Lateral Puzzles • View topic

by **Doriana** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 7:20 pm

What do Mary, Robert and John have in common?

by **TDGperson** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 7:38 pm

That they're all very common names.

Are they names of specific people? Did any of them rob a bank? Plan to? Did their bank robbery attempt fail? If so, did they get caught while planning? during the robbery?

Did they all plan to rob a bank at the same time? At different times? Did they rob a bank together? Plan a bank robbery together?

Did any of them write a book about a bank robbery? Make a movie? Make a theater play?

Are there any people other than those 3 involved?

by **Doriana** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 7:45 pm

That they're all very common names. This was probably meant as a throwaway observation, but it's very relevant to the puzzle

Are they names of specific people? No Did any of them rob a bank? Plan to? Did their bank robbery attempt fail? If so, did they get caught while planning? during the robbery?

Did they all plan to rob a bank at the same time? At different times? Did they rob a bank together? Plan a bank robbery together?

Did any of them write a book about a bank robbery? Make a movie? Make a theater play? No to all, and no actual bank robberies are relevant

Are there any people other than those 3 involved? No, and see above

by **WiZ** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 8:31 pm

Does the commonality have to do with: The history of the names? The meaning of the names? The demographics of those who wear the names? The way these names are ascribed to things other than people (houses, hurricanes, boats, nuclear testing projects etc)? The representation of the names in media? Wikipedia/other encyclopedias? The spelling of the names? Some orthographical component?

by **hominid** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 8:48 pm

Are we trying to figure out what the names Mary, Robert, and John have in common? Nicknames relevant?

Are Mary, Robert, and John the names of animals? objects? ideas?

by **Doriana** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 9:41 pm

Does the commonality have to do with: The history of the names? Yope The meaning of the names? No The demographics of those who wear the names? Yope The way these names are ascribed to things other than people (houses, hurricanes, boats, nuclear testing projects etc)? No The representation of the names in media? Yes, but beware of FA Wikipedia/other encyclopedias? Noish, DOYD of encyclopedia The spelling of the names? Some orthographical component? No to these

Are we trying to figure out what the names Mary, Robert, and John have in common? Yes indeed Nicknames relevant? No

Are Mary, Robert, and John the names of animals? objects? ideas? No to all

by **WiZ** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 9:48 pm

Are lists of names (e.g. electoral rolls, phone books etc) relevant?

by **Doriana** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 11:26 pm

Are lists of names (e.g. electoral rolls, phone books etc) relevant? Yes, but (probably) not the examples you mentioned

by **WiZ** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 11:31 pm

Are games or works of fiction relevant? Is the act of naming (newborns, characters) relevant?

Edit: Is there a legal aspect (e.g. lists of allowable names in certain countries)? Is there a linguistic element (e.g. names that are common/understood in multiple countries/languages)?

by **Doriana** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 11:35 pm

Are games or works of fiction relevant? No Is the act of naming (newborns Yes, characters No) relevant? Not the act itself, but the result

Edit: Is there a legal aspect (e.g. lists of allowable names in certain countries)? Is there a linguistic element (e.g. names that are common/understood in multiple countries/languages)? No to both

by **Hobbsicle** » Fri Dec 11, 2020 3:41 pm

Lists of top baby names for a given year relevant? Google relevant? Other technology? Are the names relevantly becoming less popular? More popular? Having a steady and sustained popularity?

by **klondike mary** » Fri Dec 11, 2020 8:57 pm

Lists of rulers relevant?
If so, rulers of Scotland (the only country I can think of, offhand, to have a King Robert)?

by **Doriana** » Sat Dec 12, 2020 1:31 pm

Lists of top baby names Yes for a given year relevant? Yesish, think bigger Google relevant? No Other technology? Yesish Are the names relevantly becoming less popular? More popular? Irrel to these Having a steady and sustained popularity? This is relevant

by **JenBurdoo** » Sat Dec 12, 2020 4:55 pm

Is a bank of any sort relevant? A blood bank, perhaps? Are John, Robert and Mary related by family?

by **Doriana** » Sat Dec 12, 2020 6:56 pm

Missed a set of questions earlier, sorry!
Lists of rulers relevant?
If so, rulers of Scotland (the only country I can think of, offhand, to have a King Robert)?
No to all, but good idea

Is a bank of any sort relevant? A blood bank, perhaps? No to these Are John, Robert and Mary related by family? No, they're not specific people

by **Enjay** » Sat Dec 12, 2020 8:27 pm

Have those names stayed popular for a certain/long amount of time? Eg they have all appeared in the top names list every year for a century or something like that?

