Situation puzzles inspired by real events

Bill always wore a silk scarf to work, whatever the weather. What’s his job, and why does he need this scarf?

A company produced knives for peeling potatoes. The manufacturers wanted to increase sales of their products and decided: if the knives disappear more often in homes, then housewives will buy new ones. How did they embody their idea?

One day Mark hid his watch. What for?

Aborigines lived on an island in the middle of the ocean. However, they found a way to get rich. How did they do it?

On a beautiful road, there’s a bus stop that is fully operational. However, no public transport stops there. Why?

Every day he puts on green lipstick. But almost no one notices it.

Due to an oversight committed by Nils when doing his job, Martha, an upstairs neighbour, couldn’t wash the dishes. At the same time, Martha’s husband was glad, but Nils was still fired. Why?

The Venezuelan police made a few attempts to arrest a well-known bandit. They knew where he lived. From time to time they got the arrest warrant and approached his house. When they entered the house, he locked in the bedroom. The police had nothing to do but to leave empty-handed.

There were many reasons why John enjoyed coming here. But his wife Mary hated this place, as did other women in the city. Why?

George was late for a math class and misunderstood the teacher. This brought him a reward and recognition! What happened?

Landlords used to delay payment to people who built and repaired houses or even booted them out without money. But the builders came up with an uncommon move, which immediately made the landlords pay them in full. What did they do?

An artist took an order to paint a portrait of a very ugly and arrogant woman. Everyone tried to dissuade him, claiming that she wouldn’t pay a penny, because the portrait would be bad. And so it happened. But two days later, the woman returned and begged the artist to sell her the portrait. Why?