# 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:** 242
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2021, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4823 "2021-10-11T01:52:01Z")
> [@SurrenderDorothy](#): > > Is it about eating food? Like it takes a human 35 bites to eat a bowl of cereal, but a dog just takes 3? This is a partial but not the full answer. ---
**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 11, 2021, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4824 "2021-10-11T03:41:39Z")
reply to Fretful\_Porpentine: In the studies with the machines, did the machine use the equipment? _Was_ the machine the equipment? The machine is in addition to the thing needed. In the studies involving humans, was the equipment used by human test subjects? Or only by the researchers? The thing needed was used by the humans. ---
**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 11, 2021, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4825 "2021-10-11T03:54:05Z")
reply to Fretful\_Porpentine: Hmm – is it common for this type of study to be done by students as part of their classwork? Not in any of my classes alas. Teachers had no fun. Would a study of this type be relevant to a biology class? Possibly human biology… Chemistry? nah… Other natural science? No Psychology? Possibly. The early testing did capture the imaginiation… Economics? It might tangentally be of interest as a test case of how something economically worked Other social science? Nothing comes to mind, but maybe I am not thinking broad enough. Culinary arts? Sure Physical education? Maybe with regards to the stamina needed to not cave in to temptation and foul up the testing. ---
**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 11, 2021, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4826 "2021-10-11T04:00:15Z")
> [@SurrenderDorothy](#): > > Is it about eating food? Like it takes a human 35 bites to eat a bowl of cereal, but a dog just takes 3? Think about this a bit. What have people wanted to know thanks to some savvy marketing? ---
**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 11, 2021, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4827 "2021-10-11T04:43:05Z")
reply to SurrenderDorothy: Is it about eating food? Yes[ Like it takes a human 35 bites to eat a bowl of cereal, but a dog just takes 3? There were no dogs, fictional or otherwise in these studies. Folks simply wanted to learn the answer to a very specific question. Our researchers used decidely different techniques to find the answer. You can argue merits of the different research, but the fictitious animal research has a following and has inspired many a person to seek the answer ---
**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 11, 2021, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4828 "2021-10-11T05:50:52Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > There were no dogs, fictional or otherwise in these studies How about an owl? ---
**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 11, 2021, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4829 "2021-10-11T08:54:03Z")
Is there a song associated with one or more of these studies? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2021, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4830 "2021-10-11T11:39:05Z")
Is it how many licks to get to the center of a tootsie pop? ---
**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 11, 2021, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4831 "2021-10-11T12:36:25Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > How about an owl? DING! DING! DING! ---
**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 11, 2021, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4832 "2021-10-11T12:38:56Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Is it how many licks to get to the center of a tootsie pop? > **[Tootsie Roll Inc.](https://tootsie.com/howmanylick-experiments)** > > Check out this cool website from Tootsie Roll Inc. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pvFzOgK-V9E/hqdefault.jpg "(1970) Tootsie Pop Commercial (Original Full Version)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvFzOgK-V9E) ---
**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 11, 2021, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4833 "2021-10-11T16:05:43Z")
Time for a new one? We all remember that when Peter Pan lost his shadow, Wendy sewed it back on. But why would anyone _paint_ a shadow on a zebra? ---
**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 11, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4834 "2021-10-11T16:17:07Z")
Does ‘zebra’ refer to the animal ? the road crossing ? something else ? If an animal, was the zebra alive ? dead ? some non-living representation of a zebra ? Was it used in making a TV show/ movie/ other media? Was it intended to affect the behaviour of other animals ? ---
**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 11, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4835 "2021-10-11T16:22:59Z")
Heh, I think this one is going to go quickly… Does ‘zebra’ refer to the animal ? **No.** the road crossing ? **Yes.** something else ? **No.** If an animal, was the zebra alive ? dead ? some non-living representation of a zebra ? **N/A.** Was it used in making a TV show/ movie/ other media? **No.** Was it intended to affect the behaviour of other animals ? **Yes, in a sense.** ---
**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 11, 2021, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4836 "2021-10-11T16:28:42Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > the road crossing ? **Yes.** I suspect this was the lateral thinking part of the puzzle? Were the animals with the behavior to be altered, humans? Was it to get them to slow down? ---
**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 11, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4837 "2021-10-11T16:32:15Z")
I suspect this was the lateral thinking part of the puzzle? **Well, the whole concept is sort of lateral-thinking-ish.** Were the animals with the behavior to be altered, humans? **Yes.** Was it to get them to slow down? **Yes!** I think I’m going to pretty much consider this one solved. Inspired by [this article](https://www.boredpanda.com/3d-pedestrian-crossing-island/). ---
**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 11, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4838 "2021-10-11T16:34:04Z")
Is this the same question that was asked in the original thread? Then about crossing a zebra with Karl Marx and Beethoven. [Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2825) [Answer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2864) Is ‘Shadow’ the pulp hero? EDIT - 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 11, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4839 "2021-10-11T16:36:37Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Is this the same question that was asked in the original thread? Then about crossing a zebra with Karl Marx and Beethoven. > > [Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2825) > > [Answer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2864) > > Is ‘Shadow’ the pulp hero? **No, and no.** ( **Folly** got it, pretty much – see link to article in my previous post [which has some very cool photos of the crossing in question.]) ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4840 "2021-10-12T04:39:37Z")
> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > I’m pretty sure I’ve been a test subject in this research as well. Nothing official, but in college I knew a Senior that solicited participants in this for one of his classes. I can’t remember the class subject specifically, but I’m pretty sure it was one of two possibilities. Granted, this was an informal analysis rather than a fully controlled experiment. > > I don’t remember my number, but it was somewhere within a reasonable deviation of the numbers for humans given in the original puzzle. BTW, the two classes it might have been for were either Psychology or Statistics. These days, you’d have to pay me more than a free Tootsie Pop to participate. But it was college and free stuff is something you rarely passed up. ---
**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:** [November 23, 2021, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4841 "2021-11-23T17:52:06Z")
Times change? In the twentieth century two people in a cab arrived exactly on time at an expected street location in Frankfurt, Germany —thanks to certain timepieces. Were this to happen again now, in the twenty-first century, these folks would be seven minutes late. Why? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/4842 "2021-11-23T20:34:36Z")
Just off hand and seeing Tom Scott’s video on time in Denmark, I would say that sometime in the 20th century Germany moved its line of longitude defining its time zone. Probably from Berlin to the official time zone measured at 15 degrees E. OR since the OP mentions a street in Frankfurt was Germany still on local Solar Time? Nope, I looked it up and the move from solar time to CET was in 1893 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=241) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=243)