1.1. A man goes into a restaurant, orders abalone, eats
one bite, and kills himself. (TeM and JM wording)

1.1 answer: The man was in a ship that was wrecked on a desert island.
When there was no food left, another passenger brought what he said was
abalone but was really part of the man’s wife (who had died in the wreck).
The man suspects something fishy, so when they finally return to
civilization, he orders abalone, realizes that what he ate before was his
wife, and kills himself. (In a slight variant, from Stories With
Holes, he simply faints rather than killing himself.)

1.1a. Variant: same problem statement but with albatross instead of
abalone.

1.1a answer: In this version, the man was in a lifeboat, with his wife,
who died. He hallucinated an albatross landing in the boat which he caught
and killed and ate; he thought that his wife had been washed overboard.
When he actually eats albatross, he discovers that he had actually eaten his
wife.

1.1b. Variant: A man kills himself rather than order albatross.

1.1b answer: The man already knew that he had eaten human flesh under
the name “albatross.” He asks the waiter in the restaurant what kind of
soup is available, and the waiter responds, “Albatross soup.” Thinking that
“albatross soup” means “human soup,” and sickened by the thought of such a
society (place in a foreign country if necessary), he kills himself. (from
Mike Neergaard) I’m afraid this version doesn’t make a whole lot of
sense.