| Author |
Message |
Felicia Nimue Ackerman (Nimue)
| | Posted on Friday, May 20, 2005 - 7:35 pm: |       |
y Hannah Kinghern (Kdoc) on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 10:28 pm:
is it some sort of bag? noish a carrier bag? no
is it disposable? no
is it something that is used once? no
it's function - to hold something? noish to transport something? no to do with food? no to do with
entertainment? yes |
John Morahan (Wunderland)
| | Posted on Saturday, May 21, 2005 - 7:06 pm: | |
You said earlier that she might be at a sporting event. Is a particular sport relevant? would she be a spectator? player? referee or other official?
Would the burglars be spectators? players? referees or other officials?
Is the item related to sport? (or is it related to an event she is attending?) is it a ticket or token of some sort? |
Felicia Nimue Ackerman (Nimue)
| | Posted on Monday, May 23, 2005 - 8:45 pm: | |
By John Morahan (Wunderland) on Saturday, May 21, 2005 - 07:06 pm:
You said earlier that she might be at a sporting event. Is a particular sport relevant? yesish would
she be a spectator?possibly player? ditto referee or other official?unlikely
Would the burglars be spectators? possibly players? ditto referees or other officials? unlikely
Is the item related to sport? yesish (or is it related to an event she is attending?) noish is it a ticket or
token of some sort? no |
John Morahan (Wunderland)
| | Posted on Monday, May 23, 2005 - 9:07 pm: | |
"Is a particular sport relevant? yesish"
Does that mean that some sports would work, while others wouldn't?
Which of these are / could be relevant: football? baseball? basketball? hockey? tennis? golf? snooker? cricket? bungee jumping? athletics? martial arts? other sports? |
Felicia Nimue Ackerman (Nimue)
| | Posted on Monday, May 23, 2005 - 10:51 pm: | |
y John Morahan (Wunderland) on Monday, May 23, 2005 - 09:07 pm:
"Is a particular sport relevant? yesish"
Does that mean that some sports would work, while others wouldn't?
Which of these are / could be relevant: football? baseball? basketball? hockey? tennis? golf?
snooker? cricket? bungee jumping? athletics? martial arts? other sports?All sports would work if she's a spectator, but only one (quasi) sport would work if she's a participant |
John Morahan (Wunderland)
| | Posted on Monday, May 23, 2005 - 11:04 pm: | |
Is it a flag? |
Jens Weber (Sundowner)
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 24, 2005 - 11:52 am: | |
Would the item be helpful to burglars ..
.. to carry away the loot?
.. to sell the loot?
.. to cover their identity?
.. to provide an alibi?
.. to make money from it?
.. to bribe the police?
Is it the writing that prevents the item from being stolen? Would the same happen if the words were printed instead of handwritten? if they were in a language the burglars don't understand? if the burglars were gay?
Does the writing consist of one word? two words? .. five hundred words?
Is it a name? a slogan? a complete sentence? a statement? a symbol?
Is the main purpose of the item to be shown?
Is the main purpose of the writing on it that others will see it? |
Felicia Nimue Ackerman (Nimue)
| | Posted on Friday, May 27, 2005 - 8:17 pm: | |
y John Morahan (Wunderland) on Monday, May 23, 2005 - 11:04 pm:
Is it a flag? no
By Jens Weber (Sundowner) on Tuesday, May 24, 2005 - 11:52 am:
Would the item be helpful to burglars ..
.. to carry away the loot? no
.. to sell the loot? no
.. to cover their identity? no
.. to provide an alibi? no
.. to make money from it? possibly
.. to bribe the police? no.HINT: The item is useful to the people who would steal it, but it doesn't help them be burglars; they just would steal it bevcause it's useful for some other reason
Is it the writing that prevents the item from being stolen? yes Would the same happen if the
words were printed instead of handwritten? yes if they were in a language the burglars don't
understand? no if the burglars were gay? possibly
Does the writing consist of one word? no two words? yes .. five hundred words? no
Is it a name? no a slogan? yes a complete sentence? no a statement? no a symbol? no |
Felicia Nimue Ackerman (Nimue)
| | Posted on Friday, May 27, 2005 - 8:18 pm: | |
Is the main purpose of the item to be shown? no
Is the main purpose of the writing on it that others will see it? yes |
John Morahan (Wunderland)
| | Posted on Friday, May 27, 2005 - 10:36 pm: | |
It's flexible, but it wouldn't fit in a typical handbag - correct? is that because it's not quite flexible enough to be folded / rolled up that small? or because it would be damaged if it was? or because it would still be too big even then?
