# 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:** 206
**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:** [October 7, 2020, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4103 "2020-10-07T04:05:29Z")
Well, “hung” could be used metaphorically for “executed”. If you take it literally, I’m not sure how hanging puts the lights out. And whatever the interpretation, it seems Brother was arrested tried and executed in a single night. Which doesn’t make sense however you look at it. ---
**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:** [October 7, 2020, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4104 "2020-10-07T04:28:34Z")
I don’t see how they could have done it all in a single night. You have to rouse the judge and get a backwoods Southern lawyer. And a hangperson. You got to have the make-believe trial that ends before the judge’s supper. Brother is so dense he flags down the police by shooting his gun. This is the same gun he was going to use to kill Andy in the first place. I would have thought he would have wanted to shoot Seth first, but whatever. And how come Sister hid the body of the wife, but left Andy dead for anyone to find on the floor? And then four plus million people lose power for a night just from the wrongness of it all. There are lateral thinking mysteries abound here. ---
**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:** [October 7, 2020, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4105 "2020-10-07T04:34:52Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > I don’t see how they could have done it all in a single night. Exactly my point. ---
**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:** [October 7, 2020, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4106 "2020-10-07T04:53:08Z")
Maybe it was the winter solstice? ---
**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:** [October 7, 2020, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4107 "2020-10-07T09:06:06Z")
So, erm, what was it? ---
**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:** [October 7, 2020, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4108 "2020-10-07T11:41:49Z")
It is [The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_the_Lights_Went_Out_in_Georgia) and I don’t deserve credit, it was @Peter_Morris with his Georgia question that won the day. ---
**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:** [October 7, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4109 "2020-10-07T13:35:40Z")
Indeed. Good job Peter Morris. Georgia in 1973 was powered, it seems, by right and wrong. ---
**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:** [October 7, 2020, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4110 "2020-10-07T23:00:50Z")
**The skeleton was asking questions. Why?** Apologies, apologies. This is based on another Tom Scott video and a recent one this time. So please don’t spoil yourself if possible and I may already be excluding fans of his youtube channel. ---
**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:** [October 7, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4111 "2020-10-07T23:35:07Z")
Is the skeleton the skeleton of a human? Of an animal? Of a fantastical creature? Of an inanimate object? Of an abstraction? Is the skeleton animate? Is the skeleton an archeological specimen? Were the questions asked by producing audible language? Were the questions asked in writing? Were the questions asked in some other form of language? ---
**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:** [October 8, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4112 "2020-10-08T00:05:32Z")
Wordplay involved here? ---
**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:** [October 8, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4113 "2020-10-08T00:23:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Is the skeleton Is the skeleton the skeleton of a human? **Yes** Of an animal? Of a fantastical creature? Of an inanimate object? Of an abstraction? Is the skeleton animate? **Yes** Is the skeleton an archeological specimen? **Could be** , but probably not Were the questions asked by producing audible language? **Yes** Were the questions asked in writing? **No** Were the questions asked in some other form of language? **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:** [October 8, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4114 "2020-10-08T00:23:58Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Wordplay involved here?.. **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:** [October 8, 2020, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4115 "2020-10-08T00:26:34Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Is the skeleton animate? **Yes** Actually, animate would probably be overstating things… ---
**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:** [October 8, 2020, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4116 "2020-10-08T01:14:29Z")
Does the skeleton exist in the real world? Is it a genuine human skeleton (as opposed to a cast, replica, model, etc.)? Is magic 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:** [October 8, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4117 "2020-10-08T01:19:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Does the skeleton… Does the skeleton exist in the real world? **Yes** Is it a genuine human skeleton (as opposed to a cast, replica, model, etc.)? **Ideally** , but not necessarily Is magic involved? **No** ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2020, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4118 "2020-10-08T02:51:54Z")
Is the skeleton being manipulated in some way by a human in order to produce sound? ---
**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:** [October 8, 2020, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4119 "2020-10-08T03:23:08Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Is the skeleton being manipulated in some way by a human in order to produce sound? **Yes** ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2020, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4120 "2020-10-08T04:24:39Z")
Is the person blowing through it? Using their vocal chords? Are they pretending to someone that it’s really the skeleton talking? ---
**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:** [October 8, 2020, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4121 "2020-10-08T05:40:00Z")
Is this Halloween related? Did the skeleton ask a person the questions? People? Did the skeleton ask questions for more than a day?More than a week? A month? Is the skeleton still asking questions? Was it one skeleton only that asked questions? Did the answers to the questions matter to anyone? Does the location matter? Did a skeleton asking questions surprise anyone? Was it a joke? ---
**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:** [October 8, 2020, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4122 "2020-10-08T12:52:28Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Is the person… Is the person blowing through it? **No** Using their vocal chords? **Yes** Are they pretending to someone that it’s really the skeleton talking? **Yes** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=205) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=207)