Lateral Puzzles • View topic

by **Brian1976** » Fri Mar 15, 2019 7:34 am

Mike was pleased that his watch broke.

by **GalFisk** » Fri Mar 15, 2019 11:42 am

Relevant in which way it broke? What type of watch it was? When it broke? Why it broke? Mike: H? A? M? Did it give him an advantage? An excuse? Did it prove something? Win him something? Keep something from being proven? Did it break by accident? By being tested to destruction? Was it especially fragile? Solid?

by **Brian1976** » Sat Mar 16, 2019 3:08 am

Relevant in which way it broke? yes What type of watch it was? no When it broke? yes Why it broke? yes
Mike: H? A? M? yes to all
Did it give him an advantage? yes
An excuse? no
Did it prove something? yes
Win him something? no
Keep something from being proven? no
Did it break by accident? By being tested to destruction? Was it especially fragile? Solid? no to all of these

by **Westing1992** » Sat Mar 16, 2019 11:22 pm

Was he timing something? Conducting an experiment? Participating in a race or contest?
Was he in danger in any way?

by **Brian1976** » Sun Mar 17, 2019 12:03 am

Was he timing something? yes
Conducting an experiment? if you mean a scientific experiment, no
Participating in a race or contest? no
Was he in danger in any way? noish

by **GalFisk** » Sun Mar 17, 2019 9:04 am

Was he holding it? Wearing it? Dropping it? Loaning it to someone? Did it stop? Turn off? Break apart? Not respond to input? Was it mechanical? Electromechanical? Digital?

by **trebor** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 2:59 am

Was the thing he was timing exceptionally fast? Slow? A normal speed? Did the watch breaking mean that the thing couldn’t be timed?

Being a pedant here, but was he timing a race/run in which he was not participating? Was he timing a human? Another animal? Is his profession relevant? Is he timing how long it takes for a natural phenomenon to occur, such as lightning and thunder?

Is the watch underwater?

by **Brian1976** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 4:40 am

Was he holding it? Wearing it? Dropping it? Loaning it to someone? no to all
Did it stop? this one Turn off?
Break apart? noish
Not respond to input? irrelevant
Was it mechanical? this one Electromechanical? Digital?

by **Brian1976** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 4:43 am

Was the thing he was timing exceptionally fast? Slow? A normal speed? this one
Did the watch breaking mean that the thing couldn’t be timed? no

Being a pedant here, but was he timing a race/run in which he was not participating? no
Was he timing a human? this one Another animal?
Is his profession relevant? yes
Is he timing how long it takes for a natural phenomenon to occur, such as lightning and thunder? no
Is the watch underwater? no

by **GalFisk** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:32 am

Did the breakage cause the result to be: wrong? Invalid? Better? Worse? Did it mean the timed event had to be repeated? Is he timing a race? A task? One human? Himself? Is the profession of the timed human relevant? Relevant what is done with the broken watch? If so, it is repaired? Replaced? Compensated for?

by **Brian1976** » Tue Mar 19, 2019 6:36 am

Did the breakage cause the result to be: wrong? Invalid? Better? Worse? no to all
Did it mean the timed event had to be repeated? no
Is he timing a race? A task? no to both
One human? yes Himself? no
Is the profession of the timed human relevant? no
Relevant what is done with the broken watch? yes If so, it is repaired? Replaced? Compensated for? irrelevant to all

by **GalFisk** » Tue Mar 19, 2019 6:48 am

Was it his personal watch? One provided by his job? Relevant why it stopped? Would it be as good if it stopped a minute earlier? Later? A second earlier? Later?

by **peter365** » Tue Mar 19, 2019 9:09 am

Had the watch not stopped would the outcome have been controversial? Is someone making a speech? Is the activity that the person being timed is doing limited to a particular time?

Guinness Book of Records relevant?

by **gregoryuconn** » Tue Mar 19, 2019 2:08 pm

Is the other person an adult? Male? Can we call him Bob? Do Mike and Bob know each other? Are they co-workers? Family? Friends? Is Bob Happy the watch broke?

