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Post by zoi on Feb 2, 2013 16:28:18 GMT -8
I recently purchased a book called 'The Sherlock Holmes Puzzle Collection'. In it are several brain teasers varying in difficulty posed by Sherlock to Watson. What I want to do is to take one enigma a week and make a contest of sorts out of it. I'll give you the text as it appears in the book and if you want to participate, you must PM me the answer. Everyone who gets it right will get a reward. There is, however, a twist. All answers must be sent in as if you were Watson responding to Sherlock. The best written answer of the week will receive an additional prize, so you can choose to do it as a simple reply, or write it out like you would an RP post.
I will be posting every Saturday night with a new puzzle and giving the correct answer as well as the entries from the week before. The reward for a correct answer is 30 Gold. The winner of best entry for the week gets 10 RP and their entry will be put in the Third Division Library thread as well. If you don't have a character you are still free to participate, I just don't have a prize for you unless you win the best written entry and can have your entry put in the Third Division. I will not take entries for the previous week's puzzle past 6pm on Saturdays.
"Logic is Paramount, Watson." Sherlock Holmes was in a thoughtful mood, pacing slowly up and down the length of the sitting room, pipe firmly in hand. "The better able you are to pick apart a problem in your mind and evaluate all of the ramifications it encompasses, the stronger will be your deductive reasoning."
"Of course," I said.
"So, then. Let us say that I know of a particular fellow. Today is a singular occasion, for two days ago he was 25 years of age, but next year, he will be 28.
How is such a thing possible?"
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Post by zoi on Feb 9, 2013 16:02:44 GMT -8
Answer:"Our chap's birthday is New Year's Eve, Watson, and our singular day is January 1st. Two days agao, on December 30th, he was 25. The next day, he attained 26. Today is the start of the new year, and at the end of this year, he will become 27. At the end of the following year, therefore, he will be 28." Entries:
I pondered a while, wondering how he could still be as such after drinking such copious amounts of sherry. Indeed, my own intoxication muddied my mind.
"Holmes, is it not too early in the year for such things? Big Ben did not chime in the New Year but a half hour ago."
Certainly, he had entered the new year as he had left the old.
"Your acquaintance would have celebrated his twenty-sixth birthday yesterday, that being December 31st. As such two days ago he would have kept the age of twenty-five. As such, this year he shall be celebrating his twenty-seventh birthday and the next his twenty-eighth. I do marvel at why you call this a singular occasion. This event is annual, and sure to plague the poor fellow throughout the entirety of his life!"
"Well," I began, bringing the thumb of my right hand upward to press against the underside of my chin as I pondered the riddle for a moment, "I would have to guess the case is as such: first, that though your friend was 25 two days ago, he was 26 yesterday, which is to say, his birthday has only just passed. Then, I think it should be wise to say that today is also New Year's Day, meaning your friend's birthday is the 31st of December. If such should be the case, then this year he shall turn 27, and next year, 28."
"Well, well, well. That is a tough one. An intriguing bit of wordplay on your part, I should think. But I may have figured it out.
Today is January 1st. The man's birthday is December 31st. Two days ago he was 25. One day ago he turned 26. This year he will turn 27. And next year, when December 31st eventually rolls around, he will be 28.
It took a good bit of puzzling, but I have a strong feeling that that is the correct deduction.
What say you, man?"
"Tis Elementary...
The poor fellow was born on a chilled winter's night on December 31st. The day before the new years. Today must be January 1st, for two days ago the young man was just a mere 25 years old, December 30th. Next day comes, the 31st and he is 26. Now this year...seeing as it is a brand new year...he shall turn 27 and then next year 28. How silly of you, aren't you the detective?"
"The answer would be that the man is born on a leap year, yes?"
"The answer to the riddle revolves around the guy's birthday occurring the 31st of December; the actual date is the 1st of January, so that the day before he would've hit 26, 27 in the current year, and 28 the next."
