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.