Section 1: "Realistic" situation puzzles 1.2 answer: The man is a midget.

He can't reach the

upper elevator buttons, but he can ask people to push
1.1. A man goes into a restaurant, orders abalone, eats them for him. He can also push them with his
one bite, and kills himself. (TeM and JM wording) umbrella. I've usually heard this stated with more
details: "Every morning he wakes up, gets dressed,
1.1 answer: The man was in a ship that was wrecked
eats, goes to the elevator..." In the other direction, for a
on a desert island. When there was no food left,
shorter problem statement, leave out the "someone else
another passenger brought what he said was abalone
in the elevator" and "if it was raining" parts, and just
but was really part of the man's wife (who had died in
say on his return to the building he always goes to the
the wreck). The man suspects something fishy, so
tenth floor. Ron Carter suggests a nice red herring: the
when they finally return to civilization, he orders
man lives on the 13th floor of the building.
abalone, realizes that what he ate before was his wife,
and kills himself. (In a slight variant, from Stories 1.2a. Variant: Emily regularly visits the twelfth floor
With Holes, he simply faints rather than killing of an apartment building by going to the tenth floor
himself.) and walking up two flights of stairs. Last year she only
took the elevator to the ninth floor. (Math for Girls)
1.1a. Variant: same problem statement but with
albatross instead of abalone. 1.2a answer: Emily is a child; she can only reach the
tenth-floor button, and last year she could only reach
1.1b. Variant: A man kills himself rather than order
the ninth-floor button.
albatross.

1.3. A man sitting on a park bench reads a newspaper

1.1b answer: The man already knew that he had eaten
article headlined "Death at Sea" and knows a murder
human flesh under the name "albatross." He asks the
has been committed. (from How Come?)
waiter in the restaurant what kind of soup is available,
and the waiter responds, "Albatross soup." Thinking 1.3 answer: The man is a travel agent. He had sold
that "albatross soup" means "human soup," and someone two tickets for an ocean voyage, one round-
sickened by the thought of such a society (place in a trip and one one-way. The last name of the man who
foreign country if necessary), he kills himself. (from bought the tickets is the same as the last name of the
Mike Neergaard) I'm afraid this version doesn't make a woman who "fell" overboard and drowned on the same
whole lot of sense. voyage, which is the subject of the article he's reading.
This may have derived from a story done by Alfred
1.2. A man lives on the twelfth floor of an apartment
Hitchcock, if the following Hitchcock quotation is
building. Every morning he takes the elevator down to
accurate: "If you take your wife on a sea voyage, buy
the lobby and leaves the building. In the evening, he
her a round-trip ticket no matter what your plans may
gets into the elevator, and, if there is someone else in
be." According to How Come?, it's loosely based on
the elevator -- or if it was raining that day -- he goes
the real-life case of a killer named Henry Landru.
back to his floor directly. However, if there is nobody
else in the elevator and it hasn't rained, he goes to the 1.4. A man lets go of a bowling ball. A short while
tenth floor and walks up two flights of stairs to his later, he is rushed to the hospital. (JC original?)
room. (MH, from How Come?)
1.4 answer: A physics professor is demonstrating 1.7a. Variant: A man goes to hang his coat and realizes
conservation of energy by suspending a bowling ball he will die that day.
from a piece of rope. He pulls the ball back until it's
right in front of his nose, then lets go. It is supposed to 1.7a answer: The man (who is black) has car trouble

swing away from him, then back at him, stopping just and is in need of a telephone. He asks at the nearest

in front of his nose. Unfortunately, he gave the ball a house and on being invited in goes to hang his coat,

slight push, resulting in the ball crashing into his nose whereupon he notices the white robes of the Ku Klux

upon its return. Klan in the closet. (from Bernd Wechner)

1.5. Two men enter a bar. They both order identical 1.8. Beulah died in the Appalachians, while Craig died

drinks. One lives; the other dies. (CR; partial JM at sea. Everyone was much happier with Craig's death.

wording) (JM, originally from How Come -- Again?)

1.5 answer: The drinks contain poisoned ice cubes; one 1.8 answer: Beulah and Craig were hurricanes.

man drinks slowly, giving them time to melt, while the

1.9. An avid birdwatcher sees an unexpected bird.
other drinks quickly and thus doesn't get much of the
Soon he's dead. (RSB original)
poison. The fact that they drink at different speeds
could be added to the statement, possibly along with 1.9 answer: He is a passenger in an airplane and sees
red herrings such as saying that one of the men is big the bird get sucked into an engine at 20,000 feet.
and burly and the other short and thin.
1.10. He was killed by breakfast. (JM original)
1.6. A man walks into a bar and asks for a drink. The
bartender pulls out a gun and points it at him. The man 1.10 answer: A man is camping in the mountains. He
says, "Thank you," and walks out. (DVS; from How makes breakfast, then puts pepper on his food (eggs,
Come?) perhaps). The pepper makes him sneeze loudly, which
starts an avalanche, which kills him.
1.6 answer: The man has hiccups; the bartender scares
them away by pulling a gun. 1.10a. A man lay dead in a field. Next to him was a
gun. One shot had been fired and because of that shot
1.7. Two women are talking. One goes into the the man had died. Yet the man was not shot; in fact,
bathroom, comes out five minutes later, and kills the there was no wound or mark on the body. (BGT)
other.
1.10a answer: He fired the gun and caused an
1.7 answer: Both women are white; the one whose avalanche.
house this takes place in is single. A black friend of the
other woman, the one who goes into the bathroom, was 1.11. Two brothers are involved in a murder. Though
recently killed, reportedly by the KKK. The woman it's clear that one of them actually committed the
who goes into the bathroom discovers a bloodstained crime, neither can be punished. (This is different from
KKK robe in the other's laundry hamper, picks up a #1.78.) (from "Unreasonable Doubt," by Stanley Ellin)
nail file from the medicine cabinet (or some other
1.11 answer: One of the brothers (A) confesses to the
impromptu weapon), and goes out and kills the other.
murder. At his trial, his brother (B) is called as the
only defense witness; B immediately confesses, in Nobody could get to her to help because her doors
graphic detail, to having committed the crime. The were locked from the inside. Please disregard the
defense lawyer refuses to have the trial stopped, and A version of this answer from previous editions of this
is acquitted under the "reasonable doubt" clause. list; it's not true.
Immediately afterward, B goes on trial for the murder;
A is called as the only defense witness 1.13. A man lies dead next to a cactus. Stuck to the

and he confesses. B is declared innocent; and though cactus is a slip of paper. (TO)

everyone knows that one of them did it, how can they
1.13 answer: The man was lost in the desert for days.
tell who? Further, neither can be convicted of perjury
He couldn't find any landmarks, so he started sticking
until it's decided which of them did it... I don't know if
slips of paper to cactuses he passed. After another day
that would actually work under the US legal system,
of walking, with almost no water left, he came across
but someone else who heard the story said that his
this cactus, which had a slip of paper on it already; he
father was on the jury for a very similar case in New
knew that he was walking in circles, so rather than
York some years ago. Mark Brader points out that the
wait to die of thirst he shot himself. (See also #1.24,
brothers might be convicted of conspiracy to commit
#2.2, and #2.12.)
perjury or to obstruct justice, or something of that
kind. 1.14. Passing by a window, you see two dead men in a
room, with a gun and a deck of cards. (KK2)
1.11 variant answer: Scott Purdy says an L.A.
Law episode had a similar plot: A petty criminal and a 1.14 answer: You're a diver, going past a window of a
mob boss were accused of murdering someone. The sunken submarine (or ship). The two men were in a
lawyers offered to drop the charges on the criminal if sinking vessel; they had a gun but only one bullet.
he'd testify against the boss. He said he would, got his Neither wanted to drown, so they played cards to see
charges dropped, and confessed on the stand. Both got who would get the bullet. The loser shot the winner (or
away without being punished: the charges couldn't be else the winner shot himself), and then the loser
reinstated for the one, and there was reasonable doubt drowned when the room filled up with water. (See also
for the other. #1.13, #2.4, #2.9.)

