Lateral Thinking Puzzles


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They were playing strip poker, and the 5th guy lost, so he took off all his clothes, and the other 4 guys laughed themselves to death?

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It's an old photo, the fitfh person is taking the picture but as time has passed all the people are now dead.

How can the answer not be this? ;)

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To understand the answer to this riddle you first have to understand who these men were, and more importantly - why they were. There were actually six men playing poker that night whom I will introduce one by one. The first man was a wealthy business profiteer by the name Shamus Williams. Now, Shamus grew up living a very poor life and made his own way in the world. He was invited to this little get together by a business associate of his - Jarold McDragdenbury. Jarold was the owner and founder of a small business which specialized in the extraction of rare minerals from burnt-out lightbulbs. The third man (and also the owner of the house where this story takes place) was named Johnathon. Johnathon never actually knew his last name as his father died in a tragic plane-crash when he was young after gambling away the family fortune. You would think that Johnathon's mother would be able to tell him his last name, but she left him in the streets when he was very young, assuming that he would have a hard life growing up as a hermaphrodite. The fourth man was a bum they picked up off the streets to fill their game who's name they never learned, however most of them called him either "Bob" or "Strawberry Shortcake" due to his apparent affinity for the dessert treat. The fifth man was the owner of a bakery, and was actually the one who ended up bringing the shortcake to this poker game - his name was Artemus Jiggins. The final man will be introduced later, but rest assured that he is an integral part of the story.

Now, Shamus, Jarold, Artemus and Johnathon had all decided to set up this little poker game for Friday the 18th of May. The game was delayed until the following Friday, though, due to some scheduling issues that arose with Artemus. After all arriving at the house of Johnathon they realized that they were one man short for a good game of poker (which we all know must be played with 5 people). A game of rock, paper, scissors was played and it was ultimatley decided that Shamus would have to go out to find another player. After taking of 3.45 steps out of the house Shamus noticed the bum, and told him that he would get $5 to play poker with his friends. The bum agreed and was introduced to everyone else Bob.

At that very moment, however, a breakout was happening at a local prison. A man by the name of Killy McKill had escaped and was on the run. Killy was put into prison for life after murdering his wife, his two sons, his three daughters, his four aunts, two uncles, two grandfathers, three grandmothers, eight cousins, 14 first cousins and an ant he stepped on on his way to the jail-house. Killy was running from the law and looking for a place to hide when he stumbled across a charming neighborhood in downtown Buffalo. He wasted no time in breaking into the cellar of the house and locking the doors behind him.

Now very far into their game of poker the players were getting mighty thirsty, and so odds or evens was played and it was decided that Bob should go get drinks from the kitchen. In the kitchen Bob found the strawberry shortcake that Artemus brought. Being very hungry he devoured it quickly, not knowing that Artemus had secretly put volatile chemicals into the cake. You see, not two weeks ago Jarold had been hanging out with Artemus at a Starbucks downtown when he let slip that he had slept with Artemus's mother. Jarold has been drunk at the time so he didn't remember, but Artemus sure did. So Artemus had baked the cake with the plan to kill of Jarold - all the others were just in the way. After eating the cake Bob sat down to let the food digest. When he had been in there too long, Johnathon walked in to find him with cake all over his face. Johnathon laughed and gave him the name "Strawberry Shortcake". Returning to the game, the friends realized that the cake was the only food they had, and so played that Bubble gum, bubble gum, in a dish game and decided that Jarold had to go out and buy some food.

TO BE CONTINUED.....

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Answer update:

To understand the answer to this riddle you first have to understand who these men were, and more importantly - why they were. There were actually six men playing poker that night whom I will introduce one by one. The first man was a wealthy business profiteer by the name Shamus Williams. Now, Shamus grew up living a very poor life and made his own way in the world. He was invited to this little get together by a business associate of his - Jarold McDragdenbury. Jarold was the owner and founder of a small business which specialized in the extraction of rare minerals from burnt-out lightbulbs. The third man (and also the owner of the house where this story takes place) was named Johnathon. Johnathon never actually knew his last name as his father died in a tragic plane-crash when he was young after gambling away the family fortune. You would think that Johnathon's mother would be able to tell him his last name, but she left him in the streets when he was very young, assuming that he would have a hard life growing up as a hermaphrodite. The fourth man was a bum they picked up off the streets to fill their game who's name they never learned, however most of them called him either "Bob" or "Strawberry Shortcake" due to his apparent affinity for the dessert treat. The fifth man was the owner of a bakery, and was actually the one who ended up bringing the shortcake to this poker game - his name was Artemus Jiggins. The final man will be introduced later, but rest assured that he is an integral part of the story.

Now, Shamus, Jarold, Artemus and Johnathon had all decided to set up this little poker game for Friday the 18th of May. The game was delayed until the following Friday, though, due to some scheduling issues that arose with Artemus. After all arriving at the house of Johnathon they realized that they were one man short for a good game of poker (which we all know must be played with 5 people). A game of rock, paper, scissors was played and it was ultimatley decided that Shamus would have to go out to find another player. After taking of 3.45 steps out of the house Shamus noticed the bum, and told him that he would get $5 to play poker with his friends. The bum agreed and was introduced to everyone else Bob.

