# 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:** 26
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2019, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/501 "2019-11-15T10:50:41Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > Is this a factual event **YES** > , or from fiction? **UNLIKELY, BUT IRRELEVANT** > > Is the twinkling object observed from the plane? **YES** > > Is the twinkling object an artifact? **YES** > > Is the twinkling object sitting on the ground? **YES** > > Are the reflective surfaces of the twinkling object > > -Water? **NO** > > -Snow/ice? **NO** > > -Metal? **PARTLY** > > -Glass? **PARTLY** > > -Rock? **NO** A minor thing, since I don’t want to be too obtuse: my answers above refer to the things actually causing the twinkling. But the “it” as a whole may have contained more of the substances listed above. Gotta go to bed now. Will check back in ~8 hrs. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2019, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/502 "2019-11-15T11:39:48Z")
Did this event happen during war? World war II ? Was the bird a bomber? Was it the bombing of Hiroshima? Nagasaki? Was the twinkling object a bridge? ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2019, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/503 "2019-11-15T12:31:28Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > A minor thing, since I don’t want to be too obtuse: my answers above refer to the things actually causing the twinkling. But the “it” as a whole may have contained more of the substances listed above. > > Gotta go to bed now. Will check back in ~8 hrs. No worries; after all I should perhaps have included “other materials” in my list…! 🙂 **Peter Morris** , I think military aircraft are already ruled out? ---
**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:** [November 15, 2019, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/504 "2019-11-15T12:43:57Z")
Oh, in that case: Was it a flight by the Wright brothers? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2019, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/505 "2019-11-15T18:47:53Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Did this event happen during war? **NO** > World war II ? **NO** > Was the bird a bomber? **NO** > Was it the bombing of Hiroshima? Nagasaki? **NO** > Was the twinkling object a bridge? **NO** dr. s ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2019, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/506 "2019-11-15T21:34:34Z")
So, we have a man-made structure, at least partly made of metal and glass, which is seen twinkling in the sunlight shortly after dawn by an observer sitting in an aeroplane? Correct? Is this on a somewhat historic flight? Is the observed structure, in itself, somehow of historic interest? Is it on the northern hemisphere? Is it on a positive longitude (i.e. between 0 and 180 degrees _east_ of Greenwich)? Is it on a latitude between 0 and 40 degrees (from the equator, north or south)? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/507 "2019-11-15T22:00:16Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > So, we have a man-made structure, at least partly made of metal and glass, which is seen twinkling in the sunlight shortly after dawn by an observer sitting in an aeroplane? Correct? \*\*YES \*\*(though I would go with “object” or “artifact” rather than “structure”) > > Is this on a somewhat historic flight? **NO** > > Is the observed structure, in itself, somehow of historic interest? **NO** > > Is it on the northern hemisphere? \*\*YES \*\*(but irrelevant) > > Is it on a positive longitude (i.e. between 0 and 180 degrees _east_ of Greenwich)? \*\*YES \*\*(but irrelevant) > > Is it on a latitude between 0 and 40 degrees (from the equator, north or south)? \*\*YES \*\*(but irrelevant) Another point of clarity: there seems to be a focus on a singular object here. But consider that “twinkling” can be used in multiple ways: “the night sky twinkled” vs. “the star twinkled”. Also, since the answers have more or less described the basic setup of the event at this point: I was the observer in the aircraft, on a perfectly ordinary commercial flight, and observed the twinkling on the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2019, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/508 "2019-11-15T23:22:45Z")
Correction: > [@Ignotus](#): > > Is it on a positive longitude (i.e. between 0 and 180 degrees _east_ of Greenwich)? NO (but irrelevant) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/509 "2019-11-16T00:39:08Z")
Was the twinkling caused by normal street lights or automobile lights on the ground? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/510 "2019-11-16T00:50:25Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Was the twinkling caused by normal street lights or automobile lights on the ground? **NO** dr. s ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/511 "2019-11-16T04:43:43Z")
Was the plane flying east? Was the plane flying into darkness? Was reflected sunlight from the plane hitting the ground? Was the darkness the inside of the plane? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/512 "2019-11-16T05:01:29Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > Was the plane flying east? \*\*NO \*\* > Was the plane flying into darkness? **NO** > Was reflected sunlight from the plane hitting the ground? **NOT ENOUGH TO MATTER** > Was the darkness the inside of the plane? **NO** dr. s ---
**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:** [November 16, 2019, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/513 "2019-11-16T20:33:58Z")
Perhaps I’ll be repeating others or myself, but to make sure: Was this incident or moment famous? Was there a negative effect of the twinkling? A positive one? Was the twinkling from something man made? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/514 "2019-11-17T02:03:36Z")
Was the twinkling made by creatures other than humans? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/515 "2019-11-17T07:21:39Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Perhaps I’ll be repeating others or myself, but to make sure: > > Was this incident or moment famous? **NO** > > Was there a negative effect of the twinkling? A positive one? **NO** and **NO** > > Was the twinkling from something man made? **YES** (sorry for the delay… got sidetracked today) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/516 "2019-11-17T08:04:59Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Was the twinkling made by creatures other than humans? **NO** To refresh, since this is a bit of a long one: The twinkling was from man-made artifact(s) on the ground, made in part from metal and glass. It was observed by (at least) one passenger from an ordinary (non military) airplane. The twinkling itself was reflected sunlight. Unanswered so far is what “the darkness” represents, other than that it does refer to an absence of light, and is not a name for something. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/517 "2019-11-17T08:11:23Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > To refresh, since this is a bit of a long one: > The twinkling was from man-made artifact(s) on the ground, made in part from metal and glass. It was observed by (at least) one passenger from an ordinary (non military) airplane. The twinkling itself was reflected sunlight. > > Unanswered so far is what “the darkness” represents, other than that it does refer to an absence of light, and is not a name for something. Is the darkness an eclipse? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/518 "2019-11-17T12:07:36Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Is the darkness an eclipse? \*\*NO \*\*(though in a manner of speaking…) dr. s ---
**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:** [November 17, 2019, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/519 "2019-11-17T13:01:14Z")
Was it the shadow of the aircraft? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/520 "2019-11-17T20:02:13Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Was it the shadow of the aircraft? **YES** dr. s [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=25) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=27)