Linear Thinking Riddle

There are four people in a house. A fireman, an athlete, an old woman, and a drunk guy. The house catches fire and before the fact is known, it is too late. All they know is that the entire house is in flames and it will collapse exactly after twelve minutes. Now they can move out of the house but for that, they will have to pass the hallway which is entirely blazing with flames. Thus to move, one must carry a fire extinguisher to keep the flames away. Seeking the burnt wooden floor, only two people can run through that hallway at one time. But for others to go, one must return back with the fire extinguisher. The fireman is trained for such tasks and can run through the hallway in a minute. The athlete can make it in a couple of minutes. The old woman can run slowly and will cover the hallway in four minutes. The drunk guy will take five minutes to run through it. If all of them can make it through the hallway in twelve minutes, all of them will be saved. When two move together, they will run at the speed of the slower ones.

How will all four of them manage to run to safety?




Similar Riddles

The king of Octopuses has servants who have six, seven or eight legs. The distinguishing characteristics of the servants is that the one with seven legs always lie but the one with either six or eight legs speak the truth always.

One day, four servants meet and converse:

The black one says, 'We have 28 legs altogether.'

The green one says, 'We have 27 legs altogether.'

The yellow one says, 'We have 26 legs altogether.'

The red one says, 'We have 25 legs altogether.'


Can you identify the colour of the servant who is speaking the truth?

Servants with multiple legs

Asked by Neha on 09 Apr 2021


A boy was at a carnival and went to a booth where a man said to the boy, "If I write your exact weight on this piece of paper then you have to give me $50, but if I cannot, I will pay you $50." The boy looked around and saw no scale so he agrees, thinking no matter what the carny writes he'll just say he weighs more or less. In the end the boy ended up paying the man $50. How did the man win the bet?

Asked by Neha on 07 Apr 2022

What can you catch but never throw?

Asked by Neha on 14 May 2021


Three people enter a room and have a green or blue hat placed on their heads. They cannot see their own hat but can see the other hats.
The colour of each hat is purely random. They could all be green, blue, or any combination of green and blue.
They need to guess their own hat colour by writing it on a piece of paper, or they can write 'pass'.
They cannot communicate with each other in any way once the game starts. But they can have a strategy meeting before the game.
If at least one of them guesses correctly they win $10,000 each, but if anyone guesses incorrectly they all get nothing.
What is the best strategy?

Asked by Neha on 05 Dec 2023

I have Rs.50 and I spend it in the way as below.

Fund and Spends

Asked by Neha on 01 Oct 2023

If 21x = 79x, what is the value of x?

Asked by Neha on 19 Oct 2023


Using four sevens (7) and a one (1) create the number 100. Except for the five numerals, you can use the usual mathematical operations (+, -, x, :), root and brackets ()

Asked by Neha on 26 May 2023

There are two arch enemies Messi and Ronaldo who hate each other to an extreme. One day both were going together and a Jeanie appeared in front of them. Jeanie grants 3 wishes to Ronaldo and one to Messi.

Messi replied smartly 'Give me twice whatever Ronaldo demands'.

Ronaldo asked his 1st wish 'Give me 10000 billion dollars. Soon Messi gets 2000 billion dollars.
Ronaldo asked for his 2nd wish 'Give me one mansion in every country in the world. Soon Messi gets two mansions in every country of the world?

What should be Ronaldo's third wish?

Asked by Neha on 02 Mar 2024

Can you solve the tricky chess rebus puzzle below by ciphering the hidden meaning?

Chess Rebus Riddle

Asked by Neha on 19 Dec 2020


There are three boxes on a table. One of the box contains Gold and the other two are empty. A printed message contains in each box. One of the message is true and the other two are lies.

The first box says "The Gold is not here".

The Second box says "The Gold is not here".

The Third box says "The Gold is in the Second box".

Which box has the Gold?

Asked by Neha on 07 Feb 2021

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Jigsaw puzzles

Jigsaw puzzles soared in popularity during the great depression, as they provided a cheap, long-lasting, recyclable form of entertainment.