# 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:** 28
**Author:** ![Jegpeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jegpeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jegpeg)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/541 "2023-08-17T23:37:22Z")
Did the woman with a migrain have a dome clock and she used the plunger to create a vacuum so the ticking could not be heard? ---
**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 19, 2023, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/542 "2023-08-19T00:23:46Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Are the main characters real people? From a TV show? Movie? Comic? Animated work? Comic ---
**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 19, 2023, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/543 "2023-08-19T00:26:58Z")
> [@Jegpeg](#): > > Did the woman with a migrain have a dome clock and she used the plunger to create a vacuum so the ticking could not be heard? Close enough on this one. A cuckoo clock. The plunger covered the exit hole so the bird could not pop out and chirp the time. ---
**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 19, 2023, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/544 "2023-08-19T02:42:51Z")
comic book plunger… is it the Green Arrow? ---
**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 19, 2023, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/545 "2023-08-19T04:12:58Z")
Okay here’s the answer to the kid in the hole: The kid falls in a hole. A second kid runs for help. The second kid stops at some random plumber’s business and explains the dilemma. This random plumber brings a plunger and sticks it down the hole onto the first kid’s head. And suctions/pulls the kid out. Problem solved! So who are these kids? The kids trying to look through the holes in the fence at the ballpark to see a baseball game but failing because plungers now cover the holes? The niece who uses a plunger to simulate a kissing sound? The kid who absurdly puts a plunger on a cookoo clock so the woman has silence? Or the one wearing a silly party hat over a plunger in the wind? The one rescued from a hole with a plunger? And who solves all these problems over and over with some random object or another? ---
**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 19, 2023, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/546 "2023-08-19T04:13:32Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > comic book plunger… is it the Green Arrow? Not the Green Arrow. ---
**Author:** ![newme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e0b2c6/32.png) [@newme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newme)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/547 "2023-08-19T04:52:21Z")
Nancy and Sluggo? The boy has to be bald if a plunger is gonna stick on his head. ---
**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 19, 2023, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/548 "2023-08-19T11:20:40Z")
reply to newme: Nancy and Sluggo? The boy has to be bald if a plunger is gonna stick on his head. You got it! > **[nancy.pdf](https://www.cartoonstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/nancy.pdf)** > > 383.82 KB ---
**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 19, 2023, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/549 "2023-08-19T13:23:06Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > The kid who absurdly puts a plunger on a cookoo clock so the woman has silence? Or the one wearing a silly party hat over a plunger in the wind? The one rescued from a hole with a plunger? And who solves all these problems over and over with some random object or another? Worst. MacGyver. Episode. Ever. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/550 "2023-08-20T19:46:19Z")
**A Christian missionary moved to a local town. Soon after, the efficiency of the local ponies that worked the local coal mine went down significantly. Why?** Again, probably highly Google-able, so avoid temptation. ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/551 "2023-08-20T20:04:19Z")
Was this happening in the U.S.? Was the town Christianized before? Were the ponies treated differently for religious reasons? ---
**Author:** ![Jegpeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jegpeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jegpeg)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/552 "2023-08-20T20:07:32Z")
Did this happen in the 21st, 20th, 19th 18th or previous century? Did it happen in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania? Was Alcohol involved? ---
**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:** [August 20, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/553 "2023-08-20T20:09:51Z")
> [@kk\_fusion](#): > > Was this happening in the U.S.? > > **NO. Australia.** > > Was the town Christianized before? > > **I have no idea if it had any, but apparently not much.** > > Were the ponies treated differently for religious reasons? > > **YES, sort of.** > [@Jegpeg](#): > > Did this happen in the 21st, 20th, 19th 18th or previous century? > Did it happen in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania? > Was Alcohol involved? 20th century. Australia. No alcohol involved. ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/554 "2023-08-20T20:18:20Z")
So early 20th century, outback Australia? A mining company had brought ponies, but little to no Christianization yet, correct? Was the missionary active in Australia before? Is the type of mining activity 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:** [August 20, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/555 "2023-08-20T20:21:17Z")
Is the denomination of this missionary relevant? ---
**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 20, 2023, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/556 "2023-08-20T20:57:01Z")
Did the missionary have any direct contact with the ponies? Did he influence people who did have direct contact with the ponies to do something differently? Were the ponies previously mistreated? Is the specific content of what the missionary preached / taught relevant? Was there anything unusual about the missionary’s religious views or teachings, or would most people agree it was that standard-issue Christianity (denominational differences aside)? Did people in the town misunderstand or misinterpret something the missionary taught? Did they accurately interpret standard-issue Christian teachings in a way that led the ponies to become less efficient? (E…g., deciding it was important for the ponies to have a day of rest on the Sabbath or something?) ---
**Author:** ![Jegpeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jegpeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jegpeg)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/557 "2023-08-20T21:02:43Z")
Did efficiency at the mine as a whole go down or just the ponies? Did the missionary suggest / demand something which when enacted reduced the effieciency of the ponies? ---
**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:** [August 20, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/558 "2023-08-20T21:15:57Z")
> [@kk\_fusion](#): > > So early 20th century, outback Australia? > > **YES** > > A mining company had brought ponies, but little to no Christianization yet, correct? > > **YES** > > Was the missionary active in Australia before? > > **IRRELEVANT** > > Is the type of mining activity relevant? > > **It’s coal. Is that what you mean?** > [@dirtball](#): > > Is the denomination of this missionary relevant? NO. > [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Did the missionary have any direct contact with the ponies? > > **NO** > > Did he influence people who did have direct contact with the ponies to do something differently? > > **YES** > > Were the ponies previously mistreated? > > **NO** > > Is the specific content of what the missionary preached / taught relevant? > > **NO. I mean, “bible believing Christian” is what I’d say it was.** > > Was there anything unusual about the missionary’s religious views or teachings, or would most people agree it was that standard-issue Christianity (denominational differences aside)? > > **NO. Mainstream, probably.** > > Did people in the town misunderstand or misinterpret something the missionary taught? > > **NO** > > Did they accurately interpret standard-issue Christian teachings in a way that led the ponies to become less efficient? (E…g., deciding it was important for the ponies to have a day of rest on the Sabbath or something?) > > **NO - but that is what I thought the solution was when I heard it** > [@Jegpeg](#): > > Did efficiency at the mine as a whole go down or just the ponies? > > **Just the ponies efficiency in whatever they contributed to the mining operation.** > > Did the missionary suggest / demand something which when enacted reduced the effieciency of the ponies? > > **Suggest - yes** > > **Demand - probably not. I don’t get the whole “do this or go to hell” vibe from the story** Based on truth, but very much generalized I assume. ---
**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 20, 2023, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/559 "2023-08-20T21:25:45Z")
Did the missionary make this suggestion knowing it would impair the ponies’ efficiency? If the above answer is “I don’t know,” might it have been reasonable (in your opinion) to expect someone to anticipate the impairment? Did the suggestion “directly” involve the ponies? For example, “Ya know, it would be a good idea if you did such and such with the ponies”? Or was the suggestion something that wouldn’t necessarily involve ponies, but it was logically extended to include them? ---
**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 20, 2023, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/560 "2023-08-20T21:35:42Z")
Did folks start riding the ponies more, so as to go sin a good distance away? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=29)