# The Return of Three Minute Mysteries **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 29, 2000, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-return-of-three-minute-mysteries/47654 "2000-12-29T14:29:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-return-of-three-minute-mysteries/47654/1 "2000-12-29T14:29:28Z")
A train pulls into a station, but none of the waiting passengers move. How come? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecccb3/32.png) [@Lord\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-return-of-three-minute-mysteries/47654/2 "2000-12-29T14:31:05Z")
It’s a freight train. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-return-of-three-minute-mysteries/47654/3 "2000-12-29T14:32:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bricker \* > \*\*A train pulls into a station, but none of the waiting passengers move. How come? \*\* Um, two possibilities: It’s a toy train and the passengers are dolls? or The train’s pulled up on the other platform going in the other direction? (IE the passengers are waiting for the northbound train, and the southbound train pulls up.) Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-return-of-three-minute-mysteries/47654/4 "2000-12-29T14:32:53Z")
JimB asked: It’s a freight train. Answer: no. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-return-of-three-minute-mysteries/47654/5 "2000-12-29T14:35:41Z")
Fenris asked: It’s a toy train and the passengers are dolls? YES! Well done, and you win a virtual cigar. This was just a nice lob to satrt things off… as is this: The Commandant of the Coast Guard is alone on an island with no food and no water, yet his officers and staff make no attempt to rescue him, and the papers don’t print a word about the story. How come? ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-return-of-three-minute-mysteries/47654/6 "2000-12-29T14:47:28Z")
It’s a traffic island in the middle of a road. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-return-of-three-minute-mysteries/47654/7 "2000-12-29T15:03:51Z")
Mattk asked: It’s a traffic island in the middle of a road. Yes! Well done, Matt, and another virtual cigar for you. Hmmm… I’ve got a meeting to run to, and our usual suspects aren’t here… this is probably a bad day to restart these… ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-return-of-three-minute-mysteries/47654/8 "2000-12-29T15:04:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bricker \* > \*\*Fenris asked: It’s a toy train and the passengers are dolls? > > YES! Well done, and you win a virtual cigar. > > This was just a nice lob to satrt things off… as is this: > > The Commandant of the Coast Guard is alone on an island with no food and no water, yet his officers and staff make no attempt to rescue him, and the papers don’t print a word about the story. How come? \*\* What if he’s on a top-secret survival mission and the idea is to see how long he can survive forraging for… oh, th’heck with it. 🙂 I think MattK got it right. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Flypsyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Flypsyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flypsyde)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-return-of-three-minute-mysteries/47654/9 "2000-12-29T15:12:13Z")
Sorry, Bricker, I was late checking, but I think you’re right about this being a bad day. Try it again after the New Year? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Philosopher)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-return-of-three-minute-mysteries/47654/10 "2000-12-29T15:18:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bricker \* > \*\*Mattk asked: It’s a traffic island in the middle of a road. > > Yes! Well done, Matt, and another virtual cigar for you.\*\* it could be in the center of New York, in which case he’d never get off that island alive… ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-return-of-three-minute-mysteries/47654/11 "2000-12-29T18:01:43Z")
Hey, we did the traffic island one already. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-return-of-three-minute-mysteries/47654/12 "2000-12-29T19:04:20Z")
Yo, Bricker. May I post one? It may have been done before. What’s the link to the previous thread? I’ll check.