# 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:** 279
**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, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5568 "2023-02-15T19:08:36Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Does “he never existed” simply mean that “he” is from a book and not real life? Yes > [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > 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”? Yes. As for representing something animate, I would say yes. And “he” is appropriate. ---
**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, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5569 "2023-02-15T19:12:23Z")
I’m going to correct my reply to @dirtball > Would it be most closely associated with a single character in the book? He is a character in a book but in the way you followed up with including “possession” then the answer to this question is yes. ---
**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, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5570 "2023-02-15T20:29:18Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Is it a vehicle of some kind? > A boat or ship? You seem to have missed this question. ---
**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, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5571 "2023-02-15T21:11:17Z")
Not a vehicle. And to add on to > Does “he never existed” simply mean that “he” is from a book and not real life? He is from the book and as I said before, it was done in the style as to make people believe he was a real historical figure. ---
**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 16, 2023, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5572 "2023-02-16T02:18:13Z")
Is this a single book? Two books? A trilogy? A series? Was the book, or any of the series published: - before 1900 - 1900-1910 - 1911-1920 - 1921-1930 - 1931-1940? - 1940-2000? - After 2001? ---
**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 16, 2023, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5573 "2023-02-16T02:22:03Z")
Was the book originally published in English? Is the author American? ---
**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 16, 2023, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5574 "2023-02-16T18:32:16Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Is this a single book? Two books? A trilogy? A series? > > Was the book, or any of the series published: > > - before 1900 > - 1900-1910 > - 1911-1920 > - 1921-1930 > - 1931-1940? > - 1940-2000? > - After 2001? One book published after 2001 > [@dirtball](#): > > Was the book originally published in English? > Is the author American? Yes You’re assuming there is only one author. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5575 "2023-02-16T18:51:38Z")
I’m having a hard time getting my head around this. I have a guess that involves a published inanimate object termed “he” that travels, but I can’t think of a broader clarifying question. Does it have to do with Flat Stanley? ---
**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 16, 2023, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5576 "2023-02-16T19:05:13Z")
Good guess but 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 16, 2023, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5577 "2023-02-16T19:11:39Z")
Is the book a collaboration? Is it a novel? A graphic novel? Some other format? ---
**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 16, 2023, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5578 "2023-02-16T19:14:51Z")
Co-authors. Rather than going through all possibilities looking for a “yes”, it is probably best described as a coffee table book. ---
**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 16, 2023, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5579 "2023-02-16T23:04:31Z")
Where’s Waldo? ---
**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 17, 2023, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5580 "2023-02-17T01:10:50Z")
Nope. Waldo is not in this puzzle. ---
**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 18, 2023, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5581 "2023-02-18T10:55:08Z")
Here’s a hint for the three-day weekend (in the US). I said earlier he went MIA during World War I. He was thought to be captured by the Germans leading many to speculate that that was the reason for German technological advances between WW1 and WW2. ---
**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 18, 2023, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5582 "2023-02-18T14:46:52Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > > [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > > > 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”? > > Yes. As for representing something animate, I would say yes. And “he” is appropriate. Is it representing a human figure? An alien? An animal? A robot? An intelligent inanimate object, such as Herbie? A normally inanimate object that behaves like a living creature, such as Pixar Cars? ---
**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 18, 2023, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5583 "2023-02-18T15:51:52Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Is it representing a human figure? An alien? An animal? A robot? An intelligent inanimate object, such as Herbie? A normally inanimate object that behaves like a living creature, such as Pixar Cars? The best way to answer this. It is a robot representing a human figure. But which one? ---
**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:** [February 19, 2023, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5584 "2023-02-19T06:44:29Z")
Is the character famous outside of this one book? Have they ever appeared in anything else? ---
**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 19, 2023, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5585 "2023-02-19T09:15:08Z")
So, just to be clear, it is an inanimate object, representing an animate object, and the object being represented is a robot, is that correct? So, it’s something similar to a C3PO action figure, and not C3PO himself? And the robot looks human? It resembles a specific human, or just human-like generally? If a specific person, is it a real-world historical person? ---
**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 19, 2023, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5586 "2023-02-19T13:40:09Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > Is the character famous outside of this one book? Have they ever appeared in anything else? Yes they have. > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > So, just to be clear, it is an inanimate object, representing an animate object, and the object being represented is a robot, is that correct? > > So, it’s something similar to a C3PO action figure, and not C3PO himself? > > And the robot looks human? It resembles a specific human, or just human-like generally? > > If a specific person, is it a real-world historical person? Let me clarify “inanimate” as there is a bit of equivocation. The character in question is inanimate in that it is not alive (since it is a robot) but it is animate in that it moves on its own. So it is not an action figure but a real robot. And no, it is not C3PO. It is roughly generally human shaped but not a specific human. Additional hint: He was built with a helmet and there is a reason (in universe) for this. [![](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/IZsAAOSw9N5iKoCW/s-l500.jpg) ](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/IZsAAOSw9N5iKoCW/s-l500.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/5587 "2023-02-19T13:56:18Z")
Was he a golem? Or Frankenstein’s monster? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=278) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=280)