# 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:** 208
**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:** [October 9, 2020, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4143 "2020-10-09T20:27:07Z")
Does Angela lose her job because she gets promoted to fill in for Adam or Mike? 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 9, 2020, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4144 "2020-10-09T20:30:27Z")
Is Adam’s specific job relevant? Angela’s? Mike’s? Do they all work in the same field? Are any of them politicians? Political appointments? ---
**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:** [October 9, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4145 "2020-10-09T20:37:30Z")
Is Adam’s specific job relevant? Angela’s? Mike’s? Angela’s specific job is relevant. I don’t know exactly what Adam and Mike’s jobs are / were, and this information isn’t relevant, but other aspects of their professional / public lives are relevant. Do they all work in the same field? Kind of. Are any of them politicians? Yes. Political appointments? Not as far as I know. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2020, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4146 "2020-10-09T22:10:03Z")
Did Angela replace Adam’s job when he died? If so, would she have to give it up because of the next election? ---
**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:** [October 9, 2020, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4147 "2020-10-09T22:32:24Z")
Did Angela replace Adam’s job when he died? **No.** If so, would she have to give it up because of the next election? **No.** ---
**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:** [October 10, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4148 "2020-10-10T21:23:23Z")
Time for a hint? I’ll throw in a few bonus questions and answers of my own: Did Mike’s unexpected success occur in a situation where he was competing against other people for a single, specific thing (like a job, a grant, a sports championship, a “Most Righteous Dude of the Year” award, etc.)? **Yes.** Was Mike the winner of this competition? **No.** ---
**Author:** ![Ana\_Byrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ana\_Byrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ana_Byrd)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4149 "2020-10-12T13:19:30Z")
Did Adam’s death cause Mike’s success (directly or indirectly)? Make it more likely? Did the combination of events reveal that Angela had done something wrong? If so, was what she did wrong intentional? ---
**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:** [October 12, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4150 "2020-10-12T17:50:35Z")
Did Adam’s death cause Mike’s success (directly or indirectly)? Make it more likely? **No to both.** Did the combination of events reveal that Angela had done something wrong? If so, was what she did wrong intentional? **No, and N/A.** (By the way, since there have been some updates to this situation, I’m going to continue answering questions as if things still stood where they did when I posed this puzzle last week. This doesn’t affect the answers to any of the questions posted so far, but I can envision lines of questioning where it might.) ---
**Author:** ![Ana\_Byrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ana\_Byrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ana_Byrd)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4151 "2020-10-13T20:59:05Z")
Did Mike get a different job/prize/position than the one he was competing for? Did he get some more indirect benefit from the competition - for example, publicity? Was his success in something other than that competition? ---
**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:** [October 13, 2020, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4152 "2020-10-13T23:19:57Z")
Did Mike get a different job/prize/position than the one he was competing for? **No.** Did he get some more indirect benefit from the competition - for example, publicity? **As an individual, Mike did not get any indirect benefit (at least, none that is relevant for the purpose of this puzzle). However, it might be worth pursuing this line of inquiry further.** Was his success in something other than that competition? **No.** ---
**Author:** ![Ana\_Byrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ana\_Byrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ana_Byrd)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4153 "2020-10-13T23:23:21Z")
Was Mike part of an organization that benefited from his part in the competition? A political party? ---
**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:** [October 13, 2020, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4154 "2020-10-13T23:27:08Z")
Was Mike part of an organization that benefited from his part in the competition? A political party? **Yes to both.** ---
**Author:** ![Ana\_Byrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ana\_Byrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ana_Byrd)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4155 "2020-10-14T11:03:26Z")
Are all three of them politicians? Is Angela in the same political party as Adam? As Mike? ---
**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:** [October 14, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4156 "2020-10-14T17:51:35Z")
Are all three of them politicians? **Yes (at least, if we define “politician” as anyone who runs for public office at some point in their life).** Is Angela in the same political party as Adam? **No.** As Mike? **No.** ---
**Author:** ![Ana\_Byrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ana\_Byrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ana_Byrd)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4157 "2020-10-14T20:17:51Z")
Was Mike’s unexpected success getting more votes than expected - not enough to win, but enough to draw votes away from other candidates? Was Adam running for office in the same election? Would it help to know what country this takes place in? ---
**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:** [October 14, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4158 "2020-10-14T21:45:51Z")
Was Mike’s unexpected success getting more votes than expected … **Yes.** … not enough to win, but enough to draw votes away from other candidates? **Probably the case, but that isn’t the relevant part.** Was Adam running for office in the same election? **No.** Would it help to know what country this takes place in? **I’m not sure how much it helps, but for what it’s worth, the country is 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:** [October 15, 2020, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4159 "2020-10-15T05:55:24Z")
Are any of these people related? Did Adam’s death change Mike’s percentage of the vote? Does Angela lose her job to someone else not a part of this puzzle? ---
**Author:** ![Ana\_Byrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ana\_Byrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ana_Byrd)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4160 "2020-10-15T10:43:15Z")
When Angela loses her job, will it be because she lost an election? …got fired? …was pressured to step down? …stepped down voluntarily? ---
**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:** [October 15, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4161 "2020-10-15T17:51:02Z")
Are any of these people related? **No.** Did Adam’s death change Mike’s percentage of the vote? **No.** Does Angela lose her job to someone else not a part of this puzzle? **No (at least, not in the immediate short term.)** ---
**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:** [October 15, 2020, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4162 "2020-10-15T17:54:29Z")
When Angela loses her job, will it be because she lost an election? **No (at least, not in the short term).** …got fired? **No.** …was pressured to step down? **No.** …stepped down voluntarily? **No.** (These are all really good lines of questioning, by the way! I promise you and @Biotop are getting somewhere, despite the plethora of “No” answers!) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=207) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=209)