Why Did This Couple Wish They Were on a Bus That Crashed? Share Your Thoughts!

Hi all,

Please read the story below and answer it. It really shows how we think. I have not given the answer as I am sure that somebody would definitely answer it right. I will give the answer but just have a trail.

Once there was a loving couple traveling on a bus in a mountainous area. They decided to get down at some place. After the couple got down at some place, the bus moved on. As the bus moved on, a huge rock fell on the bus from the mountain and crushed the bus to crumbs. Everybody on the bus was killed.

The couple, upon seeing that, said, "We wish we were on that bus." Why do you think they said that?

Regards,
Pramila

It is because of the time being wasted by the bus to stop and drop the couple to the point...had they not been dropped in between the way, the rock would have missed to hit the bus. This is what I think. What is the answer?

Regards,
Hitesh

It's because if the bus were not stopped at that time when they moved outside from the bus, the time would have been enough for the rock to fall on the bus, and no one lost their life. That's my thinking. But what's the answer?

Regards,
SMARIKA

It was a family trip. All the people on the bus were friends and relatives. The couple got down to walk up to the hotel where they were all staying.

What's the fun in living when all your closest friends and relatives were killed, and you alone didn't die?

Hi,

It is exactly as most of you thought. If they had remained in the bus instead of deciding to get down, the resulting time delay could have been avoided, and the rock would have fallen after the bus had passed...!!! Anyway, right guess Hitesh, the first reply itself was right. :)

Think positive in life always and look for opportunities when you can help others.

Very difficult situation. I think it was too painful for them to see the incident in front of their eyes, and for them, the timing of the rock falling and the bus moving collided. Thus, they took the blame on themselves.

I know you can't question puzzles.

But, I wonder which sane person would say "Wish we were on that bus," when he means to say "Wish we hadn't gotten down" or "Wish we hadn't wasted time at the previous bus stop." The number of posts as answers to this question shows how many of us HR people waste time on useless stuff.

I feel it's absolutely true because if they hadn't gotten off the bus, the rock would have fallen after the bus passed, potentially saving the others on the bus.

The question is a classic lateral thinking puzzle. So there can be more than one answer to this question. However, I agree with Hitesh's answer. Also, somebody wrote that the killed people in the bus were the couple's relatives. This is also a good answer.

Regards,
Sundar Jayram.

Hi Pramila,

Any other tricky queries, please ask us. It's good so that we all get different thoughts from others, right? Okay. Can you please tell me what composite competency mapping is if you know?

Hi everybody,

I'm Kavita. Well, according to me, I think they opined so because after having witnessed the incident, they came to believe that THEY WERE DESTINED TO LIVE. TODAY WAS THEIR DAY! IF THEY HAD BEEN A PART OF THE ENVOY, TODAY BEING THEIR DAY, THEY WOULD STILL LIVE. IN THE PROCESS, THEY WOULD PLAY A FRUITFUL ROLE IN SAVING THE OTHERS' LIVES TOO.

Alternatively, the two of them may be a brother and sister whose father might be in some sort of a horrible financial mess and is in desperate need of money. The two of them may have come so far to search for a means of making fast money to help out their father. Owing to the dangerous terrain of the road, maybe a huge compensation was fixed for all the casualties met on that particular road. The two of them might have expressed this wish, thinking that had they been a part of the envoy, they could have helped their father in the aftermath!

Hi Kavita, this is Pradeep. Your thinking is good, but my dear, they were actually worried about others' deaths because of them. In the passage, it is clearly written that they were a loving couple, implying they are both lovers.

Hi Pradeep,

Well, I really overlooked the loving couple context! Thank you for the correction. Okay, fine if they were a loving couple, you may substitute the father character with the father-in-law character! Guess it suits the deal now?

Regarding the other point you spoke about - it's not mentioned anywhere that they are worried about the others' fate. I guess one can only make an assumption; it's not a compulsory obligation. What say, Mr. Pradeep?

Thanks for the appreciation!

Hi, I feel if they were on that bus, they would have died together and would never ever feel the pain of living alone. At a later point in life, maybe he/she will die, and the other one will live on this world with sorrows and pain. I feel that's the reason why they say so. :D

I think both of them realized after introspection that their lives together were becoming quite depressing and frustrating, not worth continuing. This realization led them to make the comment above.

Suzanne

EMRI

I think they were upset seeing so many people dying. One would rather get killed than seeing many getting killed.

Regards,
Ram

Hi Pramila,

The time wouldn't have been wasted if they hadn't stopped the bus, so everyone's life would have been saved.

Thanks,
Pallavi

Dear Premila,

It is a human tendency that it is better to see the worst thing happen to us. The same feeling was experienced by a couple when they witnessed lots of people dying on a bus, without any fault of their own. In my opinion, they empathized with the people who lost their lives on the bus.

Dashrathsinh

As Hitesh said, it should be like if they stayed in the bus itself, it would have crossed the place before that rock fell down.

Regards,

Elamurugu

Dear Member,

The couple uttered, "we wish we could be there," because they are afraid of facing investigations of the day by the police. They feel it is worse than suicide and horror. Hope it may be resolved.

Regards,
Yandamure

They loved each other so much that they thought they would have died together... had they been on that bus!!!

Gargi

I feel that they had faith and trusted that they were destined to be alive and safe. Maybe if they were on board the bus, more of the passengers would have been safe as well because of their destiny.

Or maybe they had some special disaster management training and could have saved the lives of others too.

Neha :)