What are your best lateral thinking puzzles?

lenz@lemmy.ml to Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 118 points –

So I once came across this little puzzle, and I’ve been hungry for more ever since:

::: spoiler There are 500 bricks in an airplane. While it’s flying, one brick falls out of the airplane. How many bricks are left in the plane? 499 :::

::: spoiler What are the three steps to putting a giraffe in a refrigerator? Step 1: Open the fridge. Step 2: Put the giraffe inside. Step 3: Close the fridge. :::

::: spoiler What are the four steps to putting an elephant in a refrigerator? Step 1: Open the fridge. Step 2: Take the giraffe out. Step 3: Put the elephant inside. Step 4: Close the fridge. :::

::: spoiler The Lion King is having a birthday party. Every animal in the kingdom shows up except for one. Who is it, and why? The elephant, because he’s stuck in the fridge. :::

::: spoiler An old lady wants to cross a river. A local man tells her that the river is infested with crocodiles, and that if she tries to cross, she’ll surely be eaten and die. Despite this, she swims across and gets to the other side safely. Why was she able to do this? Because the crocodiles are all at the Lion King’s birthday party. :::

::: spoiler After the old lady safely crosses the river, she suddenly dies. Why? A brick fell on her! :::

I’ve been looking for more questions like this for years with no luck. Have y’all got any more puzzles like this? Make me think laterally!

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This may not be exactly what you’re asking for but there is a video game called Baba is You that you would probably really get a kick out of. It’s on Steam, Switch, and I believe if not yet that it’ll soon be on IOS/Android.

Baba is You is my jam! but so many levels i just give up too easy and peek the solution online. i am not as smart as i wish i was.

I always feel so good for solving one, then boom the next puzzle is a slight variation that removes the way I just solved it and it’s like... damn. They went and predicted it and then said ‘fuck you’

Yes! Baba is You is so so so good. I love how it makes you think differently

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I'm not familiar with lateral thinking, but this reads like a joke... Is it intended to be funny, or are you actually expected to come up with all of those answers?

You are indeed expected to come up with all those answers. Usually someone who already knows the answer asks the questions to you in person, and you guess until you get it right. Slowly, you realize the answers all have to do with the previous questions, and it makes it easier to think creatively hahaha. I wish I knew more than just this series of questions, but these are harder to come up with than it seems like lol.

So it's basically an exercise to promote creative thinking?

Tom Scott runs a Podcast (and formerly a gameshow) called Lateral, which is basically all lateral thinking puzzles. I highly recommend it.

If a brick falls out of a plane unexpectedly, there's bigger problems. There must at least be a brick sized hole in the pressurized hull.

Combine that with the cargo being unsecured, this prone to shifting whilst manouvering, there's certainly cause for distress aboard the plane.

That's not a lateral thinking problem. You could argue it's a joke, but it's certainly not a lateral thinking problem.

This just doesn't make any sense. If a brick can fly, why did it get on an airplane? And if it fell out, why didn't it just fly back in?

Interesting. I've heard the iterated animal jokes like that, and I've also heard the brick jokes, but never both of them together. I like it. Unfortunately I've never heard other jokes in the same vein.

I remember we have one in German, but it's more about language...
you ask a bunch of questions ghat the answer are different colors, and when they are all used to saying colour's, if you ask them what a cow gives, they'll probably say white. Of course, this was in 2nd grade.

Nah, the original is a bit different. After a bunch of color-questions (asked in high speed) you ask „What does the cow drink?“

Many people will answer „milk“, being smart and not saying „white“. But of course it’s „water“

The password game has some of those elements

That was fun, thanks! I made it till rule 24 on my phone. I give up haha

Okay this is offtopic, but does anyone know today's Wordle answer?

I do, but I don't know how to add spoiler tags.

Edit:

::: spoiler It's "ethos" :::

Dad not now im trying to break the record for worlds longest shit

Why is the thing you're looking for always in the last place you look?

Because they're being carried by an old lady!

Hidden in my Lemmy avatar is a story, one that is often misinterpreted. You'll need lateral thinking to answer the questions I've put at the end.