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

Sachin bought a car with a strange 5 digit numbered plate.The water image of the number is 78633 more than my car number. All the digits of car number are distinct.

What is the original number on number plate?

Car Number Riddle

Asked by Neha on 13 Mar 2021


In a kingdom, King George did not allow any citizen to visit the world outside. Also, only a person with proper paperwork was allowed to enter or he was sent back. A wooden bridge was what connected the kingdom to the world. The king had appointed a sharpshooter who would check the every five minutes on the bridge to check. After checking, he would go back to his hut and return exactly after five minutes again. The bridge took 9 minutes to cross.

A merchant was able to escape the kingdom without harming the shooter. How?

Asked by Neha on 04 May 2024

The cream is heavier than Milk. True or False?

Asked by Neha on 18 Sep 2024


Without looking at a calendar, within a minute name, a boy's name using 5 consecutive 1st letters of 5 consecutive months

Asked by Neha on 22 Apr 2025

Always in you, Sometimes on you;

If I surround you, I can kill you.

What am I?

Asked by Neha on 09 Apr 2022

I know a country, If you remove the last alphabet of its name, it will become a part of your body. Do you name it?

Asked by Neha on 26 Jan 2021


John drives to his office at 20km/hr. After reaching the office, he realizes that today is a holiday. He went back at an average speed of 30km/hr. Discounting the time spent in the stoppage what was the average speed of his journey?

Asked by Neha on 21 Apr 2025

Rahul decided to meet Simran so he boards a local train from Bombay station. Just after the station, there is a 1km long tunnel. The train starts and is now accelerating. Rahul is a claustrophobic guy, so what is the best position for him to sit?

Asked by Neha on 25 Mar 2023

Find three numbers such that When we multiply three numbers, we will get the prime numbers. The difference between the second and the first number is equal to the third and second.

Asked by Neha on 20 Apr 2025


A boy collects white seashells from the sea and brings them home every night. When he has enough of them, he decides to sell them to a trader.

The trader is ready to buy the shells and he asks the boy about the quantity. At this, the boy starts calculating. He has a giant box that contains 3 mini boxes. Two of them have another mini box inside. If the giant box can hold 50 shells, how many brown shells can he sell to the trader?

Asked by Neha on 25 Jun 2023

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Crossword puzzles

In the 1920s, people feared that crossword puzzles would contribute to illiteracy.