1.12. A woman in France in 1959 is waiting in her 1.15. There are a carrot, a pile of pebbles, and a pipe
room, with all the doors locked from the inside, for her lying together in the middle of a field. (PRO; partial
husband to come home. When he arrives, the house JM wording)
has burned to the ground and she's dead. (JM,
originally from How Come -- Again?) 1.15 answer: They're the remains of a melted
snowman.
1.12 answer: This is apparently a true story. The hot
sun reflected from the woman's large mirror (which I 1.16. Two dead people sit in their cars on a street.
speculate may have been imperfectly flat and therefore (AG)
focused the sunlight, but I don't know for sure) and
1.16 answer: Because there was a heavy fog, two
heated the lingerie she was wearing to the burning
people driving in opposite directions on the same road
point. She was absorbed in a book at the time and
both stuck their heads out of their windows to better
didn't notice the heat until her clothing was afire.
see the road's center line. Their heads hit each other at
high speed, killing them both. Andreas says this is his fingers -- leprosy is fairly unique in killing off
based on an actual accident. sensory nerves without destroying motor ability.

1.17. A man is found shot to death in the front seat of 1.21. A woman is heating her coffee in a small
his car; a gun lies out of his reach in the back seat. All microwave oven. She puts it in for exactly two
the windows are closed and the doors are locked; there minutes. She then opens the door, closes it, then heats
are no bullet holes anywhere in the car. (SP, from The her coffee for two more seconds. (JC original?)
Next Book of OMNI Games; partial AC wording)
1.21 answer: She opens the door and sees that the
1.17 answer: The car is a convertible; the top was handle of her cup is facing the back of the microwave.
down. (Or the sunroof, or something else that's neither She then sets the oven for two more seconds so that the
window nor door.) The murderer shot him and then turntable will turn 180 degrees so that she can reach
dropped the gun into the back seat of the car. the cup-handle, to avoid burning her hand.

1.18. A man is sitting in a room. Another person 1.22. A man tries the new cologne his wife gave him
enters, carrying a closed cardboard box, and sits down for his birthday. He goes out to get some food, and is
nearby. Though the first man can't see, hear, or smell killed. (RW original)
the box's contents, he knows what's in the box. (ES
original) 1.22 answer: The man is a beekeeper, and the bees
attack en masse because they don't recognize his
1.18 answer: The man is allergic to cats, and feels the fragrance. Randy adds that this is based on something
allergy symptoms coming on, so he knows the box that actually happened to his grandfather, a beekeeper
contains a cat. (It could be argued that he must be able who was severely attacked by his bees when he used a
to smell the cat, but I'd say that "smell" implies new aftershave for the first time in 10 or 20 years.
consciously noticing a smell, and is not the same as
reacting to unnoticed dander.) 1.23. A man takes a two-week cruise to Mexico from
the U.S. Shortly after he gets back, he takes a three-
1.19. There is blood on the ceiling of my bedroom. day cruise which doesn't stop at any other ports. He
(MI original) stays in his cabin all the time on both cruises. As a
result, he makes $250,000. (MI, from "The Wager")
1.19 answer: A mosquito bit me, and I swatted it when
it later landed on my ceiling (so the blood is my own 1.23 answer: He's a smuggler. On the first cruise,
as well as the mosquito's). someone brings the contraband to his cabin, and he
hides it in an air conditioning duct. Returning to the
1.20. A man in uniform stands on the beach of a U.S., he leaves without the contraband, and so passes
tropical island. He takes out a cigarette, lights it, and through customs with no trouble. On the second trip,
begins smoking. He takes out a letter and begins he has the same cabin on the same ship. Because it
reading it. The cigarette burns down between his doesn't stop anywhere, he doesn't have to go through
fingers, but he doesn't throw it away. He cries. (RW) customs when he returns, so he gets the contraband off
safely.
1.20 answer: He is a guard/attendant in a leper colony.
The letter (to him) tells him that he has contracted the
disease. The key is the cigarette burning down between
1.24. A man is lying face down, dead, in the desert, 1.25c answer: Same as #1.25. Can a parachute be
with a match near his outstretched hand. (This is called a "parcel"? Perhaps "package" would be better.
different from #1.25, #2.2, and #2.12.) (JH; partial JM (It's "Paket" in the original German.)
wording)
1.26. She lost her job when she invited them to dinner.
1.24 answer: He was with several others in a hot air (DS original)
balloon crossing the desert. The balloon was punctured
and they began to lose altitude. They tossed all their 1.26 answer: Let's say "she" is named Suzy, and "they"

non-essentials overboard, then their clothing and food, are named Harry and Jane. Harry is an elderly

but were still going to crash in the middle of the desert. archaeologist who has found a very old skeleton,

Finally, they drew matches to see who would jump which he's dubbed "Jane" (a la "Lucy"). Suzy is a

over the side and save the others; this man lost. Minor buyer for a museum; she's supposed to make some sort

variant wording: add that the man is nude. of purchase from Harry, so she invites him to have a
business dinner with her (at a restaurant). When she
1.25. A man is lying, dead, face down in the desert calls to invite him, he keeps talking about "Jane," so
wearing a backpack. (This is different from #1.24, Suzy assumes that Jane is his wife and says to bring
#2.2, and #2.12.) her along. Harry, offended, calls Suzy's boss and
complains; since Suzy should've known who Jane was,
1.25 answer: He jumped out of an airplane, but his she gets fired.
parachute failed to open. Minor variant wording (from
Joe Kincaid): he's on a mountain trail instead of in a 1.27. A man tells his boss, "Don't take your planned
desert. Minor variant wording (from Mike Reymond): flight today! I had a dream last night that if you do,
he's got a ring in his hand (it came off of the ripcord). your plane will crash and you'll die." The boss fires the
man. (From How Come?)
1.25 variant answer: The man was let loose in the
desert with a pack full of poisoned food. He knows it's 1.27 answer: The man was the night watchman; he
poisoned, and doesn't eat it -- he dies of hunger. (from should've been on duty the previous night, not
Mike Neergaard) dreaming. (He tells the boss about the dream out of
concern for his safety.)
1.25a. Silly variant: same problem statement, with the
addition that one of the man's shoelaces is untied. 1.28. A man finishes getting dressed, lies down and
dies. (CH original?)
1.25a answer: He pulled his shoelace instead of the
ripcord. 1.28 answer: There is a poisonous spider in the toe of
his shoe. The last things he puts on are his shoes. He
1.25b. Variant wording: A man with a pack on his gets bitten, feels ill, lies down on his bed, and then dies
back enters a field and dies. (from David Norman) of the poison. (It's a particularly poisonous spider, like
the Australian Funnel-Web, whose bite can kill an
1.25b answer: Same as #1.25.
adult human in 5 minutes, or the brown recluse, which

1.25c. Variant wording: A dead man lies in front of the I gather is also pretty deadly.)

post office; next to him is a parcel. (CB)

1.29. Every day a man drinks his breakfast and drinks power goes out. (RW) (See also #1.59, #1.70a, and
his lunch. When his boss finds out, he is immediately #1.75c.)
fired. The man moves to another job and begins doing
the same thing; this time, when his boss finds out, the 1.31b. A man lives in a high-rise apartment building in

boss jokingly tells him that he'll be fired if he stops. the city. One day, as usual, he gets up, has breakfast,

(RSW) showers, dresses, kisses his wife good-bye, and leaves

for work. He walks down the corridor to the elevator.
1.29 answer: The man is drinking diet shakes for his After standing there for a minute or so, he realizes his
breakfast and lunch in order to lose weight. wife is dead. (RW)
Unfortunately, his first job is at a weight-loss clinic, so
he is fired for patronizing the competition. His second 1.31b answer: Same as #1.31.

job is at a health-food store, and his boss wants him to

1.32. A man is killed on a train. He is found to have
lose weight so he looks "healthier."
written "elf" on the floor in his own blood. (MB, from

1.30. A car without a driver moves; a man dies. (EMS) "The Problem of the Locked Caboose," by Edward D.
Hoch)
1.30 answer: The murderer sets the car on a slope
above the hot dog stand where the victim works. He 1.32 answer: Attached to the train was a caboose with

then wedges an ice block in the car to keep the brake a safe carrying a shipment of jewels. The victim,

pedal down, and puts the car in neutral, after which he Schmidt, was the conductor guarding the shipment; he

flies to another city to avoid suspicion. It's a warm day; had robbed the safe himself, and had an accomplice

when the ice melts, the car rolls down the hill and traveling on the train under a false name to remove the

strikes the hot dog man at his roadside stand, killing loot. The accomplice killed Schmidt to keep his share.

