Ask Me Help Desk - Lateral Thinking Puzzle

I guess I'm a little late to the party. :rolleyes:

Well, jeez, then never mind everything I just said to Unky.

I said at the start that this was kind of stupid. Not only that the man would answer the phone, but also that the guy in the car would make a judgment on such flimsy evidence. But sometimes people's motivations in these things leave a bit to be desired.

Just as a note, there's nothing in the answer saying it's at night. The only reason I questioned the time being relevant is that usually this happens during certain shows, or at some specified time interval. However, to say yes to that seemed misleading. I also knew where he was going wasn't relevant, but it was kind of relevant that wherever it was, they'd expect him to be gone a while. (Assuming she really was having an affair.)

I already have another one lined up, what I think is another hard one, cause this last one was easier.

Three men die. On the pavement are pieces of ice and broken glass.

Yup, that's all she wrote.

P.S. This one borders a bit on the ridiculous.

(Um, tried to do a nice little "agrees congrats" but apparently I need to spread my green coins around a bit.)

Hey, I'm getting close to 6000 posts. So this will be 5982.

5983 -- ha, just kidding.

Good job J-lo.

I'm thinking about the three dead guys now. HMMM... ridiculous huh?

Quote:

Originally Posted by morgaine300

Three men die. On the pavement are pieces of ice and broken glass.

I don't have a ridiculous bone in me so this will be difficult. :p What??

Are the men related?

Are their ages relevant?

Are the men also on the pavement?

Did the glass come from a car? A bottle or bottles? A window of a building?

Is the size of the ice pieces relevant? (Wondering why they aren't melted.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmjoseph

I'm thinking about the three dead guys now. HMMM...ridiculous huh?

Well, just don't expect any typical behavior. :D

I had to read the answer again to answer some of these, and just laughed. Yeah, it's definitely ridiculous.

Quote:

Are the men related?

No.

Quote:

Are their ages relevant?

Let's call that a no.

Quote:

Are the men also on the pavement?

All of them, no.

Quote:

Did the glass come from a car? A bottle or bottles?

No and no.

Quote:

A window of a building?

Yes.

Quote:

Is the size of the ice pieces relevant? (Wondering why they aren't melted.)

Yes. (They aren't melted cause no matter when you post these, they always happened 2 seconds. Ago. :p)

Three men die. On the pavement are pieces of ice and broken glass.

Two men are having a drink in their apartment several floors up. First man has a heart attack and dies, and as he falls over he knocks into second man. Second man falls into window, smashes window, impales himself on broken window frame and dies. As he falls he drops the ice bucket he was holding. Ice bucket falls out of window and hits third man, who was walking by, on head - killing him. Ice and glass fall on pavement along with one dead man.

That isn't it. And it sounds like you have heard one very similar and actually know the answer.

Nope, just made a story up in my head lol. So does that mean I was close somewhere or was it all totally wrong? Did it involve an ice bucket and a broken window?

Just Looking

Quote:

agrees : Maybe, but then she should have answered the phone. Cheating 101 :)