Rising my brow I would look up towards the man as I say "Now now Holmes, you either must judge my own intellect quite low, or you simply trying to get my cogs going before a more difficult query.
The man you speak of must be born in the 29th of February, which is a day which happens only once in four years, and next year will so happen to have that day in its calender, letting the poor chap have a nice slice of cake" he said with a small, confident smile. Winners:
Jeff, Cain, Carb, Wolf, and Chakaara all answered correctly so they will be given 30 Gold each. As for this week's best entries, we had some really good ones, but in my opinion, Jeff's was the best as it read just like something you might find in one of the tales. Carb was a very close second in this with Cain and Wolf hot on his tail. Congrats to Jeff though as his character will be receiving the additional prize of 10 RP. Now on to the next puzzle!"My dear Watson, a keen mind must be able to follow a thread of logic through convoluted labyrinths at which even an Ariadne would quail."
"I dare say that's true," said I. "Do I assume that means you have some trial for me?"
"I couldn't say," replied Holmes, "but if you did, that assumption would be well founded."
"Very well," I said. "Pray, go ahead."
"This should prove a gentle warm-up. There is something that you own that is yours, and always has been. Despite this, all your friends use it, whilst you rarely get to make use of it at all. What am I talking about?"
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Post by zoi on Feb 16, 2013 16:04:36 GMT -8
Answer:Holmes was, of course, referring to my name. Entries:As Holmes proposed this most intriguing puzzle to me, I had to admit that at first I was quite baffled. What could I have possibly have had since the moment that I was born but rarely use?
After a few moments of thinking over the answer to this puzzle, I came upon a realization of what the answer truly was and how one could deduce it.
"I say Holmes, this puzzle of yours has quite cleverly hidden the answer. In order to solve it I think it would be best to break the puzzle down. You said that this something is something that I have always owned. Now based on this statement we can rule out any physical possessions for I know that there has been no possession that I have ever owned for my entire life. This leads me to believe that it is something that is a part of me. Now you also said that it's something that everyone uses yet it's something that I rarely use. This has led me to deduce that the answer to your puzzle is my name. I have always had my name since I was born and everyone uses it to refer to me while I rarely use it at all."
A pipe in hand and a smile on my lips, I simply say "It is your own name. For it is your own name yet other people must call you by it...although you hardly ever do use it. Unless you're one of those odd fellows who speaks in riddles and third person."
Aha! Dear Holmes, I dare say you are going easy on me. Could it possibly be my name, man?
I rose from my seat, and paced the room."
"Dear Holmes, there are many a thing which one owns, though less since we live together, and even less so, since our residence is owned by Mrs Hudson. And of those, what does one's friends get to use more than oneself?
Surely, it cannot be a physical possession. One does not purchase an object without intending to use it, unless it is a gift. But then it is not yours.
Perhaps it is my good looks? For a person cannot see themselves, save through a mirror. But no, you would scoff at the notion of such a trivial aspect. And indeed, doesn't a man or lady use their appearance to use and manipulate, moreso than others gain utility from laying their eyes upon it.
Or maybe it is one's name. However to say that I rarely get to use it would be a falsehood. Indeed, would it be too boastful to say I believe my name carries some weight? I frequently find myself giving it, signing papers. Indeed, I used my name on the records of your adventures.
Perhaps it is my postal address, or maybe my telephone number. For how often does one send post to oneself, or dial one's own number. Indubitably, others use it far more often than I. However, do I truly own these things? You are here, and this house is the property of Mrs Hudson.
I suppose it could be my personality, my good nature, my willingness to help people. My assistance belongs to me, and yet I do not get to use it. The transfer of help from one to another means that I do not benefit, but they do."
"Yes Holmes", I said, ceasing my pacing. "I shall chance you this. I believe your riddle refers to assistance."
Intrigued, I lowered the cup from my lips, and delicately placed it unto the saucer the waiter had provided for me. ''I must confess, Holmes, that this is not so gentle a warm-up for the rest of us.'' I grieved, briefly, how he had always been prone to upending the sanctity of afternoon tea with a veritable palette of confounding dictums. ''However, I believe you've erred in your delivery, for you have unwittingly disclosed the solution to your own puzzle.''