Are they the only names that share this thing? Could you have included more names in your puzzle statement?

by **Doriana** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 12:32 am

Have those names stayed popular for a certain/long amount of time? For a long time, yes Eg they have all appeared in the top names list every year for a century or something like that? OTRT

Are they the only names that share this thing? Yes Could you have included more names in your puzzle statement? No

by **hoodie** » Mon Dec 14, 2020 8:39 pm

Are they relevant because they were the most common, period?
Or because they were the most common among a particular set of people?

If the latter,

People of a particular profession?
People who held a particular title or office?
People who did something specific?
People who lived in a particular time period?

by **Doriana** » Mon Dec 14, 2020 10:31 pm

Are they relevant because they were the most common, period? It's relevant that they were the most common or very common for an extended period of time
Or because they were the most common among a particular set of people?

If the latter,

People of a particular profession?
People who held a particular title or office?
People who did something specific?
People who lived in a particular time period?

by **WiZ** » Mon Dec 14, 2020 10:35 pm

Are they the only names that have been in the Top x in three different centuries?

by **Doriana** » Tue Dec 15, 2020 1:52 pm

Are they the only names that have been in the Top x in three different centuries? No/irrel

by **JenBurdoo** » Thu Dec 17, 2020 5:56 pm

Is the fact that they can be modified to name a member of the opposite sex (Joan, Roberta, etc) relevant?

by **Doriana** » Sat Dec 19, 2020 1:18 pm

Is the fact that they can be modified to name a member of the opposite sex (Joan, Roberta, etc) relevant? No

by **trebor** » Sat Dec 19, 2020 7:32 pm

PMing guess.

by **klondike mary** » Fri Dec 25, 2020 4:03 pm

Does this puzzle have a specific relevance to Canada? To North America? To English-speaking countries generally? or to any English-speaking country?

by **JenBurdoo** » Sat Dec 26, 2020 12:24 am

Would the puzzle still work if these were non-English variants of the names (Johann, Rupprecht, Maria)?

by **Doriana** » Fri Jan 01, 2021 8:05 pm

klondike mary
Does this puzzle have a specific relevance to Canada? To North America? To English-speaking countries generally? or to any English-speaking country? It has a specific relevance to the US

JenBurdoo
Would the puzzle still work if these were non-English variants of the names (Johann, Rupprecht, Maria)? No

HINT: We've established that technology and media are both relevant(ish). Think about what you might find at the intersection of the two.

by **klondike mary** » Sat Jan 02, 2021 7:43 pm

Communication relevant?
If so, print? electronic? telephone/telegraph?

by **TDGperson** » Sun Jan 03, 2021 5:57 am

Social media relevant? Referring to someone by their name? Searching for someone's profile on social media? People registering and then finding out they can't use their name because it's already in use? Mistaken identities relevant?

by **Doriana** » Tue Jan 05, 2021 9:22 pm

Communication relevant? DOYD of "communication"
If so, print? electronic? This telephone/telegraph?

Social media relevant? DOYD of "social media" Referring to someone by their name? Searching for someone's profile on social media? People registering and then finding out they can't use their name because it's already in use? Mistaken identities relevant? No to rest

by **trebor** » Wed Jan 06, 2021 7:11 pm

Are cell phones relevant? Computers? Tablets? TV?

DYOD of "social media": chat forums? Message boards? An online platform? News-sharing sites?

