Brain Teasers
Abalone
Situation
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.Situation
A man goes into a restaurant and orders abalone. After eating one bite he kills himself. Why?
Answer
The man was on a ship that had been wrecked on a desert island. When the food ran out, another passenger brought what he said was abalone but was really part of the man's wife (who had died in the wreck). The man suspected something fishy, so when they finally returned to civilization, he ordered abalone. Realizing from the taste that what he had eaten before was not abalone, but his wife, he kills himself.Hide Answer Show Answer
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Comments
I`ve seen this same puzzle with an albatross instead of the abalone.
From the evidence given in the question, it is much more likely that the man was his own waiter, and poisoned his own food, killing himself.
Plus, why would someone order abalone from a waiter at a restaurant on a DESERT ISLAND WHEN THEY'RE SHIPWRECKED!!
so you're saying that this man knows what his wife TASTES LIKE?? IT's like...oh! This tastes like my wife! I think i'll kill myself, and not even attempt to try to find the murderer.
QTPie, Mike, read the answer again. He's at the restaurant AFTER being rescued, and the abalone at the restaurant tastes nothing like the abalone on the island (which it wouldn't, 'cos on the island, the 'abalone' was his wife) and realises he ate his wife on that island. Still, I think he should just let go, and not be so hard on himself. So you ate your wife? It's in the past, move on!
How the heck would he know that it was his wife and not just something else? Nice try.
What the heck is Abalone anyway?
I worry about those of you who think up such teasers,LOL Still, I give creativity points. Of course, how DID he know it was his wife and not something else?
I've heard the albatross one at Year 10 camp. Easy Pezy
I don't really think he needs to kill himself.
Had i not heard this one before, it would of been impossible to solve. First of all, the shipwreck, his wife, etc. are way to random. Secondly, you give no hint whatsoever.
Gross and disturbing is all I have to say
One very bad answer, from the sound of it, hes eaten his wife before, probrably many times, because he reconized the taste. And If your out of food, how the heck do you fing abalone, please tell me, because I just have to knoe
I thought he was vegetarian and got it confused or something.
I think the explanation confused people. He had eaten his wife when he was shipwrecked. He came BACK TO SHORE and had abalone and noticed the taste was different, figured out it must have been his wife since she was the only one killed in the accident, and killed himself.
I think the explanation confused people. He had eaten his wife when he was shipwrecked. He came BACK TO SHORE and had abalone and noticed the taste was different, figured out it must have been his wife since she was the only one killed in the accident, and killed himself.
ewww he ate his wife before
sorry giraffe but i had to vent. if you can please tell me how it is possible to arrive at this answer. i understand the answer but how can you arrive at this answer without help.
*giggle* I thought he'd ordered abalone and been given "a baloney" sandwich by accident, which he bit into and then realised he was eating pork!
Holly cow what a pointless thoughtless teaser! Anything could have caused him to kill himself based on the info given. And why would he assume he ate his wife just because a food tasted different back home? He didn't suspect anything while eating it on the island? Horrible teaser.
It's like the story of Tantalus, who served his son to the gods and then was punished in Tartarus.
He KNOWS how his wife tastes like?!?!!? Not right...
That was just sick and cruel and I don't like it.
I don't like it at all.
all right. no clue how he knew what he had on the boat was his wife. one of the worst teasers ever I mean, he ate his wife!
To all of you who thought this was completely pointless.........STOP READING THE SITUATION TEASERS!!!!!!!!!!! Or at least read the disclaimer. I have heard a version of this one in a group setting, and it happens to be my favorite situation puzzle. Situation puzzles are NOT MEANT to be answered by logic or by the clues given. If you want logic puzzles read the logic section then!
what the heck?? im just in the 7th grade dude!!! i dont get it!! plus its gross
what is abalone? how did he know what his wife tasted like?
i get that it's a situation teaser, but i'm still as perplexed as everyone else as to how it knew that because what he had eaten wasn't abalone it was his wife (why couldn't it have been something else, like another passenger, a snake, tofu, etc)
hey 'g' i liked the teaser, i never get these situation teasers by myself, but love to use them on the guys at work, , I give it 2 thumbs up
thats messed up
Yuck man...
The main problem with this teaser is how can he conclude he ate his wife in the desert rather than something else?
It'll need conditions like "his wife was the only passenger that died, or all other passengers were found not missing any flesh, and there must have being absolutely no other meat food source in the desert (like wild animals etc)"
The main problem with this teaser is how can he conclude he ate his wife in the desert rather than something else?