''You are a clever man, my dear Watson,'' Holmes conceded. ''But have you truly figured it out?''
''I dare claim so. I had, at first, been misled into considering counsel, or perhaps charity, but I could not profess ownership of either,'' a slight edge of pride had crept into my voice, so certain was I of my answer. I paused, noting Holmes' silence, and with a dignified lilt continued, ''Nonetheless, I believe I have solved your riddle: the thing that is mine, and whose use is reserved largely for my friends, is my own name.'' Winners:Crazy, Wolf, Carb, and Chakaara have all answered correctly! As for the best written for this week, it was a toss up between Crazy and Chakaara, but in the end I have decided to go with... Crazy! Congrats and thanks to everyone for participating; your prizes will be added accordingly! Now let's move to the next puzzle!
Holmes has on occasion extolled the virtues of absurdity as a way of breaking free of the confines of regimented thinking. "Watson," he told me once, "the ridiculous is one of the best methods to shatter the iron confines of pedestrian thought."
With that in mind, he engaged in a programme of springing baffling and sometimes ludicrous problems on me at moments when I least expected them.
The first caught me completely unawares.
"I have considered commissioning a house with windows facing south on all four sides," Holmes declared, to my amazement. "Do you think this a good idea?"
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Post by zoi on Feb 23, 2013 16:03:29 GMT -8
Answers:It is possible, but it would not be wise. The house would have to be located precisely upon the North Pole. Such a dwelling would be very cold indeed, and immensely inaccessible. Entries:Fumbling to straighten again my coat - Holmes had discovered shortly the time I least anticipated his games was upon abandoning the commode - I couldn't help but sigh miserably as he gazed upon me with a smug demeanor.
"Holmes," I groaned in exasperation, "must the game be played so near to tea time?" Naturally he would provide no answer, save to lean against the wall and draw upon his pipe, only waiting for me to provide an answer; after a smattering of grumbles, a response finally did come to me.
"Perhaps the idea would not be so terrible," I proclaimed with a huff, straightening my coat a final time as he pulled his pipe free to pay me his full attention, "Provided you were well enough accustomed to the cold, though I wager the funds necessary to build upon the northernmost point of the Earth may be great indeed. Now, shall we off to supper?"
By this time I had become rather irate at my housemate's constant questions. Perhaps some of his arrogance had rubbed off on me as well.
"Holmes, if you wish to build a house at the North Pole, that is your own business. I think it tremendously unwise, but if you wish to do so, then I know full well that you will do so regardless what anyone says."
I returned to my paper.
A house opposing South on all four sides would totes be a bad idea because you'd have to erect the thing on the North pole, but since I'm Watson and Holmes seems cuckoolander enough to do it anyway I'm just going to fully endorse his madness like I've done throughout the entire franchise. Winners:Both Jeff and Cain enter the correct answers (Chakaara's was too technically <,,<) and their entries were equally well worded, but as Jeff won the initial game, I'm giving this week's best written prize to Cain. Congrats to the both of you (and Chakaara, I guess)! Now here is another one.
As you must be aware, with this volume in your hands, I have some very meagre scrapings of ability in the weaving of sentences. I hesitate to call my facility, such as it is, talent, but I hope I have managed to document my friend's extraordinary adventures in an amusing manner.
In among his efforts at improving my very basic skills of deduction and investigation, Holmes from time to time would challenge my linguistic facility. Whilst this was undoubtedly a change of pace from some of his little challenges, he none the less managed to ensure his wordplay provided me with a genuine test. These trials of his may be diverting you, and are offered in that spirit.
I was minding my own business one morning, munching on a piece of Mrs. Hudson's toast, when Holmes suddenly barked, "Honorificabilitudinitatibus!"
I managed to sputter, "I beg your pardon?"
