Lateral Thinking & Logic Puzzles

By William F. Bultas
I encourage you to use any reference materials you think might help on the following 10 puzzles. I have placed the answers on a separate page to keep you from looking until you're ready. The ranking scale below is designed for your amusement, but should give you a general idea of how well you have performed on the quiz. Be aware that some of the puzzles may take a while to solve, so the more time you spend working on the puzzles, the higher your score is likely to be. If you enjoy these puzzles, be sure to try the other tests & puzzles at PUZZ.COM. Have fun! 

Number Correct   Lateral Thinking & Logic Rank
0-1              Illogical
2-3              Laterally Challenged
4-5              Critical Thinker
6                Shrewd
7-8              Astute
9-10             Vulcan


For the first 4 puzzles, pretend you are an alien who had managed to learn the English language, but you do not know what significance the days of the week have. On which day of the week would you assume

1. You would cook a meal.

2. You would get paid.

3. You would get married.

4. It would be unusually bright.

5. If there are 4 empty seats in a movie theatre, how many permutations are there for the number of ways 4 people could sit in these seats?

6. There are 10 socks of each of the following colors in a drawer: blue, green, red, yellow & white, for a total of 50 socks. If the socks are randomly distributed in the drawer (i.e. not in pairs or any other grouping), & you are blindfolded, what is the minimum number socks you must draw from the drawer in order to be certain you have at least 2 socks of the same color?

7. If you are in the same situation as in the preceding problem, how many socks must you draw from the drawer in order to be certain you have at least 2 socks of different colors?

8. If none of the following statements are true, who can we conclude broke the vase?

Mike: Sally broke the vase.

Tom: Mike will tell you who broke the vase.

April: Tom, Mike & I could not have broken the vase.

Chris: I did not break the vase.

Erik: Mike broke the vase, so Tom & April couldn't have.

Jim: I broke the vase, so Tom is innocent.

9. Make a word from boas that can be used to keep you clean.

10. Decide what number comes next in this stately series: 4, 0, 3, 1, 0, 1, ?

Answers