# 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:** 278
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5548 "2023-02-15T01:13:30Z")
reply to Mahaloth: Is Columbo the guy from the TV show? Yes. Are the prominent brothers real? Yes. Have most of us heard of the brothers? Yes. Is Fred a person and is he real? Yes. Does this involve plagiarism? Yes. Does this involve a random show in the TV show Columbo showing something that later was used in court? No. Note: I remember an incident where someone proved they were innocent because they were at a baseball game that happened to appear in a movie. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5549 "2023-02-15T01:35:05Z")
Did the plagiarism involve music? Written text? Art? Some other form of intellectual property, e.g. computer code? Was something involving Columbo incorporated into the plagiarized material? Into the original source? Did Columbo help to establish the date of either the original or the plagiarized version? ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5550 "2023-02-15T03:28:42Z")
reply to Fretful\_Porpentine: Did the plagiarism involve music? No. Written text? Yes. Art? No. Some other form of intellectual property, e.g. computer code? No. Was something involving Columbo incorporated into the plagiarized material? Yes. Into the original source? Yes. Did Columbo help to establish the date of either the original or the plagiarized version? No. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5551 "2023-02-15T03:34:55Z")
I’m guessing it was the copyright trap of Columbo’s first name being Philip (It was actually Frank) published in a book of facts that was plagiarized by Trivial Pursuit. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5552 "2023-02-15T03:40:30Z")
You got it Saint\_Cad! Parker Brother’s Trivial Pursuit had a question about Columbo’s real name. TP gave the wrong answer of “Philip.” The wrong answer came from Fred’s book of trivia, which had a wrong fact purposely added to prevent copyright theft. The Columbo clue proved the creators of the game had mined Fred’s trivia book in the creation of their trivia. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5553 "2023-02-15T04:24:37Z")
Here we go Despite exploring Antarctica, serving during the Spanish-American War, Boxer Rebellion and declared missing-in-action during World War I, he never existed. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5554 "2023-02-15T05:04:53Z")
Did he go to an Ivy League school? ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5555 "2023-02-15T06:08:04Z")
Nope. He didn’t ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5556 "2023-02-15T13:26:15Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Despite exploring Antarctica, serving during the Spanish-American War, Boxer Rebellion and declared missing-in-action during World War I, he never existed. I’ll ask some Q’s that might be automatic No’s, but I want to anyway: Is this a real human being? Is this a female? Is this fictional? Is this a character from a book, movie, tv show, or something else fictional? Have we heard of this individual? Is it an animal? ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5557 "2023-02-15T14:06:55Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Is this a real human being? > > Is this a female? > > Is this fictional? > > Is this a character from a book, movie, tv show, or something else fictional? > > Have we heard of this individual? > > Is it an animal? Not a human therefore not a female. It is fictional and from a book, however it was written in a way to make it seem authentically historical. I cannot know who has heard of him. His identity is not a secret if that is what you mean. It is not an animal. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5558 "2023-02-15T14:22:55Z")
Is it something with utilitarian value? If so, would the value be primarily military? Is it something with symbolic value, such as a flag, a scepter, someone’s good-luck charm, or whatever? Would it be most closely associated with a single character in the book? ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5559 "2023-02-15T17:01:32Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Is it something with utilitarian value? > If so, would the value be primarily military? Yes to both > [@dirtball](#): > > Is it something with symbolic value, such as a flag, a scepter, someone’s good-luck charm, or whatever? Nope > [@dirtball](#): > > Would it be most closely associated with a single character in the book? As you wrote the question: no. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5560 "2023-02-15T18:04:33Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > > [@dirtball](#): > > > > Would it be most closely associated with a single character in the book? > > As you wrote the question: no. Was possession of the item passed from one individual to another one or more times? That is, it was associated with more than one character, but just one at any given time? If so: When the item changed hands, was it an impersonal transaction, such as a sale or trade, lost in a poker game, lost and/or stolen, etc.? Was it passed down within a family, from one generation to the next? Was it a weapon? ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5561 "2023-02-15T18:38:34Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Was possession of the item passed from one individual to another one or more times? That is, it was associated with more than one character, but just one at any given time? I’m going to say no on this. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5562 "2023-02-15T18:40:46Z")
Is it a vehicle of some kind? A boat or ship? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5563 "2023-02-15T18:46:00Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Despite exploring Antarctica, serving during the Spanish-American War, Boxer Rebellion and declared missing-in-action during World War I, he never existed. But was he 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:** [February 15, 2023, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5564 "2023-02-15T18:50:40Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > But was he here? Kilroy wasn’t here until the end of WWII, if that’s what you’re thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5565 "2023-02-15T18:51:50Z")
Hey, it all happened before I was born 😉 ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5566 "2023-02-15T19:04:12Z")
It is not Kilroy ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5567 "2023-02-15T19:06:24Z")
Does “he never existed” simply mean that “he” is from a book and not real life? Or did “he” never exist _within_ the context of the book? (I.e., talking stuffed animals exist within the fictional world of _Winnie-the-Pooh_, but Heffalumps and Woozles probably do not.) Is “he” an inanimate object (within the book)? If yes – an object _representing_ something animate, like a teddy bear or toy soldier? Would most people see “he” as an appropriate pronoun, as opposed to “it”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=277) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=279)