# Lateral Thinking Puzzles - third time is best! **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [July 18, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214 "2023-07-18T13:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 119
**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:** [August 12, 2024, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2361 "2024-08-12T13:27:52Z")
Neither polar bear, nor cat, nor dog. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2024, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2362 "2024-08-12T13:46:04Z")
Was the freezer door opened by something that was alive? What kind of freezer? Was it part of a refrigerator? Standup freezer? Chest Freezer? ---
**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:** [August 12, 2024, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2363 "2024-08-12T14:21:32Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Was the freezer door opened by something that was alive? Yes. > [@Cheesesteak](#): > > What kind of freezer? Was it part of a refrigerator? Standup freezer? Chest Freezer? The kind at the top of a refrigerator. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2024, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2364 "2024-08-12T14:24:53Z")
Had you put the something alive into the freezer? Did you know when you went to bed that the something alive was in the freezer? Did the something alive get into the freezer on its own during the night? If the latter, was this something that you knew could happen? ---
**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:** [August 12, 2024, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2365 "2024-08-12T14:30:55Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Had you put the something alive into the freezer? Yes. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Did you know when you went to bed that the something alive was in the freezer? Yes. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Did the something alive get into the freezer on its own during the night? > > If the latter, was this something that you knew could happen? No, and not applicable. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2024, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2366 "2024-08-12T14:36:17Z")
Did you expect the something alive to be able to get itself out of the freezer? Did you expect it to do so leaving the door open behind it? ---
**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:** [August 12, 2024, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2367 "2024-08-12T14:44:04Z")
I hadn’t really thought about the possibility. I suppose that counts as not expecting it. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2024, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2368 "2024-08-12T14:46:17Z")
Was the living thing a lobster? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2024, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2369 "2024-08-12T14:46:29Z")
So you deliberately shut something alive into the freezer without thinking about whether it could get back out. Were you trying to kill it? Did you think it could survive in there? ---
**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:** [August 12, 2024, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2370 "2024-08-12T14:50:10Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Was the living thing a lobster? No. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > So you deliberately shut something alive into the freezer without thinking about whether it could get back out. Yes. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Were you trying to kill it? No. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Did you think it could survive in there? Yes. And man, I hope someone solves this soon, because right now, it’s making me look pretty weird. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2024, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2371 "2024-08-12T14:52:04Z")
Was this something that shouldn’t have been in the house in the first place? If so, were you just trying to contain it until you could deal with it in some kind of proper way? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2024, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2372 "2024-08-12T14:58:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And man, I hope someone solves this soon, because right now, it’s making me look pretty weird. Large spider? Rat? Bat? Evil severed hand? ---
**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:** [August 12, 2024, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2373 "2024-08-12T15:04:56Z")
Was the “something alive” yeast? Frozen dough that thawed and started to rise? ---
**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:** [August 12, 2024, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2374 "2024-08-12T15:07:57Z")
Ding ding ding! I had frozen bread dough in the freezer, and after a couple of days of the power being off, it thawed out and rose enough to push the door open and plop out onto the floor. And @Gyrate, don’t be silly. Everyone knows you keep your evil severed hand under the floorboards, not in the freezer. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2024, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2375 "2024-08-12T15:10:13Z")
Oh, and in case anyone is still stuck on the “unconcerned” part, I was and am concerned about having to throw away ruined food. I just wasn’t concerned by the freezer door being opened, because by the point that happened, the food was all ruined anyway. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2024, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2376 "2024-08-12T16:04:55Z")
Very good one! I’d been trying to think what was large enough to push a freezer door open but could still survive maybe 8 hours of cold temperatures and very limited air supply; but I was forgetting all about the strength of micro-organisms when en masse. – I misread your answer about not being concerned because the food had already thawed; but going back to look at it you gave me a fair answer, I just misunderstood and thought you were saying that that wasn’t wny you weren’t concerned. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Had it already thawed due to a long loss of power, and you intended to throw it all out anyway? > [@Chronos](#): > > Yes, it had already thawed due to loss of power. That’s part of the solution. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2377 "2024-08-18T20:51:24Z")
In order to cool down on a hot afternoon, Nancy sits on a rock below a large shade tree. She is shocked when the tree moves away from her, leaving her out in the sun again. Why does the tree move away from Nancy? ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2378 "2024-08-18T21:07:22Z")
Well according to Einstein the tree moving and the rock moving are effectively the same thing, but is it actually the rock moving? ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2024, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2379 "2024-08-18T21:08:14Z")
Was the tree planted in the ground? ---
**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:** [August 18, 2024, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/2380 "2024-08-18T21:47:03Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > Well according to Einstein the tree moving and the rock moving are effectively the same thing, but is it actually the rock moving? Yes [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=118) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=120)