# 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:** 274
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5468 "2023-01-21T18:13:12Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Did this happen in wartime? **No** > > Did it happen in the nineteenth century? Twentieth? Twenty-first? Earlier? **In the 19th** > > Would it help to know the format of the message? If yes: > > – Written on paper? > – Spoken message delivered in person? > – Spoken message delivered via technology (radio, telephone, audiotape, etc.) > – Telegram? > – E-mail / text / other electronic communication? **It was written on paper** > > Was the thing that was invented or discovered a creative work, like a song or movie? **It was not a song or movie, but I think one can call it a creative work** See above. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5469 "2023-01-21T18:14:31Z")
So the discovery has to do with how the message was delivered, not the specific content of the message? ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5470 "2023-01-21T18:20:08Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Was the message late because the sender experienced a delay in sending it? **Yes** > Was it late because the messenger and/or delivery service experienced a delay in transit? **No, the delay had occurred earlier, at the point of sending it out** > Was it late because the recipient was not available to take delivery in a timely manner? **No, see above** > > Was the message sent via the postal service (of whatever country or countries)? **No** See above. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5471 "2023-01-21T18:21:53Z")
The discovery went beyond both the content of the message and the way it was delivered. To be more precise (I think this is what you’re getting at), the discovery was not a new way of communicating messages. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2023, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5472 "2023-01-21T18:26:13Z")
Was the discovery made to deal with the reason the message was not delivered? ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5473 "2023-01-21T18:26:15Z")
Was the recipient of the message the person who made the discovery? Or was it the sender? Someone else? Was the discovery technological in nature? Medical? ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5474 "2023-01-21T18:26:53Z")
No to that one. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5475 "2023-01-21T18:27:35Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Was the recipient of the message the person who made the discovery? > Or was it the sender? > Someone else? **It was the sender who made it** > Was the discovery technological in nature? > Medical? **Neither technological nor medical** See above. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5476 "2023-01-21T18:33:39Z")
Was the sender trying to ask for financial assistance? ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5477 "2023-01-21T18:37:53Z")
No to that one. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2023, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5478 "2023-01-21T19:01:04Z")
Was the sender the author of the message, or was the sender just passing along the message? Was the reason it wasn’t sent as intended due to a shortage of some kind? (BTW, you have the correct meaning of conveyance) ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5479 "2023-01-21T19:04:25Z")
Was the sender trying to ask the recipient to provide something other than money? Was the sender trying to report on something that would be of interest to the recipient? ---
**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:** [January 21, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5480 "2023-01-21T19:07:33Z")
Is the content of the message relevant at all? Or could this have happened in more or less the same way regardless of what the message was about? Would it help to know more about the recipient? > [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Was the thing that was invented or discovered a creative work, like a song or movie? **It was not a song or movie, but I think one can call it a creative work** Let me rephrase that. Was it a literary / artistic / musical work of any sort? ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5481 "2023-01-21T19:15:52Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > Was the sender the author of the message, or was the sender just passing along the message? **The man was not the author; he was passing along someone else’s message** > > Was the reason it wasn’t sent as intended due to a shortage of some kind? **Yes** See above. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5482 "2023-01-21T19:17:32Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Was the sender trying to ask the recipient to provide something other than money? **No, the message was not to ask the recipient for anything** > Was the sender trying to report on something that would be of interest to the recipient? **I’m not sure I would use the word “report”, but the receipient surely had an interest in the message** See above ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5483 "2023-01-21T19:19:30Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Is the content of the message relevant at all? Or could this have happened in more or less the same way regardless of what the message was about? **The content is relevant. If the message had been about someting entirely different, the events would not have happened the way they did.** > > Would it help to know more about the recipient? **Yes** > > > [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > > > Was the thing that was invented or discovered a creative work, like a song or movie? **It was not a song or movie, but I think one can call it a creative work** > > Let me rephrase that. Was it a literary / artistic / musical work of any sort? **I don’t think any of the words “literary”, “artistic” or “musical” would commonly be used to describe what the man invented or discovered as a result of his failure to deliver the message** See above. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5484 "2023-01-21T19:24:11Z")
Did it lead to the invention of some kind of device? If so, was it a communication device? Telegraph? Telephone? Did it lead to the invention of a form of transportation? Edit: Was the message itself about an invention? And was the recipient a patent office? ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5485 "2023-01-21T19:25:35Z")
Was the recipient in any way in a position of authority over the sender? Was the sender in a position of authority over the recipient? Would the message have been written in English? ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5486 "2023-01-21T19:33:48Z")
The invention was not a device, much less a communication device. The message was not about an invention (neither this one nor another), and the recipient of the message was not a patent office. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5487 "2023-01-21T19:39:04Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Was the recipient in any way in a position of authority over the sender? **No** > Was the sender in a position of authority over the recipient? **In a way. The sender had no command authority over the recipient, but he was in a position where he could make something happen that the recipient had an interest in** > Would the message have been written in English? **Yes** See above. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=273) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=275)