How Can a Man Leave and Return on Wednesday After Staying Three Days?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a riddle involving a man who leaves for town on Wednesday, stays for three days, and returns on Wednesday. Participants explore various interpretations and explanations of how this scenario could be possible.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that the man takes two days to reach town, stays for three days, and returns on Wednesday after being delayed by a storm.
  • Another participant proposes that the man's horse is named Wednesday, which provides a play on words as a solution to the riddle.
  • A different viewpoint criticizes the use of puns, asserting that they are inferior to more substantive answers.
  • One participant humorously speculates that the man could be moving relativistically, implying time dilation as a factor.
  • Another participant mentions that the trip home took the man four days, introducing a different timeline for the journey.
  • There is a discussion about the capitalization of "Wednesday" in the context of the horse's name, with some participants emphasizing the grammatical correctness.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants present multiple competing views and interpretations of the riddle, with no consensus reached on a singular explanation. The discussion includes both serious and humorous contributions, reflecting differing perspectives on the nature of the riddle.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about travel time and the nature of the riddle are not explicitly stated, leading to various interpretations. The discussion also highlights the playful nature of riddles, which can lead to divergent answers based on wordplay or logical reasoning.

b0mb0nika
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a man goes to town on wednesday, stays for 3 days and comes back
on wednesday

how is it possible ?
 
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It takes him 2 days to get to town. He starts on wednesday morning and travels all of Wednesday and also Thursday. He arrives Friday in the morning. He stays Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Then he starts back Monday but is held back by a storm on Tuesday. He resumes traveling and returns Wednesday night. [/Color]
 
Last edited:
Oh, this is an old one

The mans horse is named wednesday
 
cosmo got it right :)
 
Puns are inferior to real answers.
 
Maybe the man was moving relativistically :-)
 
The trip home took the man 4 days.

_____________________________________
In seeking wisdom thou art wise; in imagining that thou hast attained it - thou art a fool.
Lord Chesterfield
 
If his horse is named wednesday, it should be "he went to town on Wednesday" (note the upper case W).
 
Alkatran said:
If his horse is named wednesday, it should be "he went to town on Wednesday" (note the upper case W).

Wednesday should be capitalized anyways
 

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