Revealed: Google Job Interview Questions!

The San Francisco Chronicle's tech blog has been stirring up life in the Valley lately, with a series of posts about Google's (GOOG) increasingly dull and conventional workplace culture. The vaunted sandbox and 20 percent time climate, Googlers complain, is giving into the inexorable pull of big organizations toward boring management arrogance and bureaucracy. In particular, tech blogger James Temple writes, Google's hiring practices allegedly favor fancy Ivy League degrees and 4.0 GPAs, leaving potentially more interesting candidates shit outta luck.

We can't say one way or another, and a Google representative has complained about the posts: "Our hiring process is designed to give both the company and the candidate a complete picture of how they will fit and we think it works exceptionally well." But the stories have prompted a few people to share the kinds of interview questions potential Googlers face. Lewis Lin, a Seattle-based interview coach, has decided to share 140 questions he's come across over the years, and there are some real doozies in the pack. Here are a few of the choicer ones:

Why are manhole covers round?

You're the captain of a pirate ship, and your crew gets to vote on how the gold is divided up. If fewer than half of the pirates agree with you, you die. How do you recommend apportioning the gold in such a way that you get a good share of the booty, but still survive?

What is the probability of breaking a stick into 3 pieces and forming a triangle?

Design an evacuation plan for San Francisco.