I decided to start a new thread cause ones that get really, really long start making me nutso after a while. This one shouldn't be as difficult as the albatross one was. (But I didn't say it was easy.)

I flipped the tent flap open and surveyed the scene.

On the floor, in the center of the tent, a man lay dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
In the corner of the tent was a small cot.
A package of cigarettes and an empty whiskey bottle lay on the bedside table next to the kerosene lamp.

The only other items I found at the scene were 6 small circular wooden disks under the cot, the man's personal effects, and a variety of scrapbooks and news clippings. I found the last items strange as the suicide victim was completely illiterate.

What was the reason for the suicide?

Remember, yes or no questions ONLY. The answers are yes, no and irrelevant. Please try to watch out for assumptions about stuff that has not be established. (And "or" questions are difficult.)

Did you find the gun?

Did you find the gun?

Irrelevant but it was probably lying right there. (Off to a good start. :p)

Were the scrapbooks and paper clippings related to him or anyone in his family? Meaning, was there a pattern?

Were the scrapbooks and paper clippings related to him or anyone in his family? Meaning, was there a pattern?

Yes to the first part. But I'm not sure what you mean by a pattern, though it isn't likely important.

Were the clippings about him?

Were the clippings about him?

Yes. (Though it's reasonable some were about someone(s) else.)

Were some about a girlfriend?

Were some about a girlfriend?

No.

Didn't see this thread until now :o

Were there comprehensible words in the scrapbook?

Did you know the man?

Didn't see this thread until now :o

Hey, welcome to my world. Hope your recent homework didn't drag you down too much.


Were there comprehensible words in the scrapbook?

Is that what you meant to ask? Comprehensible, as in understandable? Um, what words are in the scrapbook, or even if, isn't really relevant anyway.


Did you know the man?

Irrelevant. (I don't even know who "I" am in the scenario.)

Well, then I'm forced to ask how did you know the dead was completely illiterate if "you" (as the author) didn't know him?

Ok, back to the game...

Did the man really commit suicide?
Could it be that it was someone else who killed the man and 'you' thought it was suicide?
Were the news clippings about the a particular person in each case?

Well, then I'm forced to ask how did you know the dead was completely illiterate if "you" (as the author) didn't know him?

Uh, uh... I'm a cop investigating the death and someone who knew him told me?

Ok, back to the game...


Did the man really commit suicide?

Yes.


Could it be that it was someone else who killed the man and 'you' thought it was suicide?

No.


Were the news clippings about the a particular person in each case?

Not sure what you mean by "in each case". Is there more than one case? But otherwise yes.

OK, I had to go check what had already been established about the news clippings, and I see it's already been asked if they were about him, and that I said yes but there reasonably could be ones about other person or persons.

Don't make too much out of that. For the moment just assume they were about the dead guy. There don't have to be any about anyone else - and therefore it's obviously not necessary to solving it.

(In fact, look elsewhere. You won't guess the clippings, and the fact that they exist will suffice.)

Is there a baby involved (cot)

Is there a baby involved (cot)

No.

Did the tent belong to the dead man?

Did the man not like what he saw in the paper?

Did the papers have to do with his suicide?

Was the man camping alone?

Did anybody witness it?

Were the scrapbooks his?

Did the wooden disks have anything to do with anything?

Did he do something bad in his life?

Did someone want him dead?

Was he a convict?

Was he ever in jail?

Did he have family?

Did any of his friends or family die?

Did the wooden disks have anything to do with anything?
I don`t know this one (puzzle) but I`m willing to bet they have a lot to do with it. We have to figure out what they actually are.

I don`t know this one (puzzle) but I`m willing to bet they have a lot to do with it. We have to figure out what they actually are.

I have no clue on what a wooden disk is, but I found it strange seeing it. Now the long wait to have my questions answered.

I'm trying my best not to easily Google the answer. :D

Did the tent belong to the dead man?

He didn't personally own it, no.

Did the man not like what he saw in the paper?

Difficult to answer when you put the "not" in. Re-worded: Did the man dislike what he saw in the paper? No.


Did the papers have to do with his suicide?

In some fashion, yes.


Was the man camping alone?

Assumption. It's never been established what he was doing.


Did anybody witness it?

Irrelevant.


Were the scrapbooks his?

Yes.


