The Traveler & The Nut Tree
Situation puzzles (sometimes called lateral thinking puzzles) are ones where you need to ask lots of yes or no questions to figure out what happened in the situation. These are good puzzles for groups where one person knows the puzzle and answers the questions.
A traveler who stopped to rest under a nut tree noticed a huge pumpkin growing on a thin vine near by.
"How foolish are the ways of nature," the traveler muttered. "If things were as they should be, this big, strong tree would hold the large pumpkins, and the spindly vine would hold the small nuts. Now if I made the world, that is how I'd have done it!"
If indeed, he had "made the world", what flaw could there be with such a logical arrangement: big, strong trees growing big heavy crops, and small vines, small crops?
Answer
At that moment, from high up in the tree, a small nut fell and hit him squarely on the head. Startled, he looked up into the branches and thought, "Forgive my arrogance! If it were a big pumpkin that fell out of the tree onto my head, it most certainly would have killed me!"
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Comments
GebbieRose   
Oct 12, 2006
| Thought the title sounded like you, China! Another clever little story! So glad the world is designed the way it is, or most of us would be maimed... or worse!  |
MalcolmReynolds 
Oct 13, 2006
| I think it would have made more sense to have it been that the fruit would be ruined... but even then that implies that its purpose is to be eaten.
Either way, if trees were that way, people would know not to dawdle under the ones with the pumpkins... |
didida
Oct 15, 2006
| Still they could be in the middle of a whole group of them on accident! Oh and great teaser!   |
Punk_Rocker
Oct 15, 2006
| It makes a better story than a teaser. But it's still awesome...I love all of your teasers. |
unklemyke
Oct 16, 2006
| And aren't you glad cows don't fly?!!   |
tedger
Oct 19, 2006
| If pumpkins grew on trees would that made their stems brown instead of green?  |
rkaaland
Oct 21, 2006
| Loved it! |
maingle-_-
Oct 23, 2006
| I agree with MalcolmReynolds and Punk_Rocker. I thought the answer was that a tree's infrastructure wouldn't support pumkins very well, while the flexable vine can support any size. |
aranara89
Oct 24, 2006
| I have already read this somewhere else, but I still loved it. And, If the world had been designed that way, the tree would have grown in such a way to support the pumpkin. |
1blessedgirl
Oct 28, 2006
| This makes me glad God created the earth. He obviously knew what he was doing when he did it. |
Dishhead5
Dec 17, 2006
| that was good! God created this world so thoughtfully, and He knows whats best for us |
vikingboy
Jan 18, 2007
| I guess some of you have never heard of a coconut tree.
You do not want to get hit on the head by one of those! |
OldChinaHand
Jan 19, 2007
| And why do you suppose coconuts grow where and how they do in nature...so we don't have to keep an eye up all the time.
Thanks to all those who drop by to share their comments. OCH |
vikingboy
Jan 20, 2007
| OldChinahand.
Obviously you never watched Gilligan's Island...those nasty coconuts were a force to reckoned with! |
lukeschett
Apr 17, 2007
| Another great teaser. |
amn22492
May 24, 2007
| rotfl |
swithie
Jun 07, 2007
| Liked the teaser but I think that Aranara is wrong when she says that the tree would grow to support the pumpkin. As far as I know trees grow fruit to drop them so that the seeds can be spread around and the tree can continue to grow. It is simply an annoyance to the trees that humans pick the fruit and eat it. As soon as the Pumpkin was ripe the tree would need to drop it to the ground. |
Deedee123
Jan 05, 2008
| The hint gave it away |
AndrewWalker
Jun 12, 2008
| I opened the hint and got it right after I read the hint so i gave it a 1/2 difficulty rating, great teaser
|
beyonce123
Feb 14, 2010
| best teaser ever |
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