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Just Looking · Sep 21, 2010, 02:52 AM

OK, so armless man severs his own arm. He sends it to man 1 and instructs him to send it along to man 2. But man 2 is not instructed to bury it? There is nothing in the solution that tells me man 2 was instructed to bury it.

Have I got that right? Yes

Did man 2 just bury it of his own free will then? That's how I read it. I don't see anything special in the act of burying the arm, except that stinky mess thing. :p

Did anything relevant happen between when man 1 got the arm and when he sent it to man 2? No

Did anything relevant happen between when man 2 got the arm and when he buried it? No

I admit I'm completely stumped at this point. But you're off in bed, so I'll do something else and think upon it a while Well, as usual, I'm awake for a while now.

Just Looking · Sep 21, 2010, 02:56 AM

I was asleep when all went fast... and had I not stayed at home today, it'd be already probably solved by the time I come :eek: We were waiting for you, Unky. ;)

Was the arm infected by something? No

Is the job of Man 1 relevant? No- Is he a physicist? No- Is he a morgue doctor? No ('medecin legiste'... I forgot the technical name if that's not it)

Was the arm carrying some disease? No

Was it dangerous? No

Was the 'armless' man someone who worked with biohazards? No- Some biological experiments? No- Was he a volunteer for drug testing? No

Just Looking · Sep 21, 2010, 02:58 AM

Originally Posted by morgaine300

Yea!, someone else is here. I ran out of ideas and am just asking junk for the sake of asking.

And it's a mortician. ;) (A little similar to Morticia, but not quite the same.)

Not at the rate we're going.

Thanks for doing the summary. I like the way you arranged it.

Yeah, this one is difficult. I thought so, but every time you ask a question - even when you get a No - I'm thinking... oh, she'll get it. I'm glad it's not too easy. :)

Unknown008 · Sep 21, 2010, 03:18 AM

Hm... okay.

Would the armless man die of natural causes if he had not sever his arm?
Would someone kill him if he had not sever his arm?

Was the arm buried because it was then useless?

Did Man 1 expect the arm to be as he examined it?

Is there anything abnormal about the arm besides having been severed?

Did Man 2 examine the arm in the same way as Man 1 did?

Just Looking · Sep 21, 2010, 03:22 AM

Would the armless man die of natural causes if he had not sever his arm? No

Would someone kill him if he had not sever his arm? I don't think so, but it is in the realm of possibilities.

Was the arm buried because it was then useless? I think that must be true.

Did Man 1 expect the arm to be as he examined it? Yes

Is there anything abnormal about the arm besides having been severed? No

Did Man 2 examine the arm in the same way as Man 1 did? Yes, though examine might be a strong word.

Just Looking · Sep 21, 2010, 03:25 AM

Would the armless man die of natural causes if he had not sever his arm? No

Unky, I think I may have read this question wrong. There was nothing physically about the arm that would have killed him - that is not why he severed it. He would not have died of natural causes if the arm was left on until he was old. I don't know how old he is now.

Unknown008 · Sep 21, 2010, 03:33 AM

I was trying to find out why it was severed, as it hasn't been established yet. And I still have no clue as to the reason behind it... I was thinking as about an infection, or something of the sort.

Was the armless man ill in any relevant way?
Did the armless man want to sever his arm? Was he forced to?
Did the armless man want to know if he could have his arm attacked to him again?
Did the armless man got his arm severed at work? At home? Another relevant place?

Ok, I need to go now. See you later :)

Just Looking · Sep 21, 2010, 03:39 AM

I was trying to find out why it was severed, as it hasn't been established yet. And I still have no clue as to the reason behind it... I was thinking as about an infection, or something of the sort.

Was the armless man ill in any relevant way? No

Did the armless man want to sever his arm? Was he forced to? Hmmm ... how do I answer this? I would say he did it of his own free will, but some more questions along this line may help you.

Did the armless man want to know if he could have his arm attacked to him again? No, he didn't want to have it attached again.

Did the armless man got his arm severed at work? At home? Another relevant place? Where he got his arm severed is not relevant.

Ok, I need to go now. See you later :) Okay. Have a good day.

Just Looking · Sep 21, 2010, 03:46 AM

I don't think this point is important, but I was just reading over the solution again. At first I thought the armless man severed his arm, but the solution reads that he had it amputated. Slight difference - he had it done vs his doing it himself. Could you even do it yourself?

Did the armless man want to sever his arm? Was he forced to? Hmmm ... how do I answer this? I would say he did it of his own free will, but some more questions along this line may help you.
I'm a little troubled about how I answered this - definitely needs more questions.

