# Lateral Thinking Puzzles. Let's do it again! **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [October 23, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193 "2019-10-23T21:32:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 130
**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:** [March 18, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2581 "2020-03-18T21:26:03Z")
Is this referring to a stock video clip? **No.** ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2582 "2020-03-18T23:52:48Z")
Was the recording an audio recording? A video recording? Some other type of recording? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2583 "2020-03-19T02:20:49Z")
Was Oswald’s death broadcast live, as it happened? Or recorded and broadcast later? Was Oswald deliberately killed by another person? Did Oswald die directly by his own actions? If so was it deliberate suicide or accident? Is Oswald his real name? If so, is it a given name? Family name? Nickname? Professional name? Did this event take place during the Viet Nam war? Was “Oswald” a member of the Viet Cong? ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2584 "2020-03-19T02:48:57Z")
Was the recording an audio recording? A video recording? Some other type of recording? **Audio.** Was Oswald’s death broadcast live, as it happened? Or recorded and broadcast later? **I’m not sure, but not relevant.** Was Oswald deliberately killed by another person? **Yes.** Did Oswald die directly by his own actions? If so was it deliberate suicide or accident? **“Directly by his own actions”: sort of, in that if he’d done different stuff he wouldn’t have died, but neither suicide nor accident.** Is Oswald his real name? If so, is it a given name? Family name? Nickname? Professional name? **Given name (most likely, not really relevant).** Did this event take place during the Viet Nam war? **Yes, in the sense that the Vietnam War was going on elsewhere in the world at the time, but irrelevant.** Was “Oswald” a member of the Viet Cong? **No.** ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2585 "2020-03-19T05:54:42Z")
The combat Oswald was engaged in: war? Sports? Verbal? ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2586 "2020-03-19T10:30:48Z")
Was Oswald’s killer subsequently arrested? Was Oswalds killing a crime? Was the audio recording frequently broadcast because of the killing or the killer’s identity, or is it popular for a reason unrelated to the killing? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2587 "2020-03-19T13:35:08Z")
Was this a radio drama? ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2588 "2020-03-19T13:45:06Z")
The combat Oswald was engaged in: war? **Not really.** Sports? **No.** Verbal? **Insults were traded, but the combat in question was a physical fight.** Was Oswald’s killer subsequently arrested? **No.** Was Oswalds killing a crime? **This is tricky, and I think it might be time for a hint. Per the laws of the regime under which the killer lived, yes, it would be considered a crime and he could have been punished for it if he had been arrested. However, no actual crime has been committed in this puzzle.** Was the audio recording frequently broadcast because of the killing or the killer’s identity, or is it popular for a reason unrelated to the killing? **Good question! Popular for an unrelated reason.** ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2589 "2020-03-19T13:47:31Z")
Was this a radio drama? **YES!!!** ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2590 "2020-03-19T13:55:30Z")
Was Oswald a fictional character? (amazing we’ve gotten so far without asking that) ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2591 "2020-03-19T14:11:10Z")
Was Oswald a fictional character? **Yes!** ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2592 "2020-03-19T15:18:10Z")
**Oswald’s untimely death was always intended to be broadcast. But no one anticipated that it would become the most frequently broadcast event of its type.** Is this from _War of the Worlds_? A soap opera? ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2593 "2020-03-19T15:45:33Z")
So, scripted event? What decade? 50’s 60’s 70’s 80’s? Was the work primarily known for being a radio program? Was Oswald a protagonist? villain? ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2594 "2020-03-19T15:57:28Z")
Is this from War of the Worlds? **No.** A soap opera? **No.** So, scripted event? What decade? 50’s 60’s 70’s 80’s? **Yes, scripted event. 1960s.** Was the work primarily known for being a radio program? **No.** Was Oswald a protagonist? villain? **Not the protagonist. A villain, but a very minor character.** ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2595 "2020-03-19T16:13:32Z")
To recap a little bit: **Oswald is fictional, a villainous but obscure character who dies in a fight with another character. Although the work in which he appears is not primarily known as a radio drama, it was broadcast as one during the 1960s, for the purposes of education and entertainment. The broadcast may have been live or pre-recorded; I’m not sure, and it’s not important to the puzzle. Subsequently – for reasons which are yet to be determined, but are unrelated to Oswald’s killing or his killer’s identity – his death was re-broadcast over and over, something nobody anticipated at the time of the original broadcast.** ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2596 "2020-03-19T16:18:54Z")
Was the audio of his killing used in a commercial? As a small part of a recorded song? As part of a well-known movie? In the opening or closing of a popular TV show? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2597 "2020-03-19T17:16:34Z")
Was the audio used in a popular song as a sample or clip? Is the form that Oswald’s death clip being used identifiable as his death, or is used only for the sound qualities? ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2598 "2020-03-19T18:20:31Z")
Was the audio of his killing used in a commercial? **No.** As a small part of a recorded song? **YES!** As part of a well-known movie? **No.** In the opening or closing of a popular TV show? **No.** Was the audio used in a popular song as a sample or clip? **Yes.** Is the form that Oswald’s death clip being used identifiable as his death, or is used only for the sound qualities? **It is identifiable (at least, if you’re familiar with the source and turn up the volume far enough).** OK, I’m going to declare this solved. Oswald is a minor character in _King Lear_. A brief snippet of a 1967 BBC radio production of the play, including Oswald’s dying words (“O untimely death!”), can be heard at the very end of the Beatles’ “I am the Walrus”; John Lennon had apparently tuned a radio to the broadcast at random. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2599 "2020-03-20T13:21:30Z")
Another quick one. NYC area Dopers might already know this. **The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was recently petitioned to move a Christmas tree decoration to the left about 10 feet. Why?** ---
**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:** [March 20, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2600 "2020-03-20T13:43:05Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Another quick one. NYC area Dopers might already know this. > > **The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was recently petitioned to move a Christmas tree decoration to the left about 10 feet. Why?** Did it block a view? Did it look weird or different than expected? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=129) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=131)