[WiZ] Hot pants, hot pursuit

[WiZ]

A thorough search of an office building reveals a dirty old pair of short shorts in a 1970s style. Someone unconnected to anyone working at the office is then taken to court. Why?

True story. No caveat.

[Sundowner64]

Did a crime happen? in the 1970s? in this building? Was the building already there in the 1970s? when the crime happened?
Was the building used as office building all the time?
Did the shorts belong to a victim of a crime? to a perpetrator? did anyone ever wear the shorts?
Relevant that the shorts were dirty? did they have blood stains on them?
Shorts for a man? for a woman? for a boy? for a girl?

[doriana_]

Were the shorts actually from the 70s? Or newer, but inspired by 70s style?
Relevant why the office building was searched in the first place?
WAG: Olympics relevant at all? Massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympics relevant?

[Sarisberie]

Is this a famous person? A non-famous but specific person? Was the building a building site at the time (1970's)? Location relevant? Was the person found guilty? Sentenced?

[WiZ]

Sundowner

Did a crime happen? yes in the 1970s? yope in this building? yes Was the building already there in the 1970s? when the crime happened? yesish
Was the building used as office building all the time? yes
Did the shorts belong to a victim of a crime? no to a perpetrator? noish did anyone ever wear the shorts? yes
Relevant that the shorts were dirty? yes did they have blood stains on them? no
Shorts for a man? yes (but irrelevant) for a woman? for a boy? for a girl?

Doriana

Were the shorts actually from the 70s? yes Or newer, but inspired by 70s style? no

AFAIK the style is yet to come back into fashion in New Zealand - although, for a non-trivial slice of the population, it has never left

Relevant why the office building was searched in the first place? yes
WAG: Olympics relevant at all? Massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympics relevant? no to both

Sarisberie

Is this a famous person? define 'famous' A non-famous but specific person? It is a specific(ally chosen) person, yes Was the building a building site at the time (1970's)? yes Location relevant? no Was the person found guilty? Sentenced? yes to both

[Sundowner64]

Did the construction of the building start in the 1970s? but ended later? Did the construction take an unusually long time? Was the building ever put into use as office building? Does the building still exist?
Was the perpetrator at any point owner of the land? linked to the construction of the building?
Is the crime anything along the lines of fraud/corruption/misuse of funds/tax evasion?
Was the building built or at any point owned by the government?
Relevant where exactly in the building the shorts were found?
Does the man who was wearing the shorts have any link to the crime? was he a builder?
Is the size/style/color/brand of the shorts relevant? Was there anything about the shorts that made the police think they might be linked to a crime? maybe, a name written on them? something in the pockets? DNA traces?
Was the police able to track down the person who was wearing the shorts?

[WiZ]

Did the construction of the building start in the 1970s? yes but ended later? no Did the construction take an unusually long time? no Was the building ever put into use as office building? yes Does the building still exist? yes
Was the perpetrator at any point owner of the land? no linked to the construction of the building? yes
Is the crime anything along the lines of fraud/corruption no, small ish /misuse of funds/tax evasion? no
Was the building built or at any point owned by the government? no
Relevant where exactly in the building the shorts were found? yes
Does the man who was wearing the shorts have any link to the crime? not relevantly was he a builder? assume no
Is the size/style/color/brand of the shorts relevant? no Was there anything about the shorts that made the police think they might be linked to a crime? in light of your examples, I will say no maybe, a name written on them? something in the pockets? DNA traces? no to all
Was the police able to track down the person who was wearing the shorts? no

[GalFisk]

Was anything else relevantly found in the building? Relevantly not found? Did the owner of the shorts put them where they were found? Did the criminal? Did the victim? Was there a victim? If so, one person? A company? An organization? Was it a violent crime? Were the shorts found in the ventilation system? Heating system? Water system? Encased in concrete? Inside a wall? Other part of the structure? Did the crime happen over a long timespan? Was it fraud? Theft? Had the perpetrator been where the shorts were found? WAG: was the building a Tofu-dreg project with old clothes encased in the concrete?

[WiZ]

Was anything else relevantly found in the building? nothing specific, no Relevantly not found? yes Did the owner of the shorts put them where they were found? no Did the criminal? probably not personally, but he would have had something to do with it Did the victim? no Was there a victim? yes If so, one person? yes A company? An organization? these aren't 'victims' per se, but would nonetheless have suffered as a consequence Was it a violent crime? no Were the shorts found in the ventilation system? Heating system? no to both Water system? yesish Encased in concrete? Inside a wall? yes to both Other part of the structure? no Did the crime happen over a long timespan? yope Was it fraud? noish Theft? no Had the perpetrator been where the shorts were found? probably not in the specific location, but likely nearby WAG: was the building a Tofu-dreg project not by design, no with old clothes encased in the concrete? but this is very much the idea - refer to the answers around where the shorts were found

[Sarisberie]

Relevant exact location of the crime, in the building site, nearby? Elsewhere but evidence was hidden/planted at the building site? During building, or after completion? Did it matter where the shorts were hidden? Were the shorts owned by an onlooker? A builder? Someone relevant to the crime? Were the shorts used to block something up, e.g. toilets, sewage, the water pipes, electricity supply? Was there sabotage? Revenge? Other motive? Was anyone framed? Did the building end up having to be repaired or demolished? Did the builders or the owner get paid twice, to build it properly a second time?

[trebor2]

On the line of there being a specifically chosen person...was this the person who committed the crime? The person to whom the shorts belonged? Was the person framed?

Was the person well-known locally? Were they well-known outside of this area? Were they the owner of the land/building? Were they famous for owning real estate? For running a certain company? Or type of company? For manufacturing clothing?

Was the clothing used for insulation? Support?

[BitterLemonCurry]

Was material like the pants used in construction of the building all over?
Was the crime using illegal material for construction?

[WiZ]

Sarisberie

Relevant exact location of the crime, in the building site this, nearby? Elsewhere but evidence was hidden/planted at the building site? During building this, or after completion? Did it matter where the shorts were hidden? yes Were the shorts owned by an onlooker? A builder? Someone relevant to the crime? irrelevant/unknowable Were the shorts used to block something up, e.g. toilets, sewage, the water pipes, electricity supply? no Was there sabotage? no Revenge? no Other motive? yes Was anyone framed? no Did the building end up having to be repaired or demolished? irrel, but likely Did the builders or the owner get paid twice, to build it properly a second time? no

Trebor

On the line of there being a specifically chosen person...was this the person who committed the crime? yes The person to whom the shorts belonged? no Was the person framed? no

Was the person well-known locally? well enough, yes Were they well-known outside of this area? no, or at least less so Were they the owner of the land/building? no Were they famous for owning real estate? no For running a certain company? Or type of company? thisish For manufacturing clothing? no

Was the clothing used for insulation? Support? this

LemonCurry

Was material like the pants used in construction of the building all over? yes
Was the crime using illegal material for construction? yes

I think we're there

***** SPOILER *****

The office building had been negligently constructed, with many corners cut and standards not adhered to. After an earthquake claimed the lives of some of those working in the office at the time, an investigation was carried out into the building's structural integrity. This revealed many of the problems, including unsuitable materials and rubbish used as insulation and to cushion water infrastructure - including the infamous pair of shorts.

The construction manager was then arrested for criminal negligence.

Congratulations on the solution, and thank you everyone for playing!