# 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:** 183
**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:** [August 1, 2020, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3643 "2020-08-01T11:02:32Z")
Youngest person ever prosecuted for fare dodging? ---
**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:** [August 1, 2020, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3644 "2020-08-01T11:48:15Z")
I think I might know this one, even though some of the answers seem a bit off. Rather than asking the direct question, I’ll ask the bizarre one: Are chickens involved? ---
**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:** [August 1, 2020, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3645 "2020-08-01T12:03:20Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Is this relevant to the record she set? 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:** [August 1, 2020, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3646 "2020-08-01T12:03:57Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Youngest person ever prosecuted for fare dodging? 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:** [August 1, 2020, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3647 "2020-08-01T12:16:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I think I might know this one, even though some of the answers seem a bit off. Rather than asking the direct question, I’ll ask the bizarre one: > > Are chickens involved? No, but my source links an Idaho girl with chickens. FWIW, the source I read this morning while researching chickens says the record trip is only 720 miles for Edna. It doesn’t change the riddle, though. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3648 "2020-08-02T09:11:35Z")
OK. You said she wasn’t shipped in a container, and I thought that someone had asked another question about her being sent as cargo, so I’d written that idea off, but looking back, I see that I’m not quite right. You never specifically said she wasn’t shipped as cargo. Did someone figure out that she was small enough such that to pay for her to go as cargo was cheaper than a “person” ticket, and talk them into letting whoever was responsible for ticket sales pay that way? regardless of whether she actually rode in the mail car, or in a seat, was she technically “cargo,” and not a passenger? ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3649 "2020-08-02T12:50:12Z")
Did she whine or throw a tantrum for the entire journey? ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3650 "2020-08-02T14:17:12Z")
My daughter has that beat by a good couple hundred miles ---
**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:** [August 2, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3651 "2020-08-02T14:55:59Z")
[https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.history.com/news/mailing-children-post-office&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjS0ob14fzqAhWdmnIEHZCZAOUQFjABegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw1mFtQIos9PQ6Y69dVBXVWH](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.history.com/news/mailing-children-post-office&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjS0ob14fzqAhWdmnIEHZCZAOUQFjABegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw1mFtQIos9PQ6Y69dVBXVWH) I guess this is close enough, RivkahChaya. Just stick 15 cents in stamps on your kid and send them off. Really. Edna was mailed from Florida to Virginia. While people were not technically allowed to mail their children, several did until it was specifically forbidden. Adults weighed too much, but kids were light enough to ship. Edna’s 720 miles was the farthest distance a child was mailed by the US postal service. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3652 "2020-08-05T21:03:43Z")
Nigel had an emergency of sorts. He was able to solve his emergency by calling the emergency number (999 as it so happens in this case). However, he immediately hung up after they answered, why? ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3653 "2020-08-05T21:39:49Z")
Did he recognize the person that answered? Did he think his phone didn’t work? ---
**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:** [August 5, 2020, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3654 "2020-08-05T21:49:10Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > Did he recognize Did he recognize the person that answered? **No** Did he think his phone didn’t work? **Yes** ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3655 "2020-08-05T21:55:29Z")
Did he have an emergency other than thinking his phone wasn’t working? Was it a landline? A cell phone? Was weather involved? ---
**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:** [August 5, 2020, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3656 "2020-08-05T22:14:33Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > Did he have a Did he have an emergency other than thinking his phone wasn’t working? **Yes, an emergency of sorts.** Was it a landline? **No** A cell phone? **Yes** Was weather involved? **Possibly, the exact nature of the emergency of sorts is not important** ---
**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:** [August 5, 2020, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3657 "2020-08-05T23:03:48Z")
Was the emergency an inability to call someone? Could he have solved his emergency by calling a non-emergency number (such as 411 directory assistance)? ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3658 "2020-08-05T23:07:25Z")
Was he in physical distress of some kind? Was he choking? ---
**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:** [August 5, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3659 "2020-08-05T23:22:34Z")
Ah, so the kid was sent through the mail, after all. The reason I asked about chickens is that, in the one case I’d heard of, the child was in a box labeled “Live chicks” (those being the one animal that can officially be posted). ---
**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:** [August 5, 2020, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3660 "2020-08-05T23:31:31Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Was the emergency Was the emergency an inability to call someone? **Yes** Could he have solved his emergency by calling a non-emergency number (such as 411 directory assistance)? **No** ---
**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:** [August 5, 2020, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3661 "2020-08-05T23:32:31Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > Was he in physical Was he in physical distress of some kind? Was he choking? * * * Nigel is a contrived person who is a mix of many people that this did/could have happened to. The specific nature of the emergency is not important. See Cheesesteak’s question above ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/3662 "2020-08-06T00:59:55Z")
Was Nigel lost and needed to be told his location? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=182) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=184)