Here, for the first time anywhere, are some of the best ‘Kosher’ lateral thinking puzzles. Some of you might be asking what these are – all I can say is that you need to be able to think ‘outside the box’ in order to solve such puzzles. Nothing in these puzzles should be taken for granted. Nothing is obvious. Read each very carefully. Look for the answer that best fits the question.

Best of luck.

The answers to these puzzles can be found by clicking here - ANSWERS

(KLT#1) The strange case of Moishe’s routine
It was Monday and Moishe had just awoken from a good night’s sleep. He lived on the 16th floor of an expensive block of flats in London – his apartment comprised 3 beds plus 3 reception rooms. He was a banker in the City and was proud of his position (so, of course, was his mother).

Moishe got up, washed, shaved, dressed and had breakfast (today it was a smoked salmon bagel and black coffee). At 8.30am, he put on his jacket, picked up his smart leather briefcase with gold trim and left his apartment.  He got into the lift, pressed G and when the lift reached the ground floor, Moishe got out and walked the mile to his office.

At 5.30pm, Moishe left his office to go home. He walked the mile to his block of flats, got into the lift and pressed 12. When the lift reached the 12th floor, he got out and walked up the four floors to the 16th floor and his apartment.

Moishe always followed this regular routine without fail.
The question is:
WHY DID MOISHE ALWAYS GET OUT ON THE 12TH FLOOR AND WALK UP TO THE 16TH FLOOR?
 

(KLT#2) The strange case of the tennis matches
Abbe and Maurice are keen tennis players. One Sunday, they go to their local tennis club in Finchley and play 3 tennis matches in a row. Then they leave. Afterwards, over coffee, they realised that they had both lost and won the same number of matches.
The question is:
HOW COULD THEY HAVE WON AND LOST THE SAME NUMBER OF MATCHES? REMEMBER, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A DRAW IN A TENNIS MATCH.
 

(KLT#3) The strange case of Hette’s walk
After a wild and wicked party in Yorkshire, Hette just had to get a breath of fresh air. So she left the house and, would you believe, took a walk across a soggy windswept moor. She didn’t even care about getting her feet muddy or having frizzy hair. The clouds were patchy and low overhead and she was unable to see a single star in the sky. Hette had never been to this area before and did not know anything about the moor. She had no compass or torch with her and there was no moonlight to guide her. But she still managed to easily walk for 30 minutes across the moor and back to the house.
The question is:
HOW ON EARTH DID HETTE AVOID GETTING LOST ON MOORS THAT SHE KNEW NOTHING ABOUT?
 

(KLT#4) Moishe in the swimming pool
Moishe is a member of a local fitness centre and is a keen swimmer. One Sunday, he goes to the centre and swims, would you believe, 50 lengths of the pool. OK he wasn’t up to Olympic standard but Moishe did manage a passable breaststroke. The pool was 25m long and 12m wide. It was 1m deep at the shallow end and then it sloped at an angle of 45 degrees to the deep end where it was 3m deep.
The question is:
HOW MUCH WATER, IN LITRES, IS REQUIRED TO FILL THE POOL?
 

(KLT#5) The strange case of Benjy the President
It was the year 2045 and, would you believe, Benjy became President of the USA. On the day he took office, Benjy held his first high-level meeting at the White House. The meeting was held in a south facing room. It was daylight, it wasn’t raining and it wasn’t foggy. But still, when Benjy looked out of the window, he couldn’t see the top of the Empire State Building.
The question is:
WHY?
 

(KLT#6) The strange over-shopping case
Rifka and Daniel have 2 sons who share the same birth date. Whenever they go shopping for their children in Brent Cross shopping Centre, Rifka and Daniel never fail to buy three of everything. For example, the last time they were there, they bought 3 pairs of canvas trainers, 3 T-shirts, and 3 pairs of jeans - and all of the same size.
The question is:
THEIR CHILDREN DON’T NEED ANY SPARE CLOTHES, SO WHY DO RIFKA AND DANIEL DO THIS?
 

(KLT#7) The strange case of the sandy back
Shlomo and Isaac were two fun loving 6 year old boys having a great day out on the beach at Birchington-on-Sea. After building dozens of sand castles, they laid down on the sand, on their backs, for a well earned rest. When they later got up to play with their kite, Shlomo’s back was full of sand but Isaac’s back was perfectly clean.
The question is:
WHY DID ISAAC GO DOWN TO THE SEA TO WASH HIS BACK WHILE SHLOMO STAYED WHERE HE WAS?
 

(KLT#8) The unfortunate case of the plane crash
Jacob owned the modern charter aircraft that was carrying, amongst others, 12 Jewish families back home after their 3 week Turkish holiday. Unfortunately, the plane developed a serious malfunction and crash-landed on the border between Switzerland, France and northern Italy.
The question is:
LOOKING AT THIS PURELY FROM A LEGAL STANDPOINT, WHERE SHOULD THE SURVIVORS BE BURIED?
 