Is the writing a pro-gay slogan? does it have another meaning? if so, to do with entertainment? |
Felicia Nimue Ackerman (Nimue)
| | Posted on Friday, May 27, 2005 - 10:41 pm: | |
y John Morahan (Wunderland) on Friday, May 27, 2005 - 10:36 pm: Hi Wunderland!! Why not sic your clever lateral mind on my other 2 puzzles as well??
It's flexible, but it wouldn't fit in a typical handbag - correct? yes is that because it's not quite
flexible enough to be folded / rolled up that small? no or because it would be damaged if it was?
or because it would still be too big even then? yes
Is the writing a pro-gay slogan? yes does it have another meaning? no if so, to do with
entertainment? no |
John Morahan (Wunderland)
| | Posted on Friday, May 27, 2005 - 11:00 pm: | |
Okay. It's probably rectangular, correct? if so, would its longer dimension be shorter than: a yard? 2 yards? 4 yards? 8? 16? 32? would its shorter dimension be less than an inch? a foot? a yard? 2 yards? 4 yards? 8? 16? 32?
Would it normally be used outdoors?
While it is being used, would it normally be oriented horizontally? vertically? other? if vertically, would the longer sides be horizontal? or vertical? |
Felicia Nimue Ackerman (Nimue)
| | Posted on Friday, May 27, 2005 - 11:26 pm: | |
y John Morahan (Wunderland) on Friday, May 27, 2005 - 11:00 pm:
Okay. It's probably rectangular, correct? or close to that if so, would its longer dimension be shorter than: a
yard? no 2 yards?maybe 4 yards? yes 8? 16? 32? would its shorter dimension be less than an inch? no a foot? no
a yard? no 2 yards? yes 4 yards? 8? 16? 32?
Would it normally be used outdoors? yes
While it is being used, would it normally be oriented horizontally? noish vertically? yesish other? see previous answer if
vertically, would the longer sides be horizontal? yes or vertical? no |
John Morahan (Wunderland)
| | Posted on Saturday, May 28, 2005 - 1:10 am: | |
Would it be held in this position by a person? two people? more than two people? an object? something else?
Is its purpose to obscure something? protect something?
Would using it involve moving it?
If someone stole it would they use it for its primary purpose? |
Hannah Kinghern (Kdoc)
| | Posted on Saturday, May 28, 2005 - 3:10 pm: | |
is it a flag? or a banner? or a pennant? |
Felicia Nimue Ackerman (Nimue)
| | Posted on Saturday, May 28, 2005 - 8:12 pm: | |
By John Morahan (Wunderland) on Saturday, May 28, 2005 - 01:10 am:
Would it be held in this position by a person? no two people? no more than two people? no an object? yes
something else? no
Is its purpose to obscure something? no protect something? yes
Would using it involve moving it? just to put it on what it protects
If someone stole it would they use it for its primary purpose? yes
By Hannah Kinghern (Kdoc) on Saturday, May 28, 2005 - 03:10 pm:
is it a flag? no or a banner? no or a pennant? no |
John Morahan (Wunderland)
| | Posted on Saturday, May 28, 2005 - 8:34 pm: | |
Would the thing it protects be behind it? inside it? underneath it? physically touching it?
Would it be draped over the thing?
Would it protect it by keeping it dry? warm? cool? dark?
Is the thing it protects a person? something related to entertainment? a flag/banner/pennant? |
Felicia Nimue Ackerman (Nimue)
| | Posted on Saturday, May 28, 2005 - 8:49 pm: | |
By John Morahan (Wunderland) on Saturday, May 28, 2005 - 08:34 pm:
Would the thing it protects be behind it? no inside it? see next answer underneath it?\b yes} physically touching it? yes
Would it be draped over the thing? yes
Would it protect it by keeping it dry? yes warm? no cool? no dark? no
Is the thing it protects a person? no something related to entertainment? yesish a
flag/banner/pennant? yes| |
John Morahan (Wunderland)
| | Posted on Saturday, May 28, 2005 - 8:57 pm: | |
So is it basically a plastic cover that would be draped over a flag/banner/pennant (relevant which?) to keep it dry? or is there more to it?
Is it transparent? would the flag/banner/pennant be visible with this thing draped over it? or would the thing be removed in order to display the f/b/p?
Would it only be used while it was raining?
