# 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:** 144
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2862 "2020-05-19T15:08:00Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Was Stan indoors? Outdoors? > > Outdoors > > In a City? the country? Suburb? > > City > > Did something fall on Stan? Did Stan fall to his death? > > NO to both > > Did Stan die because he wasn’t paying attention to the crack sound? > > NO > > A side question, did you describe the pencil as made with a thin rod of lead (vs graphite) because this happened in 1902? > > YES, that is all. I think graphite came later? It’s literally irrelevant. A regular pencil as we all understand it. KK ---
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2863 "2020-05-19T15:17:16Z")
Was Stan stabbed, impaled, or the like by the pencil? Was any form of machinery relevant to the mechanism of Stan’s death? ---
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2864 "2020-05-19T15:36:36Z")
Was Stan writing something when he died? You mention if he was holding something else he would have lived… would he have lived if he was holding a pen? a specific other non-pencil object? a different pencil? nothing at all? ---
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2865 "2020-05-19T16:03:12Z")
Stan was just sitting there, holding his pencil, minding his own business. A moment later, there was a crack. A moment after that, he was dead. How did he die? > [@Chronos](#): > > Was Stan stabbed, impaled, or the like by the pencil? > > NO > > Was any form of machinery relevant to the mechanism of Stan’s death? > > NO > [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Was Stan writing something when he died? > > NO > > You mention if he was holding something else he would have lived… would he have lived if he was holding a pen? a specific other non-pencil object? a different pencil? nothing at all? > > PEN - likely survived > Different pencil - likely died > Nothing at all - definitely survived I have no specific non-pencil object in mind, so NO. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2866 "2020-05-19T16:32:04Z")
Did somebody mistake the pencil for a different object? Did they think it was a gun? Did Stan touch another object with the pencil? ---
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2867 "2020-05-19T16:32:44Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Did somebody mistake the pencil for a different object? > > NO > > Did they think it was a gun? > > NO > > Did Stan touch another object with the pencil? > > YES kk ---
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2868 "2020-05-19T16:49:24Z")
Did he try to pick up a gun with a pencil? Was he investigating a crime scene? Did he touch the pencil to something electric? ---
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2869 "2020-05-19T17:33:51Z")
Did Stan mistakenly think that the pencil would protect him from a dangerous thing? ---
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2870 "2020-05-19T17:58:44Z")
> [@](#): > > PEN - likely survived > Different pencil - likely died Somebody attacked him with a sword. If he had a pen he could have protected himself. But it turns out that a pencil is not mightier than a sword. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2871 "2020-05-19T18:00:20Z")
Was he shot by a projectile? Stabbed or impaled by anything? Blunt trauma? crushed? drowned? asphyxiated? drawn and quartered? Did he fall for a fatal distance? poisoned? organ failure? ---
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2872 "2020-05-19T18:51:04Z")
Did the pencil make Stan more visible than he would otherwise have been? Was the object that he touched with the pencil paper? Was it something else that he was using the pencil to make marks on? Was he using the pencil to do something other than writing / drawing / making marks? Was he engaged in carpentry, home repair, or similar? Did he die because he made a mistake of some sort? ---
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2873 "2020-05-19T19:15:13Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Did he try to pick up a gun with a pencil? > Was he investigating a crime scene? > > Did he touch the pencil to something electric? NO to all of those. > [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Did Stan mistakenly think that the pencil would protect him from a dangerous thing? NO > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Somebody attacked him with a sword. If he had a pen he could have protected himself. But it turns out that a pencil is not mightier than a sword. NO. 🙂 > [@Folly](#): > > Was he shot by a projectile? > > NO > > Stabbed or impaled by anything? > > YES > > Blunt trauma? > crushed? > drowned? > asphyxiated? > drawn and quartered? > Did he fall for a fatal distance? > poisoned? > > NO to above > > organ failure? > > YES, from the stabbing/impaling I said yes to here. > [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Did the pencil make Stan more visible than he would otherwise have been? > > NO > > Was the object that he touched with the pencil paper? > > NO > > Was it something else that he was using the pencil to make marks on? > > NO > > Was he using the pencil to do something other than writing / drawing / making marks? > > NO > > Was he engaged in carpentry, home repair, or similar? > > NO > > Did he die because he made a mistake of some sort? > > NO kk ---
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2874 "2020-05-19T20:04:07Z")
He touched another object with the pencil, was he impaled by that other object? By an object propelled by the object he touched? Did the pencil make an electrical connection of some sort? Was he impaled/stabbed by a falling object? ---
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2875 "2020-05-19T20:22:10Z")
\*\* Stan was just sitting there, holding his pencil, minding his own business. A moment later, there was a crack. A moment after that, he was dead. How did he die?\*\* > [@Cheesesteak](#): > > He touched another object with the pencil, was he impaled by that other object? > > YES - stabbed is a better term than impaled, though. > > By an object propelled by the object he touched? > > NO > > Did the pencil make an electrical connection of some sort? > > NO > > Was he impaled/stabbed by a falling object? > > 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:** [May 20, 2020, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2876 "2020-05-20T10:48:24Z")
Stan was sitting, outdoors, in a city when he touched an object with his pencil, whereupon that object stabbed him. Was the object alive? a machine? Was the object designed to stab things? Did the object malfunction when he touched it? Would a reasonable nearby observer have cautioned him not to touch the object with his pencil, because it was dangerous? ---
**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:** [May 20, 2020, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2877 "2020-05-20T11:00:51Z")
Was the object an animal? Something with a horn? A tusk? A tooth? A claw? ---
**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:** [May 20, 2020, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2878 "2020-05-20T11:48:41Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Stan was sitting, outdoors, in a city when he touched an object with his pencil, whereupon that object stabbed him. > > YES > > Was the object alive? a machine? > > NO > > Was the object designed to stab things? > > YES - one possible use of it > > Did the object malfunction when he touched it? > > From Stan’s perspective? Yes. In reality? It’s just an object, so NO. > > Would a reasonable nearby observer have cautioned him not to touch the object with his pencil, because it was dangerous? > > NO - see below > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Was the object an animal? Something with a horn? A tusk? A tooth? A claw? NO **It’s a knife**. I am aware that a knife may be a simple machine, but I have been answering no to machine questions because it is simply a knife. So would they caution him not to use it on his pencil? No, Stan was an adult. A child? Yes, I would tell my kids not to do that… ---
**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:** [May 20, 2020, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2879 "2020-05-20T11:59:03Z")
Was it a [ballistic knife](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic_knife)? A spring loaded blade that was triggered by Stan touching it? ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2880 "2020-05-20T14:53:17Z")
Was the reason the pencil was touching the knife because Stan was trying to sharpen the pencil? ---
**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:** [May 20, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2881 "2020-05-20T17:34:06Z")
> [@peter morris](#): > > was it a [ballistic knife](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ballistic_knife)? A spring loaded blade that was triggered by stan touching it? no > [@folly](#): > > was the reason the pencil was touching the knife because stan was trying to sharpen the pencil? yes [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=143) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=145)