Futility Closet - 035-Lateral Thinking Puzzles

Episode Date: November 24, 2014

For this Thanksgiving episode of the Futility Closet podcast, enjoy seven lateral thinking puzzles that didn't make it onto our regular shows. Solve along with us as we explore some strange scenarios using only yes-or-no questions. Happy Thanksgiving! You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at [e-mail]. Thanks for listening!

Hello, listeners. We Yanks are celebrating Thanksgiving here this week, and so we thought we'd do something a little different for our podcast. Instead of a regular show, we've got a collection of lateral thinking puzzles. Yeah, lateral thinking puzzles, for those who are just tuning in, is where somebody is given a strange situation and has to try to solve what's going on, only being able to ask yes or no questions. That's a fun segment to record,

but it's really hard to predict how it's going to go. Yeah, so all kinds of things end up going wrong sometimes. Sometimes the segments end up going very long and sometimes they're solved very, very quickly. And in those cases, we don't, sometimes we just come up with a good puzzle, but one whose length is just, we can't fit it into a proper show. Right, because we need,

we have sort of a time constraint of what we're aiming for for the whole show. And so if a puzzle gets solved in two and a half minutes, that might not work. And if it takes the person 12 minutes, that might not work either. And both of those have happened. So we have all these puzzles that were actually good puzzles, some of which were even sent in by listeners, that unfortunately never got to see the light of day. So that's what this is.

This is a collection of seven puzzles that didn't go right. Or they're good puzzles, they just didn't come out to the right length. Yeah, or something else just went wrong about it that we just didn't end up using them. So we've stitched them all together here for your Thanksgiving delectation. So next week we'll be back with our more typical kind of show, with our quirky mix of, you know, history and oddities and curiosities, and of course a puzzle. But of, you know, history and oddities and curiosities and, of course, a puzzle. But this week you get all puzzles.

So enjoy them and happy Thanksgiving. This is our Lateral Thinking Puzzle segment. This week Greg is going to be giving me a puzzle that I'm going to try to solve using only yes or no questions. And he's warned me that it's a hard puzzle, so I'm feeling a little nervous. Well, I don't know. Nothing's really hard for you anymore. We'll see. I don't know. Nothing's really hard for you anymore. We'll see. I don't know. I struggle with some of them.

This is from Erwin Brecker's 2010 book, Lateral Thinking Puzzles. A man left home on Monday riding a donkey to make a pilgrimage to Canterbury. The journey took two days. He stayed two days in Canterbury. The journey home took another two days. He arrived home on Friday. How? Okay. Does it matter exactly what year this took place? Because, like, there was a calendar shift on some, you know,

some years up in these funny calendar shifts and stuff. We actually covered that in some of our shows. Good guess. Okay, so it doesn't matter the specific year that it took place. The general time period? No. But you're agreeing it doesn't matter the specific year that it took place? Yes, that's right. Does it matter where this took place? No. But you're agreeing it doesn't matter the specific year that it took place? Yes, that's right. Does it matter where this took place? No. He didn't cross some date line or

something funny like that? Excellent guess. Yeah, okay. Does it matter where Canterbury is? No. Is this like Canterbury, England or it doesn't matter where Canterbury is? It really doesn't matter. Okay. Does it matter that he was riding a donkey? Yes, the donkey's name was Friday. Oh my God. This week we have another puzzle by Nicholas Madrid, who has sent us some great puzzles in the past. Thank you, Nicholas. And we'll see how you do with this one.

Okay. Okay. Okay. In the presence of witnesses, a man draws a pistol and shoots his brother dead. After firing this fatal shot, he drops the gun and bursts into tears. The police arrive on the scene, establish that the man deliberately murdered his brother, but don't arrest him. Why not?

Wow. Good puzzle, Nicholas. Okay, are these people's... Did this actually happen? Not that I know of, no. And are these people's did this actually happen not that i know of no and are these people's identities important meaning what occupations no um by brothers we mean male siblings yes they're human beings yes on earth yes by a pistol or a gun we mean what i think it means yes and by drawing it meaning he actually actually fires a gun and propels a bullet

into his brother's face. Oh, that's a good, he draws a pistol. I'm not making any assumption. No, that's really good. He could have like sketched a pistol. That's right,

sketched a pistol. Okay, so he draws a pistol and shoots his brother. Shoots his brother dead. With the pistol. With the pistol. So there's no funny business. No funny business.