him. Schmidt didn't know the accomplice's false name, so

he wrote the killer's berth number, 11. For greater
1.31. A man gets onto an elevator. When the elevator clarity he spelled out the number as a word -- in his
stops, he knows his wife is dead. (LA; partial KH native German. (In the original story he didn't want
wording) "11" to be misread as two parallel lines, but Germans
don't write "1" as a straight line.) This arguably
1.31 answer: He's leaving a hospital after visiting his belongs in section 2 for double meaning, but the
wife, who's on heavy life-support. When the power double-meaninged word here is explicitly called out,
goes out, he knows she can't live without the life- so I'm going to leave it in section 1 for now.
support systems (he assumes that if the emergency
backup generator were working, the elevator wouldn't 1.33. A man lies dead next to a feather. (PRO)
lose power; this aspect isn't entirely satisfactory, so in
a variant, the scene is at home rather than in a 1.33 answer: The man was a sword swallower in a

hospital). carnival side-show. While he was practicing, someone

tickled his throat with the feather, causing him to gag.
1.31a. Variant: The music stops and a woman dies.
1.34. A man ran into a fire, and lived. A man stayed
1.31a answer: The woman is confined in an iron lung, where there was no fire, and died. (EW original)
and the music is playing on her radio or stereo. The
1.34 answer: The two men were working in a small 1.37. A man is running along a corridor with a piece of
room protected by a carbon dioxide gas fire paper in his hand. The lights flicker and the man drops
extinguisher system, when a fire broke out in an to his knees and cries out, "Oh no!" (MP)
adjoining room. One of the men ran through the fire
and escaped with only minor burns. The other one 1.37 answer: The man is delivering a pardon, and the

stayed in the room until the fire extinguishers kicked flicker of the lights indicates that the person to be

in, and died of oxygen starvation. (This originally pardoned has just been electrocuted. (See also #1.31.)

involved a halon gas extinguisher, but those don't work

1.38. Mr. Browning is glad the car ran out of gas. (JM,
that way; fortunately for our purposes, Gisle
originally from How Come -- Again?)
Hannemyr pointed out that CO2 extinguishers do work
that way. Gisle says a CO2 extinguisher on a 1.38 answer: Mr. and Mrs. Browning had just gotten
Norwegian ship a few years ago did go off accidentally married. Mrs. Browning was subject to fits of
when there was no fire, killing everyone in the engine depression. They had their first fight soon after they
room.) were married; Mr. Browning stormed out of the house,
and Mrs. Browning went into the garage and started up
1.35. Four people are on a grass-covered island. A fire
the car, intending to kill herself by filling the garage
burns from one end of the island to the other, but no
with car exhaust. But the car ran out of gas quickly,
one gets severely burnt. (BJ)
and Mr. Browning, returning home to apologize, found

1.35 answer: The fire is slow moving and the four are Mrs. Browning in time to summon help and restore her

able to "back burn" by starting a new fire on the other to health.

side of them. When an area is burnt off, they can safely

1.39. A dying man gives another man a gift, and then
stand on the burnt patch, as it now contains no fuel for
the dying man dies. Shortly after that the second man
the grass fire. This is an actual technique used in
dies. (HJS)
Australian bushfires (and, I think, elsewhere).

1.39 answer: The second man had shot the first man.
1.36. A flash of light, a man dies. (ST original)
Before he dies, the first man gives the second man a

1.36 answer: The man is a lion-tamer, posing for a grenade pin, which he's of course just pulled from a

photo with his lions. The lions react badly to the flash grenade. The first man dies, then the grenade explodes

of the camera, and the man can't see properly, so he and the second man dies.

gets mauled.
1.40. A man is lying dead in a room. There is a large

1.36a. Variant: He couldn't find a chair, so he died. pile of gold and jewels on the floor, a chandelier

(RM, with KH wording; from How Come?) attached to the ceiling, and a large open window.
(DVS; partial JM wording)
1.36a answer: He was a lion-tamer. This one is kind of
silly, but I like it, and it sounds possible to me (though 1.40 answer: The room is the ballroom of an ocean

I'm told a whip is more important than a chair to a liner which sank some time ago. The man ran out of air

lion-tamer). while diving in the wreck.

1.40a. Variant which puts this in section 2: same looks at. It's debatable whether this belongs in section
statement, ending with "a large window through which 2 for double meanings.
rays are coming."
1.43. The king dies and two men both claim to be his
1.40a answer: the rays are manta rays (this version long-lost son. One of the king's advisors proposes a
tends to make people assume vampires are involved, test to determine the identity of the true heir. One
unless they notice the awkwardness of the phrase claimant agrees to the test; the other refuses. The one
involving rays). who agreed is sent packing; the one who refused is
identified as the rightful heir. (SP, from The Next Book
1.41. A man enters the elevator of a high rise of OMNI Games; earlier from How Come?)
apartment building, takes off one glove, and pushes the
button for the tenth floor. The next day, the same man 1.43 answer: The proposed test was a blood test.
enters the elevator, puts on one glove, and pushes the Knowing that blood typing isn't very accurate, the
button for the tenth floor. (RA original) impostor felt it was worth trying to get away with it.
But the true heir was a hemophiliac and couldn't give
1.41 answer: The man is blind. His first time in the blood for the test.
elevator, he's wearing gloves; the elevator uses buttons
that work by electrical conduction through the skin; 1.44. An old man gets the hiccups. Soon, he is rushed
they light up at the slightest touch, but not through a to the hospital. (JC original?)
glove. The man thus has to remove a glove to get the
button to work. But he discovers that first day that as 1.44 answer: The man is a glassblower. His old age has

he runs his ungloved hand over the buttons to find the brought about a decline in his vision, so he must use

tenth floor, all the buttons are activated, and the shorter pipes to blow glass. He gets the hiccups,

elevator stops at all the floors. So from then on, he accidentally inhales some hot vapors / molten glass

carries a glove with him; he puts it on when he enters and burns his mouth and throat area. (I'm not sure

the elevator, finds the right button with his gloved whether this could actually happen, but it sounds

hand, then uses his ungloved hand to press the tenth- feasible to me.)

floor button. (Note that even if the buttons are labeled

1.45. A man is found dead outside a large building
in Braille, it's hard to avoid brushing against a button
with a hole in him. (JM, modified from PRO)
and sending the elevator to the wrong floor.)

1.45 answer: The man was struck by an object thrown

1.42. A woman came home with a bag of groceries,
from the roof of the Empire State Building. Originally
got the mail, and walked into the house. On the way to
I had the object being a penny, but several people
the kitchen, she went through the living room and
suggested that a penny probably wouldn't be enough to
looked at her husband, who had blown his brains out.
penetrate someone's skull. Something aerodynamic
She then continued to the kitchen, put away the
and heavier, like a dart, was suggested, but I don't
groceries, and made dinner. (partial JM wording;
know how much mass would be required.
from How Come?)

1.45a. Variant: A man is found dead outside a large

1.42 answer: The husband killed himself a while ago;
marble building with three holes in him.
it's his ashes in an urn on the mantelpiece that the wife
1.45a answer: The man was a paleontologist working water, with him in it, onto a burning forest. (from Jim
with the Archaeological Research Institute. He was Moskowitz)
reviving a triceratops frozen in the ice age when it
came to life and killed him. This couldn't possibly 1.48. Three men die. On the pavement are pieces of ice

happen because (among other reasons) there were no and broken glass. (JJ)

triceratops during the ice age. (from Peter R. Olpe)

1.48 answer: A large man comes home to the

1.46. A man dies in his own home. (ME original) penthouse apartment he shares with his beautiful
young wife, taking the elevator up from the ground
1.46 answer: His home is a houseboat and he has run floor. He sees signs of lovemaking in the bedroom, and
out of water while on an extended cruise. assumes that his wife is having an affair; her beau has
presumably escaped down the stairs. The husband
1.46a. Variant wording: A man dies of thirst in his own looks out the French windows and sees a good-looking
home. This version goes more quickly because it gives man just leaving the main entrance of the building. The
more information; but it may be less likely to annoy husband pushes the refrigerator out through the
people who think the original statement is too vague. window onto the young man below. The husband dies
of a heart attack from overexertion; the innocent young
1.46a answer: Same.
man below dies from having a refrigerator fall on him;

1.47. A body is discovered in a park in Chicago in the and the wife's boyfriend, who was hiding inside the

middle of summer. It has a fractured skull and many refrigerator, also dies from the fall.

other broken bones, but the cause of death was

1.49. If he had wanted chocolate ice cream, his brother
hypothermia. (MI, from Hill Street Blues)
would be alive today. (TiM original)

