Lateral Thinking Quiz

The following questions will test your ability to think laterally.

1. A graduate applying for pilot training with a major airline was asked what he would do if, after a long-haul flight to Sidney, he met the captain wearing a dress in the hotel bar. What would you do?
2. What can you hold in your right hand, but not in your left?
3. If you have two coins totaling 11p, and one of the coins is not a penny, what are the two coins?
4. How many animals of each species did Moses take into the Ark?
5. A man built a rectangular house, each side having a southern view. He spotted a bear. What colour was the bear?
6. If you were alone in a deserted house at night, there was an oil lamp, a candle and firewood but you only have one match, which would you light first?
7. What can you put in a wooden box that would make it lighter? The more of them you put in the lighter it becomes, yet the box stays empty?
8. Which side of a cat is the hairiest?
9. The 60th and 62nd British Prime Ministers had the same mother and father, but were not brothers. How do you account for this?
10. How many birthdays does a typical woman have?
11. Why can't a man living in Canterbury be buried west of the River Stour?
12. Divide 40 by half and add ten. What is the answer?
13. To the nearest cubic centimetre, how much soil is there in a 3m x 2m x 2m hole?
14. Is it legal for a man to marry his widow's sister?
15. If you drove a coach leaving Canterbury with 35 passengers, dropped off 6 and picked up 2 at Faversham, picked up 9 more at Sittingbourne, dropped off 3 at Chatham, and then drove on to arrive in London 40 minutes later, what would the name of the driver be?
16. A window cleaner is cleaning the windows on the 25th floor of a skyscraper, when he slips and falls. He is not wearing a safety harness and nothing slows his fall, yet he suffered no injuries. Explain.
17. The band of stars across the night sky is called the "...... Way"?
18. Yogurt is made from fermented ........
19. What do cows drink?
20. A farmer has 15 cows, all but 8 die. How many does he have left?
21. If a red house is made of red bricks, and a blue house is made of blue bricks, what is a green house made of?
22. In what sport are the shoes made of metal?
23. If a plane crashes on the Italian/Swiss border, where do you bury the survivors?
24. If the hour hand of a clock moves 1/60th of a degree every minute, how many degrees will it move in an hour?
25. How many hands does the clock of Big Ben have?
26. How many degrees are there between clock hands at 3.15 pm?
27. How many times do the hands of a clock overlap in 24 hours?
28. John's mother has 3 children, one is named April, one is named May. What is the third one named?
29. A cowboy rode into town on Friday, spent one night there, and left on Friday. How do you account for this?
30. How can you throw a ball as hard as you can, and make it stop and return to you, without hitting anything and with nothing attached to it?
31. Using just ONE straight cut, how can you cut a rectangular cake into two equal parts when a rectangular piece has already been removed from it?
32. A man went into a store to buy an item. He asked the assistant: "How much does it cost for one?" The assistant replied 2 pounds, Sir"
    "And how much for 10?" The assistant replied "£4"
    "How much for 100?" He got the reply "£6" What was the man buying?