Does it have a relevance to the US because that's where this happens? Because of some aspect of US history? Because it ties in with place names? US politics relevant? Being named after politicians or their children/spouses relevant?

by **markobr** » Thu Jan 07, 2021 6:23 pm

Is the use of surenames and/or middle names besides these names relevant? The ordering of lists of names? Malfunction of electronic devices? The use of names in lateral puzzles set and solved in this forum?

by **Doriana** » Wed Jan 13, 2021 3:24 pm

Are cell phones relevant? Computers? Tablets? All of these are indirectly relevant TV? No

DYOD of "social media": chat forums? Message boards? An online platform? News-sharing sites? No to all

Does it have a relevance to the US because that's where this happens? Yes for svv of "happens" Because of some aspect of US history? Because it ties in with place names? US politics relevant? Being named after politicians or their children/spouses relevant? No to rest

Is the use of surenames and/or middle names besides these names relevant? The ordering of lists of names? Malfunction of electronic devices? The use of names in lateral puzzles set and solved in this forum? No to all

by **Balin** » Thu Jan 14, 2021 2:25 pm

Are they common passwords?

by **Doriana** » Thu Jan 14, 2021 3:32 pm

Are they common passwords? No/irrel, but good idea

by **Balin** » Thu Jan 14, 2021 3:40 pm

Are they the names of something electronic? Of electronic devices? Software? Programs?

by **Doriana** » Thu Jan 14, 2021 7:32 pm

Are they the names of something electronic? Of electronic devices? Software? Programs? No, the names are only relevant as first names given to human babies

by **Mimino** » Thu Jan 14, 2021 9:19 pm

Typing relevant? Are these names in some way easier to type?

by **Doriana** » Fri Jan 15, 2021 12:30 pm

Typing relevant? Are these names in some way easier to type? No/irrel

HINT (in white): It's specifically relevant that these names are popular in comparison to other names.

by **Balin** » Fri Jan 15, 2021 2:08 pm

Popularity relevant? Have they been consistently popular for X length of time?

by **Balin** » Fri Jan 15, 2021 2:11 pm

Alternately, are they common aliases?

by **hoodie** » Fri Jan 15, 2021 7:02 pm

Are they English names that are popular in non-English speaking countries?

by **trebor** » Fri Jan 15, 2021 7:29 pm

Are they used to create fake accounts?

by **Doriana** » Tue Jan 19, 2021 5:24 pm

Balin
Popularity relevant? Yes Have they been consistently popular for X length of time? Yes, for a very long time - precise length not relevant though
Alternately, are they common aliases? Irrel

hoodie
Are they English names that are popular in non-English speaking countries? Irrel

trebor
Are they used to create fake accounts? Irrel

by **trebor** » Fri Jan 22, 2021 12:10 am

Are quiz sites relevant? (I’ve done quizzes like “Top Ten Baby Names of [x decade]”.)

Are specific unpopular names relevant? Is a specific form of electronic communication relevant?

Are birth announcements relevant? Do people relevantly read these names?

Stuck on the intersection of technology and media. Is a specific intersection relevant? Is it email? Are they the names with the most numbers after them in email addresses?

by **Doriana** » Mon Jan 25, 2021 6:20 pm

Are quiz sites relevant? No (I’ve done quizzes like “Top Ten Baby Names of [x decade]”. But lists like this are relevant)

Are specific unpopular names relevant? No Is a specific form of electronic communication relevant? Yes, although "communication" might have been misleading

Are birth announcements relevant? No Do people relevantly read these names? You can indeed relevantly read them somewhere

Stuck on the intersection of technology and media. Is a specific intersection relevant? Yes Is it email? No Are they the names with the most numbers after them in email addresses? No, but good idea

by **Mimino** » Fri Jan 29, 2021 5:11 pm

Are these names prominent in the same area? or each of them in its own, but having some property in common?
Are they relevant here as names of actual human beings? or in some other meaning?
technology x media -> social networks? media streaming? data privacy?

by **klondike mary** » Sat Jan 30, 2021 4:01 pm

Are names of hurricanes relevant? Are these names avoided because they are waaaay too common?

by **trebor** » Sat Jan 30, 2021 7:32 pm

The place where you can read these names: a personal device? An old-time newspaper scroll-y thing in the library? A billboard? Some public display? In the sky? On a technology that most people use frequently? Whatever the electronic thing is, has it been around for the entire times that these names have relevantly been popular? Does it also contain the unpopular names? Is it something that a person would own normally? Something a business owns? Something run by a government? Or by a community organization/not-for-profit? Is a specific one of the technology relevant? Is there only one in the world?

