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

James ordered a fishing rod, priced at $3.56. Unfortunately, James is an Eskimo who lives in a very remote part of Greenland and the import rules forbid any package longer than 4 feet to be imported. The fishing rod was 4 feet and 1 inch, just a little too long, so how can the fishing rod be mailed to James without breaking the rules? Ideally James would like the fishing rod to arrive in one piece!

Asked by Neha on 11 Apr 2022


Four cars come to a four-way stop, each coming from a different direction. They can’t decide who got there first, so they all go forward at the same time. All 4 cars go, but none crash into each other. How is this possible?

Asked by Neha on 11 Aug 2025

During which month do people sleep the least?

Asked by Neha on 13 Apr 2022


Always in you, Sometimes on you;

If I surround you, I can kill you.

What am I?

Asked by Neha on 09 Apr 2022

There are 3 apples in the basket and you take away 2. How many apples do you have now?

Asked by Neha on 21 Oct 2025

A mile-long train is moving at sixty miles an hour when it reaches a mile-long tunnel. How long does it take the entire train to pass through the tunnel?

Asked by Neha on 27 Apr 2022


John killed hundreds of people mercilessly and yet the police were not able to put her behind the bars. Why?

Asked by Neha on 02 Nov 2024

Which country gets ill every time?

Asked by Neha on 14 Feb 2025

A finger goes in me. You fiddle with me when you're bored. The best man always has me first. What am I?

Asked by Neha on 06 Oct 2025


Can you write down eight eights so that they add up to one thousand?

Asked by Neha on 29 Sep 2021

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence has crushed all human records in the puzzle game “2048,” achieving a high score of 839,732 and beating the game in only 973 moves without using any undo.