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From: yes2@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (Randy Rzasa)
Newsgroups: net.puzzle
Subject: re: mystery puzzles
Message-ID: <1804@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 14-Mar-86 17:11:28 EST
Article-I.D.: sphinx.1804
Posted: Fri Mar 14 17:11:28 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 17-Mar-86 04:23:49 EST
Organization: U. Chicago - Computation Center
Lines: 81

I am glad that someone finally started this discussion.
I've been meaning to for a while, but since I hadn't seen any of
these types of puzzles in the past year and a half I figured that
there wasn't a lot of interest.  I think that having running games
on the net isn't that great of an idea due to the turnaround time
of postings and the duplications that are sure to result.

Instead of calling these "mystery" puzzles, a friend of mine and I
have called them "infinite-question" puzzles for lack of a better name.
These puzzles divide into two subclassses:
1)short, plausible scenario with terse description and terse answer
2)short, inplausible, unrealistic description and longwinded answer
  that must incorporate several far-fetched situations.

Puzzles of the first type are generally the most interesting from my 
viewpoint.  The solution of the problem generally combines deduction
with lateral thinking; the key to these is that objects and/or words
do not function in their typical fashion, e.g. the "package" in the
parachute problem.

Puzzles of the second type are much more arbitrary.  You could
essentially forget most of the details of the problem and still
tell it to someone, inventing your own paramaters, e.g the "arm" puzzle
was told to me with only 2 characters, the sender and the receiver, with
the additional hint that the receiver had one arm and read of a murder
where the victim's arm was cut off.  These puzzles are generally less
good due to these arbitrary paramaters.  It in virtually impossible
to figure these out in less than 20 questions and the process is much
more tedious.  Type 1 puzzles can conceivably be answered in a short
time.  I figured out the parachute puzzle after 1 guess, and another
of this type without any guesses.

Since there already seems to be interest for these puzzles, I think
that it is a good idea to post directly.  Those that aren't familiar
with these types of puzzles will probably become quick fans of them.
I propose that we post them in the following manner:

1)indication of "mystery" puzzle
2)description and answer
3)^L followed by next puzzle

This way one can print the puzzles and divide them with someone else,
so you tell half and figure out half.
Incidentally, the "bicycles" puzzle is probably the worst one that
I have heard.
Meta-questions seem perfectly reasonable to me.  Genereally, the only
one we ask is "is such-snd-such material to the story?"
In addition to the yes/no answers, we use: immaterial, and be more
specific.  Some questions can draw very fine distinctions and are often
a matter of opinion.

Puzzles follow

Q:A rope breaks, a bell rings, a man dies
A:The rope was attached to a buoy in the ocean.  After the rope broke
  the buoy drifted.  A blind man was taking his usual walk on a cliff near
  the ocean.  He would judge his distance from the edge by the sound of the
  bell.  Since the buoy drifted his reckoning was off and he walked over the
  edge.


Q:There is a pipe, a carrot, and several pieces of coal lying in a field.
A:A snowman melted.


Q:A man enters a restaurant, sits down, orders albatross, takes one bite,
  and shoots himself.
A:The man was shipwrecked and wounded very badly.  He was immobile.  Another
  survivor tended him until they were rescued.  He fed him albatross.
  After the man eats albatrosss in the restaurant he realizes that the
  man who fed him was lying, and that he must have eaten the flesh of
  the deceased since there was no other source of food on the island.  He
  then kills himself because of his religious convctions.

Q:A man is going home.  A masked man jumps in front of him, and the first man
  goes back to where he was before.
A:The two men are baseball players; the masked man is the catcher; home is
  home plate.
-- 
   Randy Rzasa
   ...ihnp4!gargoyle!sphinx!yes2