At that very moment, however, a breakout was happening at a local prison. A man by the name of Killy McKill had escaped and was on the run. Killy was put into prison for life after murdering his wife, his two sons, his three daughters, his four aunts, two uncles, two grandfathers, three grandmothers, eight cousins, 14 first cousins and an ant he stepped on on his way to the jail-house. Killy was running from the law and looking for a place to hide when he stumbled across a charming neighborhood in downtown Buffalo. He wasted no time in breaking into the cellar of the house and locking the doors behind him.

Now very far into their game of poker the players were getting mighty thirsty, and so odds or evens was played and it was decided that Bob should go get drinks from the kitchen. In the kitchen Bob found the strawberry shortcake that Artemus brought. Being very hungry he devoured it quickly, not knowing that Artemus had secretly put volatile chemicals into the cake. You see, not two weeks ago Jarold had been hanging out with Artemus at a Starbucks downtown when he let slip that he had slept with Artemus's mother. Jarold has been drunk at the time so he didn't remember, but Artemus sure did. So Artemus had baked the cake with the plan to kill of Jarold - all the others were just in the way. After eating the cake Bob sat down to let the food digest. When he had been in there too long, Johnathon walked in to find him with cake all over his face. Johnathon laughed and gave him the name "Strawberry Shortcake". Returning to the game, the friends realized that the cake was the only food they had, and so played that Bubble gum, bubble gum, in a dish game and decided that Jarold had to go out and buy some food. Jarold left and got into the car to go to his local King Supers.

Shamus, Artemus and Johnathon were now the only ones left in the room. Aretemus, remembering the poison cake decided to go see what was up with Bob. After he left, Johnathon sensed the opportunity for an advantage, and took it, by asking Shamus if he wanted to form an alliance. Now, Shamus wasn't about to form an alliance with a hermaphrodite, but he accepted anyways, thinking he might somehow make some profit from it. Meanwhile, Artemus went into the kitchen to find Bob dead from the cake. Artemus decided he needed to get rid of the body, and so dragged it off into the house. The house was very large, and Artemus didn't know exactly where he was so he opened a random door and threw in the body.

It turns out that the door into which he threw Bob went down into the cellar where Killy had hid himself. The sudden dumping of a body surprised Killy, but he soon relaxed and began to skin Bob and use him as a blanket. Artemus returned to the poker table, and they took about five minuted deciding whether they should keep playing without Jarold or not. At one point Shamus asked where Bob was, but Artemus said he got the ****s from eating the cake (while in actuality he was now being worn as a blanket by Killy). They decided to keep playing and were soon engrossed in the game. Shamus was losing pretty bad, and when he didn't get the king he needed for a flush he finally snapped. Shamus reached under the table and pulled out the gun he had taped there earlier. You see, when the game had first been delayed Shamus was wondering why, and so decided to follow Artemus. He soon found that Artemus had been screwing his wife behind his back. Shamus had brought the gun because he planned to kill Artemus, but he just got so angry that he shot them both. Suddenly feeling the weight of what he had done Shamus stumbled off into the depths of the large house.

While all this was going on Jarold was deciding whether he should buy the normal Cheddar Cheese doritos, or those spicy ones with the green bag. He decided on the latter, and baught them, then hopped back in his car to go back to the game. On the way back, he was pulled over - but for what, he didn't know. He was brought to police station, and then dragged into a questioning room screaming all the way. Inside he was told that his supposed friend, Johnathon, was actually a drug kingpin and that the FBI wanted him to go back to the game wearing a wire. Not seeing any choice in the matter he agreed and went along on his merry way. With a wire on his penis.

When he arrived back at the house he saw the two dead men. Instead of being surprised, though, he laughed. Everything was going exactly as planned. Artemus sat up, and took off his bullet-proof vest.

"It happened just like we planned it," he said. The two men began to collect to money from the table.

"Not exactly," said a voice. They heard the click of a gun being cocked, and both turned. Standing right behind them was Killy McKill.

To be continued... By someone else/

Edited by Evil Dragon
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To understand the answer to this riddle you first have to understand who these men were, and more importantly - why they were. There were actually six men playing poker that night whom I will introduce one by one. The first man was a wealthy business profiteer by the name Shamus Williams. Now, Shamus grew up living a very poor life and made his own way in the world. He was invited to this little get together by a business associate of his - Jarold McDragdenbury. Jarold was the owner and founder of a small business which specialized in the extraction of rare minerals from burnt-out lightbulbs. The third man (and also the owner of the house where this story takes place) was named Johnathon. Johnathon never actually knew his last name as his father died in a tragic plane-crash when he was young after gambling away the family fortune. You would think that Johnathon's mother would be able to tell him his last name, but she left him in the streets when he was very young, assuming that he would have a hard life growing up as a hermaphrodite. The fourth man was a bum they picked up off the streets to fill their game who's name they never learned, however most of them called him either "Bob" or "Strawberry Shortcake" due to his apparent affinity for the dessert treat. The fifth man was the owner of a bakery, and was actually the one who ended up bringing the shortcake to this poker game - his name was Artemus Jiggins. The final man will be introduced later, but rest assured that he is an integral part of the story.