He just shoots his brother with a gun. Yes. And his brother dies because he's been shot. Correct. All correct. They're not siamese

twins they are let me keep going yeah keep going you have to figure out the whole thing okay he just got a lot more interesting and shoots his brother dead yes intending to kill him yes after firing this fatal shot he drops the gun and bursts into tears dead, intending to kill him? Yes. After firing this fatal shot, he drops the gun and bursts into tears. The police arrive on the scene, establish the man deliberately murdered his brother, but don't arrest him.

Okay, bursts into tears because he knows that he himself is going to die? Not exactly, but... It wasn't like some murder-suicide thing. It is. He intended to kill his brother yes and he knew in doing so that he himself would die yes is that why he cries yeah i guess so i mean to some extent yeah i mean i think it's more because he killed his brother but do i need to is there like a history do you need to know why why did he do this i mean that's just one last little piece you basically have it but why would he do this? I mean, that's just one last little piece. You basically have it, but why would he do this?

Okay, they had some disagreement. No. No. Was his brother dying? No. Was he dying? No. Was he doing it, would you say, out of anger?

No. Out of compassion? Not out of anger. It wasn't a disagreement. That's totally correct. Not out of anger. Go away from that. Did he himself want to die?

Yes. Oh, and he didn't want his brother to... Yes. That's poignant. It's poignant. Exactly. You totally have it. Very nice. Okay, this puzzle was submitted by Trey and Lissa.

Thank you. And it goes like this. Two cars made their way along a winding country road and came to an abrupt stop at a park gate. Seven men got out of the cars and had started along a footpath when it began to rain. Six of the men began to walk faster to get out of the cars and had started along a footpath when it began to rain. Six of the men began to walk faster to get out of the rain, but the seventh man couldn't be bothered. Ironically, it was the seventh man who remained dry, while the other six got soaked. Since all seven men arrived at their destination together, how was this possible?

Do I need to know anything about the cars? Is there information about the cars that would be useful for me to know? Yes, but you don't have to know. What kind of cars they were? Is that important? Yes. Are they automobiles? Yes.

And there's something more specific than that to them? Yes, but I wouldn't... Wouldn't pursue it too strongly? That's not the way i'd go about it okay and you said seven men got out of the cars yes are these human adult males yes is the specific location important in any way no um is there some something about the seventh man who didn't get wet that i need to know about? Yes. Something he was wearing or carrying? No.

Something about him specifically? Yes. Something about his size? No. Something about his shape? No. Something about how he was traveling? Yes.

Was he walking? No. So I just need to figure out what mode of transportation he was employing? Okay, so six men were walking and the seventh was not walking. Yes. The man who was not walking, he was a human adult male, fully grown. Yes. Yes.

Just checking. Oh, that's smart. Not a baby in a stroller. Fish in a fish tank i don't know um was he still in the car no was he being pushed in something by one of the other men no was he being carried in something yes Yes. Something with wheels? No. Was he dead? Yes.

He was in the coffin? Yes. And the men were just carrying him to the funeral? That's it. Not bad. You're pretty good. Two cars made their way along a winding country road and came to an abrupt stop at a park gate.

Seven men got out of the two cars and had started along a footpath when it began to rain. Six of the men began to walk faster to get out of the rain, but the seventh man couldn't be bothered. Couldn't be bothered. Okay. Ironically, it was the seventh man who remained dry while the other six got soaked. Since all seven men arrived at their destination together, how is this possible? Very clever. You're good. Very good, Trey and Lissa. This week, I'm going to try to solve a lateral thinking puzzle because Greg has a really cool one sent in by a listener that he wants to try to give to me. I'm going to have to ask yes or no questions to try to solve some kind of a situation that he's going to give me.

This is sent in by listener David White, and it goes like this. A ship sets out on its maiden voyage. Just before arriving at its destination, the ship is involved in a serious accident and wrecked. Although no one is injured in the wreck, the accident is very costly and highly embarrassing. Later, it turns out that if the owners of the ship hadn't been Americans, the accident probably would not have happened. Okay. Does this have anything to do with the fact that the Americans measure differently than the rest of the world?

Yes. Oh, goodness. Is this a ship that sails on the water ship? No. No. Is this a rocket ship? Oh, did this really happen? I think I vaguely remember hearing about this from NASA. We screwed up the measurements of something. You thinking inches instead of centimeters or something like that. Yes.

