# 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:** 39
**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:** [August 26, 2023, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/761 "2023-08-26T05:15:53Z")
Is this related to WW1? ---
**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 26, 2023, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/762 "2023-08-26T05:38:48Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Espionage Was he writing in chess notation, which was mistaken for a code? This happened in an episode of Foyle’s War. Could have been inspired by a real event. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/763 "2023-08-26T06:09:43Z")
Does the concept of throwing a bottle into the ocean factor into this? ---
**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 26, 2023, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/764 "2023-08-26T06:26:24Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Was he writing in chess notation, which was mistaken for a code? Or if not chess, then writing about _something_ innocent, and it was mistaken for code. ---
**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 26, 2023, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/765 "2023-08-26T11:31:51Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > Is this related to WW1? Yeppers. ---
**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 26, 2023, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/766 "2023-08-26T11:32:14Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Was he writing in chess notation, which was mistaken for a code? Nope. ---
**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 26, 2023, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/767 "2023-08-26T11:32:36Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Does the concept of throwing a bottle into the ocean factor into this? Nope. ---
**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 26, 2023, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/768 "2023-08-26T11:33:23Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Or if not chess, then writing about _something_ innocent, and it was mistaken for code. Yes, so just tell me what it was and this is solved. Should be easy. ---
**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 26, 2023, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/769 "2023-08-26T11:41:00Z")
A to-do list? A poem? ---
**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 26, 2023, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/770 "2023-08-26T11:52:36Z")
crossword clues ? ---
**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 26, 2023, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/771 "2023-08-26T11:57:16Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > A to-do list? > A poem? Nope > [@pjd](#): > > crossword clues ? 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:** [August 26, 2023, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/772 "2023-08-26T12:20:42Z")
Was it musical notation? Was it shorthand? Was it a drawing of some sort? Was it a language other than the one commonly spoken where he was? Was it mathematical notation? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/773 "2023-08-26T12:42:05Z")
Was he writing about the location of ships he saw? ---
**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 26, 2023, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/774 "2023-08-26T13:30:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Was it musical notation? Yes and this little one was apparently too easy for you all. Ralph Vaughn Williams sat down to write down a tune that he had in his head and did not want to forget. Everyone was very much on edge and looking for anyone giving codes or information to the enemy. A boy scout nearby saw what Williams was doing and did not recognize the musical notation as any kind of writing he knew. He basically put him under citizens arrest and took him to the police, accusing him of sending writing coded messages for the enemy. The police let him go. With a warning. 🙂 This was called a “spy scare” and it swept over a lot of people. You can read about this incident here: > **[The Fateful Year](https://books.google.com/books?id=JSm8AAAAQBAJ&pg=PT362#v=onepage&q&f=false)** > > The Fateful Year by Mark Bostridge is the story of England in 1914. War with Germany, so often imagined and predicted, finally broke out when people were least prepared for it. Here, among a crowded cast of unforgettable characters, are suffragettes,... ---
**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 26, 2023, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/775 "2023-08-26T13:35:52Z")
**One of the deadliest reptile encounters in history took the lives of 20 people. How?** This one falls under the category of 'if you heard about this story, keep your yapper shut". 😛 ---
**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 26, 2023, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/776 "2023-08-26T16:55:09Z")
Was it a single reptile? Multiple? Was it a snake? Crocodilian? Lizard? Turtle? Were the deaths caused directly by the reptile? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/777 "2023-08-26T17:20:36Z")
Was one person killed by the reptile and then 19 died as a consequence of their death? ---
**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 26, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/778 "2023-08-26T17:54:54Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > Was it a single reptile? Multiple? > > **Single** > > Was it a snake? Crocodilian? Lizard? Turtle? > > **Crocodillian** > > Were the deaths caused directly by the reptile? > > **If you mean “did it eat them”, then no. If you mean, “had the crocodile not been there, would they have lived”, then yes.** > [@kayaker](#): > > Was one person killed by the reptile and then 19 died as a consequence of their death? **Nope.** ---
**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 26, 2023, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/779 "2023-08-26T18:24:56Z")
Did THEY eat the crocodile and die of food poisoning? Would the deaths be considered accidental? If yes, was the accident precipitated by their trying to avoid the reptile? ---
**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 26, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/780 "2023-08-26T18:27:54Z")
Was it a vehicle accident? Maybe caused by a driver trying to avoid an animal in the road? Was it a crocodile? Alligator? Caiman? Gharial? False gharial? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=38) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=40)