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HomeLateral thinking puzzles for kids
These puzzles try to trick you. The first answer that pops into your head is usually wrong, so read every word and think about it from a different side.
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A farmer has 5 cows. All but 3 of them walk away. How many cows are left?Ages 5–7
Choose from: 3, 2, 5, 8
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3. “All but 3” means every cow except 3 walked away, so 3 cows are left.
Which is heavier: 1 kilogram of cotton or 1 kilogram of iron?Ages 8–10
Choose from: The cotton, They weigh the same, The iron, It depends on the day
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They weigh the same. Both weigh exactly 1 kilogram. The iron is just much smaller!
What word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?Ages 11–14
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Short. Add “er” to “short” and you get “shorter”!
How many months of the year have 28 days?Ages 5–7
Choose from: Only one, Two, Six, All twelve
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All twelve. Every month has at least 28 days. Some have even more!
A farmer has 17 sheep. All but 9 run away. How many sheep are left?Ages 8–10
Choose from: 8, 9, 17, 26
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9. “All but 9” means all except 9 ran away, so 9 sheep are left.
A doctor gives you 3 tablets and tells you to take one every 30 minutes. How long will the tablets last?Ages 11–14
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1 hour. You take the first one straight away, the second after 30 minutes and the third after 60 minutes. That's 1 hour.
Rahul’s mother has three children: Snap, Crackle and who?Ages 5–7
Choose from: Rahul, Crunch, Bang, Pop
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Rahul. The question says they are Rahul’s mother’s children, so the third child is Rahul!
How many times can you take 5 away from 25?Ages 8–10
Choose from: 5 times, 25 times, 20 times, Once
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Once. After you take 5 away the first time, you aren't taking it from 25 any more. You're taking it from 20!
What can you hold in your left hand but never in your right hand?Ages 11–14
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Your right hand. Your left hand can hold your right hand, but your right hand can't hold itself!
What has a mouth but never eats?Ages 5–7
Choose from: A dog, A baby, A river, A fish
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A river. The place where a river meets the sea is called its mouth.
There are 3 apples, and you take away 2. How many apples do you have?Ages 8–10
Choose from: 2, 0, 1, 3
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2. You took 2 apples, so you have 2 apples!
What has one eye but can never see?Ages 11–14
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A needle. A needle has an ‘eye’: the little hole you push the thread through.
What can you hold without ever touching it?Ages 5–7
Choose from: A pencil, A ball, Your breath, A cup
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Your breath. You can “hold your breath”, but you can’t touch it!
What can you keep after giving it to someone?Ages 8–10
Choose from: A sweet, A toy, A pencil, Your word
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Your word. When you give your word (a promise), you still keep it!
A boy fell off a 20-metre ladder but wasn’t hurt. Why not?Ages 11–14
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He was on the bottom rung. He was standing on the lowest rung, so he barely fell at all.
What gets bigger the more you take away from it?Ages 5–7
Choose from: A hole, A pile of toys, A cake, A bucket of water
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A hole. The more sand you dig out, the bigger the hole gets!
A man stood in the rain with no umbrella and no hat, but not one hair on his head got wet. How?Ages 8–10
Choose from: He ran fast, He was bald, He wore a raincoat, It stopped raining
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He was bald. He had no hair on his head, so no hair could get wet!
Which building has the most storeys?Ages 11–14
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A library. A library is full of stories (in books)! It is a play on “storeys” and “stories”.
What belongs to you, but other people use it more than you do?Ages 5–7
Choose from: Your bed, Your shoes, Your toys, Your name
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Your name. Other people say your name much more often than you do!
How can you drop an egg onto a concrete floor without cracking the floor?Ages 8–10
Choose from: Only from very high, Any way you like, You can’t, Only on Sundays
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Any way you like. An egg will never crack a concrete floor. (The egg might crack, though!)
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