eytanz
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Neither one of your posts contains a valid paragraph according to the rule. Actually, the first two words of your paragraph already violate it. In addition, the catagory of words which the sentences start with isn't important.

(this entire post obeys the rule)

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Schik
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Puzzles like this sometimes are very time consuming to solve!
After posting the puzzle regarding a paragraph absent "E"s, this teaser was somehow easier than anticipated.

I await another excellent one like this soon - perhaps visiting rec.puzzles is something I might find fun.

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The_Red_Hawk
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eytanz wrote:

This paragraph introduces a challenge. One secret rule governs its writing - find it out. Attempt to conform to the secret rule when replying.

If I submit just that part, is it correct?

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Slashing, whirling, diving, twirling,
Snapping, turning, rising, swirling,
Screeching, flipping, gliding, sliding,
The red hawk's dance of death.

.....the king of the skies.....

Oneiromancer
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The_Red_Hawk wrote:
I think that was a Slylock Fox mystery?

Never heard of Slylock Fox...this was from a puzzle book for kids that was written in the 70's.

Game on,

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"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams

The_Red_Hawk
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He's a fox that goes around solving mysteries like the one you told us. (It's a comic strip). The reader has to figure out who the criminal is.

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Slashing, whirling, diving, twirling,
Snapping, turning, rising, swirling,
Screeching, flipping, gliding, sliding,
The red hawk's dance of death.

.....the king of the skies.....

Stuwy
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yeah he's in my free press saturday comics page. It's intended for kids and their puzzles are downright easy..

(oh god... an infantry moment... EZ $$ NEWBIT kthxbai~~)

DiMono
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The_Red_Hawk wrote:

eytanz wrote:

This paragraph introduces a challenge. One secret rule governs its writing - find it out. Attempt to conform to the secret rule when replying.

If I submit just that part, is it correct?

This would be cheating, as this is already known to be correct. Any response must be original text. This one, for instance.

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Deploy the... I think it's a yellow button... it's usually flashing... it makes the engines go... WHOOSH!

eytanz
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The response should indeed be text that, mostly, is original. DiMono's response, of course, meets that criterion, but not the rule the puzzle depends on (no "one" should occur near the "this"). To not halt the overall game, an answer which contains an expalantion will also count.

Again, this post meets the rule.

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Schik
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I think that the previous message signed "Schik" slipped past eytanz unnoticed. I believe I figured the rule, however composing messages keeping it in mind is difficult.

Each and every word contains at least one letter that the previous one contained. Is this correct?

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The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

eytanz
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Yes! My apologies for not noticing the previous response

I like this puzzle because it's a deceptively "easy" rule - you can create long discussions which sound pretty much normal with it (unlike the 'e'-less puzzle), but on the other hand, if you're not aware of the rule, it's very, very easy to make a mistake.


[Edited by eytanz on 12-22-2003 at 03:04 PM GMT]

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Schik
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No problem - it was easily lost in the offtopic discussion.

Okay, next puzzle:
Two friends - Bill and Ben - were both born in May, one in 1932 and the other in 1933. Each owned identical clocks, one of which gained 10 seconds an hour while the other lost 10 seconds an hour. At noon on a bright day in January the two friends synchronised their clocks by setting them both to the correct time. Bill then made the correct observation that the times showing on the clocks will start to drift apart and will not agree again until Ben's 47th birthday. Who is older, Bill or Ben?

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--Mahatma Gandhi

eytanz
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I don't quite understand the question -



[Edited by eytanz on 12-22-2003 at 03:43 PM GMT]

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Schik
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eytanz wrote:
Question - are these 12-hour clocks? or 24-hour clocks?

That can be figured out from the puzzle given.


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--Mahatma Gandhi

eytanz
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(You replied while I was editing my post above)

If my calculations above are correct, than it's impossible that, for either type of clock, they will agree in May. So I'm clearly wrong about something, or there's a mistake in the puzzle.

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Schik
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It's not impossible - I'm not sure exactly where you're going wrong, your hidden calculations are correct.

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The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

eytanz
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Ah, it took some time for the right neurons to connect , but I get it. Bill was older.


[Edited by eytanz on 12-22-2003 at 03:59 PM GMT]

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Schik
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Hmm. That's not right. And since this makes it pretty easy to determine who is the elder, I'm also going to require the logic behind it.

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The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

eytanz
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Ok -

The clocks agree every 90 days (see hidden space above). If the "bright day" in question is January 31st, then 90 day means either May 1st (on a regular year), or April 30th (on a leap year). Ben's birthday is in May, so his 47th birthday can't be a leap year. Had Ben been born in 1933, his 47th birthday would be 1933+47 = 1980, which was a leap year. Ergo, Ben was born in 1932, and was the younger of the two.