Did the wooden disks have anything to do with anything?

Yes.


Did he do something bad in his life?

Most of us have. :p

No.


Did someone want him dead?

We don't know.


Was he a convict?

No.


Was he ever in jail?

Irrelevant.


Did he have family?

Irrelevant.


Did any of his friends or family die?

Irrelevant but no.

I don`t know this one (puzzle) but I`m willing to bet they have a lot to do with it. We have to figure out what they actually are.

Right you are.


I'm trying my best not to easily Google the answer.

You know, when I was googling these kinds of puzzles, this was one I never found. One must definitely enjoy a good mystery to do these. (Actually, I know a mystery puzzle, and I know some about it, but I don't think it was ever solved so I don't know the final answer. Not very useful.)

Knowing that in these kinds of puzzles the devil is in how one defines things. Hence the "wooden disks" are likely a minimalistic way of describing something that we know under another name.
Are the wooden disks household objects?
Is that fact that there are six of them have any bearing?

Are the wooden disks household objects?

No.


Is that fact that there are six of them have any bearing?

That there's specifically six, no.

Was he camping?

Was he at a circus?

Was he at any public events?

It is killing me to know what the wooden disks are because I know now they have something to do with it and I have no questions to ask about them. Hmmm...

Were the wooden disks his?

Was the stuff inside the scrapbook done by him?

Do the scrapbooks and disks go together?

Did the wooden disks have writing on them or were they some kind of tablets?

Was everything in the tent his?

Was the man homeless?

Was the man well known or famous?

Were the disks new? Older?

Did the papers make him look like a town idiot and embarressed him?

Did the papers say he was illiterate?

Was he being blackmailed about something and somebody went to the papers to release something about it and made him kill himsefl?

Or... Did the papers reveal a secret about him?

Was he camping?

No. :D


Was he at a circus?

Yes.


Was he at any public events?

Yes, but not while he was dead. :p


Were the wooden disks his?

Yes.


Was the stuff inside the scrapbook done by him?

Irrelevant.


Do the scrapbooks and disks go together?

No.


Did the wooden disks have writing on them or were they some kind of tablets?

No.


Was everything in the tent his?

<looking at original to see what was in the tent... >

We'll say yes. (Maybe not the cot but that's irrelevant anyway.)


Was the man homeless?

No.


Was the man well known or famous?

Yes.


Were the disks new? Older?

That's not a yes or no. :)

On the older side.


Did the papers make him look like a town idiot and embarressed him?

No.


Did the papers say he was illiterate?

Irrelevant.

Was he working for a circus?

Were the disks his?

Had he drank whiskey? (his breath)

Is he a smoker?

Was he shot from the back?

From the chest?

From the head?

Was he being blackmailed about something and somebody went to the papers to release something about it and made him kill himsefl?

No.


Or... Did the papers reveal a secret about him?

No.

Was he working for a circus?

Yes.


Were the disks his?

Already asked, but yes.


Had he drank whiskey? (his breath)

Very likely.


Is he a smoker?

Irrelevant.


Was he shot from the back?

From "self-inflicted gunshot wounds"? :p


From the chest?

From the head?

Irrelevant.

I was making sure it was suicide ;) Though I'm still confused as to why he used many bullets instead of one... which would have largely been sufficient...

Plus, if the pistol can't be found, it means someone carried it away, hence it won't be a suicide...

Okay... never mind.

Was he so drunk that he got angry at himself over something he has done that he shot himself?

Did anyone hear the shots? (Thinking about setting a time when he was killed)

Yes, good point to be brought up. It never said that the gun was in the tent. It may have been one of those obvious things. So my questions is: Was the gun still there?

I was making sure it was suicide ;) Though I'm still confused as to why he used many bullets instead of one... which would have largely been sufficient...

The entire question is why the suicide. There's nothing anywhere that says anything about bullets. Re-read the original. (I can also post another summary of all questions, although right now I'm in and out, trying to get certain things done while it's sunny out.)



Was he so drunk that he got angry at himself over something he has done that he shot himself?

No.


Did anyone hear the shots?

Probably.

Was the gun still there?

Yes.

Well, I think what he was talking about is that the original says he died from gun shot woundS instead of a wound.