by **Brian1976** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 8:02 am

Was it his personal watch? yes One provided by his job? no
Relevant why it stopped? yes
Would it be as good if it stopped a minute earlier? Later? A second earlier? Later? yes to all

by **Brian1976** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 8:11 am

Had the watch not stopped would the outcome have been controversial? no
Is someone making a speech? no
Is the activity that the person being timed is doing limited to a particular time? yes
Guinness Book of Records relevant? no

by **Brian1976** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 8:14 am

Is the other person an adult? Male? Can we call him Bob? yes to all
Do Mike and Bob know each other? Are they co-workers? Family? Friends? no to all
Is Bob Happy the watch broke? no

by **GalFisk** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 9:08 am

Is Bob unhappy that it broke? Indifferent? Unknowing? Did the watch break because of wear? Age? Low quality? Accident? Heat? Cold? Moisture ingress? Bad repair? Bad or missing maintenance? Impact? Fall? Misuse? Dust or sand ingress?

by **Brian1976** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 5:06 am

Is Bob unhappy that it broke? Indifferent? Unknowing? this one
Did the watch break because of wear? Age? Low quality? Accident? Heat? Cold? Moisture ingress? Bad repair? Bad or missing maintenance? Impact? yesish to this one Fall? Misuse? Dust or sand ingress?

by **GalFisk** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 8:02 am

Vibration? Being shaken? Is it a wristwatch? Does it break because of something that happens to the watch itself? To the wearer?

by **Brian1976** » Fri Mar 22, 2019 7:02 am

Vibration? Being shaken? no to both
Is it a wristwatch? yes
Does it break because of something that happens to the watch itself? yes To the wearer? no

by **GalFisk** » Fri Mar 22, 2019 8:17 am

Does it break while being worn on the wrist? Does it hit something? Does something hit it? Is it being stopped the only visible damage? Does it prevent the Mike from being injured? Did a dangerous thing happen? Did Bob know he was being timed? Is a magic trick relevant? Is Bob doing his job? Is Mike? Do parts fall out of the watch?

by **peter365** » Fri Mar 22, 2019 3:24 pm

Has the watch been subjected to an unusual force? a magnet?

by **Brian1976** » Sat Mar 23, 2019 7:46 am

Does it break while being worn on the wrist? no
Does it hit something? Does something hit it? yesish to this one
Is it being stopped the only visible damage? no
Does it prevent Mike from being injured? Did a dangerous thing happen? no to both
Did Bob know he was being timed? Is a magic trick relevant? no to both
Is Bob doing his job? Is Mike? yes to this one
Do parts fall out of the watch? no

by **Brian1976** » Sat Mar 23, 2019 8:01 am

Has the watch been subjected to an unusual force? I'm not completely sure what you mean
a magnet? no

by **GalFisk** » Sat Mar 23, 2019 9:05 pm

Does it crack? Break apart? Do bits become lose inside? Is it battery-powered? Spring-powered? Self-winding? Relevant? Does it hit something? Is it dropped? Thrown? Flattened?

by **Brian1976** » Sun Mar 24, 2019 8:48 am

Does it crack? this one Break apart? Do bits become lose inside?
Is it battery-powered? Spring-powered? Self-winding? Relevant? no
Does it hit something? Is it dropped? Thrown? Flattened? yesish to this one

by **GalFisk** » Sun Mar 24, 2019 9:11 am

Does it get run over? Stepped on? Stomped on? Is something dropped on top of it? A 16-ton weight? Is it damaged intentionally? Accidentally? Maliciously?

by **Brian1976** » Sun Mar 24, 2019 7:08 pm

Does it get run over? this one Stepped on? Stomped on? Is something dropped on top of it? A 16-ton weight?
Is it damaged intentionally? this one Accidentally? Maliciously? noish

by **trebor** » Mon Mar 25, 2019 2:03 am

Is it run over by a vehicle? That Bob is driving? That Mike is driving?

Did Mike want his watch to get run over?

by **GalFisk** » Mon Mar 25, 2019 7:48 am

Did Mike want his watch to break? Did he want to find out at what time a vehicle was driven? Did he set a trap of sorts? Is he friendly towards Bob? Unfriendly? Both? Neutral?

by **Brian1976** » Mon Mar 25, 2019 8:38 am

Is it run over by a vehicle? yes
That Bob is driving? yes to this one That Mike is driving?