1.47 answer: A poor peasant from somewhere in

1.49 answer: A young boy is going out to play one
Europe wants desperately to get to the U.S. Not having
afternoon and on his way out he stops off in the garage
money for airfare, he stows away in the landing gear
to check for an ice cream bar in the large chest freezer
compartment of a jet. He dies of hypothermia in mid-
the family keeps there. The freezer is new and almost
flight, and falls out when the landing gear
empty as yet, so the boy has to prop himself up on the
compartment opens as the plane makes its final
edge to reach into the bottom to find the ice cream. He
approach. This apparently happened in real life as
loses his balance and falls into the freezer, with the lid
well; Mark Brader provided an AP item from Paris,
latching shut over him. Right about then, his older
printed in the Toronto Star on 7/10/93, about just such
brother arrives home from high school and asks his
an occurrence.
mom if they have any popsicles in the freezer. She

1.47a. Variant: A man is lying drowned in a dead says no, but she bought some chocolate ice cream that

forest. day and he can have some of that if he wishes. He

decides he is not in the mood for chocolate ice cream
1.47a answer: He's scuba diving when a firefighting and goes up to his room to listen to some music. His
plane lands nearby and fills its tanks with water, brother suffocates.
sucking him in with the water. He runs out of air while
the plane is in flight; the plane then dumps its load of
1.50. A man kills his wife, then goes inside his house 1.53 answer: The man was a famous artist. A woman
and kills himself. (DH original, from "Nightmare in who collected autographs saw him dining; after he left
Yellow," by Fredric Brown) the restaurant, she purchased the check that he used to
pay for the meal from the restaurant manager. The
1.50 answer: It's the man's fiftieth birthday, and in check was therefore never cashed, so the artist never
celebration of this he plans to kill his wife, then take paid for the meal.
the money he's embezzled and move on to a new life in
another state. His wife takes him out to dinner; 1.54. A U.S. Navy sailor on the deck of a cruiser
afterward, on their front step, he kills her. He opens the noticed an explosive mine in the water directly in the
door, dragging her body in with him, and all the lights path of the ship. With no time to communicate the
suddenly turn on and a group of his friends shout situation to the captain of the ship, the sailor saved the
"Surprise!" He kills himself. (Note that the whole first lives of the crew and the ship. (BB)
part, including the motive, isn't really necessary; it was
just part of the original story.) 1.54 answer: The sailor grabbed the fire hose from the
deck and used the force of the water from the hose to
1.51. If he'd turned on the light, he'd have lived. (JM) push the mine away from the hull of the ship. The
water pressure doesn't explode the mine; WWII-style
1.51 answer: A man was shot during a robbery in his mines contain magnetic sensors which make them
store one night. He staggered into the back room, explode on contact with a ship's hull.
where the telephone was, and called home, dialing by
feel since he hadn't turned on the light. Once the call 1.55. A man leaves a motel room, goes to his car, and
went through he gasped, "I'm at the store. I've been honks the horn. (AS original)
shot. Help!" or words to that effect. He set the phone
down to await help, but none came; he'd treated the 1.55 answer: It's the middle of the night. The man goes

telephone pushbuttons like cash register numbers, outside to get something from his car, but as the

when the arrangements of the numbers are upside parking lot is set apart from the building, he forgets

down reflections of each other. The stranger he'd which room he was in. His wife is deaf, so he honks

dialed had no way to know where "the store" was. the car horn loudly, waking up everyone else in the
motel. The other residents all get up and turn on their
1.52. A man is found dead on the floor in the living room lights; the man then returns to the one dark room.
room. (ME original)
1.56. As I drive to work on my motorcycle, there is
1.52 answer: The dead man was playing Santa Claus, one corner which I go around at a certain speed
for whatever reason; he slipped while coming down whether it's rainy or sunny. If it's cloudy but not
the chimney and broke his neck. raining, however, I usually go faster. (SW original)

1.52 variant answer: The dead man was Santa Claus. 1.56 answer: There's a car wash on that corner. On
This moves the puzzle to section 2. rainy days, the rain reduces traction. On sunny days,
water from the car wash has the same effect. If rain is
1.53. A man went into a restaurant, had a large meal, threatening, though, the car wash gets little business
and paid nothing for it. (JM original) and thus doesn't make the road wet, so I can take the
corner faster.
1.57. A man opens his mouth and dies shortly 1.59 variant answer: The "woman" is the dancing
afterwards. figure atop a music box, who "dies" when the box runs
down. (Both of the above variants would probably
1.57 answer: He annoyed the mafia several hours ago; require placing this puzzle in section 2 of the list.) (See
he's now underwater and wearing cement Reeboks. also #1.31a, #1.70a, and #1.75c.)
("Style is everything, and cement Reeboks sure are
stylish.") (RA) 1.59a. A woman is murdered in front of hundreds of
people, but they all think it's an accident. (From How
1.57 variant answer: The man is a vampire, about to Come?)
bite a girl. Her boyfriend arrives, realizes what is
happening, and kills the vampire by driving a wooden 1.59a variant answer: The woman is a trapeze artist
stick through his heart. (This was the original answer, who times her act (from starting time to time to jump
by Kari Hautamaki. But this answer would move the for another trapeze) by the music. The organist
question to section 2, and I like Russell's answer better changes tempo or stops the music too soon, and the
anyway.) trapeze artist falls to her death.

1.57 variant answer: The man opens his mouth; some 1.59b. Variant: Charlie died when the music stopped.
killer bees (which tend to prefer attacking darker areas)
fly inside and sting him; the swelling of his throat 1.59b answer: Charlie was an insect sitting on a chair;

asphyxiates him. (MI) the music playing was for the game Musical Chairs.
(from Bob Philhower)
1.58. A married couple goes to a movie. During the
movie the husband strangles the wife. He is able to get 1.60. Abel walks out of the ocean. Cain asks him who

her body home without attracting attention. he is, and Abel answers. Cain kills Abel. (MWD

(from Beyond the Easy Answer; earlier from How original)

Come?)
1.60 answer: Abel is a prince of the island nation that

1.58 answer: The movie is at a drive-in theatre. he landed on. A cruel and warlike prince, he waged
many land and naval battles along with his father the
1.59. Music stops and a woman dies. (DVS) king. In one naval encounter, their ship sank, the king
died, and the prince swam to a deserted island where
1.59 answer: The woman is a tightrope walker in a he spent several months building a raft or small boat.
circus. Her act consists of walking the rope In the meantime, a regent was appointed to the island
blindfolded, accompanied by music, without a net. The nation, and he brought peace and prosperity. When
musician (organist, or calliopist, or pianist, or Prince Abel returned to his kingdom, Cain (a native
whatever) is supposed to stop playing when she fisherman) realized that the peace of the land would
reaches the end of the rope, telling her that it's safe to only be maintained if Abel did not reascend to his
step off onto the platform. For unknown reasons (but throne, and killed the prince (with a piece of driftwood
with murderous intent), he stops the music early, and or some other impromptu weapon).
she steps off the rope to her death.

1.59 variant answer: The woman is a character in an

opera, who "dies" at the end of her song.
1.61. A man is riding a subway. He meets a one-armed welcomed in each country, and leaves each one of his
man, who pulls out a gun and shoots him. (SJ; own accord. (PRO)
from How Come?)
1.62 answer: He is a mail courier who delivers
1.61 answer: Several men were shipwrecked together. packages to the different foreign embassies in the
They agreed to survive by eating each other a piece at United States. The land of an embassy belongs to the
a time. Each of them in turn gave up an arm, but before country of the embassy, not to the United States.
they got to the last man, they were rescued. They all
demanded that the last man live up to his end of the 1.63. A man is sitting in bed. He makes a phone call,

deal. Instead, he killed a bum and sent the bum's arm saying nothing, and then goes to sleep. (SJ; from How

to the others in a box to "prove" that he had fulfilled Come?)

the bargain. Later, one of them sees him on the

1.63 answer: He is in a hotel, and is unable to sleep
subway, holding onto an overhead ring with the arm he
because the man in the adjacent room is snoring. He
supposedly cut off; the other realizes that the last man
calls the room next door (from his own room number
cheated, and kills him.
he can easily figure out his neighbor's, and from the

