Brain Teasers
The Psychic Hobo
Situation
Situation puzzles (sometimes called lateral thinking puzzles) are ones where you need to ask lots of yes or no questions to figure out what happened in the situation. These are good puzzles for groups where one person knows the puzzle and answers the questions.Situation
One day, I was waiting to get on the subway. I was eating the apple I always have for breakfast, and I decided to sit next to a homeless man on the bench. While waiting, we saw a fat man walk by us. The hobo then muttered, "Pig."
I didn't give it a second thought, except that the comment was rude. There were still a few minutes until the next subway train arrived, and another man walked past us. He was tall, wearing a business suit. As he walked past, the hobo said, "Human." I thought nothing of this remark, other than he was, obviously, a human. The subway finally arrived, and I left for work.
The next day, the hobo was still there at the subway station. Today I watched from a distance. Several people walked past him; a skinny woman, a muscular man, and an old lady. In turn he muttered, "Soup," "Pork," and "Cookie."
Odd labels, I thought, because obviously none of them was a cookie. I got on the subway again, and proceeded to work. I could not stop thinking about the odd man at the subway station.
I observed him for days to come, and he continued this odd behavior. He would call people bread, carrot, rabbit, milk, and other strange things.
The next day, I walked by the homeless man once again, and he silently muttered, "Apple."
At that point, I finally recognised what was going on. Then, remembering something, I was stricken with horror.
What was the hobo's ability, and why was I horrified?
I didn't give it a second thought, except that the comment was rude. There were still a few minutes until the next subway train arrived, and another man walked past us. He was tall, wearing a business suit. As he walked past, the hobo said, "Human." I thought nothing of this remark, other than he was, obviously, a human. The subway finally arrived, and I left for work.
The next day, the hobo was still there at the subway station. Today I watched from a distance. Several people walked past him; a skinny woman, a muscular man, and an old lady. In turn he muttered, "Soup," "Pork," and "Cookie."
Odd labels, I thought, because obviously none of them was a cookie. I got on the subway again, and proceeded to work. I could not stop thinking about the odd man at the subway station.
I observed him for days to come, and he continued this odd behavior. He would call people bread, carrot, rabbit, milk, and other strange things.
The next day, I walked by the homeless man once again, and he silently muttered, "Apple."
At that point, I finally recognised what was going on. Then, remembering something, I was stricken with horror.
What was the hobo's ability, and why was I horrified?
Hint
I wonder what I'm going to eat for breakfast...Answer
He was able to tell what people last ate. I told you in the beginning of the teaser that I ate an apple every day before work, and at the end he said "Apple" to me.The reason I was horrified was because the first day I saw him, he had said "Human" to somebody, implying that they were a cannibal.
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