That's perfect. You just did it. That was about 60 seconds. I thought we might go half an hour on that one. Let me just read this because David did such a good job setting it up. Cool, cool. I don't know what we're going to do about you. Yes, it's the Mars Climate Orbiter.

I'll just read David's excellently and thoroughly researched summary. Terrific. The lateral thinking trick here is to realize that the ship in our story is actually a spaceship. This is the true story of the Mars Climate Orbiter launched in 1998 in order to study the Martian climate and atmosphere. The ship's voyage over nine months from Earth to Mars went smoothly, but on September 23, 1999, as NASA engineers attempted to put the spacecraft into orbit around Mars. Contact with the orbiter was lost. Over the next two days, NASA tried to regain contact with the spacecraft but failed, and on September 25, 1999, the mission was declared a failure.

The investigations that followed revealed that the Mars Climate Orbiter had been inserted into the Martian atmosphere far closer to the planet than intended. The result was that the spacecraft was either buffeted and destroyed completely by the atmosphere or that it fell out of orbit and drifted out of control towards the sun. The most embarrassing discovery, however, was that the accident had happened due to a simple miscalculation. It turned out that one team working on the orbital software had made their calculations in metric units, newtons per second, while another team had used English units, pounds per second. As a result, the thrusters putting the ship into orbit had fired with more than four times the force intended, pushing the ship 170

kilometers closer to the planet than intended and wrecking the spacecraft. The project losses were estimated to be over $327 million. Oh, wow. All because someone forgot to change the American system of units to metric units. Wow, that is telling. So there is a lesson there. There is a lesson there.

Well, thank you so much. David, thank you. That was terrific, David. We really appreciate it. Thank you so much. David, thank you. That was terrific, David. We really appreciate it.

This week's puzzle comes from Paul Sloan and Des McHale's 2014 Remarkable Lateral Thinking Puzzles. Remarkable, that sounds. Remarkable. It's actually a very short puzzle. Okay. Two sentences. A man who disliked smoking lit a cigarette in order to reach his goal more quickly. How did it help?

You said a man who disliked smoking? Yes. Did he smoke the cigarette? Yes. Yes, he did. Yes. The whole thing? Probably not. Was this a wager or a bet of some kind? No. Reaches goal. Okay, so he lit a cigarette and smoked it yes and in doing that did he reach the goal in he would he advanced towards some goal yes would you say that um no not exactly in those words but okay can you read it again uh a man who dislikes smoking lit a cigarette in order to reach his goal more quickly how did it help reach his goal more quickly um okay let's talk about the goal shall we okay was the goal to do something that he disliked doing no um okay do is there some history here like with him and smoking something more i need to know about that are there other people involved yes more than one uh directly involved no okay there's but there's one other primary person would you say i guess um and he's interacting with them when i guess before this no after this yes so he wanted he smoked a cigarette in order to create some impression on other people?

See what I mean? No, not exactly. He wasn't like feigning being a smoker for some reason? Not the way I think you mean it, no. Not trying to convince people that he was a regular smoker. Correct. But he wanted to, I'm just, I want to make sure I've got this part down. There are other people involved after he does this. Yes. And I'm trying

to find out if in smoking the cigarette, would he have still smoked the cigarette if these other people hadn't been involved, put it that way. No. Because that wouldn't have advanced him toward this goal. Yes. Okay, so smoking the cigarette had something to do with these people. Did the people see him smoke the cigarette? Yes. If they hadn't seen him smoke it, he wouldn't have advanced toward the goal. He wouldn't have advanced more quickly toward his goal.

Yes. Okay. Are the people, do I need to know more about the setting or the? Yes. Okay. Is this a performance of some kind? No. So it's not an audience or spectators or something?

Correct. Do I need to know geographically where this occurred? No. Did this actually happen? Not that I'm aware of. Is the guy's job important? No. Is there history that I have to uncover? No. No, there isn't. No, there isn't. Um, okay. Do I need to know more about,

did I just ask this more about the people apart from the fact that they see him smoke the cigarette? I mean, there is more to be known. But I could solve the puzzle without that. I mean, it could just be some group of people that saw him smoke part of a cigarette. Not really, but I think that would be the harder way to attack the puzzle. Okay. I don't need to know the guy's job. His goal, was it concerned with his health?

No. With employment? No. Is there it concerned with his health? No. With employment? No. Is there any kind of crime involved? No. Is there more about the setting that you need to know? Yes. Okay. Is he... Well, you don't know anything about the setting, so... All right. But you said geography isn't important. Correct. Is he doing something else in addition to smoking the cigarette? At the instant that he's smoking it. I guess you'd say yes. Is his location important? Yes.