It'll need conditions like "his wife was the only passenger that died, or all other passengers were found not missing any flesh, and there must have being absolutely no other meat food source in the desert (like wild animals etc)"
Ew... Gross... Ummm yeah completely random, pointless, disgusting and wrong... Just, ew...
yeah, really, he could have eaten at least a hundred other things beside his wife, and how would he know it was his wife?
what's with all this "situation teasers are not supposed to be solved with logic" crap? i mean, it is like a one in a million chance that someone would guess the right answer to this
what's with all this "situation teasers are not supposed to be solved with logic" crap? i mean, it is like a one in a million chance that someone would guess the right answer to this
bagogirl is right. it should say in the puzzle, "after getting back to shore after being stranded on an island, a man buys abalone."
and for those of you who don't know, abalone is a fish or sumthing with a shell found in the water. Have u never seen those big, colorful shells?
and for those of you who don't know, abalone is a fish or sumthing with a shell found in the water. Have u never seen those big, colorful shells?
Didn't like this one at all. Boring
OMG.. this is sooo funny.. I couldn't stop laugh when I read the answer..
Really pointless and a waste of time. No way to even know the answer.
wow who could figure that 1 out...i mean really that is way out there
i agree that its impossible to figure out that he didn't eat something other than his wife
pointless and discussting
pointless and discussting
Maybe i'm alone on this, but i thought the answer was pretty funny, and this does work out if you use as a prompt for others to answer. my demented friends got it almost right away.
?
this was illogical
But keep on trying, I know you meant well
But keep on trying, I know you meant well
does it have to be so gross??
O.K. seriously, how are you supposed to figure this one out
There needed to have been a hint. And to those who think its funny, a couple of words. Sick and Wrong
Why does every1 say da teaser is so sick??? I me an I like the taste of human flesh compared 2 abalone!!! abalone......ewwwwwww
not me an.....mean
what on earth is abalone?
Great one, keep them coming.
how does he know it was his wife and not some other person???
either way:
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
either way:
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
that was so lame, how would someone guess that. next time give a hint or something. BOO!
Okay, for all you who are asking about abalone...there's this new fangled thing called "google"...
Now THAT was random. Is there even restaurant on a DESERTED ISLAND!
rrrriiiigggghhhtttt ssssuuuurrrreeee
May 09, 2006
To all the retards asking about the restaurant on the desert island: please learn to read. It says once he got back to civilization he went to the restaurant.
I came up with different situation. That was a little gross and disturbing. Interesting effort.
I don't get how anyone could possibly guess that. There were no clues as to what happened. My mom couldn't even begin to guess. I think that you should add a little bit more to the question/clues.
umm how did we get to this???
I'm not sure if you can follow and get the same thing
I'm not sure if you can follow and get the same thing
umm how did we get to this???
I'm not sure if you can follow and get the same thing
I'm not sure if you can follow and get the same thing
Hmmm, I thought the answer WAS pretty funny, in a cruel and sick sort of way.
For those of you who don't see how one could arrive at the answer: You're not supposed to. Situation teasers are best told in groups, where one person tells the situation (in this case, the man eating the abalone and killing himself) and the others ask a series of yes/no questions. In this way, they're supposed to arrive at the answer.
It's pretty much impossible to get the answer by yourself.
For those of you who don't see how one could arrive at the answer: You're not supposed to. Situation teasers are best told in groups, where one person tells the situation (in this case, the man eating the abalone and killing himself) and the others ask a series of yes/no questions. In this way, they're supposed to arrive at the answer.
It's pretty much impossible to get the answer by yourself.
#1) what the heck is abalone
#2) i dont see the connection between abalone and a shipwreck where his wife was killed
#3) i just totally didnt get it
#2) i dont see the connection between abalone and a shipwreck where his wife was killed
#3) i just totally didnt get it
the two things are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO not related so i do not think anyone will get it right
and try something else that actuly leads of from the question ok
It was original, but it needs work.
Let me revise what I said.
I really like it, but I think that there were a lot of other possibilities as to what the man ate, but since that possibility has been overkilled by the majority of us commenters, I'll let it rest.
It was good though, and I thought that it was very creative.
Just a revision of my previous comment.
I really like it, but I think that there were a lot of other possibilities as to what the man ate, but since that possibility has been overkilled by the majority of us commenters, I'll let it rest.
It was good though, and I thought that it was very creative.
Just a revision of my previous comment.
This one just isn't good. It doesn't follow any logical path and there's no way one could even come close to guessing the answer because it's so absurd.
