# 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:** 146
**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 21, 2020, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2902 "2020-05-21T22:53:09Z")
Was Roy famous for being good at something? Was Roy famous for something that someone else did to or about him? Was Roy’s fame primarily the result of luck? Was at least one of the children famous for being good at something? Was at least one of the children famous for something that someone else did to or about them? Was at least one of the children’s fame primarily the result of luck? Were all of the parties involved conscious for at least some of the time of their fame? Were all of the parties involved mentally competent for at least some of the time of their fame? ---
**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 22, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2903 "2020-05-22T00:57:18Z")
Were the children in the entertainment industry? Was Roy? After they were separated, did they live in different countries? Did their separation involve a war? The Holocaust? ---
**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:** [May 22, 2020, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2904 "2020-05-22T01:21:06Z")
**reply to Chronos** : Was Roy famous for being good at something? **Yes** Was Roy famous for something that someone else did to or about him? **Sort of** Was Roy’s fame primarily the result of luck? **I am not sure I would put it that way and I doubt Roy would 🙂** Was at least one of the children famous for being good at something? **Not that I can think of offhand…** Was at least one of the children famous for something that someone else did to or about them? \*\*Sort of \*\* Was at least one of the children’s fame primarily the result of luck? **No** Were all of the parties involved conscious for at least some of the time of their fame? **No** Were all of the parties involved mentally competent for at least some of the time of their fame? **Yes** ---
**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:** [May 22, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2905 "2020-05-22T01:27:04Z")
**reply to Fretful Porpentine** : Were the children in the entertainment industry? **No. But I bet they put on a show a time or two.** Was Roy? **No** After they were separated, did they live in different countries? **Yes** Did their separation involve a war? The Holocaust? **No. Nothing like that.** ---
**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:** [May 22, 2020, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2906 "2020-05-22T01:31:44Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > **reply to Mahaloth** : > > Is this a true story? **Not exactly** **Okay, let me clarify. This is not a “true” story because it did not actually happen. But prepare to be shocked anyway. I was. 😉** ---
**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 22, 2020, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2907 "2020-05-22T01:40:36Z")
So at least one of these people was NOT conscious during any of the time they were famous, but WAS mentally competent for at least some of the time they were famous? Do I have that right? ---
**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:** [May 22, 2020, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2908 "2020-05-22T01:48:45Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > **reply to Fretful Porpentine** : > > Were the children in the entertainment industry? **No. But I bet they put on a show a time or two.** Was Roy? **No** > > After they were separated, did they live in different countries? **Yes** > > Did their separation involve a war? The Holocaust? **No. Nothing like that.** \*\*edited answer: The children were at some point later in the entertainment industry and paradoxically that makes them famous yet it is probably not why you know who they are. \*\* ---
**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:** [May 22, 2020, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2909 "2020-05-22T01:54:55Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > So at least one of these people was NOT conscious during any of the time they were famous, but WAS mentally competent for at least some of the time they were famous? Do I have that right? \*\* I read the question from Chronos wrong. Sorry Roy was not conscious for a couple of days once, but other than that everyone was conscious. I misread it as asking if the folks involved were conscious of their fame, which they were not until they were. Ugh.\*\* ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2910 "2020-05-22T01:56:35Z")
Are/were Roy and the children human? ---
**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:** [May 22, 2020, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2911 "2020-05-22T02:01:48Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Are/were Roy and the children human? **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:** [May 22, 2020, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2912 "2020-05-22T11:26:17Z")
Were the children famous before Roy was famous? Were the children triplets? Did the children become famous after they and Roy were living in different countries? Did Roy become famous after they separated? How old were the children when they became famous? Infancy? School age? Adult? ---
**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 22, 2020, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2913 "2020-05-22T14:01:19Z")
Yeah, I was trying to get at the possibility that one of them didn’t know of the fame of the other because they were in a coma, or infants, or something like that. Were the children famous collectively? Did the children know of each others’ fame? By “famous”, we mean that there was a significant number of people who knew of the father, and a significant number of people who knew of the children, right? Was there significant overlap between those two sets of people? (as opposed, say, to one being famous in one country, the other being famous in another, and very few knowing of both) ---
**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 22, 2020, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2914 "2020-05-22T14:02:37Z")
Oh, also: Are these people well-known fictional characters? ---
**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:** [May 22, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2915 "2020-05-22T14:03:42Z")
**reply to Cheesesteak** : Were the children famous before Roy was famous? **No is the answer most people would give, though in another way yes.** Were the children triplets? **No** Did the children become famous after they and Roy were living in different countries? **Yes** Did Roy become famous after they separated? **Yes** How old were the children when they became famous? Infancy? **No** School age? **Yes** Adult? \*\* No, though in another way yes.\*\* **and to clarify a response to you earlier, the children were actually Roy’s, not adopted by Roy. But after they were separated the children were adopted by someone else.** ---
**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:** [May 22, 2020, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2916 "2020-05-22T14:09:56Z")
**reply to Chronos** : Yeah, I was trying to get at the possibility that one of them didn’t know of the fame of the other because they were in a coma, or infants, or something like that. **No to comas or infancy** Were the children famous collectively? **Yes** Did the children know of each others’ fame? **No, but then later yes** By “famous”, we mean that there was a significant number of people who knew of the father, and a significant number of people who knew of the children, right? **Yes** Was there significant overlap between those two sets of people? (as opposed, say, to one being famous in one country, the other being famous in another, and very few knowing of both) **Yes, much overlap**. ---
**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:** [May 22, 2020, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2917 "2020-05-22T14:10:58Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Oh, also: > > Are these people well-known fictional characters? **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:** [May 22, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2918 "2020-05-22T14:46:00Z")
You keep on answering ambiguously about when they were famous. Is this because… …of a disparity between when they were famous to other denizens of their fictional world, compared to when they were famous in our world? …of a difference in time between when their fictional work was set, vs. the time when it was known in our world? ---
**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:** [May 22, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2919 "2020-05-22T14:52:52Z")
**reply to Chronos** You keep on answering ambiguously about when they were famous. Is this because… …of a disparity between when they were famous to other denizens of their fictional world, compared to when they were famous in our world? **Yes** …of a difference in time between when their fictional work was set, vs. the time when it was known in our world? **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 22, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2920 "2020-05-22T16:39:37Z")
The children were fictional characters known to us because of fictional works they were in. They then entered the entertainment industry in their fictional world, and their characters were now styled as famous in their world. Roy was also a fictional character, the parent of these children, but is not famous to us for the same works of fiction as his children. He has his own works of fiction where we recognize him from. ---
**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:** [May 22, 2020, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2921 "2020-05-22T16:41:55Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > The children were fictional characters known to us because of fictional works they were in. They then entered the entertainment industry in their fictional world, and their characters were now styled as famous in their world. > > Roy was also a fictional character, the parent of these children, but is not famous to us for the same works of fiction as his children. He has his own works of fiction where we recognize him from. **Yes** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=145) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=147)