# 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:** 86
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1701 "2024-01-29T15:49:43Z")
reply to Fiendish\_Astronaut: Does it smell of fish? No Does it say fish on the packaging? No ---
**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:** [January 29, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1702 "2024-01-29T15:51:04Z")
Does it say “poison” and Nancy misreads it as “poisson?” ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1703 "2024-01-29T15:51:25Z")
reply to pjd: Is it because every other package that has been delivered for Aunt Fritzi has contained fish ? No. Is Aunt Fritzi a cat ? (sounds like a cat’s name !) No ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1704 "2024-01-29T15:53:04Z")
reply to colinfred: Is it to do with wordplay on the box? Either Nancy only saw part of the writing, or she misinterpreted the phrase written there? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1705 "2024-01-29T15:54:11Z")
> [@SurrenderDorothy](#): > > Does it say “poison” and Nancy misreads it as “poisson?” No ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1706 "2024-01-29T15:58:49Z")
Is the writing in a foreign language? Is the writing partially covered up? Does it have the senders details on the packaging? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1707 "2024-01-29T16:05:42Z")
reply to Fiendish\_Astronaut: Is the writing in a foreign language? Is the writing partially covered up? Does it have the senders details on the packaging? No to all. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1708 "2024-01-29T16:07:45Z")
If Fritzl had asked, would Nancy have thought it was a particular type of fish? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1709 "2024-01-29T16:09:30Z")
reply to colinfred: If Fritzl had asked, would Nancy have thought it was a particular type of fish? Yes. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1710 "2024-01-29T16:14:38Z")
Was something salmon-colored in the package? Was it a fish that would commonly be eaten? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1711 "2024-01-29T16:16:54Z")
reply to SurrenderDorothy: Was something salmon-colored in the package? Not sure. Was it a fish that would commonly be eaten? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1712 "2024-01-29T16:17:51Z")
Would most people first think of a fish when they read the word(s) in question? ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1713 "2024-01-29T16:19:09Z")
Reading the clues so far, it looks like Nancy misunderstood a phrase or some writing on the box. Is that correct Biotop? Maybe the package was sent by a Mafia gangster - a package containing a fish would be a death threat: “tonight you sleep with the fishes” (I don’t seriously expect this to be the answer but it reminds me of the time my Italian friend got pranked by his mates who decided to send him a fish in the post. I think his reaction was to roll his eyes rather than fear for his life.) ---
**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:** [January 29, 2024, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1714 "2024-01-29T16:20:16Z")
Was Nancy misled by something that would have been written, stamped, or otherwise placed on the package by a postal employee? ---
**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:** [January 29, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1715 "2024-01-29T16:25:33Z")
Is her assumption based on a word that is type of fish in English but means something else in a foreign language? ---
**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:** [January 29, 2024, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1716 "2024-01-29T16:26:15Z")
It was sent C.O.D. Was this an actual Nancy strip? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1717 "2024-01-29T16:30:54Z")
[quote=“Fiendish\_Astronaut, post:1713, topic:987214, full:true”] Reading the clues so far, it looks like Nancy misunderstood a phrase or some writing on the box. Is that correct Biotop? Yes Maybe the package was sent by a Mafia gangster - a package containing a fish would be a death threat: “tonight you sleep with the fishes” (I don’t seriously expect this to be the answer but it reminds me of the time my Italian friend got pranked by his mates who decided to send him a fish in the post. I think his reaction was to roll his eyes rather than fear for his life.) Heh heh. No mafia. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1718 "2024-01-29T16:31:28Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Was Nancy misled by something that would have been written, stamped, or otherwise placed on the package by a postal employee? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1719 "2024-01-29T16:34:23Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > It was sent C.O.D. > > Was this an actual Nancy strip? Yes. You got it!!. And it was an old Nancy daily strip. ---
**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:** [February 29, 2024, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1720 "2024-02-29T17:52:33Z")
Here’s one that’s very easily googlable. One of the first major content updates for the game Stardew Valley removed a violation of the Geneva Convention. What did this feel-good farm life sim contain that was so objectionable? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=85) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=87)