Did Mike want his watch to get run over? yes

by **Brian1976** » Mon Mar 25, 2019 8:42 am

Did Mike want his watch to break? yes
Did he want to find out at what time a vehicle was driven? yes
Did he set a trap of sorts? yesish
Is he friendly towards Bob? Unfriendly? Both? Neutral? this one

by **GalFisk** » Tue Mar 26, 2019 1:15 pm

Is he happy that: the vehicle was driven at the time shown by the clock? That his trick worked? That his trick was not discovered? Did he use the clock to prove something? Disprove something?

by **Brian1976** » Tue Mar 26, 2019 7:14 pm

Is he happy that: the vehicle was driven at the time shown by the clock? irrelevant
That his trick worked? That his trick was not discovered? yes to both
Did he use the clock to prove something? Disprove something? yesish to both

by **GalFisk** » Wed Mar 27, 2019 2:37 pm

Is he trying to prove or disprove something in court? Is he a lawyer? Has someone relevantly used the same trick at another time? Has a watch relevantly been run over at another time? Is he trying to prove the timing of an accident? A crime?

by **Brian1976** » Wed Mar 27, 2019 8:58 pm

Is he trying to prove or disprove something in court? Is he a lawyer? no to both
Has someone relevantly used the same trick at another time? Has a watch relevantly been run over at another time? yes to both but not specifically relevant here
Is he trying to prove the timing of an accident? no A crime? noish

by **Balin** » Wed Mar 27, 2019 9:09 pm

Is the time on the broken watch relevant?
Is Mike injured in any way? Specifically, is his wrist or arm injured?
Does it matter that it is Bob who runs over the watch? If any other person had run over the watch, would Mike still be pleased?

by **GalFisk** » Thu Mar 28, 2019 9:18 am

Noish crime: a misdemeanor? The breaking of a rule? The non-compliance with an instruction? Sneakiness? Is he a private investigator? Spy? Informant? Whistleblower?

by **Brian1976** » Thu Mar 28, 2019 12:10 pm

Is the time on the broken watch relevant? yes
Is Mike injured in any way? no Specifically, is his wrist or arm injured?
Does it matter that it is Bob who runs over the watch? yes If any other person had run over the watch, would Mike still be pleased? no

by **Brian1976** » Thu Mar 28, 2019 12:17 pm

Noish crime: a misdemeanor? no The breaking of a rule? yesish The non-compliance with an instruction? possibly, in a sense Sneakiness? yes Is he a private investigator? if you mean Mike, yes to this one Spy? Informant? Whistleblower?

by **Balin** » Thu Mar 28, 2019 12:48 pm

Is Mike faking evidence?

by **GalFisk** » Thu Mar 28, 2019 2:08 pm

Is Mike investigating Bob? Is Mike being sneaky? Is Bob? Is someone else involved? Has someone hired Mike? Did Mike do the watch trick so that he wouldn't have to personally watch (heh) the car?

by **Brian1976** » Thu Mar 28, 2019 9:42 pm

Is Mike faking evidence? no

by **Brian1976** » Thu Mar 28, 2019 9:45 pm

Is Mike investigating Bob? Is Mike being sneaky? Is Bob? Is someone else involved? Has someone hired Mike? Did Mike do the watch trick so that he wouldn't have to personally watch (heh) the car? yes to all

by **GalFisk** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 7:43 am

Is Mike hired by someone close to Bob? A spouse? Parent? Child? Colleague? Employer? Employee? An enemy to Bob? Is Bob a spy?

by **Brian1976** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 4:36 pm

Is Mike hired by someone close to Bob? A spouse? this one Parent? Child? Colleague? Employer? Employee? An enemy to Bob?
Is Bob a spy? no

by **GalFisk** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 4:42 pm

Does the spouse want to know if Bob is cheating? Gambling? Lying? Planning something? Dangerous? Living a double life? Being a criminal? Just know what he's doing in general? Did the watch trick save time? Work? Would Mike be happy if the car had not been driven? If the watch had ot been crushed? If the watch had been found?

by **Brian1976** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 4:56 pm

Does the spouse want to know if Bob is cheating? this one Gambling? Lying? Planning something? Dangerous? Living a double life? Being a criminal? Just know what he's doing in general?
Did the watch trick save time? yesish Work? yes
Would Mike be happy if the car had not been driven? yes If the watch had not been crushed? yes If the watch had been found? no

by **Brian1976** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 5:15 pm

I think enough has been figured out in different posts so I'll close it: Mike was a private eye, a woman hired him to watch her husband to see if he was cheating on her, for work purposes the husband was living at his apartment at the time, Mike wanted to see if the husband went out late at night and if so, at what time, but instead of surveilling he and his car all night he used a clever investigative trick, he took off his wrist watch and hid it under one of the husband's tires, thus the watch would break when he left, stopping the watch at the precise time he left. This puzzle was inspired by a scene in the movie Chinatown btw.

by **irishelk** » Sun Mar 31, 2019 5:32 pm

Oh, clever. I was lurking but didn't even think of the Chinatown trick. Nice one!

[Brian1976] Regular as clockwork

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