1.61a. Variant wording: A man sends a package to room number, the telephone number). The snorer

someone in Europe and gets a note back saying "Thank wakes up, answers the phone. The first man hangs up

you. I received it." without saying anything and goes to sleep before the
snorer gets back to sleep and starts snoring again.
1.61a answer: This is just a simpler version; the
shipwreck situation is the same, and the man actually 1.63 variant answer: (slight) It's a next-door neighbor

did send his own arm. in an apartment building who's snoring, rather than in a
hotel. The caller thus knows his neighbor and the
1.61b. Variant wording: Two men throw a box off of a phone number.
cliff.
1.63a. A man is sleeping in bed at 3 a.m. when the
1.61b answer: Exactly the same situation as in #1.61a telephone rings. As the man lifts the receiver, the caller
(one slight variation has a hand in the box instead of a hangs up. (DW)
whole arm), with the two men being two of the fellow
passengers who had already lost their arms. 1.63a answer: Same situation, from the snoring man's
point of view.
1.61c. Variant wording: A man in a Sherlock Holmes-
style cape walks into a room, places a box on the table 1.64. A man tries to buy poison to kill his wife. The

and leaves. pharmacist figures out what he's up to and finds a way
to ensure that he can't kill his wife. (CB,
1.61c answer: In this one he's wearing the cape either from Flitterwochen in der Hoelle)
to disguise the fact that he hasn't really cut off his
arm/hand as required, or else simply in order to hide 1.64 answer: The pharmacist gives the man a cup of

his now-missing limb. (from Joe Kincaid) coffee to drink while he's waiting. After the man has
drunk the coffee, the pharmacist says, "There was
1.62. An ordinary American citizen, with no passport, poison in that coffee. I'll give you the antidote if you
visits over thirty foreign countries in one day. He is write a signed statement that you were planning to kill
your wife. I'll keep the confession; if anything happens 1.68a answer: It was dry ice instead of water ice.
to your wife, I'll give it to the police." (From Stories With Holes.)

1.65. A man was walking down a road when a stone 1.69. Mr. H meets Mr. X in a hotel bar; after a heated
lodged itself between his foot and his sandal. He discussion, they leave the bar and head upstairs.
leaned against a pole and, with his head down to Partway up the stairs, Mr. X clutches his chest, then
watch, he shook his foot to dislodge the stone. Another punches Mr. H in the face.
man came up and broke the first man's arm in three
places. (RB) 1.69 answer: Mr. H and his new wife are in the hotel
for their honeymoon. Mrs. H is upstairs in their suite;
1.65 answer: The chap shaking his foot to dislodge the Mr. H has stopped for a drink. In the bar he strikes up
stone was leanig against a metal light pole. The other a conversation with a complete stranger, Mr. X, who
fellow came along and thought that the pole had turns out to be a hypnotist. Mr. H claims he can't be
become 'live' somehow; he thought the first fellow was hypnotized; a heated discussion ensues, after which
being electrocuted (and that the muscles in his hand Mr. X hypnotizes Mr. H, telling Mr. H to kill his wife.
had contracted and he couldn't let go). So the second (Mr. X intends to stop Mr. H before he actually
fellow rushed over and whacked the first one on the commits the crime.) They head for the honeymoon
arm, hard. He apologised for it afterwards. (A true suite, but partway up the stairs Mr. X has a heart
story, from an Australian newspaper.) attack; he punches Mr. H in an attempt to end the
trance before Mr. X dies. (JKM original?)
1.66. A man is sitting suspended over two pressurized
containers. Suddenly, he dies. (NK original) 1.69a. Two friends have just had lunch in a restaurant.
At the end of the meal, one draws a pistol and shoots
1.66 answer: He's riding a bicycle or motorcycle, and the other. (DW)
he crashes and dies.
1.69a answer: The solution is essentially the same,
1.67. A man is dead in a puddle of blood and water on except (a) the topic of the lunch discussion was
the floor of a locked room. (This is different from specifically whether someone can be hyponotised to do
#1.68.) something they normally would not do, (b) there's no
mention in the teaser of the heart attack, and (c) the
1.67 answer: He stabbed himself with an icicle.
men are long-time friends. Also, the hypnotist is a

1.68. A man is found hanging in a locked room with a doctor, so he's sure the heart attack will be fatal. The

puddle of water under his feet. (This is different from shooting is non-fatal and is intended to "wake up" the

#1.67.) hypnotized friend to keep him from killing his wife.

1.68 answer: He stood on a block of ice (or a mound of 1.70. A man driving his car turns on the radio. He then

snow) to hang himself. The fact that there's no pulls over to the side of the road and shoots himself.

furniture in the room can be added to the statement, (This is different from #1.71.)

but if it's mentioned in conjunction with the puddle of

1.70 answer: He worked as a DJ at a radio station. He
water the answer tends to be guessed more easily.
decided to kill his wife, and so he put on a long record

1.68a. Same without the puddle of water. and quickly drove home and killed her, figuring he had
a perfect alibi: he'd been at work. On the way back he 1.73 answer: The boat was moving along a river in
turns on his show, only to discover that the record is India when a large snake dropped onto the deck. The
skipping. passengers all rushed to the other side of the boat,
thereby overturning it. This is apparently based on a
1.70a. Variant: The music stops and the man dies. true incident reported in the World Almanac.

1.70a answer: The same, except it's a tape breaking 1.74. A woman walks into a small room and screams.
instead of a record skipping. (from Michael Killianey) (NP)
(See also #1.31a, #1.59, and #1.75c.)
1.74 answer: The woman is a nun, the room is a
1.71. A man is driving his car. He turns on the radio, bathroom in what is supposed to be a women-only
listens for five minutes, turns around, goes home, and area, and the toilet seat has been left up.
shoots his wife. (This is different from #1.70.)
(From How Come?) 1.75. A rope breaks. A bell rings. A man dies. (KH)

1.71 answer: The radio program is one of the call-up- 1.75 answer: A blind man enjoys walking near a cliff,
somebody-and-ask-them-a-question contest shows; the and uses the sound of a buoy to gauge his distance
announcer gives the phone number of the man's from the edge. One day the buoy's anchor rope breaks,
bedroom phone as the number he's calling, and a male allowing the buoy to drift away from the shore, and the
voice answers. It's been suggested that such shows man walks over the edge of the cliff.
don't usually give the phone number being called; so
instead the wife's name could be given as who's being 1.75a. Variant: A bell rings. A man dies. A bell rings.

called, and there could be appropriate background

1.75a answer: A blind swimmer sets an alarm clock to
sounds when the other man answers the phone.
tell him when and what direction to go to shore. The

1.72. She grabbed his ring, pulled on it, and dropped it. first bell is a buoy, which he mistakenly swims to,

(JM, from Math for Girls) getting tired and drowning. Then the alarm clock goes
off. In other variations, the first bell is a ship's bell,
1.72 answer: They were skydiving. He broke his arm and/or the second bell is a hand-bell rung by a friend
as he jumped from the plane by hitting it on the plane on shore at a pre-arranged time.
door; he couldn't reach his ripcord with his other arm.
She pulled the ripcord for him. 1.75a variant answer: The man falls off a belltower,
pulling the bell-cord (perhaps he was climbing a
1.72 variant answer: (sketch) The ring was attached to steeple while hanging onto the rope), and dies. The
the pin of a grenade that he was holding. Develop a second bell is one rung at his funeral. Could also be a
situation from there. variant on #1.75 (as suggested by Mike Neergaard):
the bell-cord breaks when he falls (and there's no
1.72 variant answer: The ring is the engagement ring second bell involved).
that he gave her. She's calling off the engagement. (JD)
1.75a variant answer: The man is a boxer. The first bell
1.73. A riverboat filled with passengers suddenly signals the start of a round; the second is either the end
capsized, drowning most of those aboard. (originally of the round or a funeral bell after he dies during the
from How Come -- Again?) match. Could also be a variant on #1.75 (as suggested
by Mike Neergaard): a boxing match in which the top 1.77 answer: The woman is the assistant to a (circus or
rope breaks, tumbling a boxer to the floor (and he dies sideshow) knife-thrower. The new shoes have higher
of a concussion). heels than she normally wears, so that the thrower
misjudges his aim and one of his knives kills her
1.75b. Variant: The wind stopped blowing and the man during the show.
died.
1.77a. Variant: A woman sees her husband entering a
1.75b answer: The sole survivor of a shipwreck certain place of business and insists on dissolving their
reached a desert isle. Unfortunately, he was blind. partnership. (originally from How Come -- Again?)
Luckily, there was a freshwater spring on the island,
and he rigged the ship's bell (which had drifted to the 1.77a answer: The husband is a knife-thrower; the
island also) at the spring's location. The bell rang in the woman is his assistant as well as his wife. She sees
wind, directing him to water. When he was becalmed him going into an optometrist's office and decides that
for a week, he could not find water again, and so he if he's having trouble with his eyes she doesn't want
died of thirst. (from Peter R. Olpe) him throwing knives at her.