Is it even in the world? Is it somewhere in space? Is it a time capsule? Do you have to be in a certain geographic location to read this list? A certain location in a different sense, like at a bank or a library?

by **Doriana** » Thu Feb 04, 2021 12:19 pm

Minimo
Are these names prominent in the same area? Please clarify what you mean by area or each of them in its own, but having some property in common? They do have a common property, yes
Are they relevant here as names of actual human beings? Yes or in some other meaning?
technology x media -> social networks? No but OTRT media streaming? data privacy?

klondike mary
Are names of hurricanes relevant? Are these names avoided because they are waaaay too common? No to both

trebor
The place where you can read these names: a personal device? Yes An old-time newspaper scroll-y thing in the library? A billboard? Some public display? In the sky? No to these On a technology that most people use frequently? Yes Whatever the electronic thing is, has it been around for the entire times that these names have relevantly been popular? No Does it also contain the unpopular names? Yes, but investigate Is it something that a person would own normally? Yes Something a business owns? Yes Something run by a government? No Or by a community organization/not-for-profit? No Is a specific one of the technology relevant? There are two relevant things here, the device and something else. The device is not a specific one, the something else is Is there only one in the world? No

Is it even in the world? Yes Is it somewhere in space? Is it a time capsule? Do you have to be in a certain geographic location to read this list? A certain location in a different sense, like at a bank or a library? No to all, and sliiight FA wrt "list"

by **Mimino** » Thu Feb 04, 2021 4:18 pm

Can the list be read on a mobile phone?
Is it the phone directory? or list of contacts? list of chats in a messenger?

by **Doriana** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 10:12 pm

Can the list be read on a mobile phone? Yes, but also on other devices
Is it the phone directory? or list of contacts? list of chats in a messenger? No to all

by **Balin** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 10:15 pm

Can you read the names on a certain website? Wikipedia?

by **Doriana** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 10:41 pm

Can you read the names on a certain website? Yes Wikipedia? But not this

by **trebor** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 2:38 am

A buy/sell site, such as Amazon/Kijiji/Craigslist? On a site affiliated with Facebook? Twitter? Tiktok?

A site one visits for fun? For reference? Gaming? Funeral directories/obits?

by **Doriana** » Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:39 pm

A buy/sell site, such as Amazon/Kijiji/Craigslist? On a site affiliated with Facebook? Twitter? Tiktok? No to all

A site one visits for fun? Mostly this For reference? But also possibly this Gaming? Funeral directories/obits? No to these

by **Mimino** » Wed Feb 10, 2021 1:17 pm

Wordpress? Livejournal? a site for blogging?
Short stories relevant? Are Mary, Robert and John the most common names of heroes in short stories?

by **Doriana** » Thu Feb 11, 2021 12:20 pm

Wordpress? Livejournal? a site for blogging? On a specific blog, blogging platform irrel
Short stories relevant? Are Mary, Robert and John the most common names of heroes in short stories? No to these

by **Mimino** » Fri Feb 12, 2021 11:22 am

Is it a blog about babies? about parenting? is the subject of the blog relevant at all?
Is it a blog about jokes?

by **trebor** » Mon Feb 15, 2021 7:26 pm

Is it relevant who writes the blog? Is it a cooking blog? History blog? Blog based on literature? The arts? Everyday life? Economics? Social issues? Politics? Linguistics? Etymology? Science?

by **Doriana** » Tue Feb 16, 2021 2:47 pm

Is it a blog about babies? No, but about something that has to do with babies about parenting? No is the subject of the blog relevant at all? Yes
Is it a blog about jokes? No

Is it relevant who writes the blog? No Is it a cooking blog? History blog? Blog based on literature? The arts? Everyday life? Something that is part of everyday life Economics? Social issues? Politics? Linguistics? Etymology? Science? No to rest, but history, linguistics and etymology are also relevant

by **trebor** » Tue Feb 16, 2021 7:06 pm

Is it about school? Childhood? Uh...bodily functions? Pregnancy? Copulation? Genealogy?

