# 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:** 45
**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 30, 2023, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/881 "2023-08-30T00:17:00Z")
Did he deliberately get dangerously close to something radioactive, in order to shut it down/stop the danger? ---
**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 30, 2023, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/882 "2023-08-30T00:24:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Would the radiation have been due to heavy metals (such as uranium, plutonium, or radium)? > > **NO** > > Would it be due to natural sources? > > **YES** > Was a nuclear power plant involved? > > **YES. That is what was being built.** > > Was a research facility of some sort involved? > > NO > > Was radiation medicine involved? > > **NO** > > Was a particle accelerator involved? > > **NO** > > Was the radiation used for detecting, imaging, etc. something? > > **NO** > > Was coal ash involved? > > **NO** > > Is it relevant what kind of radiation it was (electromagnetic, alpha, beta, neutron, exotic particles)? If so, which? > > **I guess not since I don’t know the answer.** Keep 'em coming. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/883 "2023-08-30T17:50:22Z")
Did he install the alarm? Was construction eventually completed at the site? Were lives saved by temporarily halting construction? Were lives saved by permanently halting construction? Was the alarm intended to detect radiation at a nuclear plant, but was surprisingly triggered before the nuclear fuel was on site? ---
**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 30, 2023, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/884 "2023-08-30T17:56:48Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > Did he install the alarm? > > **NO** > > Was construction eventually completed at the site? > > **YES, I assume so.** > > Were lives saved by temporarily halting construction? > > **NO** > > Were lives saved by permanently halting construction? > > **NO** > > Was the alarm intended to detect radiation at a nuclear plant, but was surprisingly triggered before the nuclear fuel was on site? > > **YES** Keep em coming. ---
**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 30, 2023, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/885 "2023-08-30T17:57:42Z")
I think you missed my last question, so: Did he deliberately get dangerously close to something radioactive, in order to shut it down/stop the danger? ---
**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 30, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/886 "2023-08-30T17:58:48Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > Did he deliberately get dangerously close to something radioactive, in order to shut it down/stop the danger?. **NOPE.** ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/887 "2023-08-30T18:05:10Z")
Did he bring something near the radiation sensor that was not generally known to be radioactive? E.g., a product was found to be dangerous because it triggered a radiation alarm at a nuclear power plant construction site? I recall something about red glaze that used to be used on dinner plates. ---
**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 30, 2023, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/888 "2023-08-30T18:21:14Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > Did he bring something near the radiation sensor that was not generally known to be radioactive? E.g., a product was found to be dangerous because it triggered a radiation alarm at a nuclear power plant construction site? **Nope.** > [@Rhodes](#): > > I recall something about red glaze that used to be used on dinner plates. **And nope.** ---
**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 30, 2023, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/889 "2023-08-30T20:39:50Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Stan was a construction engineer and one day, he rather surprisingly set off an alarm at work. By doing so, it could be said that he saved many thousands of lives. How? > **Recap (click to show/hide)** > > Lives refers to human lives. > > At work means the site where a nuclear power plant was being constructed. > > The alarm was intended to detect radiation at the nuclear plant, but was surprisingly triggered before the nuclear fuel was on site. > > The alarm was not a wired system. > > Were it not for the alarm, people would have died due to radiation, toxins, or possibly asphyxiation. > > The alarm was designed to trigger in this situation, but it was still surprising [to who?] that it was triggered. > > Most/all of the lives he saved were not people in the place the alarm was supposed to cover. > > It is not important whether the alarm caused people to evacuate the premises. * * * My questions: Does “alarm” actually refer to a state of alarm or other warning procedure, rather than a device? Did Stan set off the alarm on purpose? ~Max ---
**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 30, 2023, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/890 "2023-08-30T20:43:58Z")
I better make sure I understand: **What is a wired system in terms of alarms?** > [@Max\_S](#): > > Does “alarm” actually refer to a state of alarm or other warning procedure, rather than a device? > > **No, it was a device.** > > Did Stan set off the alarm on purpose? > > **NO** > > ~Max ---
**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 30, 2023, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/891 "2023-08-30T20:48:47Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > What is a wired system in terms of alarms? I had an earlier puzzle about an alarm system where multiple pressure plates were connected by the same wire, so the alarm would only go off if all of them were activated at once. Is this a similar case, but by design? ---
**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 30, 2023, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/892 "2023-08-30T20:49:10Z")
I assumed that to mean there are wires in the walls to transmit the warning signal. As opposed to a wireless alarm system, or one that is self-contained (i.e. has its own siren). Did Stan notice when the alarm had been set off? Was Stan the only one to notice the moment the alarm had been set off? ~Max I thought for a moment it might be the Soviet nuclear false alarm incident (_Stan_islav Petrov was an engineer), but the circumstances don’t seem to match. ---
**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 30, 2023, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/893 "2023-08-30T20:56:02Z")
Was the alarm triggered by construction materials? (I suspect that this is it, except that if so, coal ash probably was involved) Was it triggered by something intended to be a food product? Was it triggered by something whose primary use is as a store of value (money, gold, gems, etc.)? ---
**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 30, 2023, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/894 "2023-08-30T20:57:37Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > I had an earlier puzzle about an alarm system where multiple pressure plates were connected by the same wire, so the alarm would only go off if all of them were activated at once. Is this a similar case, but by design? NO. > [@Max\_S](#): > > I assumed that to mean there are wires in the walls to transmit the warning signal. As opposed to a wireless alarm system, or one that is self-contained (i.e. has its own siren). > > **I don’t really know. It was an alarm system and it was somehow set off, surprisingly.** > > Did Stan notice when the alarm had been set off? > > **YES** > > Was Stan the only one to notice the moment the alarm had been set off? > > **NO** > [@Chronos](#): > > Was the alarm triggered by construction materials? (I suspect that this is it, except that if so, coal ash probably was involved) > > **NO. And no to “coal ash”.** > > Was it triggered by something intended to be a food product? > > **NO.** > > Was it triggered by something whose primary use is as a store of value (money, gold, gems, etc.)? > > **NO.** words ---
**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 30, 2023, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/895 "2023-08-30T21:05:11Z")
Was the alarm designed to trigger automatically? Did it? Was the alarm triggered by mechanical action? Was the alarm supposed to have been set off already, before Stan arrived on the scene? Did the alarm require power? ETA: Did the alarm include a geiger counter? ~Max ---
**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 30, 2023, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/896 "2023-08-30T21:07:27Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > Was the alarm designed to trigger automatically? Did it? > > **If it detected what it was trying to detect… Yes, it did.** > > Was the alarm triggered by mechanical action? > > **NO** > > Was the alarm supposed to have been set off already, before Stan arrived on the scene? > > **NO.** > > Did the alarm require power? > > **YES, I assume so.** words. ---
**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 30, 2023, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/897 "2023-08-30T21:08:26Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > ETA: Did the alarm include a geiger counter? **I guess so. We’ve established it was checking for radiation.** ---
**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 30, 2023, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/898 "2023-08-30T21:09:50Z")
Was radioactive material unexpectedly found where Stan was working? Did the alarm device malfunction? ~Max ---
**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 30, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/899 "2023-08-30T21:11:58Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > ~Max > > I thought for a moment it might be the Soviet nuclear false alarm incident (_Stan_islav Petrov was an engineer), but the circumstances don’t seem to match. Good idea. is it Stanislav Petrov? ---
**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 30, 2023, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/900 "2023-08-30T21:30:06Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > Was radioactive material unexpectedly found where Stan was working? > > Did the alarm device malfunction? **NO to both.** > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > is it Stanislav Petrov? **Nope.** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=44) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=46)