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.

Cards in the Dark

You are standing in a pitch-dark room. A friend walks up and hands you a normal deck of 52 cards. He tells you that 13 of the 52 cards are face-up, the rest are face-down. These face-up cards are distributed randomly throughout the deck.

Your task is to split up the deck into two piles, using all the cards, such that each pile has the same number of face-up cards. The room is pitch-dark, so you can’t see the deck as you do this.

How can you accomplish this seemingly impossible task?

Riddle Answer

Selfish Son

There was once a man who had a very selfish and unkind son. So one day the father sent his son to the market with one coin and said, “I am sick and tired of your selfish ways. Take this coin and buy with it: something to feed the cows, something to plant in the garden, something for us to eat, and something for us to drink. Don’t come back until you do this!” He is only allowed to buy one item.

What did he buy that fulfilled his father’s wish?

Riddle Answer