by **Sundowner** » Tue Feb 16, 2021 7:25 pm

Is it a blog about baby names? the meaning of names? the origin of names? famous namesakes for particular names?

by **Doriana** » Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:53 pm

Is it about school? Childhood? Uh...bodily functions? Pregnancy? Copulation? Genealogy? No to all, see below

Is it a blog about baby names? Yes the meaning of names? the origin of names? famous namesakes for particular names? All of these are recurring topics on the blog, but none is specifically relevant to this puzzle

Quick RECAP: The ongoing popularity of the names Mary, John and Robert is relevant. The names can relevantly be seen on a blog about baby names.

by **Sundowner** » Thu Feb 18, 2021 10:09 am

Do we have to find out more about this blog? Is it a famous one?
Are Mary, John and Robert the most discussed names in this blog?
Does the tag cloud for this blog consist of only Mary, John and Robert?
Does a google search for "Mary John Robert" return this blog as first result?

by **Doriana** » Fri Feb 19, 2021 11:25 pm

Do we have to find out more about this blog? Is it a famous one? No to both
Are Mary, John and Robert the most discussed names in this blog? No
Does the tag cloud for this blog consist of only Mary, John and Robert? No
Does a google search for "Mary John Robert" return this blog as first result Irrel

by **Mimino** » Wed Mar 03, 2021 10:53 am

So it is that the names Mary, John and Robert are mentioned in a blog about baby names more often than any other name. What do we still have to find out?
Is the blogger's opinion about these names relevant? about names being so popular?
Is the response of other people to the blog entries relevant?
Is the idea that everyone wants a unique name for their child but in the end still everyone choses Mary, John or Robert?

by **Doriana** » Sat Mar 20, 2021 5:37 pm

So it is that the names Mary, John and Robert are mentioned in a blog about baby names more often than any other name. No, I'm afraid that's not quite right What do we still have to find out?
Is the blogger's opinion about these names relevant? about names being so popular?
Is the response of other people to the blog entries relevant?
Is the idea that everyone wants a unique name for their child but in the end still everyone choses Mary, John or Robert?
No to rest

by **Sundowner** » Mon Mar 22, 2021 5:08 pm

Do the names Mary, John and Robert occur in this blog?
Do the names have something in common? other than just being popular?

by **trebor** » Fri Mar 26, 2021 10:25 pm

Is there something else relevant about the blog? Is it relevant who keeps the blog? Could this work if all else was the same but the blog was from another English-speaking country? (Assuming the blog is from the US, based on previous answers.)

Is there a connection with the US that we still have to figure out?

by **Doriana** » Mon Mar 29, 2021 2:56 pm

Do the names Mary, John and Robert occur in this blog? Yes
Do the names have something in common? other than just being popular? Yes, but what they have in common is a direct result of their (prolonged) popularity

Is there something else relevant about the blog? No Is it relevant who keeps the blog? No Could this work if all else was the same but the blog was from another English-speaking country? (Assuming the blog is from the US, based on previous answers.) Yes

Is there a connection with the US that we still have to figure out? The relevant connection is the popularity of the names in the US

by **trebor** » Tue Mar 30, 2021 1:57 am

History, linguistics, and etymology are relevant? Do we need to figure out the origins of the names? How many translations the names have gone through? Where the names come from? Are any historical events relevant?

Are any other methods of keeping track of baby names relevant (as in, aside from them being on a blog)? Birth registries, censuses, historical records, etc.?

Are they the names most often passed down to offspring? (John Sr. begets John Jr., I mean?)

by **Doriana** » Tue Mar 30, 2021 11:23 am

History, linguistics, and etymology are relevant? Relevant to figure out what the blog is about, but not that relevant to the puzzle Do we need to figure out the origins of the names? How many translations the names have gone through? Where the names come from? Are any historical events relevant? No to rest

Are any other methods of keeping track of baby names relevant (as in, aside from them being on a blog)? Yes Birth registries This, censuses, historical records, etc.?

