The tower block

Lateral thinking puzzles are often strange situations that require an explanation. For any puzzle of this type it is possible to construct various answers which fit the initial statement of the puzzle. However, for a good lateral thinking puzzle, the proper answer will be the best in the sense of the most apt and satisfying. When you hear the right answer to a good puzzle of this type you should want to kick yourself for not working it out! This sort of puzzle can also be played as a game. In this case they are solved through a dialogue between the quizmaster who sets the puzzle and the solver or solvers who try to figure out the answer. The puzzles as stated generally do not contain sufficient information for the solver to uncover the solution. So a key part of the process is the asking of questions. The questions can receive one of only three possible answers - yes, no or irrelevant. So here is a classic lateral thinking puzzle. Try it out first as a straight puzzle, and when you either work out the solution yourself or look up the answer, try it out as a game with your friends.

The puzzle

Boston United's latest player lives on the 13th floor of a tower block. Every morning he takes the lift down to the ground floor and leaves the building. When he returns home in the evening, if there is someone else in the lift or it's raining he goes straight back to his floor directly. However, if there is nobody else in the lift or it hasn't rained he goes up to the 10th floor and walks up the remaining three flights of stairs. He hates walking up stairs so why does he do it?

The solution

He is a boy, playing for the under 9s, and can only reach the button for the 10th floor, He can't reach the buttons for the floors above the 10th but he can ask people to push them for him. He can also push them with his umbrella.


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