Okay. Okay. His location. But you don't mean geographic location. I do not mean geographic location. His location. All right, so is he outdoors? No.

He's indoors in a building? No. He's inside something else really yes okay in some other kind of doors no well yes yes yes in some other kind of doors um but not in any kind of building not in any kind of building is he in you'd say he's inside something yes some kind of structure would you say no enclosure yes like some naturally occurring no some artificially built yes creation that's not a building yes are the other people in there with them yes um is this do anything more than that is in the city or the country anything like that um are you even able to say that yeah i don't know specifically um

how do you attack this is it larger than our house this place no is it substantially smaller is it larger than this room? About the same? Just really roughly. I guess. Is it a shelter of some kind? No. Does it have a purpose, some function? Yes.

That it was designed for? Yes. But it's not a building? It's not a building. Is it used for storage? No. Is it used for storage? No. Is it used for transportation? Yes.

Is it some mode of transport? Yes. Is it a truck? No. Is it a car? No. Is it a plane? No.

Is it a submarine? No. Is it a boat? No. Does it travel on land? Yes. Okay. But it's not a car or a truck. Right. Does it travel on land? Yes. Okay. But it's not a car or a truck.

Right. Does it travel on roads? Yes. This puzzle is getting weirder. I guess that's why they call it remarkable. It travels on roads. Yes. And it's roughly the size of this room. Well, it's not quite shaped like this room, so it's probably smaller than the room.

Okay. A bus? Yes, a bus. Okay. Oh, all right. Okay. I think that's the key then. He lights a cigarette in order to advance more quickly towards his goal.

So if he pretends to be a smoker, they put him in the smoking section of the bus? No. No? No. I was sure that was it. He's pretending to be a smoker. Well, he's pretending to smoke this cigarette, or he is smoking this cigarette. Okay, but he's not normally a smoker?

He's not normally a smoker. He dislikes smoking. Right. Okay, so he wants to present the impression that he is a smoker, or is smoking at least this cigarette. Yes. In order to get some different treatment or some privilege well no no no no okay but he's on a bus he's on a bus and the other important the other people are passengers on the bus yeah and he wants them to no he wants he's smoking in order to that's more quickly toward his goal.

Right. It's not to get into a different part of the bus? That's not correct. Is it to get the bus somehow to go more quickly toward the destination? No. His goal, is his goal to reach the destination? Yes. Okay, so in saying he advanced more quickly there, you're not saying he would get more quickly to the geographic

destination he wants to by smoking the cigarette? No, smoking the cigarette does get him more quickly to the specific geographic location he wants to get to. And that's what you mean when you say goal? Yes. I think I'm almost there. Smoking a cigarette. All right, so you say there's something that happens after.

So he lights up a cigarette. Yes. He's on a bus with these other people. Right. Going somewhere. Yes. Wants to get there more quickly, so lights up a cigarette. Yes. He's on a bus with these other people. Right. Going somewhere. Yes. Wants to get there more quickly, so he lights a cigarette. Yes.

And then what happens? What might happen if you light a cigarette on a bus? Well, they might kick him off. Yes. But I don't understand how that's going to get him more quickly to where he's going. That's the lateral thinking part. So they kick him off the bus. Yes.

And the bus goes off. Yes. And he's by the side of the road now. Yes. And I need to know what he does after that. Does he hitchhike? Does he have some other means of getting to the destination in mind? Yes, I suppose you'd say. But we don't know specifically what it is. I do know. Oh, you do know? Yes. Okay. He travels there by the same road that the bus was going on? Possibly. All right, let's say he does that.

The bus is now ahead of him. Yes. So it's hard to see how he's going to overtake the bus. He's not going to overtake the bus. But he's still going to get there more quickly than he would have if he'd stayed on the bus. Yes. Was the bus traveling away from the destination? No. This is lateral indeed. The bus is away from the destination? No. This is lateral indeed.

The bus is traveling to that destination. He deliberately gets himself ejected from the bus and is standing by the side of the road, but will get to the destination before the bus does. No. If he had stayed on the bus and done nothing, the bus would eventually get him to the destination, right? No. Is it just that he wants to get off the bus? Yes.

