# 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:** 7
**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 14, 2026, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/121 "2026-10-14T23:15:03Z")
reply to Fretful\_Porpentine: Does the event relate to an invention? No. A “first” of some sort? Yes. Is it an event that most people would view as positive? Yes Negative? No. Was the event photographed? Yes.If so, does Margaret appear in any of the images? I do not think so. Did it take place in the UK? No. France? Yes.Italy? No. Germany? No. At the time of Margaret’s death, were people generally aware of the event’s significance? Yes.Would Margaret’s involvement have been known to a reasonably diligent researcher, or was it discovered only later? It was known, though not generally. ---
**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 14, 2026, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/122 "2026-10-14T23:15:34Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Was the event a test or experiment or anything in the general category of “Well, okay, let’s do this thing and see what happens”? > Was it medical in nature? No to all. ---
**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 14, 2026, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/123 "2026-10-14T23:18:31Z")
reply to Chronos: Was the event an attempt to set a world record of some sort? I am going to say yes, of “some sort” anyway. Was the event a competition of some sort between the participants? Yes. Was the event a protest of some sort? 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 14, 2026, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/124 "2026-10-14T23:43:19Z")
Was it the largest number of participants to date, in a competition of that sort? Or at least, intended as such? ---
**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 15, 2026, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/125 "2026-10-15T00:03:03Z")
- > [@Chronos](#): > > Was it the largest number of participants to date, in a competition of that sort? Or at least, intended as such? No. ---
**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 15, 2026, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/126 "2026-10-15T00:05:25Z")
Was it archery? ---
**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 15, 2026, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/127 "2026-10-15T00:15:01Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > France? Yes. Was some notable French landmark involved? Or a notable piece of French geography? ---
**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 15, 2026, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/128 "2026-10-15T00:18:27Z")
Just to be sure, was Margaret a competitor? Was she any more notable than any of the other competitors? Did she win the competition (or a relevant division of the competition, like the women’s competition, or an age or weight bracket)? Was it an athletic competition? Was it an intellectual competition? Was it a largely random competition? Was it the Tour de France? ---
**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 15, 2026, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/129 "2026-10-15T01:04:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Was some notable French landmark involved? Or a notable piece of French geography? No to all. ---
**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 15, 2026, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/130 "2026-10-15T01:07:29Z")
reply to Chronos: Just to be sure, was Margaret a competitor? Yes. Was she any more notable than any of the other competitors? No. Did she win the competition (or a relevant division of the competition, like the women’s competition, or an age or weight bracket)? Yes. Was it an athletic competition? Yes. Was it an intellectual competition? No. Was it a largely random competition? No. Was it the Tour de France? 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 15, 2026, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/131 "2026-10-15T01:07:54Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Was it archery? 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 15, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/132 "2026-10-15T01:14:42Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Was she any more notable than any of the other competitors? No. > Did she win the competition (or a relevant division of the competition, like the women’s competition, or an age or weight bracket)? Yes. I assume that this means that she wasn’t notable before? Because it seems like, after the fact at least, winning a competition makes one more notable than the other competitors. ---
**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 15, 2026, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/133 "2026-10-15T01:19:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I assume that this means that she wasn’t notable before? Because it seems like, after the fact at least, winning a competition makes one more notable than the other competitors. Yes. That’s what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/134 "2026-10-15T02:05:00Z")
did she compete in a traditional ‘men’s only’ event? was she notable because she was a woman competing in that event, or the ‘first’ woman? ---
**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 15, 2026, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/135 "2026-10-15T10:55:38Z")
reply to Sigene: did she compete in a traditional ‘men’s only’ event? Yes. was she notable because she was a woman competing in that event, or the ‘first’ woman? Getting warm. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/136 "2026-10-15T11:12:19Z")
Was she aware right after the competition ended that she was a winner? Were other people aware? Did she enter under a male name / disguise? Or as herself? Was she considered disqualified for the event at the time? Because of her gender? Did she finish behind another competitor or competitors who were later disqualified? ---
**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 15, 2026, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/137 "2026-10-15T11:34:54Z")
reply to Fretful\_Porpentine: Was she aware right after the competition ended that she was a winner? Were other people aware? Yes to both. Did she enter under a male name / disguise? Or as herself? herself Was she considered disqualified for the event at the time? Because of her gender? No to both Did she finish behind another competitor or competitors who were later disqualified? No. ---
**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 15, 2026, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/138 "2026-10-15T12:28:55Z")
Was it an individual event or a team event? Is the competition still being held today? ---
**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 15, 2026, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/139 "2026-10-15T13:58:52Z")
reply to Cheesesteak: Was it an individual event or a team event? individual Is the competition still being held today? Yes, though not literally today. ---
**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 15, 2026, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468/140 "2026-10-15T14:02:59Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > was she notable because she was a woman competing in that event, or the ‘first’ woman? > Getting warm. Was she first woman to win the event she won? Was it(forgive repeats from earlier) Tennis? Croquet? Any card game? Bridge? Golf? Equestrian or anything horse related? Sailing? Shooting of any kind? Swimming or anything water related? Fighting(martial arts, boxing, etc.)? Field hockey? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-fourthcoming-mysteries/1030468.md?page=8)