What if she didn't know the answer? :p
~~~~~~
Are the pieces of ice bigger than tennis balls?

Is one of the man dead in a building on a high storey?
- Are the two others on the pavement?

Do at least two of them know each other?

Was the ice in the building before it got crushed?

Was it winter? Was there snow? Hail?
- Was the ice initially an ice sculpture?

Quote:

Originally Posted by QLP

Nope, just made a story up in my head lol. So does that mean I was close somewhere or was it all totally wrong? Did it involve an ice bucket and a broken window?

I doubt seriously you would just guess this one cause it's too far-fetched -- yours was too reasonable. And it's already been established that the broken glass is from a building window.

As for the ice bucket, no.

Sorry for the long delay in getting back. Work was just super, super hectic today. I hardly had time to breath, let alone get on this site.

Quote:

Are the pieces of ice bigger than tennis balls?

No.

Quote:

Is one of the man dead in a building on a high storey?

That's actually two questions. Yes there's a man dead in a building. As for high - high enough but not too high. :p

Quote:

- Are the two others on the pavement?

One is.

The other... he's not "on the pavement." (I knew this question was coming. I've realized many things will be hard to answer. It's my own fault.)

Quote:

Do at least two of them know each other?

No.

Quote:

Was the ice in the building before it got crushed?

Who said it got crushed? But yes.

Quote:

Was it winter? Was there snow? Hail?

Irrelevant.

Quote:

- Was the ice initially an ice sculpture?

No.

Is it relevant what type of building is involved? Either in the number of stories? Or the function of the building, such as hospital?

Are we talking about ice cubes? Or did you confirm crushed ice?

Are all three deaths accidental? Or are one or more of natural causes? Are there any murders involved?

Is the third man dead in a car? Or some other vehicle?

Quote:

Is it relevant what type of building is involved? Either in the number of stories? Or the function of the building, such as hospital?

Yes it's relevant.

Quote:

Are we talking about ice cubes?

Yes.

Quote:

Or did you confirm crushed ice?

I was just about to address that when I saw your post. I realized I seemed to be implying it was crushed. I meant yes it had been in the building. I'm sure some got crushed and some not.

Quote:

Are all three deaths accidental?

No.

Quote:

Or are one or more of natural causes?

Yes.

Quote:

Are there any murders involved?

Yes.

Quote:

Is the third man dead in a car? Or some other vehicle?

No.

Okay, one more set of questions for tonight, and then I’ll look forward to bombarding you with questions (along with Adam, Unky and others) tomorrow. :D

I don't think your yes about the function of the building necessarily verified it was a hospital. Was it a hospital?
Is the building residential?
Commercial?
Governmental?
A prison?

Did the ice cubes come from a drink?
Is an ice vending machine involved?
Is a truck carrying ice cubes involved?

We know one is natural causes and one is a murder. Is the third a murder?
Natural causes?
Accidental?

Is it relevant what the men do for employment?

One man is dead in the building. Did another man fall through the window of the building? If so, did he land on a vehicle? If so, did that cause the third death? (I know - this is probably too reasonable.)

Three men die. On the pavement are pieces of ice and broken glass.

Quote:

I don't think your yes about the function of the building necessarily verified it was a hospital.

No. I always take that as a clarificationof what you mean.

Quote:

Is the building residential?

Yes.

Quote:

Was it a hospital?
Commercial?
Governmental?
A prison?

No.

Quote:

Did the ice cubes come from a drink?
Is an ice vending machine involved?
Is a truck carrying ice cubes involved?

No to all.

Quote:

We know one is natural causes and one is a murder. Is the third a murder?
Natural causes?

No.

Quote:

Accidental?

We'll call that a yes.

Quote:

Is it relevant what the men do for employment?

No.

More hard ones...

Quote:

Did another man fall through the window of the building?

Well... yeah sort of.

Quote:

If so, did he land on a vehicle?

No.

Quote:

If so, did that cause the third death?

Sort of.

(What happened to the 3 men is sometimes hard to answer. I'll do the best I can. I would concentrate first on the ones that seem more definitive, and try to get some clarification on the fuzzier ones. If I think something ended up being misleading, I'll try to clear it up.)

Did one man get a heart attack?

Are all the three men within 10 m radius from each other?

Does one man live in the residential building?
Two?
All of them?

Are there any other relevant persons besides the three men involved?
- Women?
- Men?

Is the purpose of the ice cubes relevant?
- Is it used as a means to store something? (for example, fish... a dead body :eek:)

You were a little iffy on the "fall" out of the window. Was he pushed? Did he jump?

One man was murdered. Was he shot? Stabbed? Strangled? Suffocated? Drowned? Poisoned? Hit over the head? Thrown out the window?

I'm still wondering where the third body is. Is it relevant? Did he fall out of the window into or onto something? Did he fall onto the porte-cochere of a building? Did he fall into a trash bin? Did he fall on the street-side of the building? On the backside of the building? Is it even this third body I'm wondering about that "fell" out of the window? Is the one that fell the one on the pavement? Is a manhole involved? (well, that would be ridiculous)

Did they all die about the same time? Was the ice being used to preserve one of the dead bodies? Ooh was it anything to do with cryogenics? You did say far-fetched...

Did a frozen corpse covered in ice somehow end up going out of the window and killing another person? No wait that would mean two dead bodies on the pavement. Unless you only count one because the frozen corpse was ontop of a dead guy not actually on the pavement...

