Science Puzzle
The Bartender’s Pistol
A man walks into a bar and asks for a glass of water. The bartender pulls out a pistol and points it at him. The man says thank you and walks out happy. No threat was made and nobody was upset.
Every part of that story is true. What is the explanation?
The Answer
The man had hiccups. He came in hoping a glass of water would cure them. The bartender recognised the problem and decided a sudden fright would be faster, so he pointed the pistol to startle the hiccups away. It worked, so the man no longer needed the water and thanked the bartender.
The puzzle feels impossible because of an unspoken assumption: that a pointed pistol must be a threat. Once you question that assumption and look for any explanation that is consistent with all the facts, the answer appears immediately.
Lateral thinking puzzles are exercises in noticing which assumption you did not realise you were making.
The principle: Lateral thinking. Situations that seem impossible usually rest on an unstated assumption. Drop the assumption and a consistent explanation appears.