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LYAO - Special - Seven Brain Teasers
[originally from 08/19/1998 LYAO]

Okay all you genius-types. Don't cheat.

Think about and answer the questions (and write the answers down, so it's HARDER to cheat) before you scroll down and check the answers!

(See Below For Answers - NO CHEATING!)

1. A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on the scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital. When he arrives the surgeon says, "I can't operate on this boy, he is my son!" How is this possible?
2. A man is wearing black: Black shoes, socks, trousers, jumper, gloves and balaclava. He is walking down a black street with all the street lamps off. A black car is coming towards him with its lights off, too, but somehow manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?
3. One day Kerry celebrated her birthday. Two days later her older twin brother, Terry, celebrated his birthday. How could this be?
4. Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones? (This is logical rather than lateral, but it is a good puzzle which can be solved by lateral thinking techniques. It is supposedly used by a very well-known software company as an interview question for prospective employees.)
5. A man died and went to Heaven. There were thousands of other people there. They were all naked and all looked as they did at the age of 21. He looked around to see if he recognized anyone. He saw a couple and he knew immediately that they were Adam and Eve. How did he know?
6. A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year. But they were not twins. How could this be so?
7. A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says 'Thank you' and walks out. What has happened?

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ANSWERS

1. The surgeon is the boy's mother!
2. It was day time!
3. At the time she went into labor, the mother of the twins was traveling by boat. The older twin, Terry, was born first early on March 1st. The boat then crossed a time zone, and Kerry, the younger twin, was born on February the 28th. Therefore, the younger twin celebrates her birthday two days before her older brother.
4. A square manhole cover can be turned and dropped down the diagonal of the manhole. A round manhole cannot be dropped down the manhole. So for safety and practicality, all manhole covers should be round.
5. He recognized Adam and Eve as the only people without navels. Because they were not born of women, they never had umbilical cords and, therefore, they never had navels.
6. This one seems perfectly logical but it can sometimes spark fierce theological arguments! They were two of a set of triplets (or quadruplets etc.) This simple little puzzle stumps many people. They try outlandish solutions involving test-tube babies or surrogate mothers. Why does the brain search for complex solutions when there is a much simpler one available?
7. The man had hiccups. The barman recognized this from his speech and drew the gun in order to give him a shock. It worked and cured the hiccups -- so the man no longer needed the water.

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