Situation Puzzle 001: What happened to this man?

[SQLDenis]

This is not really a puzzle. I did this one about 20 years ago, sitting next to a camp fire, drinking bambus and having fun

I will present you with a short story, you have to ask questions that I can only answer with yes or no
You can ask "did the man wear pants?" you cannot ask "What color pants did the man wear?"
So the questions that you ask should only be answered with yes or no


I have 3 of these stories, depending on how well this goes we can do once a week

Here it goes

There is man laying in the Sahara deserts, he has a toothpick in his hand, he is dead, there is nothing nearby for miles and miles. He is 300 feet away from an oasis, he doesn't have GPS on him or any food or drinks
What happened to this poor person and why is he laying here dead?

[kaht]

Was the cause of death related to the toothpick?

[SQLDenis]

yes, the cause of death was related to the toothpick

[kaht]

1) was it laced with some sort of poison or other substance that caused the death?
2) was it used to lacerate or puncture the person in some fashion which lead to his death?

[SQLDenis]

No to both

[Thirster42]

1. did he fall out of an airplane?
2. does he have normal human appendages?

[SQLDenis]

1. did he fall out of an airplane?
2. does he have normal human appendages?

1) no
2) it is a normal human, no wings, antenna etc etc, he was not a mutant

[kaht]

Was a 3rd party related to his death? i.e. was it a murder?

[Thirster42]

You say there is nothing around and yet there is an oasis, this statement is somewhat contradictory.

is there anything besides sand, water, and cacti nearby?

[SQLDenis]

Was a 3rd party related to his death? i.e. was it a murder?

No, it was not a murder

[SQLDenis]

You say there is nothing around and yet there is an oasis, this statement is somewhat contradictory.

is there anything besides sand, water, and cacti nearby?

by nothing I mean nothing that points to civilizations, in other words no man made structures

[Thirster42]

You say there is nothing around and yet there is an oasis, this statement is somewhat contradictory.

is there anything besides sand, water, and cacti nearby?

by nothing I mean nothing that points to civilizations, in other words no man made structures

ok

did he die from an accident?
did he die from suicide?
did he die of dehydration or lack of food?
did he die by choking on an olive?

[SQLDenis]

ok

did he die from an accident?
did he die from suicide?
did he die of dehydration or lack of food?
did he die by choking on an olive?

No
yes
no
no

[AlexCuse]

Before it was in his hand, was the toothpick used to hold something in place that was keeping him alive?

[SQLDenis]

Before it was in his hand, was the toothpick used to hold something in place that was keeping him alive?

No

[Thirster42]

was the toothpick the implement of the suicide?

[Emtucifor]

I love these. One name for them is "situation puzzles." I know many, but not this one. I would hope that my experience with these puzzles would give me an edge in the questions I ask. We shall see what we shall see.

1. Is the toothpick an ordinary store-bought toothpick made out of wood?
2. Is the means or nature of the man's transport into the desert significant to the situation?
3. Is the oasis related in any way to the man's death?
4. Is the man wearing clothes? If so, is the type of clothing he is wearing significant?
5. Besides sand/dirt, the toothpick, and any possible clothes, are there any objects, substances, or other matter in, on, or about him that are important to understanding the situation?

[SQLDenis]

I love these. One name for them is "situation puzzles." I know many, but not this one. I would hope that my experience with these puzzles would give me an edge in the questions I ask. We shall see what we shall see.

1. Is the toothpick an ordinary store-bought toothpick made out of wood?
2. Is the means or nature of the man's transport into the desert significant to the situation?
3. Is the oasis related in any way to the man's death?
4. Is the man wearing clothes? If so, is the type of clothing he is wearing significant?
5. Besides sand/dirt, the toothpick, and any possible clothes, are there any objects, substances, or other matter in, on, or about him that are important to understanding the situation?

1 yes
2 yes
3 no
4 yes, no
5 no

[Emtucifor]

Should I let other people ask questions now? Do you want to set some structure about number of questions per post and number of other posters before posting again?

[SQLDenis]

Go ahead you can ask

BTW I did a search for situation puzzles and this one is out there but it is a little different,

don't search for it if you don't want to spoil it

[AlexCuse]

Was the man transported to the desert by a manned vehicle?

[SQLDenis]

Was the man transported to the desert by a manned vehicle?

can't compute, rephrase question

[kaht]

1) Did he willingly go to the desert?
2) Did he commit suicide because death was imminent?
3) Did he commit suicide to prevent something from happening?
4) Did he have the toothpick before he died?
5) Assuming we've found this person in the desert, has anyone else found/seen his corpse before us?

[kaht]

one more:

1) did the man die as a result of a large fall?

[SQLDenis]

1) Did he willingly go to the desert?
2) Did he commit suicide because death was imminent?
3) Did he commit suicide to prevent something from happening?
4) Did he have the toothpick before he died?
5) Assuming we've found this person in the desert, has anyone else found/seen his corpse before us?

1) unknown
2) no (debatable)
3) yes
4) yes
5) unknown