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

What's the only room from which no one can enter or leave

Asked by Neha on 15 Apr 2024


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 25 Mar 2022

One evening there was a murder in the home of a married couple, their son and daughter. One of these four people murdered one of the others. One of the members of the family witnessed the crime.

The other one helped the murderer.

These are the things we know for sure:

1. The witness and the one who helped the murderer were not of the same sex.

2. The oldest person and the witness were not of the same sex.

3. The youngest person and the victim were not of the same sex.

4. The one who helped the murderer was older than the victim.

5. The father was the oldest member of the family.

6. The murderer was not the youngest member of the family.

Who was the murderer?

Asked by Neha on 20 Sep 2025


A little girl goes to the store and buys one dozen eggs. As she is going home, all but three break. How many eggs are left unbroken?

Asked by Neha on 02 Mar 2022

John was working on a Chemical Mixture whose weight comprise 90% liquid and 10% solid. The total weight of the mixture is 20 pounds. After a while, John noticed that some of the liquid evaporated and now the liquid comprises just 50% of the weight.

What is the weight of the chemical mixture now?

Asked by Neha on 12 Feb 2024

No one wants to have it, but if one got it, he does not want to lose it. What is It?

Asked by Neha on 11 Jan 2021


In the given picture, in how many ways can you read the word "Tiger"?

Read Word Tiger

Asked by Neha on 21 May 2023

Some friends went on a vacation to a resort. It was raining heavily and it kept raining for thirteen days.

When it rained in the morning, the afternoon was beautiful and when it rained in the afternoon, the day was blessed with a clear morning.

Overall, the friends experienced eleven nice mornings and twelve nice afternoons. Can you find out the number of days they spent on vacation?

Asked by Neha on 08 Jun 2024

There is a straight highway. Four different villages lie on that highway. The distance between them is different. The third village is 60km away from the first village; the fourth is 40 km away from the second; the third is 10 km near to the fourth that it is to the second.

Can you calculate the distance between the fourth and the first village ?

Asked by Neha on 23 Mar 2023


What building has the most stories?

Asked by Neha on 21 Feb 2022

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Crossword

The day before the 1996 U.S. presidential election, the NYT Crossword contained the clue “Lead story in tomorrow’s newspaper,” the puzzle was built so that both electoral outcomes were correct answers, requiring 7 other clues to have dual responses.