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I finally was able to get this section up. The Lateral Thinking Puzzles are spilt into 3 sections (Don't scroll down unless you have given up!)
THE PUZZLES:
This gives the dilemna or puzzle.
THE HINTS:
This gives you the hint to that puzzle.
THE ANSWERS:
This has the answer to the puzzle (duh!).
NOTE:
I did not make these puzzles up, I got them from a book and I thought they were interesting. If you have a puzzle (such as these) you wish to submit, please let know by e-mailing [ legend@knology.net or ultimacj@go.com ]
I am sure there are other possible solutions. If you know that one would fit with the puzzle other than the book supplies please e-mail as stated above. Some of these don't even make sense to me.
GOOD LUCK!
I. Large Number
Assume there are approximately 5,000,000,000 (5 billion) people on the earth. What would you estimate to be the result, if you multiply together the number of fingers on every person's left hands? (For the purposes of this exercise, thumbs count as fingers, for five fingers per hand.) If you cannot estimate the number, then try to guess how long the number would be.
II. One Croaked!
Two frogs fell into a large cylindrical tank of liquid and both fell to the bottom. The walls were sheer and slippery. One frog died but one survived. How?
III. Buttons
There is a reason why men's clothes have buttons on the right while women's have buttons on the left. What is it?
IV. Bad Impression
A man entered a city art gallery and did terrible damage to some very valuable Impressionist paintings. Later that day, instead of being arrested, he was thanked by the curator of the art gallery for his actions. How come?
V. Poisoned
A man is found dead in a locked room. He was died of poisoning and it looks like suicide. No one was with him when he took the poison. But it was, in fact, murder. How come?
XI. Price Tag
Many shops have prices set just under a round figure, e.g., $9.99 instead of $10 or $99.95 instead of $100. It is assumed that this is done because the price seems lower to the consumer. But this is not the reason the practice started. What was the original reason for this pricing method?
I. Large Number
The answer can be quickly and accurately deduced. Think about the effect of actually multiplying the number of fingers on the left hands of all the people in the world, one after another. The calculation might start 5x5x5x5x5x5x5x4x5x5x5x5....and so on.
II. One Croaked!
The frogs were physically identical. One managed to survived the ordeal because of the result of its actions. The nature of the liquid is important.
III. Buttons
This is not a fashion issue. It has to do with the right- and left-handedness. When buttons first came into use, it was the better-off who used them.
IV. Bad Impression
He deliberately sprayed water over the paintings. This damaged them. He was not unstable, deranged or malevolent. He acted out of good intentions.
V. Poisoned
The man was trying to gain sympathy. He was deceived. The man wrote a suicide note and then deliberately took an overdoes. He did not intend to die. He expected to be rescued.
XI. Price Tag
A price set at 5 cents, or even 1 cent, under a round dollar amount means that a customer would be entitled to change from a bill. Smart shopkeepers were trying to protect themselves from losses.
I. Large Number
The product of the number of fingers on the left hands of every person is zero. It only takes one person to have no fingers on their left hands (and there are some people born with no fingers or even hands) for the product to be zero, because anything multiplied by zero is zero.
II. One Croaked!
The frogs fell into a large tank of cream. One swam around for awhile but then gave up and drowned. The other kept swimming until his movements turned into knobs of butter, on which he safely floated.
III. Buttons
Most people are right-handed and find it easier to fasten a button which is on the right through a hole which is on the left. This is why men's buttons are on the right. When buttons were first used it was the better-off who could afford clothes with buttons. Among this class the ladies were often dressed by maid-servants. The servant would face the lady right-handed servants to fasten buttons which were on the lady's left.
IV. Bad Impression
He was a firefighter who, in the course of putting out the fire, sprayed the room and paintings with water. He had indeed damaged the paintings, but saved them and others from complete destruction.
V. Poisoned
The man was separated from his wife but wanted to be reconciled. His nephew, and heir, suggested showing how distraught he was at the loss of his wife by staging a suicide attempt and taking an overdose. The nephew agreed to take the man's last, farewell letter to his wife so that she would rush round and save the man. Instead of doing so, the callous nephew stuck a stamp on it and posted it. By the time the wife reached her husband, he was dead.
XI. Price Tag
The practice originated to ensure that the clerk had to open the till and give change for each transaction, thus recording the sale and preventing him from pocketing the bills.