| Author | Message | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 1984 Registered: 11-2008 |
Some time ago, I needed a certain piece of information from a field I did not know much about. As I am quite a vain person, I did not want it to show and when I made the phone call and asked a question, I tried to look as if I were dealing with this topic on a daily basis. The lady on the other end of the line answered my question but it seemed to me the information she gave me was not sufficient. So I asked another question and the lady, with an indulgent smile which could not be seen but was clearly heard, answered: “Boys can’t do this, dear.“ I hung up and thought: “Damn it, so much for Alhucema as an expert.“ She must have known immediately I am definitely NOT one. What was the question? | ||
| Gourami (Gourami)
Moderator Username: Gourami Post Number: 1071 Registered: 10-2008 |
Did you ask a question that involved a boy? Did you pretend to speak on a boy's behalf? Or were you really asking on a boy's behalf (for example, "My friend Joe is interested in...") Did you pretend to be a boy? Was she talking about real live human males? Adult males? Can they not do it for a reason related to female anatomy? Childbirth? Female dress? Names? A gender-related tradition? Can girls do this? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 1985 Registered: 11-2008 |
Did you ask a question that involved a boy? Yes Did you pretend to speak on a boy's behalf? No Or were you really asking on a boy's behalf (for example, "My friend Joe is interested in...") No Did you pretend to be a boy? No Was she talking about real live human males? No Adult males? No Can they not do it for a reason related to female anatomy? Yesish, with svv of anatomy Childbirth? No Female dress? No Names? No A gender-related tradition? No Can girls do this? Yes :-)) | ||
| Jumpingjack (Jumpingjack)
New member Username: Jumpingjack Post Number: 1249 Registered: 3-2006 |
Was she talking about animal males? robot males? The girls that can do this: human females? adult females? child females? animal females? robot females? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 1987 Registered: 11-2008 |
Was she talking about animal males? Yes robot males? No The girls that can do this: human females? No adult females? Yes child females? Yes animal females? Yes robot females? No | ||
| Gourami (Gourami)
Moderator Username: Gourami Post Number: 1074 Registered: 10-2008 |
Are eggs relevant? Some other method of reproduction? Are the girls birds? Mammals? Fish? Invertebrates? Reptiles? Amphibians? Are the girls who can and the boys who can't (at least, those in question) of the same species? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 1989 Registered: 11-2008 |
Are eggs relevant? No Some other method of reproduction? No Are the girls birds? Mammals? This Fish? Invertebrates? Reptiles? Amphibians? Are the girls who can and the boys who can't (at least, those in question) of the same species? Yes | ||
| Biograd (Biograd)
New member Username: Biograd Post Number: 717 Registered: 6-2008 |
Can any humans (of any gender or age) do this? Can the males of certain mammal species, other than the one relevant to this puzzle, do this? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 1990 Registered: 11-2008 |
Can any humans (of any gender or age) do this? No Can the males of certain mammal species, other than the one relevant to this puzzle, do this? None that I know of | ||
| Gourami (Gourami)
Moderator Username: Gourami Post Number: 1077 Registered: 10-2008 |
Is there a relevant size difference between the sexes? Color difference? A different appendage? Horns or antlers? A different behavior? Does the action the boys can't take involve humans in any way? Are the animals in captivity? Wild? Either? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 1993 Registered: 11-2008 |
Is there a relevant size difference between the sexes? No Color difference? Yes A different appendage? No Horns or antlers? No A different behavior? No Does the action the boys can't take involve humans in any way? Noish Are the animals in captivity? This Wild? Either? | ||
| Maxwong (Maxwong)
New member Username: Maxwong Post Number: 3 Registered: 4-2010 |
Are the mammals dolphin? whale? elephants? dog? horse? marsupial? primate? rodent? IS the question go to do anything with KANGAROO or any other marsupial's POUCH? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 1994 Registered: 11-2008 |
Are the mammals dolphin? whale? elephants? dog? horse? marsupial? primate? rodent? Neither IS the question go to do anything with KANGAROO or any other marsupial's POUCH? No to both | ||
| Gourami (Gourami)
Moderator Username: Gourami Post Number: 1081 Registered: 10-2008 |
Does the question deal with camouflage? Hunting? Or some other method of food gathering? Caring for young? Are the mammals felines? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 1995 Registered: 11-2008 |
Does the question deal with camouflage? No Hunting? No Or some other method of food gathering? No Caring for young? No Are the mammals felines? Yes | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 1666 Registered: 7-2009 |
Are they housecats? lions? tigers? cheetahs? leopards? jaguars? other? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 1996 Registered: 11-2008 |
Are they housecats? This lions? tigers? cheetahs? leopards? jaguars? other? | ||
| Gourami (Gourami)
Moderator Username: Gourami Post Number: 1083 Registered: 10-2008 |
Were you asking about calicoes? Or some other coloration pattern that's carried on the sex chromosome? Was this a cat show you were calling, perhaps? Kitty day care? A vet? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 1998 Registered: 11-2008 |
Were you asking about calicoes? Yes indeed Or some other coloration pattern that's carried on the sex chromosome? Was this a cat show you were calling, perhaps? Kitty day care? A vet? A cattery, but this is not the relevant part. I think you've guessed enough for me to post the **********SPOILER*************** Several years ago, we were trying to find a kitten for my mother-in-law. I called to several catteries, and found out that cat folks were a strange sort of people :-)) who had their own lingo and seemed very careful about whom they were going to sell their kittens to. As my knowledge about cats by the time was close to zero, I was kind of afraid that they would tell me that they were not willing to sell their cats to a complete ignoramus ;-)) So when I made a phone call to the fifth cattery, I tried to sound as if cats were my daily bread. The lady on the other end of the line was pleased to tell me that some kittens were still available. She told me that they had two cream boys, one blue girl and two tortoiseshells (or calicoes ;-))) Puzzled, I asked whether these were males of females, and the lady gave me the answer I described in the puzzle statement. It was clear I had no idea about feline genetics and about the fact that tortoiseshells are almost always females. Thank you all for purrrticipating in this puzzle! | ||
| Gourami (Gourami)
Moderator Username: Gourami Post Number: 1087 Registered: 10-2008 |
What a purrrfect puzzle. It would have been cat-astrophic if no one solved. It was a great tale! I'll add it to my cat-alogue... Okay, I'm done. | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 2000 Registered: 11-2008 |
I am glad you cat-egorized it as a good puzzle. I am feline so good about it! Anyway, we did purr-chase a kitten back in the hiss-tory, but my mother-in-law had problems with her, so we kept her. She was a big Purr-sian blue with an enormous ability to puss-h our buttons, but then we managed to cat-ch up. But she kept thinking she was the cat's pajamas. Miaow! |