1.75c. Variant: The music stopped and the man died. 1.78. A woman has incontrovertible proof in court that
her husband was murdered by her sister. The judge
1.75c answer: Same as #1.75a, but the blind swimmer declares, "This is the strangest case I've ever seen.
kept a portable transistor radio on the beach instead of Though it's a cut-and-dried case, this woman cannot be
a bell. When the batteries gave out, he got lost and punished." (This is different from #1.11.) (MH;
drowned. (from Joe Kincaid) (See also #1.31a, #1.59, from How Come?)
and #1.70a.)
1.78 answer: The sisters are Siamese twins.
1.75d. Variant: A rope breaks. A bell rings. A boy
dies. (WW) 1.78a. Variant: A man and his brother are in a bar
drinking. They begin to argue (as always) and the
1.75d answer: This allows red herrings involving the brother won't get out of the man's face, shouting and
homonyms "boy" and "buoy" (in some cursing. The man, finally fed up, pulls out a pistol and
pronunciations). Only use this wording if you want to blows his brother's brains out. He sits down to die.
intentionally confuse your audience.
1.78a answer: They are Siamese twins. In the original
1.76. Joe leaves his house, wearing a mask and story, the argument started when one complained about
carrying an empty sack. An hour later he returns. The the other's bad hygiene and bad breath. The shooter
sack is now full. He goes into a room and turns out the bled to death (from his brother's wounds) by the time
lights. (AL) the police arrived. (RW, based on a 1987 Weekly
World News story)
1.76 answer: Joe is a kid who goes trick-or-treating for
Halloween. 1.79. Hans and Fritz are German spies during World
War II. They try to enter America, posing as returning
1.77. A woman buys a new pair of shoes, goes to
tourists. Hans is immediately arrested. (JM, originally
work, and dies. (DM)
from How Come -- Again?)
1.79 answer: Hans and Fritz do everything right up 1.82a answer: One of the dead people is a woman; the
until they're filling out a personal-information form other is the baby she's just given birth to. She died in
and have to write down their birthdays. Fritz' birthday childbirth.
is, say, July 7, so he writes down 7/7/15. Hans,
however, was born on, say, June 20, so he writes down 1.83. A woman lies dead in the street near a car. (AG)

20/6/18 instead of what an American would write,

1.83 answer: She was on a motorcycle, and her long
6/20/18. Note that this is only a problem because
hair got caught on the car's antenna. It ripped out part
they claim to be returning Americans; there are lots of
of her scalp and she bled to death. Andreas says this is
other nations which use the same date ordering.
also based on an actual accident.

1.80. A man is found dead on a path 200 feet from a

1.84. Tim and Greg were talking. Tim said "The terror
gate. Other than his clothes, all he had with him was a
of flight." Greg said "The gloom of the grave." Greg
stick. (KO original)
was arrested. (MPW original, from "No Refuge Could

1.80 answer: The gate is the starting gate of a horse Save," by Isaac Asimov)

race. The man is a jockey who fell off his horse shortly
1.84 answer: The setting is America during WWII.
after it left the gate and got run over by the rest of the
Greg is a German spy. His "friend" Tim is suspicious,
horses. The stick is his riding crop.
so he plays a word-association game with him. When

1.81. A man is found dead in an alley lying in a red Tim says "The land of the free," Greg responds with

pool with two sticks crossed near his head. (PRO) "The home of the brave." Then Tim says "The terror of
flight," and Greg says "The gloom of the grave." Any
1.81 answer: The man died from eating a poisoned U.S. citizen knows the first verse of the national
popsicle. anthem, but only a spy would have memorized the
third verse. (Why Tim knew the third verse is left as an
1.82. A married couple was speeding into town when exercise to the reader.)
their sedan ran out of gas. The man went for help after
making sure his wife closed the windows and locked 1.85. A woman throws something out a window and
the doors of the car. Upon his return, he found his wife dies. (JM)
dead and a stranger in the car. The windows were still
closed, the doors were still locked, and no damage was 1.85 answer: The object she throws is a boomerang. It

done to the car. (SP, from The Next Book of OMNI flies out, loops around, and comes back and hits her in

Games; earlier from How Come?) the head, killing her. Boomerangs do not often return
so close to the point from which they were thrown, but
1.82 answer: The woman gave birth, and bled to death. I believe it's possible for this to happen.
Since the father has never seen the baby before, the kid
can technically be called a stranger. 1.85 variant answer: (silly) She's in a submarine or
spacecraft and throws a heavy object at the window,
1.82a. Two people are dead in a car, which is locked which breaks.
from the inside. There's a lot of blood. ("Martin")
1.86. A man is found dead in his parked car. Tire
tracks lead up to the car and away. (SD; from How
Come?)
1.86 answer: The dead man was the driver in a hit-and- grief. I like this version a lot, except that it makes
run accident which paralyzed its victim. The victim did much less sense that he'd be traveling alone. (from
manage to get the license plate number of the car; now Bernd Wechner)
in a wheelchair, he eventually tracked down the driver
and shot and killed him. 1.88. Two men are digging a trench. They look at each
other and start to argue. They make a phone call. One
1.86a. Variant wording: It is winter in the city, and man leaves for home and the other angrily continues to
snow lies everywhere. Two sets of tire tracks lead into dig. (JC original?)
a garage. Only one set leads out again. A man lies dead
inside. (RW) 1.88 answer: The two men started at opposite ends of
the trench, digging toward each other. Instead of
1.86a answer: Same. (There are variant motives for the meeting up, though, they pass each other, meaning that
killing, but all involve the dead man being responsible one man dug at a skewed angle, or started at the wrong
for the wheelchair-bound killer's condition. For place. They call their supervisor, who tells them that
instance, the dead man could be a surgeon who made a one man was right and the other must re-dig his half in
mistake doing spinal surgery. the right place.

1.87. A man is returning from Switzerland by train. If 1.89. Two men are kidnapped and are placed in the
he had been in a non-smoking car he would have died. trunk of a car. The next morning, when the trunk is
(DVS; MC wording) opened, one man is alive and the other is dead.

1.87 answer: The man used to be blind; he's now 1.89 answer: One of them suffocated; the other lived
returning from an eye operation which restored his by breathing the air from the spare tire in the trunk. I'm
sight. He's spent all his money on the operation, so skeptical that this could work, so I'm leaving it in
when the train (which has no internal lighting) goes section 2 for now; if I get confirmation on feasibility,
through a tunnel he at first thinks he's gone blind again I'll move it to section 1. (From Stories With Holes.)
and almost decides to kill himself. Fortunately, the
light of the cigarettes people are smoking convinces 1.90. A man urinates and dies. (RA original)

him that he can still see.

1.90 answer: He urinated on the third rail in the New

1.87a. Variant: A man dies on a train he does not York subway, was knocked onto the tracks by the

ordinarily catch. shock, and was hit by a train and killed. (Experts
apparently disagree on whether he died from the
1.87a answer: The man (a successful artist) has had an electrical shock before the train hit him.) This is a true
accident in which he injured his eyes. His head is story; the man was named Joseph Patrick O'Malley,
bandaged and he has been warned not to remove the and Cecil Adams gives the story in The Straight Dope,
bandages under any circumstances lest the condition quoting Where Death Delights by Marshall Houta.
be irreversibly aggravated. He catches the train home
from the hospital and cannot resist peeking. Seeing 1.90 variant answer: The man was in a boat on the

nothing at all (the same train-in-tunnel situation as Amazon. A tiny fish swam "upstream" into the man

above obtains, but without the glowing cigarettes this whereupon it inflated itself to balloon size, killing him.

time), he assumes he is blinded and kills himself in (TK) (I don't know whether fish that can swim up a
urethra actually exist or are an urban legend, but all my first one's cane every night, so that every day he thinks
sources indicate they do exist. The self-inflation may he's taller. Since his only income is from being a circus
not be true, though. Also, the man might have to be midget, he decides to kill himself when he gets too tall.
standing in the water (rather than in the boat) for the
fish to enter his body.) 1.92 variant answer: (slight) Instead of sawing pieces
off of the midget's cane, someone has sawed the legs
1.91. A man wakes up one night to get some water. He off of his bed. He wakes up, stands up, and thinks he's
turns off the light and goes back to bed. The next grown during the night.
morning he looks out the window, screams, and kills
himself. (CR; KK wording; originally from How Come 1.92 variant answer: There were termites in his cane.

