# Lateral Thinking Puzzles: Fourthcoming Mysteries **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [May 29, 2026, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468 "2026-05-29T01:30:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/81 "2026-10-05T20:08:09Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Was Charles invited on the show because his disability made him in some way remarkable? Yes. Was his brain/mind affected by the accident? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/82 "2026-10-05T20:16:36Z")
- > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Was his brain/mind affected by the accident? Probably, though not 100% medical agreement. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/83 "2026-10-06T00:43:33Z")
Okay, I think I know this one from too many hours spent back in the day reading the book of world records. I’m certain the guy was a farmer, I think the first name is right, and I believe Nebraska is correct. I don’t know what the pig has to do with it all though… Is he the guy who had an attack of the hiccups lasting 65 years? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/84 "2026-10-06T01:03:32Z")
- > [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Okay, I think I know this one from too many hours spent back in the day reading the book of world records. I’m certain the guy was a farmer, I think the first name is right, and I believe Nebraska is correct. I don’t know what the pig has to do with it all though… > > Is he the guy who had an attack of the hiccups lasting 65 years? That’s it. On TV because of the hiccups. Charles was lifting a pig, it fell back on him. And probably because of a stroke or some brain issue (no one is exactly sure) he began hiccupping and it never stopped. Charles indeed does hold the record for the longest case of hiccups (68 years). He lived to 97, and the hiccups finally stopped only a year before he died. He told his story to a nationwide audience, amid hiccups, on the The Tonight Show and was interviewed by Johnny Carson himself. He was married twice, had kids, and farmed until 1961. Medical science was unable to help him and while he did financially well, he often said he would give away everything he had just to finally stop hiccupping. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/85 "2026-10-06T01:49:34Z")
Had to be a brain issue, I’d imagine. I wonder if sedation or mood-calmers were tried. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/86 "2026-10-11T15:05:33Z")
Okay if I try again? And if you already know this please do not give it away. I don’t think we have done this one: Margaret lived to be 76. She married and had four children and lived a pretty much normal life in Chicago, Boston, New York and finally Connecticut. Margaret died several decades before Wikipedia. If you had told her that someday she would have her own entry in an online encyclopedia, or that 26 years after her death she would have her obituary published belatedly by The New York Times, she would not have known the reason why. The reason was because of what happened after Margaret and her mother answered a newspaper ad when Margaret was 22 and an art student studying abroad. What happened? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/87 "2026-10-11T15:53:51Z")
Would Margaret, in her lifetime, have recognized that answering the newspaper ad had a significant effect on her life? Did it result in her getting a short-term job? A long-term job? Did it result in a romantic relationship? Did it result in an injury, or something else that caused her harm? Is her being an art student relevant? Is her being abroad at the time relevant? Was her mother also abroad at the time they answered the ad? Was the ad that she answered to model for a photo or other work of visual art? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/88 "2026-10-11T16:09:25Z")
A correction to the above: It was 53 years after her death for the NYT obituary, not 26. * * * reply to Chronos: Would Margaret, in her lifetime, have recognized that answering the newspaper ad had a significant effect on her life? No. Did it result in her getting a short-term job? No. A long-term job? No. Did it result in a romantic relationship? No. Did it result in an injury, or something else that caused her harm? No. Is her being an art student relevant? No. Is her being abroad at the time relevant? Yes. Was her mother also abroad at the time they answered the ad? Yes. Was the ad that she answered to model for a photo or other work of visual art? No. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/89 "2026-10-11T18:26:03Z")
Is it relevant what specific country she was in? What specific continent? A location smaller than a country? Was her mother in the same location as she was when they answered the ad? Is World War I relevant? WWII? Some other major historical event? Was the nature of the ad such that they could have answered it independently (either one without the other), or did it require that they both answer? If both, did it specifically require a parent-child pair? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/90 "2026-10-11T18:27:49Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > A correction to the above: It was 53 years after her death for the NYT obituary, not 26. Just noticed this; that probably pushes it too early for either World War. Was any other war relevant? Was the answering of the ad in the 20th century? The 19th? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/91 "2026-10-11T18:38:32Z")
reply to Chronos: Just noticed this; that probably pushes it too early for either World War. Was any other war relevant? No war relevant. Was the answering of the ad in the 20th century? No. The 19th? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/92 "2026-10-11T18:41:16Z")
Was she involved in a medical breakthrough like Henrietta Lacks? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/93 "2026-10-11T19:01:54Z")
- > [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Was she involved in a medical breakthrough like Henrietta Lacks? No to medical breakthrough. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/94 "2026-10-11T20:14:38Z")
Was a work of literature, art, music, etc. created centering on Margaret and/or her mother? A work of nonfiction? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/95 "2026-10-11T20:21:24Z")
Just bumping that I also asked if the location was relevant, and if any other major historical event was relevant. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/96 "2026-10-11T20:50:56Z")
Missed this. reply to Chronos: Is it relevant what specific country she was in? Yes What specific continent? Yes A location smaller than a country? Yes Was her mother in the same location as she was when they answered the ad? Yes. Is World War I relevant? No.WWII? No Some other major historical event? Yes. Was the nature of the ad such that they could have answered it independently (either one without the other) Yes. , or did it require that they both answer? No If both, did it specifically require a parent-child pair? No. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/97 "2026-10-11T20:52:20Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Was a work of literature, art, music, etc. created centering on Margaret and/or her mother? > > A work of nonfiction? No to all ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/98 "2026-10-11T20:58:56Z")
Was this involving her ‘performing’ in the arts? Including being a subject of an drawing, painting or some depiction? I ask because I’m thinking she might be the ‘poster child’ or “it” girl for something like Columbia pictures, Gerber baby food, Ziegfeld follies, some cigarette campaign, etc. Edit: I see that Ulf essentially asked the same question. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/99 "2026-10-11T21:01:08Z")
- > [@Sigene](#): > > Was this involving her ‘performing’ in the arts? Including being a subject of an drawing, painting or some depiction? > > I ask because I’m thinking she might be the ‘poster child’ or “it” girl for something like Columbia pictures, Gerber baby food, Ziegfeld follies, some cigarette campaign, etc. > > Edit: I see that Ulf essentially asked the same question. No to arts. No to advertising. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/100 "2026-10-11T22:51:20Z")
Did the location have any relevance beyond “She had to have been in the city where the ad was run to respond to the ad”, or the like? But the ad could have been run in some other city, in which case she’d have to have been there. Did the relevant historical event conclude before she answered the ad? Did it start after she answered the ad? Was the event ongoing at the time she answered the ad? Did the event take place in the location where she was at the time she answered the ad? Did it take place anywhere in the US? Did it specifically take place in Chicago, Boston, New York, and/or Connecticut (the places in the US where she’s said to have lived). Was the event something that one would expect to see mentioned in a textbook on US history? One on European history? World history? What continent was she on when she answered the ad? (I know, but pretend that’s seven yes-no questions) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468.md?page=6)