Lateral Puzzles • View topic

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Nov 14, 2018 4:19 pm

I thought it happened on Wednesday, but it didn't. I'll find out on Monday if it has happened.
It might not have ever happened in my father's lifetime. It hasn't yet happened in mine.
My kids will let me know if it happens after Monday.
What is it?

by **wolfier** » Wed Nov 14, 2018 4:53 pm

Do you need to do anything to find out on Monday if it has happened? Would your kids let you know? Would they only let you know if it happens after Monday? (thus they'll not let you know if it has already happened)? Could the puzzle work if you changed the days of week to different days?
Could you have let your father know if it happened in his lifetime? Are your kids adults or children? Relevant?

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Nov 14, 2018 5:12 pm

Do you need to do anything to find out on Monday if it has happened? Yes
Would your kids let you know? Yes, I'm sure they will if I don't do the thing that allows me to find out
Would they only let you know if it happens after Monday? (thus they'll not let you know if it has already happened)? Yes, but something else would need to happen Could the puzzle work if you changed the days of week to different days? Yes...and at the same time no. This is a good question.
Could you have let your father know if it happened in his lifetime? Yes Are your kids adults or children? Relevant? They are children, young adult age. Their exact ages are not relevant.

by **Balin** » Thu Nov 15, 2018 8:23 pm

Can it only happen on certain days of the week? In certain months? in certain locations?

by **biograd** » Fri Nov 16, 2018 8:14 am

Is this occurrence a natural phenomenon (e.g. related to weather, the moon, tides, etc.)? Is it related to human "doings" (e.g. the outcome of a sporting event, a political vote, etc.)? Is it something purely logical/mathematical (e.g. holidays falling on certain days of the week, the number of the year containing certain combinations of digits)?

Is there any person in the world who could willfully cause it to happen? a group of people?

by **CoffeeBean** » Fri Nov 16, 2018 4:01 pm

Can it only happen on certain days of the week? In certain months? Yes to both
In certain locations? Yes...but FA lurking in both questions

Is this occurrence a natural phenomenon (e.g. related to weather, the moon, tides, etc.)? No Is it related to human "doings" (e.g. the outcome of a sporting event, a political vote, etc.)? Yes
Is it something purely logical/mathematical (e.g. holidays falling on certain days of the week, the number of the year containing certain combinations of digits)? No

Is there any person in the world who could willfully cause it to happen? Not one single person, no a group of people? Yes, this

by **GalFisk** » Tue Nov 27, 2018 8:27 am

Is the outcome random? A result of luck? Skill? Effort? Enough people wanting it? Few enough people trying to prevent it? Do your kids want it to happen? Will they tell you if it did? Or will you see it on their faces or behavior?

by **CoffeeBean** » Thu Nov 29, 2018 3:41 pm

Is the outcome random? No A result of luck? No Skill? Effort? These could be said of it yes, but mostly...Enough people wanting it?...this! Few enough people trying to prevent it? No
Do your kids want it to happen? FA, they wouldn't know if the relevant aspect of "it" happened unless I told them that it did Will they tell you if it did? No, unless they were expecting it to happen (see the previous answer)
Or will you see it on their faces or behavior? No, it would be something that they talked about, and they would have to know ahead of time to be aware of a relevant and specific aspect

by **GalFisk** » Sat Dec 01, 2018 9:32 pm

Politics relevant? Democracy? Signatures? Capitalism? Enough people wanting it: anywhere? In one nation? In one group? Is it: a change? A policy? An object?

by **CoffeeBean** » Mon Dec 03, 2018 3:14 pm

Politics relevant? Democracy? Signatures? Capitalism? None of these
Enough people wanting it: anywhere? In one sense, yes, but...In one nation? ...this, specifically.
In one group? Those who are involved do share one common interest, yes
Is it: a change? A policy? An object? None of these

by **CoffeeBean** » Tue Dec 18, 2018 3:21 pm

HINT: If this puzzle is still unsolved in a few days, it might happen

by **GalFisk** » Tue Dec 18, 2018 3:31 pm

Puzzles relevant? LTPF?

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Dec 19, 2018 3:18 pm

Puzzles relevant? LTPF? Neither

by **KayleeArafinwiel** » Wed Dec 19, 2018 5:04 pm

Doctor Who relevant? Weeping Angels? Angels generally? Christmas? Other holidays? Holiday season? Caroling?

