosses, either 1 or 2 people, must have the flashlight with them. The flashlight must be walked back and forth, it cannot be thrown etc.

Each band member walks at a different speed. A pair must walk together at the rate of the slower man's pace:

Bono:- 1 minute to cross Edge:- 2 minutes to cross Adam:- 5 minutes to cross Larry:-10 minutes to cross For example: if Bono and Larry walk across first, 10 minutes have elapsed when they get to the other side of the bridge. If Larry then returns with the flashlight, a total of 20 minutes have passed and you have failed the mission.

Note: There is no trick behind this. It is the simple movement of resources in the appropriate order. There are two known answers to this problem. This is based on a question Microsoft gives to all prospective employees.

Note: Microsoft expects you to answer this question in under 5 minutes! There are no tricks to this like meeting halfway or anything. Good luck.

Answer

One solution is that Bono & Edge cross = 2 mins (total = 2) Bono goes back = 1 mins (total = 3) Larry & Adam cross = 10 mins (total = 13) Edge goes back = 2 mins (total = 15) Bono & Edge cross = 2 mins (total = 17)

A 2nd version is swapping Bono and Edge.

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Drinking Glasses - Mycoted

Drinking Glasses

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Six drinking glasses stand in a row, with the first three full of water and the next three empty. By handling and moving only one glass at a time, how can you arrange the six glasses so that no full glass stands next to another full glass, and no empty glass stands next to another empty glass. What is the minimum number of moves to solve this puzzle.

Answer

The problem can be solved by moving one glass. Simply pick up the middle one of the full glasses, pour the water into the middle one of the empty glasses, and return the glass to it's original position.

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Falling Wine - Mycoted

Falling Wine

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Whilst in a balloon floating stationary off the coast of france, I dropped two wine bottles over the side. If one was empty and the other full, which hit the ground first?

Answer

Neither hit the ground - I was off the coast of france, over the sea. Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Falling_Wine"

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Family Problems - Mycoted

Family Problems

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Can you solve all of these in under 30 seconds?

● A boy has as many sisters as he has brothers, but each of his sisters has twice as many brothers as

she has sisters. How many boys and girls are there in the family?

Answer

There are 4 boys and 3 girls.

● A man and his sister were out walking together one Saturday morning. The man pointed across

the street to a boy and said: ‘That boy is my nephew.’ The woman replied: ‘He is not my nephew.’ Can you explain this.

Answer

The boy is the woman’s son.

● Two Russians walk down a street in Moscow. One Russian is the father of the other Russian’s

son. How are they related?

Answer

They are husband and wife.

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Light Switches - Mycoted

Light Switches

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Three switches outside a windowless room are connected to three lightbulbs inside the room. How can you determine which switch is connected to which bulb if you are only allowed to enter the room once?

Answer

Switch on the first switch, leave it for a minute, and then switch it off again. Then switch on the second switch and enter the room. The second switch will be connected to the light that is on, the first switch will be connected to the light with the warm bulb, and the third switch will be connected to the light with the cold bulb.

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Manhole Covers - Mycoted

Manhole Covers

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Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?

Answer

This is logical rather than lateral, but it is a good puzzle which can be solved by lateral thinking

techniques. It is supposedly used by a very well-known software company as an interview question for prospective employees. Solution A square manhole cover can be turned and dropped down the diagonal of the manhole. A round manhole cannot be dropped down the manhole. So for safety and practicality, all manhole covers should be round.

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Matches Puzzle 1 - Mycoted

Matches Puzzle 1

From Mycoted

Remove 8 matches to leave just 2 squares, which should not touch.

Answer

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Image:Match1.gif

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Matches Puzzle 2

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Move 3 matches so that the pattern points down instead of up.

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Matches Puzzle 3

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Remove 1 match and rearrange the remainder to make 6 equal shapes.

Answer

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