"Honorificabilitudinitatibus, Watson. 'Of Honour', more familiarly. You may place some blame for its inclusion in the canon of English at the feet of Master Shakespeare. Or if that monstrosity is not to your taste, how about 'unimaginatively', 'verisimilitudes', or 'parasitological'?
"I don't follow you," I said.
"What do those words have in common, man? It should be simplicity in itself for a fellow of your abilities."
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Post by zoi on Mar 4, 2013 12:17:39 GMT -8
Answer:As I'm sure you must have noticed, each word has the distinction of alternating consonant with vowel. I have since discovered the terrible honorificabilitudinitatibus is the longest word in English to do so, with 27 letters to its count, although the others that Holmes mentioned are joint in seventh place at 15 letters in length. Entries:The toast sat forgotten in my hand, halfway between my mouth and the plate. It was, to say the least, baffling. The words meant nothing to me, but for their difficulty in pronunciation. I started to pat my pockets for a pencil when I realized I was still holding my toast. Its crumbs tumbled down my vest. I frowned at it, then placed it gingerly upon its plate, and continued my search for a pencil.
"Holmes, be a good fellow and lend me a scrap of paper?"
He obliged, and upon my discovery of a nub of pencil in my left front pocket, I wrote the words out. With difficulty. And much tut-tutting from Holmes. And one "sound it out, man."
The words sat before me. I glanced to Holmes. He wore that infuriating innocent-but-smug look he had. I went back to the words.
It took a while. My toast had gone cold and stale by the time it hit me. I was rather embarrassed it took me so long, truth be told.
"Ah. I see. Very clever, Holmes. Very clever." I took a bite of my now stale toast, hid a grimace, and spoke around the unpalatable food, "The lettering alternates. Consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel, etcetera. Well done."
"My dear Holmes," said I, turning to the great detective.
"I fear if I am to solve this puzzle I shall need to see these words written down, for my education was anatomy, not the English language."
The good man obliged me, and in his usual scrawl (which years had granted me the ability to decipher) he handed me a paper on which had the words in question.
It took but a cursory glance to confirm my suspicions.
"These words all alternate, letter by letter, between vowels, including Y, and consonants."
I prayed some case would come through the door, to spare me from being the topic of his amusement. Winners:Both Carb and Jeff got the correct answer to the puzzle! They will both receive 30 Gold. The winner for this week's best entry goes to Carb, who will get an additional 10 RP! Now the next puzzle!
We were engaged on some business on Cheapside one afternoon when Holmes turned to me.
"Answer me something, Watson," he said.
"Of course," I replied.
"If there is a fellow whose mother is my mother's mother-in-law, then who is he to me?"
It occured to me that Holmes must have been talking to Mrs. Hudson again. I put this to him, and he did not deny it, but required an answer nonetheless. Can you reckon it out?
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Post by zoi on Mar 11, 2013 8:54:20 GMT -8
Answer:There are two possible answers to the question. The fellow could have been either Holmes' uncle or his father. Entries:I looked at my companion for a moment.
"Holmes, that is simplicity itself, once one straightens out your language. The fellow is your father."
The true puzzle however, was who his father was. He did not speak much of his parents, and I had never had the good fortune to meet them.
I made note to consult Mycroft on the issue.
The fellow is his father, and his mother's husband. Winners:Both Carb and Jeff got the answer! Or at least one of the answers! So both will receive 30 Gold. Jeff has the best written entry for this week so he'll receive an additional 10 RP. Thanks for participating! Here's the next puzzle.
"You've noticed, I dare say, at night, when the flat is cold, that the carpeted floor here in the sitting room feels much warmer than the tiled floor in the bathroom," said Holmes.
"Quite so," I agreed.
"Have you given any thought to why that ought to be the case?"
"Well the carpet..." I began, trailing off as I realised I had not actually considered the matter.
"But surely you cannot think that the carpet is any different temperature to the tile. The flat is uniformly heated, after all."
"Of course not."
"So why the difference, then?"
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