# 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:** 218
**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:** [April 1, 2026, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4341 "2026-04-01T23:46:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If we knew why you wanted that, would that constitute a complete solution to the puzzle? Probably. > [@](#): > > Aside from being sold out, was there any other reason the theater couldn’t sell you a ticket? Yes. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2026, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4342 "2026-04-01T23:46:48Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Did you do this because you had some sort of connection with someone involved in producing the play? > Or with someone who worked at the theater? 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:** [April 1, 2026, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4343 "2026-04-01T23:47:50Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > did you want a receipt? and if so, was it so you had an alibi and could say you were at the play? Didn’t want or get a receipt. Didn’t need an alibi. (Plus, wouldn’t the guy remember me? It always struck me as a pretty weird, and memorable, interaction.) ---
**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:** [April 1, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4344 "2026-04-01T23:52:25Z")
Was anyone else involved in this episode besides you and a possibly confused ticket seller? If so, did this other person (or those other people) know beforehand that you were planning to do this? ---
**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:** [April 1, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4345 "2026-04-01T23:54:01Z")
Had the show you asked for already started? Had it already ended? Did you gain anything tangible directly from this? Indirectly? ---
**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:** [April 1, 2026, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4346 "2026-04-01T23:57:30Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Was anyone else involved in this episode besides you and a possibly confused ticket seller? > If so, did this other person (or those other people) know beforehand that you were planning to do this? Heh. Yes to the first, no to the second — but I don’t want to red-herring this; I think the story plays out the same, on the essentials, even if we leave the other person out of it (which brings me back to how I sometimes tell the story with them in it, and sometimes leave them out, and it makes sense either way). ---
**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:** [April 1, 2026, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4347 "2026-04-01T23:59:18Z")
Was this for money laundering? ---
**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:** [April 2, 2026, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4348 "2026-04-02T00:00:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Had the show you asked for already started? Had it already ended? Already ended. > [@](#): > > Did you gain anything tangible directly from this? Indirectly? To the best of my knowledge, no. ---
**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:** [April 2, 2026, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4349 "2026-04-02T00:04:21Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Was this for money laundering? As far as I can tell, no. (Just to be sure: what’s your definition of money laundering?) ---
**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:** [April 2, 2026, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4350 "2026-04-02T00:14:37Z")
OK, let me push on the “since it’s April 1st” part a bit: Did the transaction, and / or the show for which you bought the ticket, take place on April 1st? Were you trying to play a practical joke? (If yes: on the ticket seller? On someone else?) Does this puzzle have a twist that makes April 1st a particularly appropriate date to post 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:** [April 2, 2026, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4351 "2026-04-02T00:19:40Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Did the transaction, and / or the show for which you bought the ticket, take place on April 1st? > > Were you trying to play a practical joke? (If yes: on the ticket seller? On someone else?) > > Does this puzzle have a twist that makes April 1st a particularly appropriate date to post it? No; all apologies for mentioning that, it just happened to be what brought this thread and the story to mind, since I figured it seems like a weird and counterintuitive thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2026, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4352 "2026-04-02T03:06:03Z")
Did you do it so you could say you made the purchase so you wouldn’t be ‘technically’ lying to someone? For example (but not to be construed as the only possibility): Did you not want to lie to someone about the event, so you went ahead and paid for it, so you could tell them you paid for it and have a clear conscience. ---
**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:** [April 2, 2026, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4353 "2026-04-02T09:51:11Z")
With the temporary exception of this thread: whenever I’ve told someone the _technical_ truth about having paid that money, I’ve also told them the _actual_ truth about why I did so. (And — after some more posts — I’ll of course be mentioning it here likewise.) ---
**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:** [April 2, 2026, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4354 "2026-04-02T13:15:18Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I didn’t pick at random; I had a definite preference for that one. If they’d insisted, I guess I would’ve settled for handing over the money for a different showing Would you have had a definite preference for the date/time of the different showing, or would any random performance have worked? Was your original preference based on date, time or day of the week? ---
**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:** [April 2, 2026, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4355 "2026-04-02T14:43:54Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Would you have had a definite preference for the date/time of the different showing, or would any random performance have worked?[ This is getting a bit abstract, but I’d have to say my backup preference would be for a showing where I wouldn’t be depriving anyone else of a seat. Like, if I buy a ticket for a showing, and thereby tip things to a point where _it’s_ now sold out — and someone gets turned away, though a perfectly good seat would’ve been available to ‘em — well, I wouldn’t want to put someone in that situation; why should they be inconvenienced just because I bought a ticket and didn’t show up? > [@](#): > > Was your original preference based on date, time or day of the week? It was a convenient time on a convenient day of the week; it was so long ago that I can’t actually recall what day or time (or calendar date) it was. ---
**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:** [April 2, 2026, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4356 "2026-04-02T15:03:52Z")
Did the convenience merely entail the convenience of traveling to the box office of the theater in order to conduct your unusual transaction? Or was there anything else for which convenience was relevant? ---
**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:** [April 2, 2026, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4357 "2026-04-02T16:51:32Z")
Did you need to spend the money for some reason? Would you have been willing to pay more money? If yes, was the sum of money paid something most people would consider significant? If the ticket had suddenly cost ten dollars more, would you have still paid the new amount? Is there anything to be learned from the amount of money paid? Did you get any of the money back? ---
**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:** [April 2, 2026, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4358 "2026-04-02T16:55:28Z")
Is there somebody involved who is disadvantaged by you doing this? ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2026, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4359 "2026-04-02T18:49:55Z")
I used to have an unlimited pass for the cinema, and the cinema in question used to reimburse customers for parking in their car park. So if I wanted free parking but wasn’t watching a film, I used to ‘buy’ (i.e. get for free) a ticket to any random film screening and then get my parking money back. Sneaky I know. I’m wondering if this is a similar situation? Do you want to make use of the parking facilities and it’s cheaper to buy a show ticket than actually pay for parking? Or perhaps the parking is only available for patrons and you REALLY need to park close to something else? ---
**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:** [April 2, 2026, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4360 "2026-04-02T21:53:19Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Did you need to spend the money for some reason? I wouldn’t have said so (and I’ve been emphatically told that, _no, I really didn’t need to_ by someone who knew all the facts). > [@](#): > > Would you have been willing to pay more money? If yes, was the sum of money paid something most people would consider significant? If the ticket had suddenly cost ten dollars more, would you have still paid the new amount? No. > [@](#): > > Is there anything to be learned from the amount of money paid? Did you get any of the money back? I didn’t get any of the money back, and I’d say it was a pretty small amount. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=217) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=219)