No doubt IAS is one of the toughest entrance examinations in India. People take long to clear this and the whole procedure of clearing the test is indeed a Herculean task.

Unlike one’s board exam where generally mugging up a subject might assure one of a high percentage, in IAS ones smartness is tested by actually asking some very tricky and weird questions. The examination is conducted in a two-stage process. After the first written aptitude test is over, the selected ones have to appear for the interview. If you look closely the questions don’t intend to judge one’s knowledge in a particular subject but one’s smart mind and out of the box thinking.

Here we list for you some toughest and hilarious questions asked in both the stages. Look twice and read to solve these riddles.

Question 1

How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?

You just have to drop the egg from a small height like2cm distance from the ground and also can apply padding the egg like 5 to 6 bubble wraps and there you will drop the egg without cracking it!

Question 2

What looks like half apple?

If you cut one apple, it is divided in two half apple. These two look like half apples.

Question 3

What will you do if I run away with your sister?

The candidate who was selected answered ” I will not get a better match for my sister than you sir”

Question 4

( ) + ( ) + ( ) + ( ) + ( ) = 30
This is what you have for the equation. The following are the numbers that you can use to fill in the brackets: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15. You can repeat the numbers if required. The resulting sum should be 30.

Use the factorial function in your answer: 11 + 3! (1*2*3, which equals 6) + 13 = 30

Question 5

Jamie looked at his reflection in the window mirror of the 45th floor. Driven by an irrational impulse, he made a leap through the window on the other side. Yet Jamie did not encounter even a single bruise. How can this be possible if he neither landed on a soft surface nor used a parachute?

Jamie is a window cleaner who was tired after cleaning the windows on the 45th floor and thus leaped inside the building.

Question 6

By using only one straight line, can you make the equation correct? 5+5+5=550?

Turn the first + into a 4 giving 545+5=550

Question 7

A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven’t eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?

The third room. Lions that haven’t eaten in three years are dead.

Question 8

Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Wednesday, Friday, or Sunday?

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.

Question 9

This is an unusual paragraph. I’m curious as to just how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so ordinary and plain that you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is highly unusual though. Study it and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out. Try to do so without any coaching!

The letter “e” is the most common letter in the English language, yet it never appears in the entire paragraph.

Question 10

What if one morning you woke up and found that you were pregnant?

The selected one answered: Will be very excited and take an off, to celebrate with my husband.Normally an unmarried girl will be shocked to hear this, but she managed it well. Why I should think it in the wrong way, she said later when asked.

Question 11

Twins (Adarsh and Anupam) were born in May but their birthday is in June. How’s this possible?

One of them was born on 31st May 2359 hrs and the other on 1st June, 0001 hrs. The delivery started on 31st but was over only on 1st. So, technically, born in May but the birthday is in June.

Question 12

The peacock is a bird that does not lay eggs. How do they get baby peacocks?

Peacocks are male and thus do not lay eggs. Female peafowl is called peahens and they do lay eggs called baby peacocks.

Question 13

If two’s company, and three’s a crowd, then what is four and five?

Nine.M/em>

Question 14

A cat had three kittens: January, March, and May. What was the mother’s name.

The mother’s name is ‘What!’

Question 15

James bond was pushed out of an airplane without any parachute. He survived. How?

His not having a parachute does not rule out the possibility of his having a jet pack or other such device. Also, the location of his jump is important to discover why he survived, i.e. if he was over a deep body of water when he jumped and if the distance between the plane and the surface of the water was in a certain range he could survive.

Question 16

If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall, how long would it take four men to build it?

It will not take any time as the wall is already built.

Question 17

How can a man go eight days without sleep?

He sleeps at night.

Question 18

The Bay of Bengal is in which state?

In liquid state!

Question 19

Where would Lord Rama have celebrated his “First Diwali”?

People will start thinking of Ayodhya, Mithila [Janaki’s place], Lanka etc… But the logic is, Diwali was a celebrated as a mark of Lord Krishna Killing Narakasura. In Dusavataar, Krishnavathaar comes after Raamavathaar. So, Lord Rama would not have celebrated the Diwali At all!