Lateral thinking is the ability to solve problems by making connections between seemingly disparate things, and is essentially what fuels creativity. Not everyone is comfortable thinking laterally, but it is a skill that can be strengthened with practice. Grab a pen and paper, and think of five random, unrelated nouns. Spend 30 seconds or so generating a list of things you can do with each object. Be creative; don't just list their most obvious uses. Now pick two of the items on your list, and use the list of uses for them you brainstormed as a jumping-off point to write an original joke. An example of a joke written this way by comedian Max Matterson is, "In what way are pencils and judges the same? They pass sentences, always have the last word, and are wright all the time." Don't worry if you struggle at first; with practice it will become easier. With a friend, brainstorm a list of random objects. Write each one down on a piece of paper, fold them up, and put them in a bowl. Draw a piece of paper at random, and set a timer for 1 minute. Come up with as many uses for that object as you can before the timer goes off. Read them aloud, crossing out the uses that the other person also listed. Whoever has the longest list at the end of this process wins. Think of a random word, and have a friend do the same. On the count of three, both of you say the word you are thinking of, at the same time. Count to three again, and this time both of you try to say a word that is somehow between the two words you said in the first round. Continue doing this, with the goal of eventually both saying the same word. This will strengthen your ability to draw connections between things that are not obviously related. These are designed to improve your ability to connect seemingly unconnected ideas, and will help you learn to be creative on the spot. Generally lateral thinking puzzles take place as a dialogue of yes-or-no questions between a quizzer and a solver, but you can try to puzzle these classics out on your own, and then follow the links provided to find the answers when you think you've got it. Take your time; these are designed to be ambiguous, and may take you a while to puzzle out. Try reading one in the morning, and then turning it over in your mind over the course of the day. If you come up with an answer that works but is different than the canonical answers provided, give yourself a pat on the back! You are definitely thinking creatively. (If you enjoy these puzzles, there are many more like them on the internetjust Google "lateral thinking puzzles.") A man lives on the tenth floor of a building. Every day he takes the elevator down to the ground floor to go to work, or to go shopping. When he returns he takes the elevator to the seventh floor and walks up the stairs to reach his apartment on the tenth floor. He hates walking, so why does he do it? Click here for the solution. A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says "Thank you," and walks out. Why? Click here for the solution. There is a large wooden barn that is completely empty except for a dead man hanging by his neck from the middle of the central rafter. The rope around his neck is ten feet long and his feet are three feet off the ground. The nearest wall is 20 feet away from the man. It is not possible to climb up the walls or along the rafters. The man hanged himself. How did he do it? Click here for the answer. These are designed to force you to think on your feet without judging your ideas or getting in your own way. If you don't have friends who are interested in playing improv games with you, check online if there are any improv classes in your area. Remember, the most important rule in improvisation is to say, "yes, and" If your improv partner starts a scene in which she tries to return something to a store, don't respond with, "What are you talking about? This isn't a store!" It may seem like a funny response at first, but it will make your partner feel foolish, and leave you both with nowhere to go. Instead, accept her premise, and build on what she has established. Park bench: Begin with two chairs side-by-side. Start with one person sitting in one of the chairs. A second person enters, sits on the chair beside the first person, and begins a scene that takes place on a park bench. The goal of the second person is to scare away the person originally sitting on the bench. When he has done so, he moves into their seat, and another person enters and invents a new scene, with the goal of scaring off the person already on the park bench. Questions only: This is a very straightforward game, in which two participants act out a scene using only questions. When someone messes up and fails to speak in the form of a question, they are out, and another member of the group replaces them. Alphabet: Also very straightforward, this game involves two people acting out a scene in which the first word of every sentence begins with the next letter of the alphabet. So the first person might say, "A very fine day we're having," to which the second person might say, "Bit chilly for me." The first person would respond with something like, "Can you go two minutes without complaining?" and the second might reply, "Don't start with me." When someone messes up or gets stumped, a new player replaces them, and the game starts over at "A." Belief to Delusion: Start with an established fact, like "pizza tastes good," or "dogs are cute," and then act out a scene where this fact is no longer true. Boring: Start with a boring task, and play out a scene in which this task becomes the goal of an epic quest. This is certainly not a requirement, and you don't want it to become a crutch, but drinking a little alcohol can help you relax, making it easier to think creatively. According to Benjamin Errett, author of Elements of Wit: Mastering the Art of Being Interesting, having a couple drinks can help, so long as you don't overdo it. "To a point I've done some science," he says, "and decided that people are at their wittiest after two drinks. Any more and you lose perspective on yourself."
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One-sentence summary -- Play lateral thinking games. Do lateral thinking puzzles. Play improv games. Pour yourself a drink:

It's just as tasty to eat a croissant toasted or at room temperature. Heat a croissant up in the oven or a toaster oven at home, or eat them at room temperature on-the-go. Put a croissant in the oven or toaster oven at 350 degrees F (175 C) for 5 minutes to heat it up. Get a large enough napkin to fit around the whole croissant. Wrap it around the bottom half of the croissant and eat it from the top down. Good croissants are very buttery and flaky, so use a napkin to avoid making a mess and keep your fingers grease-free. Hold down the two ends of the croissant with the thumb and index fingers of one hand. Tear off the middle top layer with your other hand and enjoy the crunchiest part of the croissant. Try to do this on a plate if you can to catch crumbs. Look at where the croissant is naturally divided into 3 sections and tear them apart from each other on a plate. Eat each piece separately over the plate to catch the crumbs. This method works well to avoid a mess if you don't have a napkin. Put the croissant on a plate. Hold a fork and knife in whichever hand you prefer for each, and cut the croissant apart bite-by-bite. This is the least messy way to eat a croissant and to keep your hands clean.
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One-sentence summary --
Enjoy a croissant warm or at room temperature but always fresh-baked. Wrap a napkin around the bottom half of the croissant. Peel off the top center part of the croissant and eat it first. Tear the croissant apart into 3 sections for a different way to eat it. Use a fork and knife to cut apart the croissant as an alternative to tearing it.