Did someone die of shock because they found a frozen corpse?

Was it just a bag of ice, or a tray of ice, or a crate of ice?

Did anyone slip on the ice and die?

So many questions to be answered before I can start asking questions and even then, I might not be able to keep track of them all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by adam_89

So many questions to be answered before I can start asking questions and even then, I might not be able to keep track of them all.

Well, at least it doesn't sound like you know this one. I'm sure we'll all have a lot of fun with it. :)

Quote:

Did one man get a heart attack?

Yes.

Quote:

Are all the three men within 10 m radius from each other?

Yes.

Quote:

Does one man live in the residential building?

Yes.

Quote:

Two?
All of them?

Unknown, so irrelevant.

Quote:

Are there any other relevant persons besides the three men involved?
- Women?

Yes.

Quote:

- Men?

No.

Quote:

Is the purpose of the ice cubes relevant?
- Is it used as a means to store something? (for example, fish... a dead body :eek:)

It's relevant where they came from, not in their use.

A drunk, drink in hand, fell out of a hot air balloon, landing on another man, killing him. The third guy died of a heart attack from just witnessing the event.

You said it was ridiculous, so this can't be right since it happens all the time in real life.

Quote:

You were a little iffy on the "fall" out of the window. Was he pushed?

Sort of. :p

Quote:

Did he jump?

No.

Quote:

One man was murdered. Was he shot? Stabbed? Strangled? Suffocated? Drowned? Poisoned? Thrown out the window?

No to all.

Quote:

Hit over the head?

No but you're sort of lukewarm.

Quote:

I'm still wondering where the third body is. Is it relevant?

It's very relevant.

Quote:

Did he fall out of the window into or onto something?

Yeah, but not like how you're trying to think of it. You're concentrating on the idea that he fell onto or into something. Honestly, I'd just think about something else for now -- or look back at my very original answer about this and think about why I answered that way. (Any time I don't give a straight forward yes or no, there's reason for it.)

Quote:

Did he fall onto the porte-cochere of a building?

What the hell is a porte-cochere? (Sounds French. Porte is door. Hmm, something to do with the front door? In that case, close.)

Quote:

Did he fall into a trash bin? Did he fall on the street-side of the building? On the backside of the building?

No.

Quote:

Is it even this third body I'm wondering about that "fell" out of the window?

The "third" is the accident one, right? Then yes.

Quote:

Is the one that fell the one on the pavement?

No.

Quote:

Is a manhole involved? (well, that would be ridiculous)

No. (But that's not outside the realm of the ridiculousness. :))

Summary through last page:

Three men die. On the pavement are pieces of ice and broken glass.

I divided between the 3 men to help keep track. Though if it hasn't been established yet which man it relates to, it's still under "other stuff."

Natural causes man:
Or are one or more of natural causes? Yes.
Did one man get a heart attack? Yes

Murdered man:
Are there any murders involved? Yes.
One man was murdered. Was he shot? Stabbed? Strangled? Suffocated? Drowned? Poisoned? Thrown out the window? No to all.
Hit over the head? No but you're sort of lukewarm.

Accident man:
We know one is natural causes and one is a murder. Is the third a murder? Natural causes? No.
Accidental? We'll call that a yes.
Did another man fall thru the window of the building? Well... yeah sort of.
If so, did he land on a vehicle? No.
If so, did that cause the third death? Sort of.
Is it even this third body I'm wondering about that "fell" out of the window? The "third" is the accident one, right? Then yes.
Is the one that fell the one on the pavement? No.

Other stuff:
Are the men related? No.
Are their ages relevant? No.
Are the men also on the pavement? All of them, no.
Is one of the man dead in a building on a high storey? That's actually two questions. Yes there's a man dead in a building. As for high - high enough but not too high.
- Are the two others on the pavement? One is. The other... he's not "on the pavement."
Is the third man dead in a car? Or some other vehicle? No.
You were a little iffy on the "fall" out of the window. Was he pushed? Sort of.
Did he jump? No
I'm still wondering where the third body is. Is it relevant? It's very relevant.
Did he fall out of the window into or onto something? Yeah, but not like how you're trying to think of it.
Did he fall onto the porte-cochere of a building? What the hell is a porte-cochere? (Sounds French. Porte is door. Hmm, something to do with the front door? In that case, close.)
Did he fall into a trash bin? No.
Did he fall on the street-side of the building? On the backside of the building? No.
(I don't think it's totally established who is who here, but not sure. :rolleyes:)
Do at least two of them know each other? No.
Are all three deaths accidental? No.
Is it relevant what the men do for employment? No.
Are all the three men within 10 m radius from each other? Yes.
Does one man live in the residential building? Yes.
Two? All of them? Unknown, so irrelevant.
Are there any other relevant persons besides the three men involved?
- Women? Yes.
- Men? No.

Did the glass come from a car? A bottle or bottles? No and no.
A window of a building? Yes.
Is it relevant what type of building is involved? Either in the number of stories? Or the function of the building, such as hospital? Yes it's relevant.
Is the building residential? Yes.
Was it a hospital? Commercial? Governmental? A prison? No.

Is the size of the ice pieces relevant? Yes.
Did it involve an ice bucket? No.
Are the pieces of ice bigger than tennis balls? No.
Was the ice in the building before it got crushed? Who said it got crushed? But yes.
- Was the ice initially an ice sculpture? No.
Are we talking about ice cubes? Yes.
