FILE No.47Unsolved
A statue in a park was smashed. One of the suspects, Toriyama, showed a photo as his alibi.
"I took this photo around 9 a.m. in front of City Hall, to the south. That is about when the statue was smashed. I was at City Hall then."
The photo shows Toriyama standing in front of City Hall, with a clear shadow stretching along the ground. The shadow stretches long toward the east. The photo was taken on a clear autumn day.
The sun rises in the east, passes through the southern sky and sets in the west.
Was this photo really taken around 9 a.m.?
If you get stuck, open the hints one at a time, in order.
In which direction is the sun in the morning?
On which side of the object does the shadow stretch, compared with the sun?
Which direction did the shadow in the photo stretch?
Was this photo really taken around 9 a.m.?
Choose the answer closest to the truth.
It was most likely taken in the afternoon, so the 9 a.m. claim is doubtful
The answer is: it was most likely taken in the afternoon, so the 9 a.m. claim is doubtful.
The sun rises in the east. In the morning the sun is in the east, so shadows stretch the opposite way, to the west. In the afternoon the sun leans to the west, so shadows stretch to the east.
The shadow in the photo stretches east. That means the sun was on the west side, and the photo was probably taken in the afternoon. The claim of 9 a.m. is quite likely a lie.
Looking at a photo, your eyes go to the person and the background, and you miss the small clue of the shadow’s direction.
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