-- Again?)
1.92a. Variant wording: If he had seen the sawdust, he

1.91 answer: The man is a lighthouse keeper. He turns would have lived. (MJ)

off the light in the lighthouse and during the night a

1.92a answer: Same.
ship crashes on the rocks. Seeing this the next
morning, the man realizes what he's done and commits 1.92b. Variant: A pile of sawdust, no net, a man dies.
suicide.
1.92b answer: A midget is jealous of the clown who
1.91a. Variant, similar to #1.70: The light goes out and walks on stilts. He saws partway through the stilts; the
a man dies. clown walks along and falls and dies when they break.
(from Peter R. Olpe)
1.91a answer: The lighthouse keeper uses his job as an
alibi while he's elsewhere committing a crime, but the 1.93. Two men are dead next to a pile of wood and a
light goes out and a ship crashes, thereby disproving rope. (JC original?)
the alibi. The lighthouse keeper kills himself when he
realizes his alibi is no good. (From Eric Wang) 1.93 answer: The two men were bungee jumpers. They
found a secluded wooden bridge and decided to
1.91a variant answer: A man commits a heinous crime, bungee off of it. One man jumped off after being tied
claiming as his alibi that he was onboard a certain ship. to the bridge, but at the nadir of his fall, the bridge
When he learns that (due to a lighthouse failure) the gave out. The man who jumped landed on the ground
ship was wrecked without reaching port safely, he safely since he was fairly close to the earth, but the
realizes that his alibi is disproven and commits suicide collapsing bridge fell on top of him. The other man fell
to avoid being sent to prison. (From Eric Wang) along with the bridge to his death.

1.92. A man is dead in a room with a small pile of 1.94. A writer with an audience of millions insisted
pieces of wood and sawdust in one corner. (from that he was never to be interrupted while writing. After
"Coroner's Inquest," by Marc Connelly; earlier(?) the day when he actually was interrupted, he never
from How Come?) wrote again. (JM, originally from How Come --
Again?)
1.92 answer: The man is a blind midget, the shortest
one in the circus. Another midget, jealous because he's 1.94 answer: He was a skywriter whose plane crashed
not as short, has been sawing small pieces off of the into another plane.
1.94a. Variant wording: A seated woman is writing a 2.2. A man is found dead in the arctic with a pack on
letter. She dies because there's a thunderstorm outside. his back. (This is different from #1.25, #1.24, and
(SP, from The Next Book of OMNI Games) #2.12.) (PRO)

1.94a answer: Same. I really like this version; I may 2.2 answer: It's a wolf pack; they've killed and eaten
even replace the older puzzle statement with this one. (most of) the man.

1.94b. Variant: A woman is in a Q when there is a 2.3. A man pushes a car up to a hotel and tells the
flash of lightning and she dies. (SP original?) owner he's bankrupt. (DVS; partial AL and JM
wording)
1.94b answer: "Q" sounds like "queue," suggesting
she's standing in line rather than writing the letter Q. 2.3 answer: It's a game of Monopoly.

1.95. In the middle of the ocean is a yacht. Several 2.3a. Variant: The car came out of the blue and the
corpses are floating in the water nearby. (SJ) man came into some money.

1.95 answer: A bunch of people are on an ocean 2.3a answer: The same; in this case the car token
voyage in a yacht. One afternoon, they all decide to go passes Go and the player collects $200. (from "Mo,"
swimming, so they put on swimsuits and dive off the whose full name I missed)
side into the water. Unfortunately, they forget to set up
a ladder on the side of the boat, so there's no way for 2.4. A man lies dead in a room with fifty-three bicycles

them to climb back in, and they drown. in front of him.

1.95 variant answer: The same situation, except that 2.4 answer: The "bicycles" are Bicycle playing cards;

they set out a ladder which is just barely long enough. the man was cheating at cards, and when the extra card

When they all dive into the water, the boat, without was found, he was killed by the other players.

their weight, rises in the water until the ladder is just

2.4a. Variant: There are 53 bees instead of 53 bicycles.
barely out of reach. (also from Steve Jacquot)

2.4a answer: The same (Bee is another brand of

Section 2: Double meanings, fictional settings, and
playing cards).
miscellaneous others

2.4b. Variant: There are 51 instead of 53.

2.1. A man is born in 1972 and dies in 1952 at the age
of 25. (DM) 2.4b answer: Someone saw the guy conceal a card, and
proved the deck was defective by turning it up and
2.1 answer: He's born in room number 1972 of a
pointing out the missing ace. Or, the game was bridge,
hospital and dies in room number 1952. The numbers
and the others noticed the cheating when the deal
can of course vary; it was originally set up with those
didn't come out even. The man had palmed an ace
numbers reversed (born in 1952, died in 1972), but I
during the shuffle and meant to put it in his own hand
like it better this way.
during the deal, but muffed it. (both answers from
Mark Brader)
2.5. A black man dressed all in black, wearing a black 2.7. A dead man lies near a pile of bricks and a beetle
mask, stands at a crossroads in a totally black-painted on top of a book. (MN)
town. All of the streetlights in town are broken. There
is no moon. A black-painted car without headlights 2.7 answer: The man was an amateur mechanic, the

drives straight toward him, but turns in time and book is a Volkswagen service manual, the beetle is a

doesn't hit him. (AL and RM wording; from How car, and the pile of bricks is what the car fell off of.

Come?)
2.8. Hiking in the mountains, you walk past a large

2.5 answer: It's daytime; the sun is out. field and camp a few miles farther on, at a stream. It
snows in the night, and the next day you find a cabin in
2.5a. Elsa can turn off her bedroom light at the door to the field with two dead bodies inside. (KL; KD and
her bedroom, and still make it acroos the room and partial JM wording)
into bed before the room gets dark. (Math for Girls)
2.8 answer: It's the cabin of an airplane that crashed
2.5a answer: It's daytime; the room is lit by a window. there because of the snowstorm.

2.6. Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice all live in the 2.8a. A man is sitting in a chair -- in a cabin -- on the
same house. Bob and Carol go out to a movie, and side of a mountain -- dead. (DW)
when they return, Alice is lying dead on the floor in a
puddle of water and glass. It is obvious that Ted killed 2.8a answer: Same situation, but more concise

her but Ted is not prosecuted or severely punished. wording.

(From How Come?)

2.8b. Variant wording: A cabin, on the side of a

2.6 answer: Alice is a goldfish; Ted is a cat. (Or a dog, mountain, locked from the inside, is opened, and 30

since the fish's body is still there rather than eaten.) people are found dead inside. They had plenty of food
and water. (from Ron Carter)
2.6a. A very common variant uses the names Romeo
and Juliet instead, to further mislead audiences. For 2.8b answer: Same.

example: Romeo is looking down on Juliet's dead

2.9. Two people are playing cards. One looks around
body, which is on the floor surrounded by water and
and realizes he's going to die. (JM original)
broken glass. (AC)

2.9 answer: The one who looks around sees his own
2.6a answer: Same.
reflection in the window (it's dark outside), but not his

2.6b. Minor variant: Tom and Jean lay dead in a companion's. Thus, he realizes the other is a vampire,

puddle of water with broken pieces of glass and a and that he's going to be killed by him.

baseball nearby.
2.10. A man was brought before a tribal chief, who

2.6b answer: Tom and Jean are both fish; it was a asked him a question. If he had known the answer, he

baseball, rather than a cat, that broke their tank. (from probably would have died. He didn't, and lived. (MWD

Mike Reymond) original)

2.10 answer: The native chief asked him, "What is the 2.13 answer: Should be done orally; the envelope is an
third baseman's name in the Abbot and Costello envelope of dye, and she's dying some cloth, but it
routine 'Who's on First'?" The man, who had no idea, sounds like "opens an envelope and dies" if said out
said "I don't know," the correct answer. However, he loud.
was a major smartass, so if he had known the answer
he would have pointed out that What was 2.14. He was killed because of poor eyesight. (JM

the second baseman's name. The chief, being quite original, from an Arthur C. Clarke story in Tales from

humorless, would have executed him on the spot. This the White Hart)

is fairly silly, but I like it too much to remove it from

2.14 answer: He was a referee who made a poor call.
the list.
He was burned to death by fans reflecting sunlight

2.10 variant answer: The question was, "What does the from their slick-covered game programs. I suppose this

tattoo on my daughter's tush say?" or any other is theoretically possible, but it's rather silly and far-

question whose answer reveals that you know more fetched, like most of the stories from that collection; I

than you should. Of course, for this sort of question may not keep it on the list.

one can lie and say one doesn't know even if one does.
2.15. A man rides into town on Friday. He stays one
(FF)
night and leaves on Friday. (KK)

