Alternative thinking

How would you answer these questions? You will find suggestive answers as you read on but may I recommend that you give it a thought before looking for the answers.

1. How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
2. If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall, how long would it take four men to build it?
3. If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in the other hand, what would you have?
4. How can you lift an elephant with one hand?
5. How can a man go eight days without sleep?
6. If you throw a red stone into the blue sea what it will become?
7. What looks like half apple ?
8. What can you never eat for breakfast?
9. Bay of Bengal is in which state?


These questions were asked in UPSC exam typically taken by aspirants who wish to get into IAS(Indian Administrative Service)/IFS/IPS/IES etc and you will find that the responses are quite candid. They may not be what you were expecting to see but would you argue with correctness of the responses?

1. Concrete floors are very hard to crack! (UPSC Topper)
2. No time at all it is already built. (UPSC 23rd Rank Opted for IFS)
3. Very large hands. (UPSC 11 Rank Opted for IPS)
4. you will never find an elephant with one hand. (UPSC Rank 14)
5. No Probs, He sleeps at night. (UPSC IAS Rank 98)
6. It will Wet or Sink as simple as that. (UPSC IAS Rank 2)
7: The other half. (UPSC - IAS Topper )
8: Dinner.
9: Liquid (UPSC 33 Rank)

Now, for some more:
Scenario: An aspirant goes to the interviewing board of IIm (Indian Institute of Management).
Interviewer said "I shall either ask you ten easy questions or one really difficult question. Think well before you make up your mind!"
The boy thought for a while and said, "my choice is one really difficult question."

"Well; Good luck to you. Now tell me this."
"What comes first, Day or Night?"

The boy was jolted into reality as his admission depends on the correctness of his answer, but he thought for a while and said, "It's the DAY sir!"

"How?" The interviewer asked.

"Sorry sir, you promised me that you will not ask me a SECOND difficult question!"
He was selected for IIM!

Sometimes, giving cheeky answers get you through. ;)

Technical Skill is the mastery of complexity, while Creativity is the master of presence of mind. This is a famous paper written for an Oxford philosophy exam, normally requiring an eight page essay answer and expected to be backed up with source material, quotes and analytical reasoning. This guy wrote the below answer and topped the exam!

OXFORD EXAMINATION BOARD 1987* *ESSAY QUESTION*
Question: What is courage? (50 Marks)
Answer: This is courage

Wow. Just wow.