Or did you confirm crushed ice? I'm sure some got crushed and some not.
Did the ice cubes come from a drink? Is an ice vending machine involved? Is a truck carrying ice cubes involved? No to all.
Is the purpose of the ice cubes relevant? It's relevant where they came from, not in their use.

Was it winter? Was there snow? Hail? Irrelevant.
Is a manhole involved? No.

Quote:

Did they all die about the same time?

Yes.

Quote:

Was the ice being used to preserve one of the dead bodies?

No.

Quote:

Ooh was it anything to do with cryogenics? You did say far-fetched...

No. (Not that kind of far-fetched.)

Quote:

Did a frozen corpse covered in ice somehow end up going out of the window and killing another person? No wait that would mean two dead bodies on the pavement. Unless you only count one because the frozen corpse was on top of a dead guy not actually on the pavement...

No, but you have some interesting ideas there.

Quote:

Did someone die of shock because they found a frozen corpse?

No.

Quote:

Was it just a bag of ice, or a tray of ice,

Either.

Quote:

or a crate of ice?

No.

Quote:

Did anyone slip on the ice and die?

No. (Maybe later, but not in this scenario. :))

Quote:

Originally Posted by adam_89

So many questions to be answered before I can start asking questions and even then, I might not be able to keep track of them all.

Well, I just did a nice summary. (I do those for a reason. :D)

Actually, when I'm on the other side asking them, I keep them all in a little Wordpad file and I review them frequently.

Just like I'm doing now, cause it helps to do the summaries, and helps me to keep track of things as well -- so I can check whether something's been established for when Unky goes making things up. ;)

From the clues I have gathered, I am going to go with a joke that I like to hear. I can't quite quote it the way the jokes goes, but I will give enough to tell the main parts.

A man who lives on the third floor of an apartment suspects his wife of cheating and rushes home to try and catch her in the act. He comes home and finds nothing. He is sure there has to be someone there though so he searches everywhere and finally he goes out on the balcony and sees fingers on the ledge. So he starts hitting them and the guy doesn't let go so he gets a hammer and beats his fingers until the man lets go. Luckily, the man fell in the bushes and survived. The guy then gets so angry that he gets the refrigerator and throws out the door and hits the man and kills him. In all the panic, he has a heart attack and dies.

The man who got killed by the refrigerator actually lived above them and was out on his balcony exercising when he fell over the ledge and was lucky enough to grab on the ledge on the floor below him.

The third guy was in the refrigerator.

3 guys dead and ridiculous. Haha. The joke version sounds better than what I said though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmjoseph

A drunk, drink in hand, fell out of a hot air balloon, landing on another man, killing him. The third guy died of a heart attack from just witnessing the event.

You said it was ridiculous, so this can't be right since it happens all the time in real life.

Well, I'd agree except for that balloon thing - how often do drunk people fall out of balloons?

Maybe he jumped out of the balloon, landing on the guy in the forest and killing him, a boat with a cabin came rushing in from a hurricane, smashing both guys and passengers up against some trees, and a guy standing by, who was deserted there, suddenly saw the dead people, and somehow seeing them reminded him of his dead wife and made him wonder if it was really albatross soup, and thinking it might be his wide, he killed himself, while over nearby was a plane that crashed earlier, and when they got the black box from it, discovered that the pilot had just discovered his wife was having an affair and flew the plane into the forest killing himself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by adam_89

A man who lives on the third floor of an apartment suspects his wife of cheating and rushes home to try and catch her in the act. He comes home and finds nothing. He is sure there has to be someone there though so he searches everywhere and finally he goes out on the balcony and sees fingers on the ledge. So he starts hitting them and the guy doesn't let go so he gets a hammer and beats his fingers til the man lets go. Luckily, the man fell in the bushes and survived. The guy then gets so angry that he gets the refrigerator and throws out the door and hits the man and kills him. In all the panic, he has a heart attack and dies.

The man who got killed by the refrigerator actually lived above them and was out on his balcony exercising when he fell over the ledge and was lucky enough to grab on the the ledge on the floor below him.

The third guy was in the refrigerator.

3 guys dead and ridiculous. haha. The joke version sounds better than what I said though.

LOL. I like it.

Was the woman a maid bringing in the ice? Was she the murderer? Was the woman any of the men's wife or girlfriend or mother?

Quote:

Was the woman a maid bringing in the ice?
Was she the murderer?

No and no.

Quote:

Was the woman any of the men's wife or girlfriend or mother?

Yes.

Sorry for the long general delay. I was in the middle of PMing J-Lo when I suddenly remembered some place I had to be that was getting ready to close, so I just jumped up and took off. And ran some other errands while I was out.

And made the mistake of stopping at my brother's (because I don't know how to leave). And his computer decided to get locked up so I couldn't even check in from there.

OK. The woman was the wife of one of the men. He comes home and finds her having a kinky time with a man in a bath full of ice-cubes. He pushes the bath tub out of the window. The bath hits a passerby killing him. The other man is killed but is still in the bath tub along with the wife (who might be dead or alive). The husband dies of a heart attack.