Now, Shamus, Jarold, Artemus and Johnathon had all decided to set up this little poker game for Friday the 18th of May. The game was delayed until the following Friday, though, due to some scheduling issues that arose with Artemus. After all arriving at the house of Johnathon they realized that they were one man short for a good game of poker (which we all know must be played with 5 people). A game of rock, paper, scissors was played and it was ultimatley decided that Shamus would have to go out to find another player. After taking of 3.45 steps out of the house Shamus noticed the bum, and told him that he would get $5 to play poker with his friends. The bum agreed and was introduced to everyone else Bob.

At that very moment, however, a breakout was happening at a local prison. A man by the name of Killy McKill had escaped and was on the run. Killy was put into prison for life after murdering his wife, his two sons, his three daughters, his four aunts, two uncles, two grandfathers, three grandmothers, eight cousins, 14 first cousins and an ant he stepped on on his way to the jail-house. Killy was running from the law and looking for a place to hide when he stumbled across a charming neighborhood in downtown Buffalo. He wasted no time in breaking into the cellar of the house and locking the doors behind him.

Now very far into their game of poker the players were getting mighty thirsty, and so odds or evens was played and it was decided that Bob should go get drinks from the kitchen. In the kitchen Bob found the strawberry shortcake that Artemus brought. Being very hungry he devoured it quickly, not knowing that Artemus had secretly put volatile chemicals into the cake. You see, not two weeks ago Jarold had been hanging out with Artemus at a Starbucks downtown when he let slip that he had slept with Artemus's mother. Jarold has been drunk at the time so he didn't remember, but Artemus sure did. So Artemus had baked the cake with the plan to kill of Jarold - all the others were just in the way. After eating the cake Bob sat down to let the food digest. When he had been in there too long, Johnathon walked in to find him with cake all over his face. Johnathon laughed and gave him the name "Strawberry Shortcake". Returning to the game, the friends realized that the cake was the only food they had, and so played that Bubble gum, bubble gum, in a dish game and decided that Jarold had to go out and buy some food.

TO BE CONTINUED.....

alternate thinking puzzle...not make up some story to feel better about yourself for not being able to get it....pompus prick...muhahahaahah...no but for real....I did it. **** all of you.

obvious jokes. ;)

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I updated my last post... That's as far as I'm going with it... I was thinking something along the lines of Bob turns out not be dead - just skinless, Shamus does something... They all laugh and forgive eachother, then just when they start playing again the house gets nuked or something. :p

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lol that's not an answer, it's a story. What's the real answer? I've thought about a number of possible answers. Usually in most riddles, there's only one obvious answer.

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way to vague a question.....no proper answer....the 5th guy is in tahiti enjoying some women and drinks, and the other 4 died of cancer caused by the cards.

that in all honesty could be the answer. :yes:

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the purpose of these are to get to you to think. granted there could be several answers. anyone trying to solve these should be asking yes or no questions thus begining to rule out all possibilities but the one that is "true" according to the author. this things are proven to expand how one views a situation. the thinking outside the box BS. many companies use them. we use to spend about 30 min a week working on these at a company i worked for. does it work? i don't know but they are fun when you do them right. try focusing on asking questions that lead you to the answer not getting the answer right off the bat.

you said they are in something, are they in a boat?

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The 5th person has folded in the game of poker. He then leaves the building to go get cash to pay back what he owes them. After returning, he pays them back. A few minutes later another fellow folds. When he leaves to get money from the ATM, no one is in the room. He goes home to pay them back later. He returns the next day to find all 4 dead. They had moved out of the room while the walls we being painted and had died because of lead poisoning.

::Edit:: Give us the answer and another puzzle to solve.

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the purpose of these are to get to you to think. granted there could be several answers. anyone trying to solve these should be asking yes or no questions thus begining to rule out all possibilities but the one that is "true" according to the author. this things are proven to expand how one views a situation. the thinking outside the box BS. many companies use them. we use to spend about 30 min a week working on these at a company i worked for. does it work? i don't know but they are fun when you do them right. try focusing on asking questions that lead you to the answer not getting the answer right off the bat.

you said they are in something, are they in a boat?

That's exactly how you should be looking at this.

As far as a boat. You're extremely close. But it's not a boat. The 5th man is gone for a reason directly related to the card game.

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the 5th person won the game...adn the other 4 comitted suicide becase they had bet all their money

Yes, the 5th man is gone because he won the game

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The 5 people were playing poker. Each had a very good hand. The 5th person had A Royal Flush, the 4th a Straight Flush, the 3rd 4 of a Kind, the 2nd Full House, and the 1st a regular Flush. The 4 were convicts under the death penalty that had run away. After meeting the officer, they took him captive. He told them that if he won he could go free alive. If they won, they could go free alive.

A crew came into rescue him and shot the prisioners before the officer could stop them. It didn't matter because he had won anyway; however.

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so they are in something close to a boat...is it a ship? are there any signs on the bodies? bruses? bullets? anything?

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