# 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:** 150
**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 24, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2982 "2020-05-24T18:35:00Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > Did the cows take part in some sort of relevant event in their past? **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 24, 2020, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2983 "2020-05-24T18:39:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Were the cows advertising mascots? > > If yes, were they specifically Elsie and Elmer (or at least, meant to represent them)? \*\*No, at least not directly ad mascots. Indirectly however…you might say that. And not Elsie and/or Elmer\*\*. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2020, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2984 "2020-05-24T18:57:19Z")
Was the cow’s owner known for being a: -Scientist? -Writer? -Industrialist? -Painter? -Politician? -Dairy farmer? Was the bird a -Bird of prey? -Fowl? -Poultry? -Songbird? -Hummingbird? -Penguin? ---
**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 24, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2985 "2020-05-24T19:08:09Z")
Were they a new type of cow/cattle being introduced to North America or the US? ---
**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 25, 2020, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2986 "2020-05-25T00:21:28Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > Was the cow’s owner known for being a: > -Scientist? > -Writer? > -Industrialist? > -Painter? > -Politician? > -Dairy farmer? > > Was the bird a > -Bird of prey? > -Fowl? > -Poultry? > -Songbird? > -Hummingbird? > -Penguin? **No to everything here.** ---
**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 25, 2020, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2987 "2020-05-25T00:22:31Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Were they a new type of cow/cattle being introduced to North America or the US? **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:** [May 25, 2020, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2988 "2020-05-25T04:01:12Z")
\*\*Two drunks are sitting at a bar inside a ritzy hotel ballroom. First Drunk: That’s weird. There are two cows in here. Second Drunk: Yeah, but you know what’s weirder than that? First Drunk: What? Second Drunk: There are two cows in here, but everybody is talking about a bird!\*\* ---
**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 25, 2020, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2989 "2020-05-25T09:43:59Z")
Was the bird a passenger pigeon? Martha? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**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 25, 2020, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2990 "2020-05-25T13:36:04Z")
If it weren’t for the cows, would there be any reason for the bird to be there? ---
**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 25, 2020, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2991 "2020-05-25T14:29:18Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Was the bird a passenger pigeon? Martha? > Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk **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:** [May 25, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2992 "2020-05-25T14:39:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If it weren’t for the cows, would there be any reason for the bird to be there? **People would not have been as likely to have been talking about this bird if the cows were not there. The bird was not at the hotel, I am pretty sure. The bird could have been there without the cows.** ---
**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 25, 2020, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2993 "2020-05-25T15:56:46Z")
Did the bird have a name? (An individual name, I mean – “Donald” as opposed to “duck.”) Was it a type of bird that is commonly domesticated or kept as a pet? Did the cows bear any resemblance to this bird? (Random anecdote: I was on a bus once that was passing a field with a piebald horse in it, when the girl behind me exclaimed, with great delight, “It’s a COW HORSE!” Were these, somehow, “bird cows”?) ---
**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 25, 2020, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2994 "2020-05-25T16:00:36Z")
**reply to Fretful Porpentine** : Did the bird have a name? (An individual name, I mean – “Donald” as opposed to “duck.”) **Yes** Was it a type of bird that is commonly domesticated or kept as a pet? **No** Did the cows bear any resemblance to this bird? (Random anecdote: I was on a bus once that was passing a field with a piebald horse in it, when the girl behind me exclaimed, with great delight, “It’s a COW HORSE!” Were these, somehow, “bird cows”?) **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:** [May 25, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2995 "2020-05-25T16:16:07Z")
Would cow farmers have a positive view of this bird? Of other birds of this type? Would cow farmers have a negative view of this bird? Of other birds of this type? Were the people in the ballroom predominantly in cow-related industries? In bird-related industries? Is the bird commonly found in the wild, in environments where cows are raised? ---
**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 25, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2996 "2020-05-25T16:30:26Z")
**reply to Chronos** : Would cow farmers have a positive view of this bird? **Probably.** Of other birds of this type? **Don’t know. Not relevant.** Would cow farmers have a negative view of this bird? **Probably not. Maybe some purists.** Of other birds of this type? **Don’t know. Not relevant.** Were the people in the ballroom predominantly in cow-related industries? **No.** In bird-related industries? **No.** Is the bird commonly found in the wild, in environments where cows are raised? **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:** [May 25, 2020, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2997 "2020-05-25T22:21:46Z")
Just a hunch, and I don’t know where it would lead, but… Can the bird talk? ---
**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 25, 2020, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2998 "2020-05-25T22:44:42Z")
Were there any other relevant non-bird, non-human animals in the ballroom at the same time? ---
**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 25, 2020, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/2999 "2020-05-25T23:03:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Just a hunch, and I don’t know where it would lead, but… > > Can the bird talk? Though not any more, obviously 🙂 **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 25, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3000 "2020-05-25T23:08:17Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > **Yes!** Though not any more, obviously. 😉 ---
**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 25, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3001 "2020-05-25T23:09:23Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Were there any other relevant non-bird, non-human animals in the ballroom at the same time? **No.** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=149) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=151)