Are they the names most often passed down to offspring? (John Sr. begets John Jr., I mean?) Irrel

by **Sundowner** » Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:06 pm

Is the blog about genealogy? ancestry research?
Do popular names make ancestry research difficult? because they produce a lot of hits when searching birth registries?

by **Doriana** » Tue Mar 30, 2021 3:32 pm

Is the blog about genealogy? ancestry research? No, it's just about baby names
Do popular names make ancestry research difficult? because they produce a lot of hits when searching birth registries? Irrel

by **trebor** » Tue Mar 30, 2021 6:29 pm

Is the blog about something specific to do with baby names? Does it just give the story of each name? Does it give pregnancy/child-rearing advice? Does it give factoids about names? Are surnames relevant?

I’m having trouble thinking of what a blog of/about baby names could possibly be, other than a bunch of names and their etymologies, quirky facts about them, or trivia about famous people with them. But it seems we’re missing something important about the blog.

by **Doriana** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 12:06 pm

Is the blog about something specific to do with baby names? Yesish Does it just give the story of each name? No Does it give pregnancy/child-rearing advice? No Does it give factoids about names? Yes Are surnames relevant? No

I’m having trouble thinking of what a blog of/about baby names could possibly be, other than a bunch of names and their etymologies, quirky facts about them, or trivia about famous people with them. But it seems we’re missing something important about the blog. It's mostly what you said, but there's one specific thing on the blog that you haven't yet discovered that's relevant to the solution. Keep in mind that the names' ongoing popularity and their relative popularity compared to other names is relevant.

by **Sundowner** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 1:28 pm

Is the relevant missing part statistics? analytics?

by **Doriana** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 2:18 pm

Is the relevant missing part statistics? This! analytics?

by **trebor** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:58 am

Is it how relevant they are in comparison with other names? (Doubly as popular as the next most popular, for example?) Did they stay just as popular in relation the the next-most-popular names over time, not matter what those names were?

by **Sundowner** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 9:36 pm

Is the blog mainly about statistics? and using baby names just as an example? as an object of statistical studies?
Does the blog make statements about probabilities regarding these names? like: how likely it is that among the people sitting in a bus is at least one Robert?
Is the puzzle's title relevant?

by **Doriana** » Wed Apr 07, 2021 11:40 am

Is it how relevant they are in comparison with other names? (Doubly as popular as the next most popular, for example?) Yesish, but not in the way you described Did they stay just as popular in relation the the next-most-popular names over time, not matter what those names were? No/irrel

Is the blog mainly about statistics? No and using baby names just as an example? n/a as an object of statistical studies? But yesish
Does the blog make statements about probabilities regarding these names? like: how likely it is that among the people sitting in a bus is at least one Robert? No
Is the puzzle's title relevant? No

by **Sundowner** » Wed Apr 07, 2021 11:57 am

Is the blog studying the time development of popularity of names? did the relative popularity of these names increase? decrease? remain high?
Does the blog study for how long time a name is the most popular? is in the top 10/top 20/top 100 of popular names?

by **Doriana** » Wed Apr 07, 2021 4:07 pm

Is the blog studying the time development of popularity of names? Yes did the relative popularity of these names increase? decrease? remain high? Eventually, they all decreased in popularity, but they all relevantly remained very popular for a long time
Does the blog study for how long time a name is the most popular? is in the top 10/top 20/top 100 of popular names? Yes to both

by **Sundowner** » Thu Apr 08, 2021 4:17 pm

Are these the names that stayed in the annual top ten of baby names for the longest time? So while other names came in and dropped out of the top ten, these names stayed popular all the time?

by **Doriana** » Fri Apr 09, 2021 7:34 pm

Are these the names that stayed in the annual top ten of baby names for the longest time? Irrel So while other names came in and dropped out of the top ten, these names stayed popular all the time? Irrel

HINT/Clarification: It is relevant that these three names were highly popular for decades, but no exact numbers are relevant. The thing they have in common has to do with their popularity, but is unique to the specific blog.

[Doriana] Planning a bank robbery

Search

Forums