I think if the situations are not supposed to be based on any logic and solved in a group by questioning the one with the answer logic should at least be applied in it's writing to prompt questions which might actually help someone in the group come up with the final answer. This is so terribly absurd and inappropriate who would ask if he had eaten his wife before? or you know what it doesn't matter. I tried to find someone's comments in here to get me to view this in an acceptable way, but it's just no use. It's an awful teaser and this is the first time I am completely compelled to make a negative comment.
INTERESTING
LAME!
That was a waste of time
That is so sad. I would have NEVER guessed.
I only got this because my english teacher jsut tried this with albatross the other day.
Of course, we were able to ask questions to figure out the ship, wife, and other man..
Of course, we were able to ask questions to figure out the ship, wife, and other man..
Bad teaser better luck next time
messed up teaser, sickening
The answer is way too specific. Unless one has heard it before, it is impossible to get. I DON"T EVEN KNOW WHAT ABALONE IS!!!!!
?
haha i thot it was gonna be because it tasted soo bad... i am sooo fly
who would serve wife at a restaurant? doesnt the health inspector come ever?
UM..... ok.... I thought he killed himself because he choked on the abalone! Ah, baloney! get it?? LOL!
Horrible! What the heck are these answers?
If they're going to be that off the wall, how about this one:
The man had two children and they were running in the back yard and when he bit into the abalone he bit his tongue and he got so mad that he ran out and chased the kids into the street then they got hit by a car and he felt bad and jumped in front of the next car.
Seriously. Riddles should have ONE Solid answer!!! GRRRRR
If they're going to be that off the wall, how about this one:
The man had two children and they were running in the back yard and when he bit into the abalone he bit his tongue and he got so mad that he ran out and chased the kids into the street then they got hit by a car and he felt bad and jumped in front of the next car.
Seriously. Riddles should have ONE Solid answer!!! GRRRRR
Yeah, I agree, there's like no way anyone would have guessed that.
what the heck was that?
its a known situation teaser youre not supposed to be able to answer it without questining the author using yes no questions, also these teasers have any range of answers because the information on them is limited
it would have been a TINY bit easier to answer if there was a hint....... but totally morbid and disgusting regardless!
Firstly, HOW DID HE KNOW IT WAS HIS WIFE, Secondly,PUT A HINT ON IT, and finally how was anyone meant to guess that
think u need to improve it quite a bit
think u need to improve it quite a bit
How were we supposed to know he ate his wife??
Gross and sad
So you think this is LOGIC?
ehh next time a give us a few clues before telling us to find the answer.
This teaser is NOT original. It is older than my great grandmother. But I like it! Heard that, people? I LIKE IT!!! And before you ask about a restaurant on a desert island, READ THE ANSWER CAREFULLY. Before you ask about how vague this is, READ THE DISCLAIMER right under the title of every situation teaser. And this is one of my favourite teasers, and who cares if in this teaser someone ate his wife. IT'S JUST A TEASER! Golly, get a brain, people. Don't complain if you don't know what you're talking about. And several people here need to take a spelling class...
And wanna know how I got my good karma? From REPORTING OFFENSIVE COMMENTS.
For those of you who were wondering, abalone is an aquatic animal similar to a mussel.
Random teaser
These types of teasers with ridiculously hard answers shouldn't be on braingle. They're only for when you can ask yes or no questions.
You start with a decent story about somebody dying from eating something, and then the answer ends up being something waaaaaaaaay out there.
heard this before. First time I heard the answer it scared the crap out of me. I still have trouble breathing when I think about it.
It's kinda random (in a bad way) so I think it's impossible to solve.
...........
to the person who solved this, i congratulate you for solving this almost unsolvable puzzle!!
The point of situation teasers is for you to hear them here, then tell them to your friends while you let your friend ask yes or no questions. Ya, these teasers are impossible to solve HERE, but really you are supposed to have help.
I saw the albatross one!
Ummmmmmmmmmmmm........... How do you take that?
How did he know that how his wife taste?
The problem is it doesn't have enough evidence to come up wit the correct answer. I came up with 2 alternatives that made sense:
1: When he ate it in the restaurant he received bad news (like his wife died) and killed himself
2: He was already planning to die
It's just to vague.
1: When he ate it in the restaurant he received bad news (like his wife died) and killed himself
2: He was already planning to die
It's just to vague.
Why didn't this have a higher fun rating? This is the nature of Lateral Thinking Puzzles, they are quite vague. Otherwise it would be mystery. Usually they're just like: Someone died here. They are holding something. How did they die? If it was more explicit it would be Mystery. Anyway, good teaser, but I have seen the same one in other places
Yeah, there really isn't a whole lot to work with here. MAybe if they mentioned the shipwreck, it could be solved.
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