2. The Unseen Suspect
2. Acting on an anonymous phone call, the police raid a house to arrest a suspected murderer. They don't know what he looks like but they know his name is John and that he is inside the house. The police bust in on a carpenter, a lorry driver, a mechanic and a fireman all playing poker. Without hesitation or communication of any kind, they immediately arrest the fireman. How do they know they've got their man?
Added 1 January 2007 · Updated 2 July 2026
Hint: The police only know two things, that the criminal's name is John and that he is in a particular house.
Solution:
The fireman is the only man in the room. The rest of the poker players are women.
Comments (2)
Your puzzle suggests you don't understand English. Having 'man' at the end of a word does not signify 'male'. A woman can be the chairman of an organisation. Hence, it implies that the fireman could also be a woman.
The lateral thinking question where the police raid a house for a man named john. They don't know what he looks like but they find a carpenter, mechanic, lorry driver, and a firefighter. They immediately arrest the fireman. While I agree with your answer that the carpenter, mechanic, and driver were women. Normally a carpenter, driver, and mechanic have some sort of name badge on the uniform whereas a fireman does not.
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