(KLT#9) The Jewish football match
You are refereeing a Jewish football match between Brady Maccabi and the Tel Aviv All Stars. Four of the 22 players on the pitch are called Moishe (1 in the Brady team and 3 in the Tel Aviv team) and three of the players are called Sidney (2 in the Brady team and 1 in the Tel Aviv team).  Both goalkeepers are called Abbe.
The question is:
CAN YOU WORK OUT THE NAME OF THE REFEREE?
 

(KLT#10) The strange case of Benjy’s Sunday run
When Benjy wakes up on Sunday mornings, he always follows the same routine. He takes a shower, shaves and has a light breakfast. Then he goes out for his Sunday run. He always follows the same route around Edgware/Stanmore and it always takes him 85 minutes from the time he leaves home to the time he returns.
One Sunday morning, he wakes up after a late night out and for the first time ever, just can’t be bothered to shave. He goes out for his Sunday run along his normal route and this time it takes him one hour and twentyfive minutes to complete.
The question is:
WHY IS THIS?
 

(KLT#11) Who is right?
Moishe and Isaac are having an argument. Moishe says it is more correct to say, “the herd of sheep is eating hay in the field” whereas Isaac says it is more correct to say, “the herd of sheep are eating hay in the field”.
The question is:
WHO IS RIGHT?
 

(KLT#12) Moishe and the jug
Have you heard the legend of the evil baron who offered Moishe, a poor man, an earthenware jug? The baron told Moishe that the jug contained a special liquid that would turn everything it came into contact with into 100% 22carat gold.
The question is:
WHY DID MOISHE REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIS GENEROUS OFFER?
 

(KLT#13) Why isn’t Bernie tired?
Bernie stays awake night after night without getting any sleep at all, but doesn’t feel tired.
The question is:
WHY DOESN’T BERNIE FEEL TIRED?
 

(KLT#14) Dare Devil Morris
Morris is a gambler. One day he bets Shlomo £1,000 that he can jump from a 13 storey building onto the concrete street below without hurting himself. Shlomo thinks Morris is off his head and accepts the bet.
The question is:
HOW DID MORRIS WIN THE £1,000?
 

(KLT#15) The strange case of the excited new car owner
Harry has just bought a brand new Lexus. On his way home from work on Wednesday evening, he is so thrilled at having a chance to show off his new car to his girlfriend Kitty that he isn’t really concentrating. He goes past a red light without stopping and bumps into someone in front of him. He then goes past a ‘no entry’ sign. A policeman has seen all of this.
The question is:
WHY DIDN’T THE POLICEMAN TAKE ANY ACTION?
 

(KLT#16) Bath night at Moishes
Moishe is looking at two tubs. One contains water at 20 degrees Fahrenheit and the other tub contains water at 20 degrees Centigrade. He has a special dog called Benjy and Moishe is a bit confused.
The question is:
WHICH TUB DOES MOISHE EVENTUALLY CHOOSE TO GIVE BENJY HIS WEEKLY BATH?
 

(KLT#17) Sidney the fisherman
Sidney loves to fish. He finds it very relaxing and uses an expensive gold plated fishing rod. One day, he is fishing off the side of a barge moored against the bank of the Thames. The hook on the end of Sidney’s fishing line is 50cm below the surface of the Thames. The tide is rising at the rate of 30cm per hour.
The question is:
HOW FAR BELOW THE WATER LEVEL WILL THE HOOK BE AFTER SIDNEY HAS BEEN FISHING FOR 3 HOURS?

(KLT#18) Death in the night
Arnold had just died and his wife Hetty was explaining to their doctor what had happened. She told him that just before he died, Arnold had been watching a TV program on tigers. Later that night, he had a nightmare in which he was being chased through the jungle by a huge, man-eating tiger. Arnold was tossing and turning so violently in his sleep, Hetty said, that he rolled off the bed, hit his head hard on the wooden floor and died instantly from concussion.
The question is:
WHY WAS THE DOCTOR NOT CONVINCED HETTY WAS TELLING THE TRUTH?
 

(KLT#19) The coin collector
Every evening, when he got back from his day at the office, Moishe always looked through his change in case he found an old coin. He knew that only very old coins were worth more than their face value.
The question is:
WHY IS IT THAT 1980 5p COINS ARE WORTH ABOUT £100?
 

(KLT#20) Moishe’s punishment
Moishe was a naughty teenager and was always getting himself into trouble at school. One week he was so bad that as a punishment he was asked to carry 100 bags of sand from the store room to the long jump pit. He found it a great struggle and after he had taken the first few bags to the pit, he soon realised that he could put something in each bag to make it lighter to carry.
The question is:
WHAT COULD MOISHE PUT INTO EACH BAG?
 

go to second set of KLT puzzles

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