# Which fictional mystery would you like to be solved? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498 "2017-01-18T22:50:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/121 "2017-01-25T18:33:55Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > And Huey, Dewey and Louie’s parents? > **[Della Duck](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Della_Duck)** > > Della Duck is an anthropomorphic duck created by Ted Osborne and Al Taliaferro. As the only daughter of Hortense McDuck and Quackmore Duck, she is the twin sister of Donald Duck and mother to Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Della was first referenced in the... ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/122 "2017-01-25T22:31:39Z")
Anyone remember “Dark Shadows”? Just who was Victoria Winters and why was Elizabeth Collins-Stoddard so interested in her? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/123 "2017-01-25T22:56:38Z")
Was Tony Soprano killed when it all went to black? ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/124 "2017-01-26T01:21:50Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > I’d like to know particulars about Conan Doyle / Holmes’s Giant Rat of Sumatra. It’s thoroughly explained (along with a lot of other stuff) in [Fred Saberhagen’s _The Holmes-Dracula File_](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/fred-saberhagen/holmesdracula-file.htm). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/125 "2017-01-26T12:54:40Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > It’s thoroughly explained (along with a lot of other stuff) in [Fred Saberhagen’s _The Holmes-Dracula File_](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/fred-saberhagen/holmesdracula-file.htm). Not to mention in Richard L. Boyer’s _The Giant Rat of Sumatra_. And the Firesign Theater’s album of that name. Or a whole stack of other pastiches: > **[Giant Rat of Sumatra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Rat_of_Sumatra)** > > The Giant Rat of Sumatra is a fictional giant rat, first mentioned by Arthur Conan Doyle in "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire". As part of the tale, the protagonist, Sherlock Holmes, declares that there is a "story" connected with this rat, presumably a detective case he has handled. The name of the rat and its implied unpublished history were later used in works by many other writers. > In "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire", first published in the January 1924 issues of The Strand Magazine ... ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/126 "2017-01-27T19:02:07Z")
Who killed the chauffeur in [The Big Sleep](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Sleep)? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/127 "2017-01-27T19:18:22Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I’ve been pondering the “Giant Rat of Sumatra” since I was 11 years old. This. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/128 "2017-01-27T19:42:25Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > Anyone remember “Dark Shadows”? > > Just who was Victoria Winters and why was Elizabeth Collins-Stoddard so interested in her? I’ve been rewatching the whole series since I got the big boxed set for Christmas and was wondering about that too. The question gets dropped even before Barnabas comes in and takes over the show. Alexandra Moltke says in interviews that Vicky was meant to be Elizabeth’s daughter, and I’ve seen that in semi-canonical follow-ups to the series, such as the audio plays surviving cast members did 10-15 years ago. The last thing we ever see Vicky doing as far as finding her parents on the original show involved a portrait of a woman, painted about 25 year earlier, that looked very much like her. This woman is identified as Betty Hanscomb, the niece or daughter of the Collinwood butler back when there were lots of servants in the big house. That’s as far as the mystery goes. Given the answer about Elizabeth being her mother, I have to wonder what all this business with Betty Hanscomb was about, and what Vicky was supposed to discover before this storyline was discarded. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/129 "2017-01-28T19:21:13Z")
> [@Miss\_Mapp](#): > > I’ve been rewatching the whole series since I got the big boxed set for Christmas and was wondering about that too. The question gets dropped even before Barnabas comes in and takes over the show. > > Alexandra Moltke says in interviews that Vicky was meant to be Elizabeth’s daughter, and I’ve seen that in semi-canonical follow-ups to the series, such as the audio plays surviving cast members did 10-15 years ago. > > The last thing we ever see Vicky doing as far as finding her parents on the original show involved a portrait of a woman, painted about 25 year earlier, that looked very much like her. This woman is identified as Betty Hanscomb, the niece or daughter of the Collinwood butler back when there were lots of servants in the big house. That’s as far as the mystery goes. Given the answer about Elizabeth being her mother, I have to wonder what all this business with Betty Hanscomb was about, and what Vicky was supposed to discover before this storyline was discarded. In one of the time travel stories one of the characters tells Victoria “Are you sure your not a Collins? You look like you might be related.” That’s as close as they get to actually addressing the mystery in the series. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Spayed\_PI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Sam\_Spayed\_PI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Spayed_PI)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2017, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/130 "2017-01-29T00:09:49Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > Who killed the chauffeur in [The Big Sleep](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Sleep)? This. And I’m shocked (_shocked_!) it took until the middle of page three for someone to think of it. What I want to know is, if his baby needs him back so quickly that he needs to take an aeroplane (as opposed to a fast train), why did she write him a letter? Why didn’t she call him on the phone? ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/131 "2017-01-30T01:01:50Z")
Mickey is a mouse. Donald is a duck. WHAT IS GOOFY? Don’t tell me “a dog”…Pluto’s already a dog. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/132 "2017-01-30T11:43:17Z")