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Dec 19, 2018 8:33 pm

Doctor Who relevant? Weeping Angels? Angels generally? Christmas? No to all
Other holidays? Yes, a specific one Holiday season? Just one specific day of it Caroling? No (but you are actually somewhat OTRT)

by **KayleeArafinwiel** » Wed Dec 19, 2018 10:06 pm

Boxing Day/St. Stephen's Day? Good King Wenceslas?

by **CoffeeBean** » Thu Dec 20, 2018 3:39 pm

Boxing Day/St. Stephen's Day? Good King Wenceslas? Not these - a certain aspect of the occasion needs to be clarified...

by **GalFisk** » Fri Dec 21, 2018 12:48 pm

A Christian holiday? Jewish? Muslim? Secular? A holiday with associated: food? Drink? Decorations? Songs? Activities? Travel? Fun? Danger?

by **CoffeeBean** » Fri Dec 21, 2018 5:08 pm

A Christian holiday? Jewish? Muslim? Secular? Secular, and not officially a "holiday" but considered this by many people
A holiday with associated: food? Drink? Decorations? Songs? Activities? Travel? Fun? Danger? Maybe any of these (it's a very popular holiday in every country)

by **Balin** » Fri Dec 21, 2018 6:34 pm

Festivus? (I don't know...)

by **KayleeArafinwiel** » Fri Dec 21, 2018 6:48 pm

Yule? Winter Solstice?

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 6:55 pm

Yule? Winter solstice? Festivus? No. Sorry to be misleading, this is a day that is very common, recognized and celebrated all over the world, not technically considered a "holiday" as a stand-alone but is partnered with another day as a collective holiday (and will be coming up very, very soon)

by **KayleeArafinwiel** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 7:44 pm

New Year's Eve/New Year's Day relevant?

by **CoffeeBean** » Thu Jan 03, 2019 5:52 pm

New Year's Eve/New Year's Day relevant? Yes! New Year's Eve usually more relevant than New Year's Day, but both of these are relevant.

by **Balin** » Thu Jan 03, 2019 7:48 pm

A particular New Year's celebration relevant? Ball dropping?

by **CoffeeBean** » Fri Jan 04, 2019 8:41 pm

A particular New Year's celebration relevant? Ball dropping? No, it's unrelated to any official festivity

by **GalFisk** » Sun Jan 06, 2019 8:11 am

Did it happen? Must people gather for it to happen? Is the internet relevant? Fireworks?

by **CoffeeBean** » Mon Jan 07, 2019 3:32 pm

Did it happen? Good question - short answer: no, it didn't.

Long answer - Due to some changes that happened at some point in the past, the way that one can find out if "it" happened is not the same now as it used to be. This really only affects the time frame slightly of when "it" can happen and how people know if "it" has happened or not. One of the most noticeable changes to learning about "it" is covered in one of the following questions...
Must people gather for it to happen? No
Is the internet relevant? Yes (this is the question that covers the recent changes)
Fireworks? No

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Jan 16, 2019 4:38 pm

HINT: Although "this" hasn't happened in a very long time, many people in the US who pay attention to this specific thing may have thought it happened in 1995. Of course there are also many in the US who would have been able to tell right away that it did not happen.

by **GalFisk** » Wed Jan 16, 2019 4:56 pm

So you can now learn if "it" has happened via the internet, whereas you couldn't before?
Before, did you learn this through: TV? Radio? Newspapers? Newsreels? Phone calls? Word of mouth? By experiencing it yourself?
A very long time: tens of years? hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands?

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Jan 16, 2019 7:56 pm

So you can now learn if "it" has happened via the internet, whereas you couldn't before? Yes
Before, did you learn this through: TV? Yes, but primarily...Radio? THIS Newspapers? Newsreels? Phone calls? Word of mouth? This to some degree By experiencing it yourself? Usually this
A very long time: tens of years? hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Several decades

by **GalFisk** » Wed Jan 16, 2019 9:23 pm

Is it fun? Rewarding? Difficult to accomplish? Is luck involved?

