IAS is
one of the toughest exams to crack. People who have studied for it, or better
still, cleared it, would tell you how competitive it can get, and how tough the
whole process of getting through really is.
It's
nothing like giving the boards where you mug up everything and vomit it out on
a paper. You actually need to an incredibly smart person here. Once you have
cleared the written examination, you are called in for an interview session, so
only the very best of the best make the cut.
We
found 19 really quirky questions (and answers) that were asked in the two
stages of the examination process. These questions don't check how well you
know the subject, but how knowledgeable you really are, and how witty you can
get. Check them out, see if you can solve them without checking out the answers
(given at the end of the article). I instantly answered 11 out of 19, let see your scores.
Q1: How can you drop a raw egg
onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
Q2: What looks like half apple?
Q3: What will you do if I run away with your
sister?
Q4: ( ) + ( ) + ( ) + ( ) + ( ) = 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.
Q5: Jamie looked at his
reflection on 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?
Q6: By using only one straight
line, can you make the equation correct. 5+5+5=550?
Q7: 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?
Q8: Can you name three
consecutive days without using the words Wednesday, Friday, or Sunday?
Q9: 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!
Q10: What if one morning you
woke up and found that you were pregnant?
Q11: Twins (Adarsh and Anupam)
were born in May but their birthday is in June. How's this possible?
Q12: The peacock is a bird that
does not lay eggs. How do they get baby peacocks?
Q13: If two's company, and
three's a crowd, then what is four and five?
Q14: A cat had three kittens:
January, March and May. What was the mother's name.
Q15: James bond was pushed out of an airplane
without any parachute. He survived. How?
Q16: If it took eight men ten
hours to build a wall, how long would it take four men to build it?
Q17: How can a man go eight days
without sleep?
Q18: Bay of Bengal is in which
state?
Q19: Where would Lord Rama have
celebrated his “First Diwali”?
(Answers are after the jump)
