# 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:** 7
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/121 "2023-07-23T17:02:50Z")
Did she commit suicide? **No** Did she want someone who’d call to get the not-a-busy-signal-and-not-even-a-dial-tone response? **No** That’s part of the fun of these puzzles! Was Mary already dead at the time of the alleged phone-plugging-in? **Yes** Like, was she a ghost? **No** You say the whole plugging-the-phone-in thing wasn’t true, but Was it, in fact, moved from one room to another? **No** Did the rumor come from people who actually knew Mary? **Probably not** From public speculation at the time of her death? **Maybe this…** From nebulous “legend has it” historical mythology? **…or maybe closer to this. I’m not sure.** Was Mary famous? **Yes** Was Mary elderly? **Yes** Does this story take place before 1960 or so? **Yes** ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/122 "2023-07-23T17:03:50Z")
Was it unusual because she didn’t usually lie down to sleep? ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/123 "2023-07-23T17:08:28Z")
Was this a wall-mounted phone? **Don’t know** Was Mary’s death an accident? **No** Did the phone and/or wall collapse? **No** Was the phone always in Mary’s house, just not always in the same location? **I assume she had a phone in her house. Whether it was ever moved around, I don’t know.** Was electricity involved? **It would be, if the rumor was true.** Did she move the phone to the bathroom — maybe so she could get out of the tub and use it pretty quickly if needed — but _unplugged,_ maybe because she didn’t want to die from a phone-in-tub accident? But “they” say she plugged it in, because “they” say stuff like that when they hear a woman is found dead in a tub with a phone nearby? **No** Was anyone else in the house at the time of Mary’s death? **Probably, but not relevant** Was the phone unplugged at someone else’s request? **No** Had someone else requested she plug in the phone at a time when she would normally have had it unplugged? **No** Was it unusual because she didn’t usually lie down to sleep? **No** (And I’ll just go ahead and say it. “Sleep” just means death. I should have said “rest”.) ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/124 "2023-07-23T17:10:55Z")
Had the line not been activated in her bedroom, therefore the phone wouldn’t work even if plugged in? I don’t know why I’m thinking “Typhoid Mary” Mallon. I know it’s not but it prompted this question (as she died in a hospital). Did this take place in her own house? ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/125 "2023-07-23T17:11:48Z")
Had the line not been activated in her bedroom, therefore the phone wouldn’t work even if plugged in? **No** I don’t know why I’m thinking “Typhoid Mary” Mallon. I know it’s not but it prompted this question (as she died in a hospital). Did this take place in her own house? **No** ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/126 "2023-07-23T17:13:41Z")
At her place of employment? ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/127 "2023-07-23T17:14:21Z")
**No** ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/128 "2023-07-23T17:32:44Z")
I can’t delete post ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/129 "2023-07-23T18:05:23Z")
Was the phone unplugged because of lightning? ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/130 "2023-07-23T18:06:14Z")
**No** ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/131 "2023-07-23T18:15:09Z")
Did Mary know she was going to die ? ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/132 "2023-07-23T18:17:53Z")
Was Mary in a hotel or motel? At someone else’s house, possibly as a houseguest? A hospital? ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/133 "2023-07-23T18:49:27Z")
Did Mary know she was going to die ? **Yes** Was Mary in a hotel or motel? **No** At someone else’s house, possibly as a houseguest? **No** A hospital? **No** ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/134 "2023-07-23T19:10:22Z")
Was she murdered? Is this a true story? ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/135 "2023-07-23T19:50:05Z")
**True story, no murder** ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/136 "2023-07-23T20:05:31Z")
So she knew she was going to die, which is why she wouldn’t have bothered plugging the phone in ? But she wasn’t murdered and didn’t commit suicide and didn’t have an incurable disease ? ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/137 "2023-07-23T20:07:54Z")
Did she know that she was going to die imminently, like, that very night? Would it have been possible for her to plug the phone in? Was the phone fully-functional (aside from not being plugged in)? Did the phone require any plug other than the standard telephone cable (such as a separate power supply)? ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/138 "2023-07-23T22:24:53Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > **True story, no murder** Dangit, my curiosity and my frustration teamed up to get the better of me, and I googled the answer, and so I’m out; but that’s a _great_ question. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/139 "2023-07-23T23:49:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Did she know that she was going to die imminently, like, that very night? This! Every last one of us knows we are going to die. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2023, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/140 "2023-07-24T05:05:20Z")
So she knew she was going to die, which is why she wouldn’t have bothered plugging the phone in ? But she wasn’t murdered and didn’t commit suicide and didn’t have an incurable disease ? **No murder, no suicide. She did die of an illness.** Did she know that she was going to die imminently, like, that very night? **Not necessarily, though she did know she was sick** Would it have been possible for her to plug the phone in? **Yes** Was the phone fully-functional (aside from not being plugged in)? **Yes** Did the phone require any plug other than the standard telephone cable (such as a separate power supply)? **It would have needed electricity, which I’m not sure would have been available** I’ll drop a hint in the morning if it hasn’t been guessed by then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=8)