Brain Teasers
First Five Presidents
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
Mr. Dribble was visiting his sister and his young nephew, Adam, who was studying modern American history. He showed him a list of all the American Presidents in order. As Mr. Dribble looked at the list he said three of the first five presidents died on Independence Day (July 4th). The young boy looked at the list and said, "I bet one of the presidents who died on July 4th was James Monroe."
Mr. Dribble was surprised that he knew this, and asked him how could he be so sure. How did Adam know this?
Mr. Dribble was surprised that he knew this, and asked him how could he be so sure. How did Adam know this?
Answer
Mr. Dribble stated that three of the first five presidents died on July 4th. Adam knew that the fifth must be one of the three or else Mr. Dribble would have said three of the first four. He knew the name of the fifth president by reading it off the list.Hide Answer Show Answer
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