# 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:** 48
**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:** [September 2, 2023, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/941 "2023-09-02T05:12:23Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > \*\*She was a star, sort of. People were really excited for her when she was discovered. Ceres? > [@](#): > > Soon, however, a new term was coined, Asteroid? > [@](#): > > Many years later, another new term was coined, for very similar reasons, dwarf planet ? > [@](#): > > disappointing fans of another like herself. Because Pluto is no longer a planet? (This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.) Edit - ninja’d ---
**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:** [September 2, 2023, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/942 "2023-09-02T05:14:41Z")
That’s it! Excellent job, everyone who got that. (As for schoolchildren knowing that, my understanding is that kids these days are taught the dwarf planets in addition to the planets. But I could be wrong. Certainly an upgrade from asteroid, though.) ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/943 "2023-09-02T05:24:12Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Edit - ninja’d I think this might be the first time in my life that I’ve been the Ninja rather than the Ninja’d I have an easy one but its too late tonight to start it so I’ll post ti tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/944 "2023-09-02T18:19:24Z")
I was out running errands when I suddenly realized that my keys weren’t in my pocket, I had a moment of panic as I wondered where I had left them and how I was going get in to my house. But then I realized what happened, calmed down, ran errands uninterrupted, and went home without a worry. Where were my keys? ---
**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:** [September 2, 2023, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/945 "2023-09-02T18:59:39Z")
Speaking from personal experience, were they in the ignition? ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/946 "2023-09-02T19:00:31Z")
Yup. I said it was an easy one. This happens to me all the time. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2023, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/947 "2023-09-02T19:39:28Z")
Okay, here’s a lateral thinking puzzle. No hints. You’ve got enough information to solve it. ::::::::? ---
**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:** [September 2, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/948 "2023-09-02T19:50:32Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > ::::::::?. Colonoscopy? ---
**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:** [September 2, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/949 "2023-09-02T19:53:10Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Okay, here’s a lateral thinking puzzle. No hints. You’ve got enough information to solve it. > > ::::::::? ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/950 "2023-09-02T19:54:21Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Colonoscopy? Nope. > [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;. I don’t think so. Explain your thinking. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2023, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/951 "2023-09-02T19:58:56Z")
Eight colons = sixteen semicolons, but I guess that’s not the way to go. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/952 "2023-09-02T20:08:26Z")
Inventive, but no. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/953 "2023-09-03T11:39:16Z")
Reference to a song? (We’re on a Road to Nowhere) ---
**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:** [September 3, 2023, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/954 "2023-09-03T12:27:22Z")
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:** [September 3, 2023, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/955 "2023-09-03T14:38:39Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Okay, here’s a lateral thinking puzzle. No hints. You’ve got enough information to solve it. > > ::::::::? I’m going to attempt to ask broader questions. Does the puzzle begin with the ::::: section or is “No hints. You’ve got…” part of the puzzle? Is the answer a common phrase? Is this a standard lateral puzzle or more like a “say what you see” puzzle? Or neither? Does the word “colon” appear in the answer? ---
**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:** [September 3, 2023, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/956 "2023-09-03T14:56:10Z")
It is a puzzle that can be solved by lateral thinking. It is, however, a different type of puzzle to the Q&A ones. The puzzle is ::::::::? the rest is just description. Does the word colon appear? No hints. You tell me. All the information you need is right there. ---
**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:** [September 3, 2023, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/957 "2023-09-03T15:04:12Z")
Batman! ---
**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:** [September 3, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/958 "2023-09-03T15:13:48Z")
Nope. ---
**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:** [September 3, 2023, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/959 "2023-09-03T15:17:30Z")
Well, okay; but that _would_ in fact be my response, if someone walked up to me and correctly intoned, _“Dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot?”_ ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/960 "2023-09-03T17:12:33Z")
The day the Beaumont sextuplets joined Miss Clavel’s class and they became 18 little girls in 2 straight lines (with the smallest one, Madeline, wandering off as she always does)? Seventeen bees standing in formation and one flying away? A dance notation for the beginning of the dance where just one dancer has started with a big rond de jambe? The answer is no? The answer is yes? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=47) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=49)