Lateral Thinking Riddles

Lateral thinking puzzles involve solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious, thinking out of the box and involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic.

Short of Cash

A man phoned his daughter to ask her to buy a few things he needed for a trip. He told her she would find enough dollar bills for the purchases in an envelope on his desk. She found the envelope with 98 written on it.

In a store she bought $90 worth of things, but when it was time to pay she not only didn’t have $8 left over but she was short. By how much was she short of cash, and why?

Riddle Answer

Empty Cell Mystery

Andy is put in a cell with a dirt floor and only one window. The window is too high for him to reach. The only thing in the cell is a shovel.

He won’t be able to get any food or water and only has two days to escape or he’ll die.

Andy can’t dig a tunnel because it will take him much longer than two days to do it.

How will Andy escape from the cell?

Riddle Answer