Lateral Thinking IQ Test

By William F. Bultas
Can you think laterally? Try these 10 puzzles & discover your lateral thinking IQ! Be sure to take your time, as you should try to find the BEST answer to each of the puzzles.

Number Correct   Lateral Thinking IQ
0-1               90 - Below Average
2-3              100 - Average
4-5              110 - Above Average
6                120 - Superior
7-8              130 - Gifted
9-10             140 - Genius


1. A man & his family lay out blankets & lie down, watching the sky for hours, even though explosions can be heard nearby. Why?
Hint: The date is important.

2. A woman steps to the edge of a very high building, & as people look on, she leaps off, & falls several stories. The woman is not injured. Why?
Hint: The woman did not fall on cushions or any other type of softened surface, & was not wearing a parachute.

3. A man leaves home one night & drives over a mile to meet a friend for a drink. When the man arrives home, the clock shows a time only five minutes later than when he left. How is this possible?
Hint: There is nothing wrong with the clock, & it consistently shows the correct time.

4. A boy enters a room that is filled with adults. He is told by a man that the court has found that his parents have neglected & abused him, & he will be placed in foster care. However, the boy sleeps in the same house with his parents that night & several nights after that. No further mention is made of his move to foster care. Why?

5. Three men enter a room filled with gas wearing gas masks. The men voluntarily remove their masks, & begin coughing heavily because of the gas. They do not put their masks back on. The men are not suicidal, so why did they do this?

6. Spike, an adult, brings the paper to Mr. Hopkins every day. Spike is never paid for this. Why does he do this?
Hint: Spike does not have to bring the paper, but he does not do it entirely because he like Mr. Hopkins.

7. Toby is celebrating his birthday with his friends & family at a restaurant. "I'd like to have a beer - the best you've got! Today is my sixteenth birthday," Toby says to the waiter. The restaurant manager & several customers hear what Toby says, but he is still served a beer. Why?
Hint: Toby really is sixteen years old.

8. A woman bets her friends that she can grab the bare wire on a high voltage electric cable & not be injured. How could she possibly do this?
Hint: Electricity of extremely high voltage is flowing through the cable, & cannot be turned off. The cable cannot be cut or removed from the source of electricity.

9. The fastest runner in school bets a much slower runner that he can beat him in a sprint to a point that is 100 yards away from them. After considering for a minute, the slower runner agrees to the bet, & wins the race. How did he do it?
Hint: Both students actually ran in the race.

10. Mark's friends & family throw a surprise party for him. Mark is divorced a few months after the party. Why?
Hint: The party was in a town in which Mark does not live.

Answers