Oooh. I literally pasted it in from elsewhere and made sure I read it carefully, but still never noticed that. Maybe cause I knew it didn't mean anything and it just went over my head. No clue why it's plural. Sorry 'bout that.

Were the wooden disks originally connected in some way ? Like a circus prop? A stilt?

Was he a midget?

Were the disks all alike?

Did the disks have holes in them?

Was he an act in the circus?

Did he get made fun of?

Did he get fired?

Did he use the wooden disks for his job?

Was he deformed?

Were the woooden disks valuable?

Were the wooden disks originally connected in some way ?

Yes.


Like a circus prop?

No


A stilt?

What's a stilt?

Was he a midget?

Yes.


Were the disks all alike?

Relatively.


Did the disks have holes in them?

No.


Was he an act in the circus?

Sort of. ("Act" isn't really the word I'd use.)


Did he get made fun of?

Probably. :p But not relevant to our situation.


Did he get fired?

No.


Did he use the wooden disks for his job?

No.


Was he deformed?

Other than being a midget, no.


Were the woooden disks valuable?

No.

Oh a stilt. Like those long boards with a foothold somewhere up, and you walk on the footholds and it makes you all tall?

No.

Did the connected wooden disks have something to do with his height?

Did the connected wooden disks have something to do with his height?

A new player...

Yes.

A summary so far...

Please note I removed two questions. One was simply a duplicate. The other one I realized may have been misleading, and that in fact, it's something about which the details aren't real clear. I hate to do that, but someone may have been on the right track and that question threw them off. I'd say good idea to just review the list.

Did you find the gun? Irrelevant but it was probably lying right there.

Were the scrapbooks and paper clippings related to him or anyone in his family? Meaning, was there a pattern? Yes to the first part. But I'm not sure what you mean by a pattern, though it isn't likely important.

Were the clippings about him? Yes.

Were some about a girlfriend? No.

Were there comprehensible words in the scrapbook? What words are in the scrapbook, or even if, isn't really relevant.

Did you know the man? Irrelevant.

Did the man really commit suicide? Yes

Could it be that it was someone else who killed the man and 'you' thought it was suicide? No

Were the news clippings about the a particular person in each case? Not sure what you mean by "in each case". Is there more than one case? But otherwise yes.

Is there a baby involved? No

Did the tent belong to the dead man? He didn't personally own it, no.

Did the man dislike what he saw in the paper? No

Did the papers have to do with his suicide? In some fashion, yes.

Did anybody witness it? Irrelevant.

Were the scrapbooks his? Yes

Did the wooden disks have anything to do with anything? Yes

Did he do something bad in his life? No

Did someone want him dead? We don't know.

Was he a convict? No

Was he ever in jail? Irrelevant

Did he have family? Irrelevant

Did any of his friends or family die? Irrelevant.

Are the wooden disks household objects? No.

Is that fact that there are six of them have any bearing? That there's specifically six, no.

Was he camping? No.

Was he at a circus? Yes.

Was he at any public events? Yes, but not while he was dead.

Were the wooden disks his? Yes.

Was the stuff inside the scrapbook done by him? Irrelevant.

Do the scrapbooks and disks go together? No.

Did the wooden disks have writing on them or were they some kind of tablets? No.

Was everything in the tent his? We'll say yes. (Maybe not the cot but that's irrelevant anyway.)

Was the man homeless? No.

Was the man well known or famous? Yes.

Were the disks new? Older? On the older side.

Did the papers make him look like a town idiot and embarressed him? No.

Did the papers say he was illiterate? Irrelevant.

Was he being blackmailed about something and somebody went to the papers to release something about it and made him kill himsefl? No.

Did the papers reveal a secret about him? No.

Was he working for a circus? Yes.

Had he drank whiskey? (his breath) Probably.

Is he a smoker? Irrelevant

Was he shot from the back? From the chest? From the head? All irrelevant.

Was he so drunk that he got angry at himself over something he has done that he shot himself? No.

Did anyone hear the shots? Probably

Was the gun still there? Yes.

Were the wooden disks originally connected in some way ? Yes.

Like a circus prop? No

A stilt? No

Was he a midget? Yes.

Were the disks all alike? Relatively.

Did the disks have holes in them? No.

Was he an act in the circus? Sort of. ("Act" isn't really the word I'd use.)

Did he get made fun of? Irrelevant.