But couldn't he just have gotten off the bus? No. He's not a prisoner or something? Correct. He's not required to be on the bus? Correct, correct. Is the bus going to some series of destinations? Yeah, you want me just to, you're like most of the way there.

There's just one little twist. Well, it seems like you can decide just to, you're like most of the way there. There's just one little twist. Well, it seems like you can decide whether to just give it to me. It seems like I haven't turned the corner yet, but I can't see how getting yourself kicked off a bus that's going where you want to go. Well, is the bus going where he wants to go? I think so. You said it's headed toward the destination he wants to reach. Yes, but is it going to stop? Oh. So the bus was just going to go past the city he wants to stop at? Well, the specific point that he wants to be at. And he just wants to get off the bus?

He wants to get off the bus, yes. His destination lay on a long stretch between two bus stops. Okay. So he wants to be ejected from the bus closer to his destination than he'd be able to get by getting off on either of the actual stops. So he just gets ejected. Yes. Okay. Okay. Okay, this one was submitted by listener Pete Miller.

A vandal sprayed purple paint across the back of her new white fur coat. Later, this saved her life. Did it save her life because it kept her from being mistaken for something? No. It made her more visible? No. Okay. I always like to try to jump to the answer and then it's-

That's my problem, yeah. Let's backtrack and be a little more systematic here. A vandal, I mean, was she doing illegal? No. She spray painted the back of her own fur coat purple no is that a question the problem again a vandal sprayed purple paint across the back of her new white fur coat and then i said she sprayed purple paint across the back of her own fur coat and you said no that's right oh she sprayed pamper paint purple paint on somebody else's coat. Yes.

Okay, is there a fur coat involved? Yes. Yes? Yes. And what I think of as a coat? No. Oh, it's a coat of an animal. An animal's coat?

Yes. She sprayed purple paint on an animal. Yes. Ah. Okay, I need to know an animal. Yes. It's an animal that's typically white? Yes. A polar bear? No. what animal? Yes. It's an animal that's typically white? Yes.

A polar bear? No. A seal? Yes. Okay, a vandal sprayed purple paint on a seal. Yes. And somehow this saved her life. Oh, saved the seal's life.

Yes. Oh, it's just you're using pronouns very cleverly here. Okay, so she saved the seal's life by making this, nobody would kill the seal for its beautiful white coat to make something out of it. You're really good at this. Okay, well, let's do a second one then since that went so fast. I just got the one this morning from David White. Thank you, David. This one goes like this.

A man is lying in bed alone, unable to fall asleep. After some time, he picks up the phone and makes a call. A few moments later, he hangs up the phone without saying anything and falls asleep shortly afterwards. What's going on? Was he receiving information on his phone call? No. No. Was he listening to something on his phone call? No. Ah, this is a smartphone. Does it need to be a smartphone that he used? No. Okay. Okay. A man is lying in bed, unable to sleep. Yes. Does it matter where he is? Yes. Okay. Okay. A man is lying in bed unable to sleep. Yes. Does it matter where he is? Yes. Okay. Does it matter where he is in terms of a specific location, like a specific state or country or city? No. No. Does it matter where he is in terms of where his bed is, like whether

it's in a building or a ship or a plane? Yes. Yes. So is he in a building? Yes. It matters what kind of building he's in? Yes. Is he in a hospital? No. A hotel?

Yes. Okay. A man is in a hotel bed. Yes. And he's unable to sleep because there's too much noise? Yes. So does he call down to the front desk and just holds his phone up and they can hear all the noise? That would be an equally good puzzle, but no.

Okay. So a man is in a hotel. Oh, and somehow, but somehow he's making this call. It's going to reduce the noise level somehow. Yes. It's going to result in a lower noise level for him. Okay. Do I need to know what's making the noise?

Yes. Okay. Is it something in a hotel that would normally be making noise? No. Is it something that's malfunctioning? I wouldn't say that, no. Or functioning badly? No. Okay. Is it other people? Yes. Okay. Specific other people that I need to figure out? Yes. His next door neighbors? Yes.

Oh, they're snoring. He calls the room next door to him to wake the people up so they won't be snoring anymore. That's exactly right. That was like a home run. Well done. All right. Well, thank you so much. Who were we thanking? Yes, thank you.

Pete Miller and David White. Thanks to both of you, thank you so much. Who were we thanking? Yes, thank you. Pete Miller and David White. Thanks to both of you. Thanks so much. And if you'd like to send in a puzzle for us to use, you can send them to us at podcast at futilitycloset.com.