this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2023
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Asklemmy
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How easy should it be to solve?
My favorite longer puzzle is “there’s a naked man lying dead in a field with a stick in his hand. Asking me only yes/no questions, tell me why he is in the field and how did he die?”
Did he die right where he's lying now0?
Yes, he did!
I love Black Stories, this was the first one I have solved/played years ago.
I won't give away the answer, that would not be f air
I love them as well! I only know a couple, but I first heard them at a summer camp and they’re a great way to pass time with new friends while traveling.
Was his death from natural causes?
No. It was sudden :)
Was his death an accident?
In a way, yes.
Did he die from a fall?
Yes!
Was he in water at some point recently?
He was not.
Was the stick being used by the man prior to death?
It was! The stick was used by the man prior to his death. More specifically the man was compelled to receive the stick before he died.
Did he know he was going to die by the time he'd received the stick?
This is a “Maybe, but probably yes”. While he didn’t know he would die, he did suspect he would be at least injured when he got a look at the stick he received.
Was the stick broken from something?
It was!
Without reading the rest of the comments, this sounds like a weird version of strip Truth or Dare where sticks, one of which is broken, are drawn instead of a spinning bottle.
Or airship pirates using this method to choose which one gets thrown overboard for some reason (and recovering clothes before that).
Was a hot air balloon / blimp with multiple people on board involved in the story?
Lol, this comment is all over the place, and you’ve got accurate guess tidbits all through it.
As for your actual question: Yes! A hot air balloon and multiple people were involved.
Not close on why he was naked, tho :P.
The aircraft was failing and they needed to reduce weight by discarding their belongings? Then tore apart some of the railing for a stick-drawing game to see who would need to be thrown overboard to save the rest?
Yes! The balloon was losing altitude and after dropping all of the sand bags on the balloon, they decided someone needed to exit so that the others might be saved.
They took some of the reeds from the balloon basket so they could “draw straws” to see who had to jump. Our man was the unlucky winner who drew the “short straw”.
Since he is now dead in the field with only his short straw in his hand, we know the fall didn’t work out for him.
But can you tell me why he was naked?
Naked because they shed their clothes and belongings first
Ahhh, yes, but do you know why they did such a thing?
I’m really nitpicking now, as you’ve already told me how he got into the field, but now it’s just knowing why he’s naked ;P
As I said, trying to slow down the fall by discarding weight in nonlethal ways first (discarding clothes and belongings), which didn't really help.
Good reasoning, but unfortunately that’s not why they discarded clothes. You’re close enough that I’ll give it to you, though.
SPOILER:
Here’s the narrative: A group of friends were taking a ride in a hot air balloon one day. After some time, the igniter which gave their balloon altitude broke and they began descending faster and faster. After dropping all of their sandbags, the descent was only marginally slowed. They came to the conclusion that one of them must jump in order to save the rest. The leader tore off sticks from the railing of the wicker basket that made up the cradle of the balloon. Everyone drew straws and the subject of our story was the unfortunate man to lose. In order to give the man the best chance of survival from the fall, each passenger removed their clothes and tied them together to lengthen the rope they had aboard. They lowered the makeshift rope overboard. The group waited until they were close enough to the ground to hopefully allow the man to survive the fall. The man held firmly to the short straw he drew for good luck and climbed over the side of the basket to begin descending the clothes-rope. As he was nearly at the end, the knots connecting the clothes unraveled and the man fell before he was ready. He landed naked in a field, dead. His only possession was the fateful stick which sealed his fate.
Thanks for playing!
I would have expected him to keep holding onto the bottom part of the clothes rope...
You'd think they could just land it instead of sacrificing one of them, lol
If it's lost enough hot air to accelerate downward uncontrollably, that would be a crash landing nobody would survive
Was it part of a railing?
Yes!
Oh! Full on guess time!
Was he having an affair, but had to quickly dash to the (shoddy) balcony once the husband unexpectedly came back?
A wonderful guess, but that is incorrect! There are no buildings around the field where his body lays.
You’re really getting the clues all together very quickly, though!
You are correct about the falling, but no affair and no shoddy balcony :)
Oki doki
Did he fall from a plane?
Not from a plane, but you’ve got the right idea!
I'm ok with having some hards! It's a Board Game Society some of them can like a bit of challenge!
Hmmmm Did you have to fight sir?
No :)
Are you waiting for something?
No, I am dead. I can no longer wait :)
Say, dead sir, can you answer yes to a question?
Yes!
Can you be somewhere else?
Lighting strike?
Good guess! but no :)