# 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:** 5
**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 29, 2019, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/81 "2019-10-29T11:17:00Z")
So, just to recap The muffin didn’t cause his death Another person could eat the other half of muffin and be fine. Nevertheless, he wouldn’t have died if he hadn’t eaten half the muffin And he did it on purpose. Did he consume anything else apart from the muffin? Is whatever killed him still in the room? Was any animal involved in his death? ---
**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 29, 2019, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/82 "2019-10-29T11:39:48Z")
Was it a duel by [del]sausage[/del] muffin? > **[The Great Sausage Duel of 1865](https://skullsinthestars.com/2014/11/01/the-great-sausage-duel-of-1865/)** > > (Tip o’ the hat to Blake Stacey for first pointing this story out to me!) The history of science is filled with macabre tales of self-experimentation, amoral experimentation on others, horrif… A plate of muffins, one contains poison. Two or more challengers take it in turns to eat a muffin until one drops down dead. Or if not a duel, then a sort of Russian Roulette. ---
**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 29, 2019, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/83 "2019-10-29T13:44:55Z")
You’ve said no allergic reactions, but did the man have any other medical conditions that are relevant? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/84 "2019-10-29T15:10:18Z")
Was there an argument or disagreement prior to the man’s death? Was he shot to death? Was he killed because he didn’t like the muffin? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/85 "2019-10-29T15:52:05Z")
I’m guessing he committed suicide by overdose, and needed the half muffin to take the pills. ETA: visible sign of death: foaming from the mouth ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/86 "2019-10-29T16:48:07Z")
He wanted to suicide. He selected a toxin that he couldn’t tolerate alone so he baked muffins to make it palatable. He didn’t know how much toxin it would take to kill him so he put toxin in each muffin. He buttered all three in case he needed to eat all three. Turns out it took just one half of one muffin. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/87 "2019-10-29T17:31:17Z")
> [@Personal](#): > > He wanted to suicide. He selected a toxin that he couldn’t tolerate alone so he baked muffins to make it palatable. He didn’t know how much toxin it would take to kill him so he put toxin in each muffin. He buttered all three in case he needed to eat all three. Turns out it took just one half of one muffin. I don’t think the muffins were poisoned, since it was said that another person could eat a muffin and not die. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/88 "2019-10-29T17:45:38Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > I don’t think the muffins were poisoned, since it was said that another person could eat a muffin and not die. > > ~Max Damn. I missed that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/89 "2019-10-29T21:44:56Z")
Was poison the cause of his death? Was traumatic injury the cause of his death? Was a burn of some sort the cause of his death? Would knowledge of the composition/recipe of the muffins be relevant to solving the puzzle? ---
**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 29, 2019, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/90 "2019-10-29T23:19:02Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > So, just to recap > > The muffin didn’t cause his death > Another person could eat the other half of muffin and be fine. > Nevertheless, **he wouldn’t have died if he hadn’t eaten half the muffin** > And he did it on purpose. > > Did he consume anything else apart from the muffin? > Is whatever killed him still in the room? > Was any animal involved in his death? You got it all right, but I would simply clarify that he could have died without eating half the muffin. I wouldn’t worry about it, it’s a stickler point, but not a big one. > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Was it a duel by [del]sausage[/del] muffin? NO > > [The Great Sausage Duel of 1865 | Skulls in the Stars](https://skullsinthestars.com/2014/11/01/the-great-sausage-duel-of-1865/) > > A plate of muffins, one contains poison. Two or more challengers take it in turns to eat a muffin until one drops down dead. NO > > Or if not a duel, then a sort of Russian Roulette. NO > [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > You’ve said no allergic reactions, but did the man have any other medical conditions that are relevant? YES > [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Was there an argument or disagreement prior to the man’s death? NO > Was he shot to death? YES > Was he killed because he didn’t like the muffin? NO > [@Max\_S](#): > > I’m guessing he committed suicide by overdose, and needed the half muffin to take the pills. > > ETA: visible sign of death: foaming from the mouth > > ~Max NO > [@Personal](#): > > He wanted to suicide. He selected a toxin that he couldn’t tolerate alone so he baked muffins to make it palatable. He didn’t know how much toxin it would take to kill him so he put toxin in each muffin. He buttered all three in case he needed to eat all three. Turns out it took just one half of one muffin. NO > [@Chronos](#): > > Was poison the cause of his death? NO > Was traumatic injury the cause of his death? YES > Was a burn of some sort the cause of his death? NO > Would knowledge of the composition/recipe of the muffins be relevant to solving the puzzle? NO kk ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/91 "2019-10-30T00:22:02Z")
Aha, so he was shot. Now we just need to figure out why, and what the muffins had to do with anything. Did he shoot himself? Did he own the muffins? Did the shooter recognize him as the owner of the muffins? If the shooter did not know that he had eaten (part of) a muffin, would he have died? So far, the best I’ve got is that he wanted to die, so he deliberately antagonized someone by eating their muffins, with the expectation that this would cause the muffin-owner to shoot him. