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

A car meter reading shows 72927 miles a palindromic number.
what is the minimum number of miles you would need to travel to see another palindromic number on the car meter reading?

Asked by Neha on 29 Mar 2026


What time is it when an elephant sits on a fence?

Asked by Neha on 10 Jul 2025

Rumel, A detective who was mere days from cracking an international smuggling ring has suddenly gone missing. While inspecting his last-known location, you find a note:

710 57735 34 5508 51 7718

Currently, there are 3 suspects: Bill, John, and Todd. Can you break the detective's code and find the criminal's name?

Crack the Detective Code

Asked by Neha on 15 Mar 2021


They are three errirs in this question. Can you find them?

Asked by Neha on 13 May 2025

Find the missing number in the sequence below:

Find the missing number

Asked by Neha on 03 Sep 2021

Mr. Buttons was all set to go to the village of Buttonland to meet his friend. So, he packed his bags and left for the village at 5 in the morning. Upon travelling on a road for miles, he came across a point where the road diverged into two. He was confused on which road to take. He gazed around and he saw two owls sitting on a branch. He thought he could ask for directions for the village from the two owls. So he went to the tree. There he saw a sign which read, "One owl always lies, and one is always truthful. They both fly away if you ask them more than 1 question."
Mr. Buttons was caught in the dilemma of what to ask? And from which owl to ask, since he only had one question. What should Mr. Buttons ask?

Asked by Neha on 18 Aug 2021


Below toothpicks/matchsticks indicate the group of fishes moving from west to east direction. Can you make them move from east to west by just moving three toothpicks/matchsticks?


Floating Fish

Asked by Neha on 14 May 2021

All Marigolds are flowers.
Few Flowers are used to make colors.
Therefore, some Marigold are used to make colors.

True Or False?

Asked by Neha on 24 Feb 2026

Which three-digit number, made of consecutive digits, like 567, is 2 less than a cube and 2 more than a square?

Asked by Neha on 24 Aug 2024


There is a family that live in a round house. The two parents go out for a movie and leave a babysitter to watch their son. They come back and the kid was not there. Some one kidnapped him. The maid said she was cleaning in a corner. The cook said he was making pizza. The babysitter said she was getting a board game. Who kidnapped him.

Asked by Neha on 16 Mar 2022

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Crossword puzzles

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