Five Brilliant Brain Teasers For The Week: Story Riddles Edition

Try to solve each riddle from the story alone—no outside facts needed. Ready?

🧠 1) A Startling Order (Easy)

A man walks into a quiet diner and says to the server, “Please give me a glass of water.”

The server suddenly pulls out a party popper and sets it off with a loud bang.

The man says, “Thank you,” leaves a generous tip, and walks out without touching any water.

Why did the popper solve his problem?

🧠 2) Fortune Lost at the Hotel (Easy)

A man pushes his car up to a hotel and immediately loses his fortune.

He doesn’t complain, and no crime has occurred.

What’s going on?

🧩 3) Wrong Way, Right Move (Medium)

At dawn, a courier goes down a one-way street in the wrong direction.

A police officer sees the courier, makes eye contact, but does nothing—no warning, no ticket.

Why wasn’t the courier stopped?

🧩 4) Sunday Clues (Medium)

A man is found dead in his house on a Sunday morning.

Police question the household staff:

The wife says she was asleep.

The cook says he was making breakfast.

The butler says he was polishing the silver.

The gardener says she was picking vegetables.

The maid says she was bringing in the mail.

One of them is immediately arrested.

Who did it—and what’s the giveaway?

🧠💥 5) The Silent Field (Hard)

A man is found dead in an open field.

There are no weapons, no wounds, and the only tracks in the soft ground are his own footprints.

He is wearing a backpack.

What likely happened?

✅ Answers (scroll only after you’ve had a go!)

1) A Startling Order

He had the hiccups. The loud pop startled him, curing the hiccups—no water needed.

2) Fortune Lost at the Hotel

They’re playing Monopoly. He pushed his token (the car) to a Hotel space and owed rent, losing his fortune.

3) Wrong Way, Right Move

The courier was walking, not driving. One-way rules apply to vehicles, so there’s no violation.

4) Sunday Clues

The maid. There’s no regular mail delivery on Sunday; her alibi is the giveaway.

5) The Silent Field

His parachute failed. The “backpack” is a parachute pack; he fell, leaving only his own footprints where he landed.