Lateral thinking problems that require you to pay close attention to the exact wording of the problem.
1. A woman gave natural birth to two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same month of the same year. But they were not twins and she had no access to a time machine. How could this be?
2. A man was driving alone in his car when he spun off the road at high speed. He crashed through a fence and bounced down a steep ravine before the car plunged into a fast flowing river. As the car slowly settled in the river, the man realized that his arm was broken and that he could not release his seat belt and get out of the car. The car sank to the bottom of the river. He was trapped in the car. Rescuers arrived two hours later, yet they found him still in the river, but alive. How come?
3. A police officer saw a truck driver clearly going the wrong way down a one-way street, but did not try to stop him. Why not?
4. A man buys rice at $1 a pound from American growers and sells them at $0.05 a pound in India. As a result of this he becomes a millionaire. How come?
5. A New York city hairdresser recently said that he would rather cut the hair of three Canadians than that of one New Yorker. Why?
6. A man lives on the top floor of an apartment building. Every morning, he takes the elevator down to the lobby and leaves the building. However, when he returns, he can only travel partway up in the elevator and has to walk the rest of the way, unless it's raining. What’s the explanation for this?