The writing consists of exactly two words, correct? any of these: gay? rights? pride? |
Felicia Nimue Ackerman (Nimue)
| | Posted on Saturday, May 28, 2005 - 9:29 pm: | |
BLOOOOOOOOOOPERRRR ALERTTTTT!!!!!Is the thing it protects a person? no something related to entertainment? yesish a
flag/banner/pennant? yesThe last answer should be no--it's NOT a flag, banner, or pendant|
So is it basically a plastic cover that would be draped over a flag/banner/pennant no. See above BLOPERRRRR ALERTTTTT!!!! (relevant
which?) to keep it dry? yes or is there more to it? no
Is it transparent? irrel would the flag/banner/pennant be visible with this thing draped over it?what is underneath would be recognizable or
would the thing be removed in order to display the f/b/p? no
Would it only be used while it was raining?well, or snowing
The writing consists of exactly two words, correct? yes any of these: gay? rights? pride?In the actual case, ther words were "gay Rights," but, come to thionk of it, "Gay Pride" would be even better |
John Morahan (Wunderland)
| | Posted on Sunday, May 29, 2005 - 12:59 pm: | |
The thing underneath would be recognizable by its shape? its location? something about the plastic cover? something else? would it be completely covered?
Is the thing underneath resting on the ground? suspended from above? being carried by someone?
Is it a manufactured product? is it electrical? electronic?
Is its height less than: an inch? a foot? a yard?
Is its width less than: an inch? a foot? a yard? |
Hannah Kinghern (Kdoc)
| | Posted on Sunday, May 29, 2005 - 3:48 pm: | |
is it a seat cover? |
Felicia Nimue Ackerman (Nimue)
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 - 6:53 pm: | |
By John Morahan (Wunderland) on Sunday, May 29, 2005 - 12:59 pm:
The thing underneath would be recognizable by its shape? yes its location? yesish something about the
plastic cover? no something else? no would it be completely covered? yes
Is the thing underneath resting on the ground? yes suspended from above? no being carried by
someone? no
Is it a manufactured product? yes is it electrical? no electronic? no
Is its height less than: an inch? no a foot? no a yard? about a yard, I think
Is its width less than: an inch? no a foot? about a foot a yard? yes
By Hannah Kinghern (Kdoc) on Sunday, May 29, 2005 - 03:48 pm:
is it a seat cover? yope |
Hannah Kinghern (Kdoc)
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 - 8:50 pm: | |
is it some kind of cover which protects some kind of seating? or protects a cushion on a seat? or provides some kind of seating? does it cover some kind of portable seating? or is it used to cover a fixed seat in a stadium of some kind?
is the relevant thing that she might want to leave the item in public view while she did something else (like get refreshments, or use the bathroom)? and she wanted to make sure no one took it for themselves while she was gone?
(Haven't we really figured out the central thrust of this puzzle now Felicia Nimue? That the woman in your puzzle protected an article belonging to her from theft by marking it in such a way that it contained a message that was unacceptable to the type of person who would steal it? And now we're just trying to discover its exact identity? Or is the identity of the object absolutely vital to the puzzle? Wouldn't the puzzle work equally well with any item that she might want to leave safely in a public place?) |
Felicia Nimue Ackerman (Nimue)
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 7:24 pm: | |
By Hannah Kinghern (Kdoc) on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 - 08:50 pm:
is it some kind of cover which protects some kind of seating? yope or protects a cushion on a seat? no
or provides some kind of seating? no does it cover some kind of portable seating? noish or is it used
to cover a fixed seat in a stadium of some kind? no
is the relevant thing that she might want to leave the item in public view while she did
something else (like get refreshments, or use the bathroom)? yes and she wanted to make sure
no one took it for themselves while she was gone? yes
(Haven't we really figured out the central thrust of this puzzle now Felicia Nimue? That the
woman in your puzzle protected an article belonging to her from theft by marking it in such a
way that it contained a message that was unacceptable to the type of person who would steal
it? And now we're just trying to discover its exact identity? yes Or is the identity of the object
absolutely vital to the puzzle? yes Wouldn't the puzzle work equally well with any item that she
might want to leave safely in a public place?) no. After all, some people support gay rights. So it's essential that most people who own an object of the covered sort are anti-gay & hence unlikely to steal a cover marked "Gay Rights" or "Gay Pride" |
Hannah Kinghern (Kdoc)
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 7:31 pm: | |
is it a cover for a motor bike? for a convertible car? for some other kind of transport |
Felicia Nimue Ackerman (Nimue)
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 7:50 pm: | |
By Hannah Kinghern (Kdoc) on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 07:31 pm:
is it a cover for a motor bike? yes!!! for a convertible car? no for some other kind of transportno
******* SPOILER *****************
Ginger, who rides a motorcycle, has found that biker culture is very anti-gay. She has also found that the tarpaulin she uses to cover her bike in bad eweather often gets stolen. So she writes "Gay Rights" or "Gay Pride" on it in big letters, realizing that this will make it unappealing to bigoted bikers. The example comes from a question submitted to "The Ethicist," a column in The New York Times Magazine. Thanks for sticking with it, everyone, & for solving it, Clever Hannah, & please direct those sharp minds to my new puzzle at the bottom of the page (as well as to my 2 unsolved puzzles that have been around for awhile). |
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