by **CoffeeBean** » Thu Jan 17, 2019 3:29 pm

Is it fun? Rewarding? For at least one person or a small group of people, yes
Difficult to accomplish? Extremely!
Is luck involved? No

by **GalFisk** » Fri Jan 18, 2019 5:56 am

Is a record relevant? Setting a new record? Number of people participating in something relevant? Buying something? Money relevant?

by **CoffeeBean** » Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:32 pm

Is a record relevant? Setting a new record? Not usually, no, but OTRT
Number of people participating in something relevant? YES Buying something? Not primarily but this is usually involved Money relevant? No

by **GalFisk** » Sat Jan 19, 2019 7:01 am

Do the participants gather in one place? In several places? Do they make relevant noise? New year's relevant?

by **CoffeeBean** » Mon Jan 21, 2019 3:26 pm

Do the participants gather in one place? In several places? Possibly, but not in relation to the relevant occurence
Do they make relevant noise? Yes, you could say that New year's relevant? Yes - the most relevant time frame is between New Year's Eve and the first few days of January

by **GalFisk** » Mon Jan 21, 2019 4:34 pm

New year resolutions relevant? Breaking resolutions? Buying gym memberships?

by **CoffeeBean** » Mon Jan 21, 2019 8:09 pm

New year resolutions relevant? Breaking resolutions? Buying gym memberships? No to all. The only relevant days are the ones mentioned above.

by **GalFisk** » Thu Jan 24, 2019 11:05 am

Do the participants know beforehand how many will participate? Is it a humorous event? No pants subway ride relevant?

by **CoffeeBean** » Thu Jan 24, 2019 8:36 pm

Do the participants know beforehand how many will participate? They have an estimate, yes. At one point they can know exactly how many if they choose to know Is it a humorous event? No No pants subway ride relevant? No

by **GalFisk** » Sat Feb 09, 2019 7:46 am

Does the event take place online? Does it happen in the US? Do people participate for fun? In order to do good? Specifically as a record attempt?

by **CoffeeBean** » Mon Feb 11, 2019 4:21 pm

Does the event There is a better word for it... take place online? No, at least not primarily. However there is a very important aspect of it that is affected by online activity.
Does it happen in the US? Yes, but also in Canada and several European countries
Do people participate for fun? Yes, and for a very specific "fun" reason
In order to do good? Not really, no
Specifically as a record attempt? No, but this sometimes is a result

by **GalFisk** » Mon Feb 11, 2019 4:57 pm

Do they do it in order to: be silly? Become inebriated? Form a bond? Make fun of something? Of someone? Is it coordinated online? Tallied online?

by **CoffeeBean** » Mon Feb 11, 2019 5:04 pm

Do they do it in order to: be silly? Become inebriated? Form a bond? Make fun of something? Of someone? None of these
Is it coordinated Yes, to some degree online? Tallied online? It has not always been, the method of coordination has historically been something else, but access to online media (and more recently social media) has greatly affected the degree of participation and another very important aspect of the "event"

by **Hobbsicle** » Thu Feb 14, 2019 6:33 pm

Are any of the following relevant:

Money? The economy? Music? Singing? Talking? Other forms of communication? If communication involved, is the recipient relevant? The subject of communication? The specific content?

Was radio primarily the means of knowing whether it happened? Or was radio an integral part of it happening in the first place?

by **CoffeeBean** » Thu Feb 14, 2019 9:21 pm

Are any of the following relevant:

Money? The economy? Music? <-- THIS is very relevant! Singing? Yes, also very relevant
Talking? Possibly but not primarily Other forms of communication? Yes
If communication involved, is the recipient relevant? The subject of communication? The specific content? Yes to all

Was radio primarily the means of knowing whether it happened? Or was radio an integral part of it happening in the first place? YES to both

by **GalFisk** » Mon Feb 18, 2019 10:52 am

Broadcast relevant? Sing-along? Karaoke? TV relevant nowadays? Charity relevant? Phone relevant? Phoning in to a contest? Donating by phone? Edit: voting in a contest? Voting by phone? SMS? Web?

by **CoffeeBean** » Mon Feb 18, 2019 3:17 pm

Broadcast relevant? Yes Sing-along? Karaoke? Not these
TV relevant nowadays? No Charity relevant? No
Phone relevant? Yes Phoning in Yes, but not...to a contest? Donating by phone? No
Edit: voting In a way, yes, but not... in a contest?
Voting by phone? SMS? Web? Yes to all of these

by **GalFisk** » Fri Feb 22, 2019 11:13 am

When voting (in a way), do people have a choice of who or what to "vote" for? Or is it just the total number of "votes" that count?

