# 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:** 87
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1721 "2024-02-29T18:39:48Z")
Total non-gamer here, possibly partly because when somebody tried to get me interested in a farm sim I found it so utterly nonconvincing: Did it have anything to do with slaughtering animals? If not, something else about raising livestock? ---
**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:** [February 29, 2024, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1722 "2024-02-29T19:46:47Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > 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?. I haven’t googled, but remember the update a bit. Something to do with Coffee? Was it about a new crop the game offered? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1723 "2024-02-29T19:47:39Z")
Was it related to slavery, or indentured servitude? ---
**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:** [February 29, 2024, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1724 "2024-02-29T19:53:55Z")
Since these are yes/no questions Was it the 1st Convention? The 2nd? The 3rd? The 4th? Any of the 3 protocols? ---
**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:** [February 29, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1725 "2024-02-29T21:29:49Z")
I’m pretty sure misuse of the symbols of the Red Cross/Crescent/Crystal are prohibited by the Geneva Convention. Did the game use those somehow? ---
**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, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1726 "2024-02-29T22:53:32Z")
I was going to answer all of these as soon as I got home, but Fiendish\_Astronaut got it. It was the use of the Red Cross symbol on a fictional clinic, which had to be replaced with something more generic. ---
**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:** [February 29, 2024, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1727 "2024-02-29T23:01:00Z")
Ah sorry to cut the fun off early - it was a complete guess! Though I can’t imagine how else a computer game could possibly break the Geneva Convention apart maybe showing footage of prisoners of war, which doesn’t sound likely in a farming game. ---
**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:** [February 29, 2024, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1728 "2024-02-29T23:04:28Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > 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? Ooh, I know this one. I got a kick out of “Patch update: Removed a Geneva Convention violation”. Or maybe that was some other game… IIRC, I saw it a few other places. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2024, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1729 "2024-03-07T16:56:38Z")
Captain Phillips was sailing his ship on a routine trip from Vancouver to Australia. At one point in the middle of the Pacific he summoned his navigators and after consultation the ships course and speed were adjusted slightly. The ship then sailed on to Australia in an otherwise uneventful voyage. The course adjustment was noted by the press at the time and is still talked about today. (I first read about it on my Facebook feed this morning.) The ship in question even has a Wiki page, a page that would surely not exist but for this course adjustment. Why is this trip and course adjustment remembered? ---
**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:** [March 7, 2024, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1730 "2024-03-07T17:23:30Z")
Is it related to the international date line? ---
**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:** [March 7, 2024, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1731 "2024-03-07T17:27:35Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > Is it related to the international date line? Yes ---
**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:** [March 7, 2024, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1732 "2024-03-07T17:32:56Z")
Okay I ruined the last one by guessing it too quickly so I might step back for a bit! ---
**Author:** ![MonkeysBrother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@MonkeysBrother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeysBrother)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2024, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1733 "2024-03-07T18:10:42Z")
Did this involve the ship arriving too early or too late? ---
**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:** [March 7, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1734 "2024-03-07T18:22:19Z")
Was it the first ship to cross 180 degrees W/E at 0 degrees N/S (the Equator)? ---
**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:** [March 7, 2024, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1735 "2024-03-07T18:25:19Z")
> [@MonkeysBrother](#): > > Did this involve the ship arriving too early or too late? 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:** [March 7, 2024, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1736 "2024-03-07T18:26:32Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Was it the first ship to cross 180 degrees W/E at 0 degrees N/S (the Equator)? No ---
**Author:** ![SailorHG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SailorHG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SailorHG)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1737 "2024-03-07T18:47:08Z")
The International Date line does some crazy stuff at one point, with a “hammer looking” arm reaching into the East. It looks like the ship could cross the line three times on its route from Vancouver to Australia, going from (say) Monday to Tuesday, back to Monday, and then finally Tuesday again, though I don’t know how possible that would be to do quickly (like in a single day or not). Regardless, is the ship famous because it sailed through this kind of multiple crossing trickery? ---
**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:** [March 7, 2024, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1738 "2024-03-07T18:57:08Z")
> [@SailorHG](#): > > Regardless, is the ship famous because it sailed through this kind of multiple crossing trickery? The ship only crossed the dateline once. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeysBrother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@MonkeysBrother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeysBrother)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2024, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1739 "2024-03-07T19:08:07Z")
Would it help to know the ship’s cargo? ---
**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:** [March 7, 2024, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/1740 "2024-03-07T19:16:17Z")
reply to MonkeysBrother: Would it help to know the ship’s cargo? No. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=86) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=88)