| Author | Message | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 98 Registered: 5-2003 |
The first ICBM. | ||
| Eli (Eli)
New member Username: Eli Post Number: 1143 Registered: 11-2003 |
ICBM as in weapon? or related to Usenet? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 100 Registered: 5-2003 |
As in weapon | ||
| Woodworm (Woodworm)
New member Username: Woodworm Post Number: 1238 Registered: 3-2006 |
Anything to do with the Roman weapon known as the Ballista? Is the Bosphorus relevant? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 101 Registered: 5-2003 |
Anything to do with the Roman weapon known as the Ballista? no Is the Bosphorus relevant? no, but good idea! I hadn't even thought of that! | ||
| Dlcygnet (Dlcygnet)
New member Username: Dlcygnet Post Number: 1248 Registered: 6-2005 |
Are we talking about devices like trebuchets or catapults? Or hurling diseased cats accross city walls? Bags of rats? Is it a device? Is it organic? Was it made from something organic? Is it a baby screaming at 2 am? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 102 Registered: 5-2003 |
Are we talking about devices like trebuchets or catapults? no Or hurling diseased cats accross city walls? no Bags of rats? no Is it a device? no Is it organic? no Was it made from something organic? no Is it a baby screaming at 2 am? lol, no | ||
| Alex319 (Alex319)
New member Username: Alex319 Post Number: 717 Registered: 5-2007 |
Are we talking about a particular device or object? Or an event? Is it real? Or from fiction/a book? From the Bible? Did it occur... ...prior to the advent of homo sapiens? ...during prehistoric times? ...in ancient Greece? Rome? China? Japan? India? Middle East? ...in the 1st? 2nd? 3rd?... 21st centuries? | ||
| Zenith (Zenith)
New member Username: Zenith Post Number: 629 Registered: 10-2004 |
Are we talking about an 'Intercontinental Ballistic Missile'; i.e a 'missile' (propelled projectile) with no on-board control mechanism, that crosses continental borders? Is this 'missile' an accident? Does it involve an atomic test during 1957 and a steel plate? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 103 Registered: 5-2003 |
Are we talking about a particular device or object? yes Or an event? yes Is it real? possibly apocryphal Or from fiction/a book? from a nonfiction book From the Bible? no Did it occur... ...prior to the advent of homo sapiens? no ...during prehistoric times? no ...in ancient Greece? Rome? China? Japan? India? Middle East? none of the above ...in the 1st? 2nd? 3rd?... 21st centuries? 20th Are we talking about an 'Intercontinental Ballistic Missile'; i.e a 'missile' (propelled projectile) with no on-board control mechanism, that crosses continental borders? yope Is this 'missile' an accident? yes Does it involve an atomic test during 1957 and a steel plate? no | ||
| Woodworm (Woodworm)
New member Username: Woodworm Post Number: 1240 Registered: 3-2006 |
Anything to do with the Bering Strait? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 104 Registered: 5-2003 |
Anything to do with the Bering Strait? no | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 105 Registered: 5-2003 |
and false assumption | ||
| Alex319 (Alex319)
New member Username: Alex319 Post Number: 728 Registered: 5-2007 |
"Are we talking about an 'Intercontinental Ballistic Missile'; i.e a 'missile' (propelled projectile) with no on-board control mechanism, that crosses continental borders? yope" Let's investigate further... ...was there a physical object that was the "first ICBM"? ...was the object self-propelled? Was is propelled by an external force? Was it propelled from a stop as in an object on the ground that is propelled by an explosion? Was it dropped out of/detached from a moving aircraft? spacecraft? other vehicle? ...did the object have any onboard control mechanism? was there a human piloting it? ...did the object go into Earth orbit? Into space? Did it start from one continent and go into another continent? Did it travel more than 1 mile? 10 miles? 100 miles? 1000 miles? Did it ravel over/above the sea? Is the "border" between Europe and Asia relevant? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 108 Registered: 5-2003 |
...was there a physical object that was the "first ICBM"? yes ...was the object self-propelled? yes Was is propelled by an external force? no Was it propelled from a stop as in an object on the ground that is propelled by an explosion? yes Was it dropped out of/detached from a moving aircraft? no spacecraft? no other vehicle? no ...did the object have any onboard control mechanism? maybe an autopilot was there a human piloting it? no ...did the object go into Earth orbit? no Into space? possibly, irr Did it start from one continent and go into another continent? no Did it travel more than 1 mile? yes 10 miles? yes 100 miles? possibly, exact distance irr but not more than a few hundred 1000 miles? no Did it ravel over/above the sea? yes Is the "border" between Europe and Asia relevant? no | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 115 Registered: 5-2003 |
Hint: An alternate way of putting this puzzle would have been -- In the early days of the space program, there was a minor disaster that inspired a joke. What was the joke? | ||
| Woodworm (Woodworm)
