Ever heard the term lateral thinking? It’s a way of thinking that’s different than what we do most of the time. Generally, we think vertically. So, what is lateral thinking?
Lateral thinking means thinking outside the box, as they say. Lateral thinking riddles are questions where the answers aren’t necessarily the most obvious. This kind of thinking is used to solve these riddles and helps keep your mind sharp.
In this article, we’re going to look at a few various lateral thinking riddles and explain what the answers are. We’ll compare the answers to what the vertical thinking answers might be, too. Read on to see what lateral thinking riddles look like.
Lateral Thinking Riddles: What Are They?
When we talk about lateral thinking, we mean the type of thinking that gets you to an answer that isn’t always the most obvious. The ability to think laterally allows people to be better problem-solvers because they can see things from different perspectives.
A lateral thinking riddle or puzzle doesn’t always have just one answer. There may be several answers that are appropriate and could produce the same outcome. The key is to think through the issues to come at the riddle from a different angle, not straight through the middle toward the obvious answer.
What Is Lateral Thinking Good For?
When we’re asked to think laterally to find an answer to a riddle, it causes us to have to tap into our creative brains. Lateral thinking riddles stretch your creativity muscles, which is extremely good exercise for your brain.
Teachers, trainers, and employers all use lateral thinking riddles or puzzles in their lessons or interviews because it pushes students and employees to go outside their comfort zones to find answers.
People who can think laterally tend to be good at problem solving and are highly adaptable to various situations.
Lateral Thinking Riddles
Now that you know what lateral thinking is and how it applies to riddles, let’s look at some specific examples. Keep reading to find 5 lateral thinking riddles and their answers.
Which Room Should He Choose?
Riddle: A man is given a choice of walking into 1 of 3 rooms. He’s received a death sentence and the 3 rooms each have a different punishment method inside.
One has a raging fire inside. One has a whole firing squad inside waiting to shoot him to death. And one has a large group of tigers. They haven’t eaten for 6 months. Which room should he take as an his option?
Answer: This man should go into the room with the tigers. As the tigers haven’t eaten for 6 months, they would all be dead. The man would not be harmed.
Vertical vs. Lateral: Though the answer for this riddle may not be as obvious as others, it takes some shifting of your attention to think sideways into figuring out the tigers couldn’t live that long without food. Vertical thinking would make it difficult to answer this riddle.
How Does He Survive?
Riddle: This man lives in a 20-story building. He decides to jump out the window. He ends up unscathed with no injuries at all. How does he survive?
Answer: This man jumps out a window on the first floor. Another answer could be his window opens over his balcony. He jumps out the window onto the balcony.
Vertical vs. Lateral: If you think vertically about this question, you will come to the conclusion the man jumps out the window and falls to his death or to serious injury. It’s only when you start thinking laterally that you figure out, just because he’s in a 20-story building doesn’t mean he has to jump from up there.
What Happened to the Third Person?
Riddle: Three people enter a room about the same time. Eventually, two of them walk out. The third person does not, but the room is then empty. What happened to the third person?
Answer: The key to thinking laterally sometimes is to look at words and their meanings. In this riddle, the word “enter” is used when we’re setting it up. Then the word turns to “walk” when we’re looking at what happened. The third person is in a wheel chair, thus they never “walk” out of the room, they’re rolled out.
Vertical vs. Lateral: Lateral thinking helps you figure out how a person who entered a room could exit that room without walking out. If you think vertically about this riddle, you may be stumped trying to figure out how this could be.
Which Should You Light First?
Riddle: You find yourself all alone in a creepy dark room. You have one match, a fireplace, an oil lamp, and a candle. Which should you light first?
Answer: You should light the match first because it’s the only way to ignite the other items.
Vertical vs. Lateral: The vertical thinker will breeze right past the fact that you can’t light anything else until you light the match. Lateral thinking allows you to see what really needs to happen before you move on to the actual choice.
How Are They Not Twins?
Riddle: A woman gives birth to two baby boys on the same day. They’re born at the same hour, in the same hospital, in the same month, and in the same year. They aren’t twins. How is it they’re not twins?
Answer: This woman had triplets. They’re not twins because there is a third baby.
Vertical vs. Lateral: This riddle would stump a vertical thinker. There’s no way for them not to be twins unless you think outside the box laterally to find another answer that fits.
Final Thoughts
Lateral thinking riddles are a lot of fun to answer. They give your brain the exercise it needs to stay sharp and alert. If you try solving some of them and find you’re having a tough time with your lateral thinking, don’t get discouraged. Lateral thinking can be learned by doing these riddles enough that your brain gets used to thinking that way.
References
20 Challenging Lateral Thinking Puzzles That Are Harder Than They Seem
https://sg.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/lateral-thinking
