# 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:** 163
**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:** [May 1, 2025, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3241 "2025-05-01T20:36:52Z")
**Yes, mothers can have daughters, via sexual reproduction. But fathers cannot have sons by any means.** **Sex is determined by chromosomes, but not in the way it works for you humans.** ---
**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:** [May 1, 2025, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3242 "2025-05-01T20:44:39Z")
Is a baby always female if they have two parents and male if they have only one? Do you need two copies of (the sex chromosome? all chromosomes?) to make a female? ---
**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:** [May 1, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3243 "2025-05-01T20:46:59Z")
**Yes, and solved!** I am a male honeybee, and sex determination for us is haploid/diploid. Females hatch from fertilized eggs, males from unfertilized eggs. ---
**Author:** ![SailorHG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SailorHG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SailorHG)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3244 "2025-05-02T15:56:40Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > How can this be? Was this a hint? It sounds in my mind like “how can this bee?” ---
**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:** [May 2, 2025, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3245 "2025-05-02T16:53:06Z")
Kind of. I realized it was kind of a hint as soon as I typed it, and decided to keep it in. ---
**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:** [May 24, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3246 "2025-05-24T22:31:18Z")
Since it’s been a few weeks, I’ve got something that I’m not _sure_ qualifies, but that I hope is interesting enough to merit bumping the thread: **There’s a joke I sometimes tell — by which I mean it often gets an expected laugh when I say it — but it’s never _once_ gotten a laugh from the person I’m telling it to for the first time; only from other people who are also hearing me say it for the first time. (Granted, I could maybe manage that by quippily insulting the person I’m talking to, but, no, that’s not it.)** ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2025, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3247 "2025-05-24T22:45:33Z")
Is there a visual clue that the mark can’t see? ---
**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:** [May 24, 2025, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3248 "2025-05-24T22:46:45Z")
> [@colinfred](#): > > Is there a visual clue that the mark can’t see? Nope. ---
**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:** [May 24, 2025, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3249 "2025-05-24T22:58:25Z")
(Now that I’m thinking of other possibilities that probably need to be ruled out: if anything, the only person I’m insulting with my remark is, arguably, _me._) ---
**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:** [May 24, 2025, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3250 "2025-05-24T23:27:58Z")
Are the people you’re telling it to for the first time people who have previously laughed when you told someone else? Is the joke difficult to understand? Is the joke something that would be difficult to translate into another language? Is the joke nonverbal? Are bodily functions (e.g., burping, farting, peeing, pooping, etc.) relevant to the joke? ---
**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:** [May 24, 2025, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3251 "2025-05-24T23:29:26Z")
No to all. ---
**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:** [May 24, 2025, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3252 "2025-05-24T23:52:28Z")
Is there some way in which the joke gets, let’s say, “customized” for the audience for each telling? ---
**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:** [May 25, 2025, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3253 "2025-05-25T00:36:49Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Is there some way in which the joke gets, let’s say, “customized” for the audience for each telling? I deliver it the same way, word-for-word, every time. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2025, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3254 "2025-05-25T01:04:19Z")
Are the “people” you’re telling the joke to real, live human beings? Is it at least plausible that the people you’re telling it to might laugh at it? ---
**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:** [May 25, 2025, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3255 "2025-05-25T01:09:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Are the “people” you’re telling the joke to real, live human beings? Yes. > [@](#): > > Is it at least plausible that the people you’re telling it to might laugh at it? I think it’s fair to say that it could happen. I’ve just never seen it happen, and don’t expect it to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2025, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3256 "2025-05-25T11:16:44Z")
I’d like more information about the format of the joke. Does it require a response from your mark? Is it a story type joke? How long is it? Does it have, what we would typically think of as a ‘punchline’? does iit include a pun type play on words? Is it a joke that we would have heard of…or is it very obscure or did you make it up yourself? ---
**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:** [May 25, 2025, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3257 "2025-05-25T11:32:34Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > Does it require a response from your mark? Is it a story type joke? How long is it? I get it across in a scant 21 words — which doesn’t leave much room for a story — with a pause 14 words in, so the other person can give a response. > [@](#): > > Does it have, what we would typically think of as a ‘punchline’? does iit include a pun type play on words? Whether you’d think of it as a punchline gets into bickering about dictionary definitions and maybe a judgment call, but there’s no pun or play on words. > [@](#): > > Is it a joke that we would have heard of…or is it very obscure or did you make it up yourself? I’ve actually posted it on this board, but, yes, it’s just something that AFAICT I came up with. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2025, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3258 "2025-05-25T11:33:38Z")
Are other people laughing because the person to whom you are talking does not laugh? Does the person to whom you are talking understand the joke and why it is supposed to be funny? Is the person somehow unable to hear the joke? Is your telling of the joke verbal? Is there something special about the person or the predicament of the person hearing the joke that is relevant? Is part of the joke the response from the hearer? ---
**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:** [May 25, 2025, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3259 "2025-05-25T11:46:00Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Does the person to whom you are talking understand the joke and why it is supposed to be funny? > > Is the person somehow unable to hear the joke? > > Is your telling of the joke verbal? It’s verbal, and they can hear it just fine, and they can understand what I’m saying and why it’s supposed to be funny. (As to what would happen if they laughed, I’d have to guess, because I’ve never actually seen it happen.) > [@](#): > > Is there something special about the person or the predicament of the person hearing the joke that is relevant? I only say it in response to them having just done something. > [@](#): > > Is part of the joke the response from the hearer? Again, I’m guessing here, but: strictly speaking, I honestly believe that if this were a movie, you could cut right to another scene once the line is delivered — without actually showing the other guy’s reaction — and get a chuckle from folks in the audience. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2025, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3260 "2025-05-25T12:24:13Z")
Does the joke involve tricking the listener into saying something that has some other, obvious meaning? I’m thinking of things like the updog joke. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=162) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=164)