# 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:** 26
**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 16, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/501 "2023-08-16T18:30:32Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > Is it a wire coat hanger No ---
**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 16, 2023, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/502 "2023-08-16T18:31:23Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Is it Duct Tape? > > WD-40? No to both ---
**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 16, 2023, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/503 "2023-08-16T18:37:09Z")
Is it an object with a fixed shape or is it malleable/adjustable? Is it made of metal? In the one ‘objects’ case, is it simply multiple units of the same object? Is it bigger than a breadbox? Is it heavier than a… loaf of bread? How many of these objects are in the average home? More than 10? More than 5? More than 1? Less than 1? ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/504 "2023-08-16T18:37:34Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Are these real situations or hypotheticals? **Fictional.** Did they all occur in one book or film ? ---
**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 16, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/505 "2023-08-16T19:07:33Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > Did they all occur in one book or film ? No. Though I did read about these many uses of this item all in one book. ---
**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 16, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/506 "2023-08-16T19:15:19Z")
reply to Cheesesteak: Is it an object with a fixed shape or is it malleable/adjustable? fixed Is it made of metal? No In the one ‘objects’ case, is it simply multiple units of the same object? Exactly 4 of these objects were used in one instance. Is it bigger than a breadbox? A little I guess. How big is a breadbox? Is it heavier than a… loaf of bread? Yes How many of these objects are in the average home? More than 10? No.More than 5? No. More than 1? Probably not.Less than 1? Probably not. I’d guess likely you have just one. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/507 "2023-08-16T19:29:39Z")
If Joe Public just has 1, in the case where 4 were used: - Did they get them from 4 different houses/locations ? - Were they in the place where these items are made ? - Were they from an “unusual” home where they had more than 1 ? ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/508 "2023-08-16T19:50:46Z")
Is this thing likely to be taken and used outside the home? Is it normally to be found in: - the kitchen? - the living room? - the bedroom? - the bathroom? - the yard or garden? - attached to the wall/ roof/ door/ window ? - often moved and used in multiple rooms? Is it a device with moving parts? Does it run on electricity? Is it a vacuum cleaner? Is it a microwave oven? ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/509 "2023-08-16T20:14:00Z")
Is it a container? Is it sticky? Hard? Flexible? Is it made of textiles? Is it something that a person from a few centuries ago would recognize? Or more modern? Edit: You mentioned reading about all these uses in one book. Would it be at all helpful to guess the book? (And just to eliminate a hunch - it’s not the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, is 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:** [August 16, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/510 "2023-08-16T20:26:47Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > In each of the above cases the problem is solved by the use of a particular object (or in one case objects). It is same object in each situation! What is this object? > > Bonus points for how the object is used each time. My wife would point at _me,_ because I’m happy to lift kids out of holes and relay narration and punch lawbreakers and hold a hat in place and menacingly shush people with a finger-to-lips gesture, and there’s only one of me in the house, and I’m heavier than bread and bigger than a breadbox. ---
**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 16, 2023, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/511 "2023-08-16T21:55:38Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > If Joe Public just has 1, in the case where 4 were used: > > - Did they get them from 4 different houses/locations ? > - Were they in the place where these items are made ? > - Were they from an “unusual” home where they had more than 1 ? Answer to this is unknown. Source of objects not given or 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:** [August 16, 2023, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/512 "2023-08-16T22:00:26Z")
reply to Peter\_Morris: Is this thing likely to be taken and used outside the home? No Is it normally to be found in: - the kitchen? No - the living room? No - the bedroom? No - the bathroom? Yes - the yard or garden? No - attached to the wall/ roof/ door/ window ? No - often moved and used in multiple rooms? No. Well, sometimes I guess. Is it a device with moving parts? No Does it run on electricity? No Is it a vacuum cleaner? No Is it a microwave oven? No. ---
**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 16, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/513 "2023-08-16T22:09:27Z")
reply to Ana\_Byrd: Is it a container? No. Is it sticky? No…well maybe? Hard? Yes Flexible?Yes Is it made of textiles? No Is it something that a person from a few centuries ago would recognize? No Or more modern? More modern than a few centuries. Edit: You mentioned reading about all these uses in one book. Would it be at all helpful to guess the book? Maybe. Kind of obscure though. (And just to eliminate a hunch - it’s not the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, is it?) No ---
**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 16, 2023, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/514 "2023-08-16T22:10:39Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > My wife would point at _me,_ because I’m happy to lift kids out of holes and relay narration and punch lawbreakers and hold a hat in place and menacingly shush people with a finger-to-lips gesture, and there’s only one of me in the house, and I’m heavier than bread and bigger than a breadbox. Heh heh. Not you. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/515 "2023-08-16T22:31:39Z")
Not a towel but used in the bathroom, hard yet flexible and maybe sticky in a way - a plunger? ---
**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 16, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/516 "2023-08-16T22:35:39Z")
Not a towel but used in the bathroom, hard yet flexible and maybe sticky in a way - a plunger? Yes! Good job! Ana\_Byrd Now for the bonus points. How was the plunger used in each case? ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/517 "2023-08-16T22:37:33Z")
Let’s see… Did the boy in the hole strap plungers to his arms and legs and climb out? Did the man in the hat stick a plunger on his bald head and put the hat over 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 16, 2023, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/518 "2023-08-16T22:56:41Z")
I’m not sure about the boy in the hole… Was a plunger used to plug a drain, so the hole could be filled with water and the boy floated out? The non-paying entertainment customers were watching the show (or whatever it was) through a hole in a fence, that was plugged with the plunger. The party was a costume party, and the plunger was the large hat. It stayed on by suction. The lady with the migraines put the (small) clock under a plunger to mute it. Or maybe set the clock on top of it, so the solid object under it wouldn’t couple to the ticking. ---
**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 17, 2023, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/519 "2023-08-17T01:45:59Z")
reply to Ana\_Byrd: Let’s see… Did the boy in the hole strap plungers to his arms and legs and climb out? No. Did the man in the hat stick a plunger on his bald head and put the hat over it? Yes +1! ---
**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 17, 2023, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/520 "2023-08-17T01:50:15Z")
reply to Chronos: I’m not sure about the boy in the hole… Was a plunger used to plug a drain, so the hole could be filled with water and the boy floated out? No The non-paying entertainment customers were watching the show (or whatever it was) through a hole in a fence, that was plugged with the plunger. Yes! +1 (multiple plungers, multiple holes) The party was a costume party, and the plunger was the large hat. It stayed on by suction. No. Answered above. The lady with the migraines put the (small) clock under a plunger to mute it. Or maybe set the clock on top of it, so the solid object under it wouldn’t couple to the ticking. Very close. What kind of clock? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=25) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=27)