New member Username: Woodworm Post Number: 1258 Registered: 3-2006 |
A sick joke? Does ICBM stand for something in addition to Intercontinental Ballistic Missile? Does the joke take the form of "What does ICBM stand for" (along the lines of the sick NASA jokes)? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 123 Registered: 5-2003 |
A sick joke? No. Does ICBM stand for something in addition to Intercontinental Ballistic Missile? Yes Does the joke take the form of "What does ICBM stand for" (along the lines of the sick NASA jokes)? Yes, but like I said, it's not sick. | ||
| Woodworm (Woodworm)
New member Username: Woodworm Post Number: 1264 Registered: 3-2006 |
Ah, ok. Does the I stand for the word 'I'? It? It's? Which letter stands for a verb: I? C? B? M? Same for a noun: I? C? B? M? Did the minor disaster involve any loss of life? Was it a comical event? Was the object some sort of rocket? A satellite? Was it meant to travel much further than the few hundred miles it actually managed? Would the joke have made sense at the time? Did the abbreviation ICBM (in its usual sense) actually exist at the time? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 127 Registered: 5-2003 |
Does the I stand for the word 'I'? It? It's? None of the above Which letter stands for a verb: I? C? B? M? b{} Same for a noun: I? C? B? M? b{} b{} Did the minor disaster involve any loss of life? b{} Was it a comical event? b{} Was the object some sort of rocket? b{} A satellite? b{} Was it meant to travel much further than the few hundred miles it actually managed? b{} Would the joke have made sense at the time? b{} Did the abbreviation ICBM (in its usual sense) actually exist at the time? b{} | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 128 Registered: 5-2003 |
Oops. Hit Post Message in the midst of correcting. Sorry. Does the I stand for the word 'I'? It? It's? None of the above Which letter stands for a verb: I? C? B? M? None of the above Same for a noun: I? C? B? M? C and M Note -- while this appears to be a true story, I haven't been able to find any specific details -- in fact, the joke itself may be all that is remembered of the incident. Therefore, consider the answers below to be assumptions -- in most cases the exact circumstances are irrelevant to the humor. In reference to the time period, this probably occurred in the early-to-mid-fifties -- the first true ICBMs flew in 1957. The joke may not have appeared before then. Did the minor disaster involve any loss of life? Assume no Was it a comical event? No Was the object some sort of rocket? Yes A satellite? No Was it meant to travel much further than the few hundred miles it actually managed? Assume no. Would the joke have made sense at the time? Irrelevant Did the abbreviation ICBM (in its usual sense) actually exist at the time? Irrelevant | ||
| Woodworm (Woodworm)
New member Username: Woodworm Post Number: 1266 Registered: 3-2006 |
Does the I stand for 'inter'? Does the M stand for 'missile'? Does B stand for an adjective? Not 'ballistic'? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 129 Registered: 5-2003 |
Does the I stand for 'inter'? No, but close! Does the M stand for 'missile'? No. Does B stand for an adjective? No. Not 'ballistic'? No. | ||
| Woodworm (Woodworm)
New member Username: Woodworm Post Number: 1267 Registered: 3-2006 |
Inner? Into? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 131 Registered: 5-2003 |
The first word is "Into." | ||
| Woodworm (Woodworm)
New member Username: Woodworm Post Number: 1269 Registered: 3-2006 |
Is C a proper noun? Cuba? Canada? A country's name? Or is it an abstract noun? B isn't a verb or an adjective, so is it a conjunction, perhaps? But? A preposition? By? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 132 Registered: 5-2003 |
Is C a proper noun? Cuba? Yes Canada? A country's name? Or is it an abstract noun? B isn't a verb or an adjective, so is it a conjunction, perhaps? But? A preposition? By? Yes It should be easy from here! | ||
| Dlcygnet (Dlcygnet)
New member Username: Dlcygnet Post Number: 1254 Registered: 6-2005 |
So... Into Cuba By M... Morning? Midday? Midweek? Monday? March? May? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 133 Registered: 5-2003 |
None of the above. | ||
| Woodworm (Woodworm)
New member Username: Woodworm Post Number: 1270 Registered: 3-2006 |
Mistake! (Surely?) | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 135 Registered: 5-2003 |
Yep! "The First ICBM: Into Cuba By Mistake." I've only found it mentioned briefly in a few engineering publications, so I reckon it's just a joke, but it might also be about a forgotten errant test flight. | ||
| Woubit (Woubit)
Moderator Username: Woubit Post Number: 254 Registered: 5-2007 |
Into Cuba By Mistake is simply a joke acronym along the lines of, for example, Alitalia - Aircraft Landing In Tokyo, All Luggage In Amsterdam. The first ICBM was the Atlas 9, developed in Nazi Germany by Wernher von Braun. The first Russian ICBM was the R7, which in 1957 put the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, into space. In the same year, the United States successfully launched Atlas A. No ICBM has ever been launched against Cuba, either accidentally or on purpose. This information brought to you by woubits inc, pedants to the gentry since 1903 and possibly earlier still. |
