A Lifeline Snatched Away
A man wrenched away the swim ring that a woman on the verge of drowning was desperately clinging to.
She couldn’t swim, but having the ring taken away saved her life.
Why did losing the swim ring save her?
Question your assumptions, one by one.
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Hints
Use as many hints as you need, one at a time.
Hint 1
The man was trying to save the woman.
Hint 2
She was somewhere she couldn’t escape simply by staying afloat.
Hint 3
To escape, she had to go underwater first.
Check the Answer
Answer
The woman was trapped beneath a small boat that had capsized. The boat was sinking, and she could barely breathe in the small pocket of air that remained.
To get out, she had to go underwater and pass beneath the boat’s edge. But she couldn’t swim and was too frightened to let go of the ring. She couldn’t go underwater while she was still holding on to it.
So the man who had come to rescue her took the ring away. Supporting her body, he went underwater with her and brought her out from beneath the boat.
Explanation
The swim ring seems like a lifeline for the woman, who can’t swim. But in this situation, the only way out was underwater.
Once you let go of the assumption that staying afloat helps, it becomes clear why the man took the ring away.
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