Where was my mistake?

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Schik
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Your mistake is thinking that someone born in 1932 is younger than someone born in 1933.

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The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

eytanz
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Oh, he's younger at heart.








Oh, okay



I guess not all the neurons were working after all. I'll think of a puzzle and post one soon.



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eytanz
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Ok, here's the new puzzle (modified somewhat to make it DROD-themed):

Not far from the kingdom of Dugandy, lies the mythical lake of Gunterall. In the middle of this lake, there is a small island, which is unremarkable except for a very tall and narrow mountain that rises in its center. On the top of this mountain, a great and evil dragon lives. Unfortunately for Beethro, he didn't read the fine print in his latest contract, and now he must slay this dragon. Since, as well all know, dragons are just winged seprents, he can't do it with his sword - he must use his brain.

So Beethro travelled to the island, and called out to the dragon "Dragon! I'm here to slay you!". The dragon flew down from his perch on top of the mountain, and told Beethro "I admire your courage, little gray man. Tell you what: I propose a contest of wits. On the side of the mountain, there are thirteen poisoned wells, labeled 1-13. All the poisons taste the same - just like regular water. If someone/something drinks a cup of poison from well X, they will die unless they drink another cup of poison from a well numbered greater than X (within a reasonable amount of time). For example, if I drink from well 4, I will die unless I have a cup of poison from well 5 or well 6 or well 7, etc.. So... here's what I propose. Both you and I are rational thinkers. Lets each get a cup of water (without each other seeing) and, then exchange cups. We then do whatever we think is necessary to survive, but we must drink the cup offered to us. How's that for a deal?"

Beethro thought a while, and then said yes. Unfortunately, there was one thing he didn't know. The dragon could get his water from any of the wells; however, well 13 was impossible for Beethro to reach, being at the very top of the mountain and surrounded by insurmountable cliffs.

What does Beethro need to do in order to live while the dragon dies?

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krammer
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OK, I'm sort of guessing here:

Beethro fetches a cup from well 1 and also poison from any other well. He drinks from well 1 before drinking whatever the dragon offers him. If this also turns out to be from well 1 - ie he starts feeling iller rather than getting better - he drinks the other poison he fetched to counteract the two doses from well 1, if not, then the dragon's cup will act as an antidote.

How's that?

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"Oook!"

eytanz
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I don't think that should work; all discussion of this puzzle I've seen assumed that the poison's actions were delayed, but once they start working, it's too late.

Also, far more importantly, you haven't said what Beethro needs to do to kill the dragon, which is the trickier part of the puzzle.

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Schik
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Can Beethro get only one cup of water? Or can he have multiple cups with water from different wells?

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The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

eytanz
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He can only get one cup to give to the dragon. He can drink as much as he wants from any well without a cup, though. It doesn't matter how much water you drink from a particular well, if you have any water from a higher well, you're safe.

Also, before the question arises - you can't mix water in the cups (I had a different answer here a few seconds ago, which was a bit more realistic but this is simpler).

[Edited by eytanz on 12-22-2003 at 05:08 PM GMT]

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Schik
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Hmmm.

So Beethro can get back to the wells and drink from them after the two get their cups and swap? In that case, Beethro should drink from well 1, then drink from the dragon's cup. If the dragon got water from wells 2 through 13, Beethro's okay. However, if he got water from well 1, he's still in trouble. So take another drink from well 1, then a drink from any other well. He's either
(a) had a triple-size drink from well 1, then from a well > 1, so he's okay
-or-
(b) been poisoned and cured twice, so he's okay.

Now on to killing the dragon. The dragon can fly up and drink from well 13, which will cure him from any poison that Beethro can give the dragon. So the only solution would be to NOT give him any poison first, thus making the drink from well 13 fatal. How about a cup of water from Lake Gunterall? After all, the dragon didn't specify that the water needs to come from a well.


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The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

eytanz
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Yup, to both parts of the solution - well done!

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Schik
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Back with a puzzle in a minute...

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The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

Schik
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Okay, next puzzle.

I have two cubes on my office desk. Every day I arrange both cubes so that the front faces show the current day of the month. what numbers are on the faces of the cubes to allow this?

Note: All dates must use both cubes. Therefore single digit dates must start with a 0, for example "07".


[Edited by Schik on 12-22-2003 at 05:57 PM GMT]

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The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

Oneiromancer
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Die 1: 0 1 2 3 4 5
Die 2: 0 1 2 6 7 8

The 6 can be turned upside-down to be the 9.

Puzzle coming up in a second.

Game on,

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"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams