# 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:** 219
**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, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4361 "2026-04-02T21:56:45Z")
> [@colinfred](#): > > Is there somebody involved who is disadvantaged by you doing this? Not as far as I can tell (unless the guy at the ticket booth had any trouble figuring out how to ring up a sale or whatever with the cash after I left). ---
**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, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4362 "2026-04-02T22:02:48Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > 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? Specifically: no, I didn’t even have a vehicle to park back then. Generally: someone upthread asked if I gained anything tangible, directly or indirectly, from handing over the cash — and, AFAICT, the answer is “no.” ---
**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, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4363 "2026-04-02T22:07:07Z")
Did you gain anything other than your satisfaction at having accomplished your goal? ---
**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, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4364 "2026-04-02T22:14:54Z")
How about the change? ---
**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 2, 2026, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4365 "2026-04-02T22:14:54Z")
Did doing this enable you to say you kept a promise? (I can’t think of a specific scenario where that might be the case given what we know, but it doesn’t seem completely out of the question.) ---
**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, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4366 "2026-04-02T22:22:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > 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? I’m not 100% sure I understand what you’re asking. Like, you’re picturing me already _at_ the box office, conducting this “unusual transaction” by handing over cash and then getting asked which showing I have a preference for, right? At that point, I’ve _already_ traveled there, right? ---
**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, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4367 "2026-04-02T22:26:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Did you gain anything other than your satisfaction at having accomplished your goal I’m not sure I’d put it like that, but I guess you’re right. ---
**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, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4368 "2026-04-02T22:26:59Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > How about the change? I think I handed over the correct amount, to the penny. ---
**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, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4369 "2026-04-02T22:27:31Z")
Getting rid of change? ---
**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, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4370 "2026-04-02T22:35:19Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Did doing this enable you to say you kept a promise? I don’t believe I’d ever promised to hand over that money, and that I can’t say I kept a promise by doing so. ---
**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, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4371 "2026-04-02T22:48:15Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Getting rid of change? Nope. (Also: _why would I bother with all that rigamarole?_ If I wanted to get rid of some cash right when I just so happened to be in front of a guy selling tickets at a theater’s box office, wouldn’t I just, like, _hand it to him_ without also _saying weird stuff at him?_ That sounds like _work!_) ---
**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 5, 2026, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4372 "2026-04-05T23:42:33Z")
Is there a _specific_ person to whom you wanted to be able to say, truthfully, that you bought a ticket for the show? Or did you just want to be able to say it in general? Did your reason for wanting to say this have anything to do with… Deceiving someone? Making a rhetorical point of some sort? Establishing your bona fides as a supporter of the arts and / or this particular theater group or production? Was this a professional production? A school / college production? Community theater? ---
**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 5, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4373 "2026-04-05T23:50:21Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Was this a professional production? A school / college production? Community theater? And more importantly, is the answer to this relevant? ---
**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 6, 2026, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4374 "2026-04-06T13:10:50Z")
Did it matter to you whether the ticket seller pocketed the cash personally or found a way to insert it into the ticket-sales revenue? Did you simply want to be seen (and/or recorded on box-office security video) handing money over at the box office (and I can’t think of why you would, but this is, after all, lateral thinking)? ---
**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 8, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4375 "2026-04-08T16:10:41Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > (Plus, wouldn’t the guy remember me? It always struck me as a pretty weird, and memorable, interaction.) Another thought: was it your _intention_ to make yourself memorable to the ticket seller? Or would you have been able to carry out your goal regardless of whether he remembered you or not? ---
**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 8, 2026, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4376 "2026-04-08T23:30:09Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Is there a _specific_ person to whom you wanted to be able to say, truthfully, that you bought a ticket for the show? Or did you just want to be able to say it in general? In general. > [@](#): > > Did your reason for wanting to say this have anything to do with… > > Deceiving someone? > > Making a rhetorical point of some sort? > > Establishing your bona fides as a supporter of the arts and / or this particular theater group or production? I’m not exactly sure what you mean by “rhetorical”. I _am_ pretty sure I know what you mean by the other options, but I fear that literally true answers would be woefully misleading. But, strictly speaking: yeah, it had _something_ to do with deceiving someone, and it’s not _wrong_ to say that I wanted to be establish that I supported this particular production. > [@](#): > > Was this a professional production? A school / college production? Community theater? College. (And, to answer the question from Chronos: that might be relevant.) ---
**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 8, 2026, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4377 "2026-04-08T23:44:50Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Did it matter to you whether the ticket seller pocketed the cash personally or found a way to insert it into the ticket-sales revenue? No more than when I’ve handed a guy some cash and _gotten_ a ticket; I wouldn’t approve of _any_ of ‘em pocketing the money instead of putting it where it belongs. > [@](#): > > Did you simply want to be seen (and/or recorded on box-office security video) handing money over at the box office (and I can’t think of why you would, but this is, after all, lateral thinking)? No, nothing like that. But you’re on the right track in that you’d solve this lateral thinking problem if you didn’t try quite so hard to imagine up a specific. ---
**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 8, 2026, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4378 "2026-04-08T23:53:08Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Another thought: was it your _intention_ to make yourself memorable to the ticket seller? Or would you have been able to carry out your goal regardless of whether he remembered you or not? I wasn’t trying to be memorable, beyond what you already know (about me saying something odd). It makes no difference if he forgot the whole thing. ---
**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 8, 2026, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4379 "2026-04-08T23:58:47Z")
Did your plan involve saying anything to the ticket seller other than whatever was required to conduct the transaction to your satisfaction? ---
**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 9, 2026, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4380 "2026-04-09T00:09:38Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Did your plan involve saying anything to the ticket seller other than whatever was required to conduct the transaction to your satisfaction? Rather the opposite; I mentioned the reason I was doing this, and I guess I didn’t really need to do that; I probably could’ve just left without bothering to offer an explanation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=218) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=220)