# Three Minute Mysteries, or How Come? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 27, 2000, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193 "2000-03-27T12:53:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/1 "2000-03-27T12:53:00Z")
Inspired by the GQ discussion [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/006934.html)… When their car runs out of gas, a man leaves his wife alone while he hikes back to the nearest filling station. When he returns with the gas, his wife is dead and a stranger is in the car. Incredibly, when the police arrive, they do not arrest or even interrogate the stranger. What happened? _Note: I have misgivings as to whether these will work well over a message board as opposed to live action, so to speak. Still, it’s worth a try. You may pose only yes or no questions in an effort to uncover what’s going on._ ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/2 "2000-03-27T12:55:00Z")
Is the stranger human? ---
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/3 "2000-03-27T13:04:00Z")
The surgeon is the patient’s mother. No… wait… Nevermind. * * * Voted **Best Sport** And narrowly averted the despised moniker **Smiley Master** Forward deployed until 18AUG00 ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/4 "2000-03-27T13:22:00Z")
Coldfire asks: Is the stranger human? YES. ---
**Author:** ![TomH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@TomH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TomH)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/5 "2000-03-27T13:23:00Z")
Is the stranger responsible for the wife’s death? ---
**Author:** ![SwimmingRiddles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SwimmingRiddles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwimmingRiddles)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/6 "2000-03-27T13:24:00Z")
Did the woman die of natural causes? [completely off-topic: I act in a once-a-month completely improved murder mystery at a local inn. It was this past weekend. I can’t believe after spending 48 hours with housewives who think they are Jessica Lansbury, I am posting in this thread. ::sigh::] ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/7 "2000-03-27T13:28:00Z")
Coldfire asks: Is the stranger human? YES. TomH asks: Is the stranger responsible for the wife’s death? YES SwimmingRiddles asks: Did the woman die of natural causes? NO ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/8 "2000-03-27T13:31:00Z")
Is the stranger a child? ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/9 "2000-03-27T13:32:00Z")
IS THE STRANGER A BABY? ---
**Author:** ![Bluepony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Bluepony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluepony)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/10 "2000-03-27T13:52:00Z")
I knew it all along!! Coldfire did it!! Book him Dan-O, Murder One… _J’accuse_ * * * _…send lawyers, guns, and money…_ ``` Warren Zevon ``` ---
**Author:** ![SwimmingRiddles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SwimmingRiddles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwimmingRiddles)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/11 "2000-03-27T13:52:00Z")
Yet another reason to hate/love Coldfire…he’s so deducive. (is that a word? It is now.) ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/12 "2000-03-27T13:54:00Z")
BING BING BING BING! Give the cigar to Coldfire! (Who is pretty darn _deductive_, yes. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/13 "2000-03-27T13:56:00Z")
_smoking cigar_ Woohoo!! That was cool. Next mystery please? * * * **Coldfire** _Voted **Poster Most Likely To Post Drunk** _ * * * _ **"You know how complex women are"** _ - Neil Peart, **Rush** (1993) ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/14 "2000-03-27T14:21:00Z")
Ask And Ye Shall Rceive, Coldfire. I’m going to experiment with keeping this in one thread for a while, rather than opening a new thread for each of the different stories. Three hikers discover a cabin in the mountains. The sole occupant, a writer, is dead. Oddly enough, it quickly becomes apparent that if he had only stopped writing before the thunderstorm, he probably would have survived. How come? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/15 "2000-03-27T14:22:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by SwimmingRiddles: > [completely off-topic: I act in a once-a-month completely improved murder mystery at a local inn. It was this past weekend. I can’t believe after spending 48 hours with housewives who think they are Jessica Lansbury, I am posting in this thread. ::sigh::]\*\* By the way, I’m glad your murder mystery is completely improved. I couldn’t stand it before. 😃 - Rick ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/16 "2000-03-27T14:24:00Z")
Was the writer killed by electrocution? ---
**Author:** ![Yue\_Han](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/eada6e/32.png) [@Yue\_Han](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yue_Han)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/17 "2000-03-27T14:28:00Z")
Dammit Coldfire! I had the solution to that after reading the OP. Unfortunately, by the time I read teh op you’d had it solved for an hour. Serves me right for doing my homework before reading MPSIMS. –John * * * 'Twis brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/18 "2000-03-27T14:31:00Z")
Coldfire asks: Was the writer killed by electrocution? NO ---
**Author:** ![aschrott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aca169/32.png) [@aschrott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aschrott)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/19 "2000-03-27T14:35:00Z")
was fire involved? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193/20 "2000-03-27T14:35:00Z")
Did the writer die of starvation? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-or-how-come/15193.md?page=2)