Introduction

You have come to know that riddles and brain teasers are a great way to get a good laugh, or maybe to challenge a friend. You may even like to challenge yourself with these riddles. But do you know that thousands of years ago, people just like you were interested in a good riddle or puzzle, too?
Some were interested for different reasons than, depending on their needs. For instance, one of the first uses for a riddle was to carry a message from one person to another “secretly”—a quiz of sorts that only you knew the answer to, and hopefully the person on the other end would be smart enough to solve or figure it out. Unfortunately, not everyone was so lucky. For example, one of the most famous riddles of all times was that of Samson from the Bible. As a challenge, Samson tried to trick the Philistines with a riddle about honey. Frustrated and angry, the people decided to solve the riddle of Samson’s strength instead. When they discovered the answer, they removed his hair, took away his strength and defeated him.
Many of the words or expressions in our world are the forms of these earlier riddles and brainteasers. Take your name, for example. Do you know that your name has a hidden meaning? The stories behind both our first and last names are usually more than meet the eye. Entire books have been written to explain the original meanings behind any first name. Last names are usually easier to guess, as people used to “sneak” what they did for a living into their last name, such as Smith (for blacksmith or goldsmith) and Wagoner. Or, they would use their father’s name and then add the word “son” on the end, as in Johnson and Peterson. And what about middle names? Well, they hid your family lineage by using your mother’s maiden name for your middle name.
Puzzling maybe, but there’s more: do you know which famous author secretly fooled a great number of readers by using his last name spelled backward? Actually, his last name was Geisel, and when he wrote it backward, it became Lesieg … but he became famous through his middle name. Do you know what it was? (Answer: It was Dr. Seuss! His real full name was Theodor Seuss Geisel.) Authors aren’t the only tricksters. Artists and actors, musicians and entertainers also like to challenge us to try to figure out the sometimes-tough riddle of who they are or who they were.
Probably the biggest brainteaser of all is trying to solve the puzzle of the mind itself. Understanding how our brain works has been one of the greatest mysteries ever. Today, the workings of the brain are still a riddle or brainteaser in need of a solution, if you are interested. This book will be a wonderful platform for you to start warming up for a mental challenge.
In this book, short interactive mysteries are the examples of lateral thinking puzzles. Each puzzle describes an unusual scenario, and your job is to figure out what is going on. The puzzles may seem open-ended, but they generally have only one satisfying answer, one solution that suddenly appears when the light bulb goes on in your head and you say, “Aha!” Each mystery takes a few minute to read, and then you can take your time to enjoy the sleuthing process!
So, prepare to be tricked, tested, riddled, and teased until you can’t take any more—and have fun!