Did he get fired? No.

Did he use the wooden disks for his job? No.

Were the woooden disks valuable? No.

Did the connected wooden disks have something to do with his height? Yes.

Was he a helper in the circus? (EDIT: On a further thought, he couldn't be a helper, sorry, you don't need to answer this one :o)

Was he the director the circus?

Was he the director the the circus?

Irrelevant.

Just curious - what time is it there?

10.25 am :)

Completing my homework right now for tuition later on :)

Okay...
Does he use the wooden disks often? (like more than 3 times a day)

Could he live without those disks?

Was he the one in the news clippings?

10.25 am :)

You're only 8 hours ahead of me?


Completing my homework right now for tuition later on :)

Does that mean you have to keep your grades up? ;)



Does he use the wooden disks often? (like more than 3 times a day)

Ewww... he doesn't really "use the disks." Look at some of the recent questions.


Could he live without those disks?

Yes.


Was he the one in the news clippings?

Haven't you been reading? Yes, the clippings are pretty much about him. (Too much math on the brain.)

Just caused I'm BORED (like I don't have other things to do), I'm going to say that a couple of very important things have been established at this point.

Read the original scenario again carefully. There's a couple of details totally irrelevant, but some details that are important. Think about what could be important. (Easy enough to ask a quick question. Remember that asking if something is relevant is a totally appropriate question.)

As to the summary, there's a couple of Yes answers that have established important points.

Maybe lol. I'm forgetting things and haven't been noticing that some were already answered. I'm really sorry... it's more about chemistry than math though, and yes, it's about keeping my grades up :)

I want to make sure about something. Does the cot has any relevance?

Oh! Did he use this cot to sleep? (this might turn out irrelevant though... )

Was he stressed? (as compared to depressed)

Was he an acrobat? A clown? A juggler? A tamer? A magician?

Maybe lol. I'm forgetting things and haven't been noticing that some were already answered. I'm really sorry... it's more about chemistry than math though, and yes, it's about keeping my grades up :)

You don't need to apologize. You know I'm just kidding with you. Chemistry - yuck!


I want to make sure about something. Does the cot has any relevance?

Only in a indirect way.


Oh! Did he use this cot to sleep? (this might turn out irrelevant though... )

Irrelevant. (But I'm sure he did.)


Was he stressed? (as compared to depressed)

Hmm, could be.


Was he an acrobat? A clown? A juggler? A tamer? A magician?

None of the above. (Read the summary again. C'mon, chemistry isn't important. :D)

Good morning although it probably isn't that time for some of you. Anyway, I hope to solve this riddle in the next 6 hours but probably won't happen because you are not awake. Anyway, I will get to thinking and get back with you. Athos, you haven't been here long but you are really helping. We got this!

Were the disks part of a walking stick or cane?

Was the man a real person, or a wooden doll or was used as a prop? (I guess it doesn't make much sense but weird things are coming to mind now.)

Were the disks still in tact?

Were they broken off something?

Were the disks removed from something else?

Were the disks just all together as one and that was all, meaning no other pieces?

Just trying to get something figured out. Was the part about the small cot to get the point across that he was a midget, along with the whiskey and cigarettes to let you know he was old enough yet small?

Are the wooden disks the major clue as to why he committed suicide?

Are the wooden disks in the form they are now, worthless?

Well, I'm up cause a) I'm a vampire, and b) just never really got tired. Hate when that happens. However, I'm going to try reading a bit and drink some wine to chill out and see if I can pretend to maybe sleep. (If not, I may be back - nothing personal, but I hope not.) But I think you're right that you're onto something.


Were the disks part of a walking stick or cane?

Yes.


Was the man a real person, or a wooden doll or was used as a prop? (I guess it doesn't make much sense but weird things are coming to mind now.)

I don't even want to know what is coming to your mind - how does a wooden doll commit suicide? Chucky found religion and couldn't live with himself?


Were the disks still in tact?

As they are, yes.


Were they broken off something?

"Broken off," no.


Were the disks removed from something else?

Yes.



Were the disks just all together as one and that was all, meaning no other pieces?

No.


Just trying to get something figured out. Was the part about the small cot to get the point across that he was a midget, along with the whiskey and cigarettes to let you know he was old enough yet small?

No. (Oh, well, it may have helped you to see that, but that isn't why I said what I did.)