2.11. A very rich man hires a poor man to clean one

2.15 answer: Friday is a horse.
wing of his extravagant domicile. The poor man,
wanting to impress his new boss, cleans the entire 2.15 variant answer: The town is near the north pole.
house. Soon after, the man quits his job. (JC original?) Night lasts six months. (FF)

2.11 answer: The poor man is hired by Aladdin to 2.15a. Variant with the same basic gimmick: A woman
clean his palace. Aladdin only wants the man to clean comes home, sees Spaghetti on the wall and kills her
part of the palace because he does not wish anyone to husband.
enter his bedroom, where he keeps the magic lamp.
The poor man meticulously scrubs the palace from 2.15a answer: Spaghetti was the name of her pet dog.
head to toe, and rubs the magic lamp in the process. Her husband had it stuffed and mounted after it made a
The djinn appears; the poor man wishes for riches, and mess on his rug. (Simon Travaglia original)
no longer needs the job.
2.16. A horse jumps over a tower and lands on a man,
2.12. There is a dead man lying in the desert next to a who disappears. (ES original)
rock. (This is different from #1.25, #1.24, and #2.2.)
2.16 answer: A chess game; knight takes pawn.
(GH)

2.16a. Variant: It's the year 860 A.D., at Camelot. Two

2.12 answer: The dead man is Superman; the rock is
priests are sitting in the castle's chapel. The queen
Green Kryptonite. Invent a reasonable scenario from
attacks the king. The two priests rise, shake hands, and
there.
leave the room.
2.13. A woman opens an envelope and dyes. (AL)
2.16a answer: The two priests are playing chess; one of 2.20 variant answer: Joe is a bee; the man in the mask
them just mated by moving his queen. (from Ellen M. is a beekeeper.
Sentovich)
2.20a. Variant wording: Johnny is afraid to go home
2.16b. Variant: A black leader dies in Africa. because of the man in the mask. (DW)

2.16b answer: The black leader is a chess king, and the 2.20a answer: Same. The diminutive "Johnny" makes
game was played in Africa. (from Erick Brethenoux) it sound like he's a little kid, nicely further obfuscating
the issue.
2.17. Two men are found dead outside of an igloo. (SK
original) 2.20b. Variant: Two men are in a field. One is wearing
a mask. The other man is running towards him to avoid
2.17 answer: The men have gone spelunking and have him.
taken an Igloo brand cooler with them so they can have
a picnic down in the caves. They cleverly used dry ice 2.20b answer: The same, but the catcher isn't right at
to keep their beer cold, not realizing that as the dry ice home plate; the runner is trying to get home before the
sublimed (went from solid state to vapor state) it catcher can. (from Hal Lowery, by way of Chris Riley)
would push the lighter oxygen out of the cave and they This phrasing would allow the puzzle to migrate to
would suffocate. section 1, but I don't like it as much.

2.18. A man is alone on an island with no food and no 2.20c. Variant wording: Instead of "home," say the
water, yet he does not fear for his life. (MN) man in the mask is standing on the corner.

2.18 answer: The "island" is a traffic island. 2.20c answer: Same.

2.19. A man marries twenty women in his village but 2.21. Bruce wins the race, but he gets no trophy.
isn't charged with polygamy. (EMS)

2.19 answer: He's a priest; he is marrying them to other 2.21 answer: Bruce is a horse.
people, not to himself.
2.22. A woman meets the king, cries "Pain!", and loses
2.20. Joe wants to go home, but he can't go home consciousness. (MI original)
because the man in the mask is waiting for him. (AL
wording) 2.22 answer: True story: in France, shortly after the
fall of the Bastille, food shortages became a problem
2.20 answer: A baseball game is going on. The base- again. A mob of people went to Versaille to petition
runner sees the catcher waiting at home plate with the the king to do something about the problem. A small
ball, and so decides to stay at third base to avoid being delegation was admitted to meet the king. One woman,
tagged out. overcome with emotion, could only cry "Pain" (French
for "bread") and faint. (Source: Durant, The Age of
2.20 variant answer: Joe's in the hospital. He can't go Napoleon, pg. 25) Note that this only works in printed
home, because the man in the mask is a surgeon form, not aloud, because the French word is
waiting to remove his appendix. (FF)
pronounced more like English "pan" than like English receiving any; he finally jumps out the window in
"pain." despair. (From Stories With Holes.)

2.22 variant answer: Nine months earlier, this woman 2.23a. Variant wording: The phone rang, and he
had been impregnated by the previous king, who died regretted what he had done. (TRF)
soon afterword. Now, she is giving birth to the new
king. (TV) 2.23a answer: Same.

2.22a. A man enters a store. After a short pause, he 2.24. A newspaper reported that Jacques Dubois

says "pain." The storekeeper is confused, but then finished first in a race held in France. His average

becomes annoyed. (JC original) speed was given, correctly, as 19,475 km/hour. (DA,
from an idea by AR and Richard Fowell)
2.22a answer: The shopkeeper is a French baker. An
American tourist walks into the bakery, pauses to look 2.24 answer: In European numbers, the comma is used

up/remember the word for "bread" in French, which is the same way Americans use a decimal point. The man

spelled "pain." The American says the word as if it thus (Americans would say) ran 19.475 km/hour,

were the English word "pain." At first the shopkeeper which is a pretty good speed at which to run a

does not understand what the American is saying. standard-length (42.195 km) marathon. I assume most

When he does, he gets annoyed with the person's Europeans seeing this item would ask "So where's the

horrible pronunciation. (He then becomes happy after puzzle?", but it might be a good puzzle for Americans.

realizing that he can charge whatever exorbitant Thanks to Dmitry for providing a more palatable

amount he wishes because the American doesn't know version than the version that languished for years in

any better.) I may eventually make this one the main my outtakes file.

entry and #2.22 the variant, since this version works

2.25. At the bottom of the sea there lies a ship worth
better aloud.
millions of dollars that will never be recovered. (TF

2.23. As a man jumps out of a window, he hears the original)

telephone ring and regrets having jumped. (from

2.25 answer: The Eagle landed in the Sea of
"Some Days are Like That," by Bruce J. Balfour;
Tranquility and will likely remain there for the
partial JM wording)
foreseeable future.

2.23 answer: This is a post-holocaust scenario of some

2.26. A man shoots himself, and dies. (HL) (This is
kind; for whatever reason, the man believes himself to
different from #2.27.)
be the last human on earth. He doesn't want to live by
himself, so he jumps, just before the telephone rings... 2.26 answer: The man is a heroin addict, and has
(of course, it could be a computer calling, but he has contracted AIDS by using an infected needle. In
no way of knowing). despair, he shoots himself up with an overdose,
thereby committing suicide.
2.23 variant answer: A real-world version (with less
plausible motivation) has the man being "lonely and 2.27. A man walks into a room, shoots, and kills
despondent" and hoping for phone calls but not himself. (HL) (This is different from #2.26.)
2.27 answer: The man walks into a casino and goes to 2.31a answer: The Orient Express is a model train
the craps table. He bets all the money he owns, and which has been left running unattended. The kitten has
shoots craps. Since he is now broke, he becomes playfully derailed it. (from Bernd Wechner)
despondent and commits suicide.
2.32. Three large people try to crowd under one small
2.28. Adults are holding children, waiting their turn. umbrella, but nobody gets wet. (CC)
The children are handed (one at a time, usually) to a
man, who holds them while a woman shoots them. If 2.32 answer: The sun is shining; there's no rain.

the child is crying, the man tries to stop the crying

2.33. An ordinary woman walks on water. (Math for
before the child is shot. (ML)
Girls)

2.28 answer: Kids getting their pictures taken with

2.33 answer: It's easy to walk on a lake's surface when
Santa. I see #2.26, #2.27, and #2.28 as different
the lake is frozen.
enough from each other to merit separate numbers,
although they all rely on the same basic gimmick of
alternate meanings of the word "shoot."

2.29. Harry dropped a sugar cube in his coffee, then

lifed it out intact a minute later. (Math for Girls)

2.29 answer: It was instant coffee; no water had been

added yet.

2.30. A man is doing his job when his suit tears.

Fifteen minutes later, he's dead. (RM; from How
Come?)

2.30 answer: The man is an astronaut out on a space

walk.

2.30 variant answer: It's a radiation suit. (JD, SP)

2.30 variant answer: It's a deep-sea diving suit. (How

Come?)

2.31. A train pulls into a station, but none of the

waiting passengers move. (MN)

2.31 answer: It's a model train set.

2.31a. Variant: The Orient Express is derailed and a

kitten plays nearby.