> [@Sam\_Spayed\_PI](#): > > What I want to know is, if his baby needs him back so quickly that he needs to take an aeroplane (as opposed to a fast train), why did she write him a letter? Why didn’t she call him on the phone? I wondered that, but always assumed the sense of urgency was his, not hers. She poured her heart out in a letter (perhaps to avoid the pain of immediate rejection) and he’s keen to get back with her ASAP. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/133 "2017-01-30T12:47:42Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Mickey is a mouse. > Donald is a duck. > > WHAT IS GOOFY? > > Don’t tell me “a dog”…Pluto’s already a dog. I’ve always thought Goofy to be unique and _sui generis_ – the only member of his species. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/134 "2017-01-30T12:52:33Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Mickey is a mouse. > Donald is a duck. > > WHAT IS GOOFY? > > Don’t tell me “a dog”…Pluto’s already a dog. As The Master has implied many times, you can’t pre-empt the truth. Mrs. Howell really WAS named “Lovey”, and Goofy really is a dog. He started out as “Dippy Dawg”, and internal Disney documents describe him as a dog. Pluto predates him by two years, but apparently the folks at Disney wanted both a character that would be clearly a dog --owned by a mouse! – and an anthropomorphic dog character who could be a companion to the same mouse. Take it up with them. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/135 "2017-01-30T12:55:02Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Not to mention in Richard L. Boyer’s _The Giant Rat of Sumatra_. And the Firesign Theater’s album of that name. Or a whole stack of other pastiches: > > [Giant Rat of Sumatra - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Rat_of_Sumatra) Thanks ! Have just followed the Wiki link: more stuff about Sumatran giant rats – real-life (large rats, anyway); and fictional , developed from the Conan Doyle throwaway line – than one would have imagined possible. The Wiki article even mentions the passing GR of S reference in _Watership Down_. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/136 "2017-01-30T13:52:34Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > I’ve always thought Goofy to be unique and _sui generis_ – the only member of his species. His son Max plays a prominent role in several shows. The Wikipedia page for [Goofy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goofy) lists several Goof relatives. In addition, Goofy is sometimes shown hanging around with similar creatures. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/137 "2017-01-30T15:21:57Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > As the Master Cecil asked early on, “Did the Corinthians ever write back?” Just noticed this one. Brings to mind a long-ago-heard bit of World War 1 humour – part of the experience in that conflict, of British prisoners-of-war in Turkey. General impression got by such folk, was that the Turks were on the whole likeable people, and treated their POWs quite decently; but from a British point of view, they redefined “laid-back”. One POW had cause to call in at the post office in the Turkish town of Tarsus (where St. Paul came from, way before there was such a place as Turkey). He described the pile-up there of undelivered mail; as so huge that he half expected to find therein, a reply to Paul from the Corinthians. > [@Sangahyando](#): > > I’ve always thought Goofy to be unique and _sui generis_ – the only member of his species. > [@ftg](#): > > His son Max plays a prominent role in several shows. The Wikipedia page for [Goofy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goofy) lists several Goof relatives. > > In addition, Goofy is sometimes shown hanging around with similar creatures. Thanks. “Shows what I knew !” The Wiki article contains various oddities re Disney cartoon characters, including how for a while, a romance was hinted at between Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow; after which, suggestions of Clarabelle and Goofy pairing-off. Well – anthropomorphic-animals-fantasy-land has been “since forever”, a place where normal Earth-type sexual / reproductive biology doesn’t apply: frogs and mice, owls and pussycats, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Spayed\_PI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Sam\_Spayed\_PI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Spayed_PI)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/138 "2017-02-01T12:15:30Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I wondered that, but always assumed the sense of urgency was his, not hers. Oh. That’s pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/139 "2017-02-01T21:48:49Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I wondered that, but always assumed the sense of urgency was his, not hers. She poured her heart out in a letter (perhaps to avoid the pain of immediate rejection) and he’s keen to get back with her ASAP. _Well, she wrote me a letter, **said she couldn’t live without me no more…** _ So your position is that he’s paraphrasing, rather than accurately reporting the contents of the letter? ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/140 "2017-02-02T00:42:31Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > what happened to the Fool from _King Lear_? > > I suspect that in both cases the real answer is that the original actor playing the role was needed for a different role later in the play, but given the prominence of the Fool in Act I, his unremarked disappearance seems abrupt. The Fool himself says in his last appearance “I’ll go to bed at noon” (III.6.83) which some take as his announcing his death–kind of an oblique way to do it, though. Lear says ‘And my poor fool is hanged.’ (5. 3. 304), but is that a reference to the Fool or to Cordelia? Or both? This article speculates that the same actor played both roles, the Fool and Cordelia; it’s possible since the 2 never appear on stage together. [http://www.britaininprint.net/study\_tools/poor\_fool\_lear.html](http://www.britaininprint.net/study_tools/poor_fool_lear.html) > [@aldiboronti](#): > > Did Lady Macbeth have children? Yes, she had at least one child. She says “I have given suck, and know / How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me” (I.7.55-6) So at some time in the past she did give birth to a child who she breastfed. (There are some women able to lactate without being pregnant or giving birth, but it’s not at all likely that she would have done this, especially since we’re talking about the 1600s and earlier) The mystery is, what happened to Lady Macbeth’s child? Did it die? Was it the child of a previous marriage? Fassbender’s 2015 film answers the question by showing the Macbeths at a funeral for their child. > [@Trinopus](#): > > (C. N. Parkinson notwithstanding) did Horatio Hornblower push Captain Sawyer down the ladder? (Well of course he did!) Why “of course”? The last time I read Parkinson was in 1980, and I do remember him saying that Hornblower did push Sawyer, which doesn’t ring true to me at all. I see multiple indications that Wellard did the pushing and Hornblower is covering up for him. As for mysteries, does anyone have answers to these Narnia ones? What is the “Unspeakable word” spoken by Jadis when she destroys Charn? What wrongdoing did Coriakin commit that had him banished to the Duffers’ island? What is the story that Lucy reads in Coriakin’s spellbook, “for the refreshment of the spirit”, the loveliest story she ever read? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498.md?page=8)