by **CoffeeBean** » Mon Feb 25, 2019 3:18 pm

When voting (in a way), do people have a choice of who or what to "vote" for? Yes
Or is it just the total number of "votes" that count? This too

by **GalFisk** » Mon Feb 25, 2019 4:09 pm

Do they vote for something? Against something? Choose between two things? Three? More? Does "it" happen when there is a high number of people voting? When a particular result is achieved? Betting relevant? Gambling? Odds?

by **CoffeeBean** » Tue Feb 26, 2019 3:30 pm

Do they vote for something? Yes Against something? Indirectly (keep reading)...
Choose between two things? Three? More? Yes, choosing between, or "among", multiple things
Does "it" happen when there is a high number of people voting? Yes, but something else must also happen
When a particular result is achieved? YES Betting relevant? Gambling? No to these
Odds? Yes, it's fair to say this. And the odds of "it" happening in my lifetime are probably in the 1,000,000,000 to 1 neighborhood

Keep in mind that the radio, music and singing are all very relevant...

by **GalFisk** » Tue Feb 26, 2019 4:13 pm

Is a tie relevant? Are they voting for songs? Singers? Music? Musicians?

by **CoffeeBean** » Tue Feb 26, 2019 5:32 pm

Is a tie relevant? No
Are they voting for songs? YES, primarily this Singers? Music? Musicians? Possibly these too, but the relevant voting is for specific songs

by **GalFisk** » Wed Feb 27, 2019 1:54 pm

Is a song winning relevant? A song getting a certain number of votes? The entire event receiving a certain number of votes in total? A specific song winning?

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Feb 27, 2019 4:38 pm

Is a song winning relevant? YES A song getting a certain number of votes? Yes, this too
The entire event receiving a certain number of votes in total? No
A specific song winning? YES, something VERY SPECIFIC...

by **GalFisk** » Wed Mar 06, 2019 4:39 pm

Does this song compete every time? Has this song not won for a long time? Is this competition done every year?

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Mar 06, 2019 4:43 pm

Does this song compete every time? Not a specific song, but...
Has this song not won for a long time? ...NO, a song with one specific feature has never won in my lifetime, possibly ever.
Is this competition done every year? Yes

by **Balin** » Wed Mar 06, 2019 6:50 pm

An instrumental song? An a cappella song?

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Mar 06, 2019 7:59 pm

An instrumental song? No (it would have to be a song with sung or spoken lyrics)
An a cappella song? No (unless it was a cappella AND had this relevant aspect as well)

by **GalFisk** » Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:10 am

A song in a certain language? By a certain singer? A certain songwriter? About a certain subject? In a certain style?

by **CoffeeBean** » Thu Mar 07, 2019 3:31 pm

A song in a certain language? By a certain singer? A certain songwriter? In a certain style? No to these

About a certain subject? YES, or rather a lack of the certain subject!

by **GalFisk** » Thu Mar 07, 2019 3:34 pm

Is it a song not about: love? Christmas? The new year? Winter?

by **CoffeeBean** » Thu Mar 07, 2019 4:58 pm

Is it a song not about: love? Christmas? The new year? Winter? Any of these could be a subject of the song, but they aren't the relevant subject

by **GalFisk** » Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:12 pm

The relevant song has lyrics, and the lyrics are relevantly avoiding a certain subject, correct?

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 2:30 pm

The relevant song has lyrics, and the lyrics are relevantly avoiding a certain subject, correct? YES, the relevant kind of song avoids one certain subject

by **GalFisk** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 2:59 pm

Does it avoid something related to: science? Religion? Culture? The past? The future? The present? Certain words? Certain languages? Certain letters?

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 3:08 pm

Does it avoid something related to: science? Religion? Culture? The past? The future? The present? Certain words? <-- THIS. One very common word (and subject) is avoided Certain languages? Certain letters?

by **GalFisk** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 4:24 pm

It it a one-letter word? Two? Three? Four? Is it "it"? Do all other songs fail to avoid this word and subject? Does a writer need to consciously avoid it in order not to automatically include it?

