Many years ago, I taught folklore at a summer camp(we had new campers each week of different ages, from 8-15). At the time, the folklore class was pretty unstructured, so I could more or less do as I pleased. Sometimes I told ghost stories, sometimes sports games, sometimes mythology, whatever I thought might be entertaining to the kids. One of the most useful things we did was two minute mysteries, as they allowed me to be lazy.
The basic rules are as follows: a scenario is laid before the people playing, and you're allowed to ask as many yes/no questions as you like to determine the answer. The answer to the question may also be 'Irrelevant' if it has no bearing on the solution.
I request the following :
* One question per post
* If you already know the answer, please keep it to yourself and let others play. Same with Googling the answer.
Once the scenario is solved, the person who solves it gets to post a new one OR they can pass it back to someone else who's interested (FYI, I'm happy to post more).
So here's the first scenario:
A man is found dead, surrounded by 52 bicycles. What happened?
Tags:
Here's the puzzle again, to refresh everyone's memories
Randy Jackson said:
Tim and Greg were talking. Tim said "The terror of flight". Greg said "The gloom of the grave".
Greg was arrested.
Are the lines spoken quotes from a poem or play etc? (They sound like something from Waiting for Godot).
Yes
MethodEng said:
Are the lines spoken quotes from a poem or play etc? (They sound like something from Waiting for Godot).
Are they taken from "The Star-Spangled Banner" (extended version)?
Yes
JD DeLuzio said:
Are they taken from "The Star-Spangled Banner" (extended version)?
Are they in a place/time where being American makes them suspect?
Hmmm...no
JD DeLuzio said:
Are they in a place/time where being American makes them suspect?
Is Greg's nationality relevant to his arrest?
Yes
JD DeLuzio said:
Is Greg's nationality relevant to his arrest?
Is there a war that is relevant to the situation?
Hmm...I'll say yes
JD DeLuzio said:
Is there a war that is relevant to the situation?
Is the question "what follows this in The Star-Spangled Banner?"
Randy Jackson said:
Within this context, it could be construed as one.
Peter Wrexham said:
Is Tim's statement ("the terror of flight") a question?