QLP · Sep 21, 2010, 04:19 AM

Did man 2 have the normal number of body parts?
Did man 3?
Was man 1 paid to have his arm removed?
Was man 1 blackmailed to have his arm removed?

Just Looking · Sep 21, 2010, 04:22 AM

QLP - We are identifying the men as:

Man 1 - first man to receive the arm
Man 2 - second man to receive the arm
Man 3 - We've been calling him the armless man.

Can you re-ask your questions based on this? You've got some insightful questions here.

Okay, I am really tired again, so back to bed. I'll be on in a couple of hours.

QLP · Sep 21, 2010, 04:48 AM

Sorry, ok:

Did man 1 have the normal number of body parts?
Did man 2?
Was man 3 paid to have his arm removed?
Was man 3 blackmailed to have his arm removed?

Just Looking · Sep 21, 2010, 05:11 AM

Originally Posted by QLP

Sorry, ok:

Did man 1 have the normal number of body parts? No
Did man 2? No
Was man 3 paid to have his arm removed? No
Was man 3 blackmailed to have his arm removed? No

Turns out I still can't sleep. It's going to be a long day. :(

Synnen · Sep 21, 2010, 05:43 AM

Were Man 1 and Man 2 also one-armed?

Were all three men together when both Man 1 and Man 2 lost their arm?

Were they, in fact, in a shipwreck (or similar) and cut one arm off each man for food, but were rescued before needing to do so by the third man? Did he send/sacrifice his arm because their arm sacrifices kept all three of them alive? Was the examination simply to verify that the arm came from Man 3?

(yeah, I know--I went weird again. But that scenario popped into my head, and I had to go with it)

Unknown008 · Sep 21, 2010, 08:32 AM

Would Man 3 gain anything in having his arm amputated?
Would any of Man 1 or Man 2 benefit it?
Was Man 3 amputated as a form of punishment?
Does Man 1 usually examine body parts of people?
Has Man 2 ever done similar things before? (ie received, examine and buried body parts)
Is Man 3 kept captive?

Just Looking · Sep 21, 2010, 08:39 AM

Were Man 1 and Man 2 also one-armed? Yes

Were all three men together when both Man 1 and Man 2 lost their arm? Yes

Were they, in fact, in a shipwreck (or similar) and cut one arm off each man for food, but were rescued before needing to do so by the third man? Did he send/sacrifice his arm because their arm sacrifices kept all three of them alive? Was the examination simply to verify that the arm came from Man 3? Yes, Yes, Yes

(yeah, I know--I went weird again. But that scenario popped into my head, and I had to go with it) Well, this time you got it. I think I even referred to the puzzle as weird.

Unknown008 · Sep 21, 2010, 08:43 AM

Wow, good job Synn! :)

Just Looking · Sep 21, 2010, 08:43 AM

Originally Posted by Unknown008

Would Man 3 gain anything in having his arm amputated? Not really - except he kept his word.

Would any of Man 1 or Man 2 benefit it? Only in the sense they were getting what Man 3 sweared by oath to do.

Was Man 3 amputated as a form of punishment? No

Does Man 1 usually examine body parts of people? Haha - so many things I could say, but no.

Has Man 2 ever done similar things before? (ie received, examine and buried body parts) No

Is Man 3 kept captive? No

Synnen got it, but I'll answer these anyway. I'm glad in that your questions were kind of hard to answer, but now that you know the puzzle they make sense.

Synnen · Sep 21, 2010, 08:44 AM

It disturbs me a lot when some of the weird things that come to me turn out to be the answer... I mean, really... what does that say about me?

Just Looking · Sep 21, 2010, 08:48 AM

Originally Posted by Synnen

It disturbs me a lot when some of the weird things that come to me turn out to be the answer...I mean, really...what does that say about me?

We won't tell anyone. :p Oh wait... I know... it's just because we've done a few of these puzzles and we know they are strange. Nothing to do with your mind at all.

The official solution:
The three men had been stranded on a desert island. Desperate for food, they had agreed to amputate their left arms in order to eat them. They swore an oath that each would have his left arm cut off. One of them was a doctor and he cut the arms off his two companions. They were then rescued. But his oath was still binding so he later had to have his arm amputated and sent to his colleagues.

This is often told with a further twist whereby a doctor pays a tramp a large sum in order to amputate the tramp's arm which the doctor then sends to another man who inspects it etc. This variation can make for a long night of questioning!

Can you imagine how much tougher that variation would be?