Brain Teasers
The Yard Sale
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
After buying a new oven, Gerald sold his old one to a stranger. Although the stranger offered to pay cash, Gerald, nonetheless, had a very good reason for insisting that the transaction take place at a bank. Rather than be offended, the stranger clearly understood the reason for this unusual request. Why did Gerald make this demand?
Hint
Q: Did Gerald know how to count?A: Yes
Q: Did the man have the correct currency?
A: Yes
Q: Wouldn't he have insisted on going to the bank, had he sold the oven to a friend?
A: No
Answer
Gerald is blind and fears he would be shortchanged by the purchaser. The bank teller would ensure the proper amount is paid.Hide Hint Show Hint Hide Answer Show Answer
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Comments
good one!
He must be living alone and no neighbors or friends
nice
Awesome Teaser!!! So easy it was hard. )
I tried to think of a logical reason for him going to a bank but the fact that he was blind didn't strike me once!
Great Job!
I tried to think of a logical reason for him going to a bank but the fact that he was blind didn't strike me once!
Great Job!
Good one! I didn't get it right... I couldn't even think of a good reason...
interesting...
You got this out of a book !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You Brits and misusing terms like 'insure' and 'ensure'.
Fun & easy.
Oh, that blind man is smart.
I figured Gerald bought a microwave at a yard sale, but the one he sold was sold through the want ads. Its physical location was in the employee break room at the bank where Gerald works (the whole thing seems more plausible if you set it in the early 80's, for some reason). But I guess that's just an overly-simple answer.
It could also be that counterfeit money was in circulation, and only a bank could verify the authenticity of the bills. But your situation, with the blind man, was more clever!
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