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/92 "2019-10-30T00:28:22Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Ooh, wait, I know! He didn’t want to eat the muffins in an agitated manner, because the butter would probably get on his cuffs, so he sat there calmly eating muffins, and therefore became … perfectly heartless 🙂 > > (This theory is not being proposed in earnest.) I see what you did there: [http://www.literaturepage.com/read.php?titleid=importance-of-being-earnest&abspage=55&bookmark=1](http://www.literaturepage.com/read.php?titleid=importance-of-being-earnest&abspage=55&bookmark=1) No solution to the mystery, but a couple of questions: Was he shot dead while he was eating a muffin? Was he shot dead because he was eating a muffin? ---
**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 30, 2019, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/93 "2019-10-30T00:46:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Did he shoot himself? YES > Did he own the muffins? YES > Did the shooter recognize him as the owner of the muffins? YES > If the shooter did not know that he had eaten (part of) a muffin, would he have died? NO > > So far, the best I’ve got is that he wanted to die, so he deliberately antagonized someone by eating their muffins, with the expectation that this would cause the muffin-owner to shoot him. NO > [@gkster](#): > > I see what you did there: > [The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde: Act 2 (continued) - The Literature Page](http://www.literaturepage.com/read.php?titleid=importance-of-being-earnest&abspage=55&bookmark=1) > No solution to the mystery, but a couple of questions: > > Was he shot dead while he was eating a muffin? NO > > Was he shot dead because he was eating a muffin? YES kk ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/94 "2019-10-30T01:04:32Z")
Did he discover something from eating half a muffin that shocked or disgusted him so much that he committed suicide? ---
**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 30, 2019, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/95 "2019-10-30T01:11:19Z")
Did the man intend to commit suicide before he began eating the muffin? Did eating the muffin cause him to discover something that made him become suicidal? (Similar to the infamous “albatross soup” puzzle?) Regarding the medical condition: Would it have been fatal if he hadn’t shot himself first? Did it involve impairment of the senses (blindness, deafness, etc.)? Did it involve a mental illness of some sort? ---
**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 30, 2019, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/96 "2019-10-30T02:07:10Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Did he discover something from eating half a muffin that shocked or disgusted him so much that he committed suicide? NO > [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Did the man intend to commit suicide before he began eating the muffin? YES > > Did eating the muffin cause him to discover something that made him become suicidal? (Similar to the infamous “albatross soup” puzzle?) NO > > Regarding the medical condition: > > Would it have been fatal if he hadn’t shot himself first? NO > > Did it involve impairment of the senses (blindness, deafness, etc.)? NO > > Did it involve a mental illness of some sort? I think YES on this one ---
**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 30, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/97 "2019-10-30T16:13:29Z")
Is his motivation for committing suicide relevant? Did the medical condition have an impact on his motivation (e.g. he committed suicide because he was depressed, or just didn’t want to live with his condition any more)? Did it have an impact on the WAY he committed suicide? Might a person without this condition have also committed suicide under similar circumstances? Would such a person have eaten half a muffin first? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/98 "2019-10-30T16:25:37Z")
Was the man a diabetic? Was he depressed? Did he have an eating disorder? Did he resolve to test his restraint by placing muffins in front of him but forbidding himself to eat them, to shoot himself if he gave in? Was the man alone when he shot himself? ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/99 "2019-10-30T16:41:10Z")
Was eating the muffin a test to see if a problem was over or resolved, and upon discovering that it wasn’t he killed himself? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193/100 "2019-10-30T20:01:51Z")
Did eating the muffin somehow make suicide a better experience for the man? Was the butter used for another purpose besides being spread on the muffin? Did the muffin contain something? If so, did the man find it after taking a bite? Theory: somebody put a bullet in the muffin and the guy was in a jail cell, deciding that suicide was better than his eventual punishment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-lets-do-it-again/842193.md?page=6)