So, they’re at a business, and it matters where they are…
Is it good enough just to say they’re at a business of some kind?
Or is the type of business relevant?
If so, is it retail?
Manufacturing?
So, they’re at a business, and it matters where they are…
Is it good enough just to say they’re at a business of some kind?
Or is the type of business relevant?
If so, is it retail?
Manufacturing?
Does the name of the business explain the puzzle?
[quote=“dirtball, post:1061, topic:987214, full:true”]
So, they’re at a business, and it matters where they are…
Is it good enough just to say they’re at a business of some kind? The business will probably give it away.
Or is the type of business relevant? Yes
If so, is it retail? No
Manufacturing? No
Likely.
Is the place they needed to climb the ladders to a tree?
Is it a rooftop?
Is it to the top of an animal?
Is it to the top of a vehicle?
Is the business a service industry?
Is the business financial?
Would an ordinary ladder, not attached to the rake, have worked as well?
reply to Chronos:
Is the place they needed to climb the ladders to a tree? Yes
Is it a rooftop? No
Is it to the top of an animal? No
Is it to the top of a vehicle? No
Is the business a service industry? No
Is the business financial? No
Would an ordinary ladder, not attached to the rake, have worked as well? Yes, but you don’t want to carry an extra ladder around all the time while you are raking, now do you?
Is there something in the tree that people want to access? A treehouse, perhaps?
Are they doing something with the stuff they’ve raked up?
Edit: Is the business agricultural?
Do they have to climb into a tree to escape something?
reply to Ana_Byrd:
Is there something in the tree that people want to access? A treehouse, perhaps? No
Are they doing something with the stuff they’ve raked up? No
Edit: Is the business agricultural? Yes
Yes
A greedy cow?
Are they escaping from an animal that’s loose in the place that they’re raking? A bull, perhaps?
No…
Getting warm, animal yes but not a bull.
Are they going to be raking the leaves on the ground in ordinary fashion, but they need to have the ladders immediately at hand because they may have to climb a tree at any moment to get out of reach of the animal?
Is the business selling the animals, or otherwise making its money from having the animals?
(Not to do with the puzzle, but: does this comic predate any child labor laws?)
reply to thorny_locust:
Are they going to be raking the leaves on the ground in ordinary fashion, but they need to have the ladders immediately at hand because they may have to climb a tree at any moment to get out of reach of the animal? Yes.
Is the business selling the animals, or otherwise making its money from having the animals? Yes
Really this is pretty much solved, except… what is the kind of angry animal that is constantly causing this kind of trouble in pretty much any comic strip in a rural setting at the time? 1940’s or 1950’s?
And I think this kind of child labor is pretty much like mowing the grass or doing other such chores. Not really much of a concern to Ernie Bushmiller in the pursuit of a gag.
If not a bull, surely a dog?
No. Dogs and bulls are too real-life scary for kids. What animal has the same kind of menace only, a kind of cartoony menace instead of a real one…?
Communists?
Is it a skunk farm? (Though I can’t see how climbing a tree would save you from being sprayed!)