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 4:52 pm

Is it a one-letter word? Two? Three? Four? It's an extremely common three-letter word Is it "it"? No
Do all other songs fail to avoid this word and subject? Just about every song I've ever heard on the radio includes the word/subject
Does a writer need to consciously avoid it in order not to automatically include it? I'd say so, yes

Something relevant happens on New Year's Day (or around this time) related to a song that avoids an extremely common word/subject. Now that the internet is available, one could learn if such a song has accomplished such a feat...

by **GalFisk** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 4:57 pm

Is it "the"? If not: a Noun? Verb? Adjective? Adverb? Pronoun? Preposition? Conjunction? Determiner? Interjection? Onomatopoeia?

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 7:07 pm

Is it "the"? No If not: a Noun? This Verb? Adjective? Adverb? Pronoun? And this
Preposition? Conjunction? Determiner? Interjection? Onomatopoeia? No to the rest

by **GalFisk** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 8:04 pm

You? She? Him? Her? Our? Who? His?

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 8:34 pm

You? <--THIS She? Him? Her? Our? Who? His?

The relevant word that is included in nearly every song ever written or performed is "you". So what happens at the end of one year and beginning of the next that would relate to this?

by **GalFisk** » Thu Mar 14, 2019 8:33 am

Happening: Parties? Resolutions? The adding of 1? Countdowns? Hugs? Kisses? Relationships? Family? Drinks? Midnight? Hangovers? Holidays? Something good? Something bad?

by **CoffeeBean** » Thu Mar 14, 2019 2:24 pm

Happening: Parties? Resolutions? The adding of 1? Countdowns? THIS - one certain kind Hugs? Kisses? Relationships? Family? Drinks? Midnight? Hangovers? Holidays? Something good? Yes Something bad?

by **GalFisk** » Thu Mar 14, 2019 3:07 pm

Countdowns to midnight on New Year's Eve? Countdowns on TV? Radio? Other mass media? Countdowns in different time zones?

by **CoffeeBean** » Thu Mar 14, 2019 6:37 pm

Countdowns to midnight on New Year's Eve? Some are done then, some on New Year's Day or even a few days into the new year
Countdowns on TV? Radio? This Other mass media? Primarily radio
Countdowns in different time zones? Possibly, but the exact time at which these countdowns are done is not relevant. Some of them are even repeated over the course of several days.

by **GalFisk** » Fri Mar 15, 2019 10:37 am

Recounting the previous year relevant? Statistics? World events? Lists?

by **CoffeeBean** » Fri Mar 15, 2019 2:20 pm

Recounting the previous year relevant? Yes Statistics? World events? Lists? Yes, this too (and don't forget that music and radio are relevant)

by **GalFisk** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:42 am

Lists of songs relevant? Top hits? Songs about lists? Most played music in radio?

by **CoffeeBean** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 2:47 pm

Lists of songs relevant? YES Top hits? YES Songs about lists? Not this Most played music in radio? YES

by **GalFisk** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 2:51 pm

Does "it" happening mean a song without "you" in the lyrics gets into a top radio plays list? If so: any song without "you"? One specific?

by **CoffeeBean** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 3:36 pm

Does "it" happening mean a song without "you" in the lyrics gets into a top radio plays list? YES
If so: any song without "you"? One specific? Could be any song...

*** SPOILER ***

There are very, very few songs played on the radio that do not include the word "you" somewhere in the lyrics. In my lifetime, there has never been a song to reach the top of the year-end charts that does not include "you" somewhere in the lyrics. Before the internet, there was always an end-of-the-year countdown on the radio with the Top 50 Songs of the year, counting down to #1. This show would be aired on New Year's Eve, and some stations would air the entire show again the next day or even repeat it over the next week. I used to always listen to this show as a kid, but as an adult I rarely pay any attention to song charts. My kids listen to radio countdown shows, and will comment on weekly ratings. They also listen (and now find on the internet) the top songs of the year, and tell us which ones are at the top.

Side note - the song "Macarena" was listed as the top song in some categories (Top Dance Song for 1993), and so when the song is played entirely in Spanish it does not have the English word "you" in it. However, in the popular version played in the US, the word "you" appears in the lyrics of one of the verses (and also in background lyrics between the end of the chorus and the beginning of the verse).

Nice work by Galfisk

[CoffeeBean] Don't Blink

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