# 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:** 43
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/841 "2023-08-28T19:53:27Z")
Was the soup a common type (like French Onion)? Was the soup less common but one people would have heard of (like turtle soup)? Was the soup a creation of the chef? ---
**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 28, 2023, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/842 "2023-08-28T19:59:52Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > **Yes** , and I think that’s enough to call it. > > They were called [Breakeys](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18044/breakey), and the way you were supposed to play with them was by breaking them against each other. I just wanted to add: that actually goes _so far beyond_ what I was thinking. All I had in mind was that the less-durable collectibles would _too often_ break when played with as intended — not the idea that the less-durable one would _always_ break upon being played with as intended (which, when you called it, hadn’t even occurred to me). ---
**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 28, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/843 "2023-08-28T20:08:36Z")
Did he die as a result of something he did or failed to do? Did someone else inadvertently do (or not do) something that resulted in his death? Did someone else deliberately do (or not do) something that resulted in his death? Would it be reasonable to say there was some detail that had gone wrong, and he should have noticed it? Or that some detail had gone wrong, but you wouldn’t have expected him to notice? ---
**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 28, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/844 "2023-08-28T20:09:40Z")
I guess I did call it too soon. Sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/845 "2023-08-28T20:23:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Was the death a result of preparing the soup (like pressure-cooker exploded)? > **Not directly.** > Was the death caused by the soup (like food poisoning)? > **Not food poisoning.** > Would the death had happened to a lesser-trained cook? > **Might have.** words ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/846 "2023-08-28T20:24:28Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > was the death completely unrelated to the soup, e.g. building demolished by a meteorite strike? **Nope.** ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/847 "2023-08-28T20:27:16Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > was the death completely unrelated to the soup, e.g. building demolished by a meteorite strike? **Nope.** > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Was the soup a common type (like French Onion)? > **Yes.** > Was the soup less common but one people would have heard of (like turtle soup)? > **No.** > Was the soup a creation of the chef? > **If you mean a brand new creation, then no.** ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/848 "2023-08-28T20:29:14Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Did he die as a result of something he did or failed to do? > **It was an accident, but yes he did it.** > Did someone else inadvertently do (or not do) something that resulted in his death? > **No.** > Did someone else deliberately do (or not do) something that resulted in his death? > **No.** > Would it be reasonable to say there was some detail that had gone wrong, and he should have noticed it? > **No.** > Or that some detail had gone wrong, but you wouldn’t have expected him to notice? > **No.** Extra words. ---
**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 28, 2023, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/849 "2023-08-28T20:43:36Z")
Was he cooked? ---
**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 28, 2023, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/850 "2023-08-28T20:56:43Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > It was such a stupid, self-defeating idea for a toy that next to nobody bought any, so in reality they’re probably all about equally hard to find. From that link, apparently the selling point was “ **BreaKey** is the 1st collectible key game where you can challenge your friends to a **BreaKey** battle!” Yeah, if that’s the best you can say for it, it’s not very good. Moving on: Was the immediate cause of death thermal burns? Was the immediate cause of death chemical burns? Was the immediate cause of death blood loss? Was the immediate cause of death direct damage to a vital organ? Was the immediate cause of death a toxin? Was the immediate cause of death a lack of oxygen? Was the form of death something that could plausibly have happened to someone just sitting in an easy chair? To an investigator who knew all of the facts, would the death have been regarded as criminal? Would knowing the kind of soup be helpful? Would knowing the details of the cooking appliance be helpful? ---
**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 28, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/851 "2023-08-28T21:15:09Z")
Was it the fumes? Like, he was boiling something that he, as a trained cook, would’ve loftily informed you that he _knew_ he wasn’t to eat — maybe just right then, maybe never ever — but he wound up inhaling something toxic as a result of heating it up? ---
**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 28, 2023, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/852 "2023-08-28T21:19:38Z")
Was there something dangerous and unseen among the ingredients? If so, was it a spider? a scorpion? a snake? other venomous animal? Some toxic vegetable? an over-hot chili pepper? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/853 "2023-08-29T02:27:46Z")
Was his death as a result of prepping the soup ingredient (mise en place)? Was his death as a result of ingesting the soup? Was the cause of death a result of that specific soup? Meaning if the soup in question were hypothetically clam chowder, would he have survived if he were making chicken noodle soup? ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/854 "2023-08-29T11:27:11Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > Was he cooked? **That’s one way to say it. Only partially.** > [@Chronos](#): > > Was the immediate cause of death thermal burns? > **Not immediate, no.** > Was the immediate cause of death chemical burns? > **No.** > Was the immediate cause of death blood loss? > **No.** > Was the immediate cause of death direct damage to a vital organ? > **No.** > Was the immediate cause of death a toxin? > **No.** > Was the immediate cause of death a lack of oxygen? > **No.** > Was the form of death something that could plausibly have happened to someone just sitting in an easy chair? > **No.** > To an investigator who knew all of the facts, would the death have been regarded as criminal? > **No.** > Would knowing the kind of soup be helpful? > **No.** > Would knowing the details of the cooking appliance be helpful? > **Yes.** _words_ ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/855 "2023-08-29T11:29:12Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Was it the fumes? Like, he was boiling something that he, as a trained cook, would’ve loftily informed you that he _knew_ he wasn’t to eat — maybe just right then, maybe never ever — but he wound up inhaling something toxic as a result of heating it up? **No.** > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Was there something dangerous and unseen among the ingredients? > > If so, was it a spider? a scorpion? a snake? other venomous animal? > > Some toxic vegetable? > an over-hot chili pepper? > > **No to all of these.** > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Was his death as a result of prepping the soup ingredient (mise en place)? > Was his death as a result of ingesting the soup? > Was the cause of death a result of that specific soup? Meaning if the soup in question were hypothetically clam chowder, would he have survived if he were making chicken noodle soup? > > **No to both.** more words ---
**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 29, 2023, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/856 "2023-08-29T11:29:32Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > > [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > > > Was he cooked? > > **That’s one way to say it. Only partially.** Because of a faulty microwave oven that wasn’t properly shielded? ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/857 "2023-08-29T11:30:32Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Because of a faulty microwave oven that wasn’t properly shielded? **Nope.** ---
**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 29, 2023, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/858 "2023-08-29T12:06:20Z")
Did he fall into the soup? ---
**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 29, 2023, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/859 "2023-08-29T12:30:11Z")
Was he high on drugs? Did he get high from something he was cooking? Did he pass out? Did he drown? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/860 "2023-08-29T12:48:58Z")
Was the cook a human? Was the cook well trained in culinary arts? Was the soup supposed to be edible? ~Max [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=42) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=44)