Are the wooden disks the major clue as to why he committed suicide?

Yes.


Are the wooden disks in the form they are now, worthless?

Yes.

Ok, I have got some help from my brother and he is better at theses then I am. His thought was that they were part of a walking stick and since they were removed from the cane or walking stick he felt taller and thought he was growing and that the circus would not want him if he was normal. Kind of off the wall and weird but thought it was worth a shot.

You're actually right about the walking stick and that he thought he was getting taller. (The "indirect" relevancy of the cot is only that the disks were under the cot, hidden. So the guy didn't know they were there, which is of course relevant.) We don't know the motives of the person who was cutting them off.

We could call this the solution, but there's another little detail missing. I don't know about the circus not wanting him anymore. What are the clippings about?

Hmm, it occurred to me that where I heard this may not have been the "official" solution. (I'm never sure what the official solution is.) Someone comes up with a solution that's relatively correct and the various details might be different. But that solution is the only one I've ever seen.

So I tried to Google this specific puzzle and I'm not seeing this added detail as part of the answer anywhere. Only that this is his only source of income and he's afraid he won't be a midget anymore.

The extra detail does add an extra personal issue to it if you still want to try to guess it.

For one, I'm still confused about those circular disks... specially about this: If the disks are removed, how can he feel taller? Wouldn't it be the other way round? Of course, this must be because I don't know how those walking sticks are made... =/

As for the clippings, I guess that they showed the man how he seemed to be taller each time, and maybe, how he was getting less 'fame' over the years, or as a way to see how his height was changing?

I might have to agree with unky about the news clippings talking about his fame or his fame fading.

Unky, if he is a midget then he has a stickk let's say 2 ft tall, and he was 3 ft tall and if the cut 6 inches off the stick then he would appear to be 6in taller. Get it?

Yeah, what Adam said. He knows how the cane feels and how tall it is. If it started feeling differently, that is, feeling shorter to him, he'd think he was getting taller. Oh, and the "disks" weren't removed - they weren't disks to begin with. They were sawed off and became disks, and tossed under the cot where he never saw them. (Boy, that made it difficult answering some stuff.)

As for the clippings - there is nothing actually in the answer that has specific info about what's in them. I don't think there was anything about his fame slipping. I suspect they were about him and probably the circus he was with.

Now the version I heard was that he had the distinction of being the shortest circus midget, so he would be losing that as well. It makes it a bit more sentimental, and also could mean the clippings would be about his "guinness record" status, possibly comparing him to other midgets, etc.

In the end, I think the clippings are just about him looking at his past and thinking it's going away. He's the only one who thinks he's getting shorter, so I can't see why the clippings would be about that. Remember he can't read, so he's not catching up on news - he can only look at them. (Though I don't know why he was made illiterate.) Also don't forget he has scrapbooks as well, probably with photos of him and the other circus people, and this would be sentimental to him as well. Which adds something other than just maybe losing his job. Looks like he drank a lot of whiskey over it as well.

One thing that goes unanswered is why someone did this to him. Someone asked if someone else wanted him dead and I had to answer "we don't know." Cause we don't know what that person's motivation was. Did he think the guy would kill himself? Or was he just a jerk, thinking this a practical joke?

So, he was comparing his height with the stick... and as he saw his stick getting shorter, he thought that it was the other way round, that he was getting taller? Ok, now I get it :)

Well, the things about the papers and the scrapbooks do make sense. And we often say that people who are in circuses are often illiterate people, right? So I guess the 'illiteracy' was a hint about him forming part of a circus.

Yay that was fun. Another please?

You actually want another? I figured everyone would be tired of it. But I can easily hunt down another if you want.

Or if someone else wants to do one instead... I can even point you to some pages where some lie in wait. I'll wait until tomorrow so that I don't hog this position. :)

I am not good at these but I do like doing them. I find them fun. So, if you would like to do another, I would greatly appreciate it.

I started a new thread over here:
https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/games/new-lateral-thinking-puzzles-501224.html#post2496084

In case you haven't noticed, I can't stand really, really long threads. I'm going to start with some shorter puzzles.

By the way the "riddle" thread still has some unanswered questions on it. Or if you don't like those, I can post some different ones.

Ok, I will go and check it out. I never noticed it. Thank You!