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00:00 - 19:0019:00 - 00:00

12:24 AM
Nah, at least not now.
 
0
Q: Using the numbers 8642 = 9

DaphneUsing any calculation in BEDMAS use the numbers 8645 = 9 Numbers can only be repeated once.

 
CCCC hint: The last letter is C.
 
12:43 AM
Random guess: A word ending in C has a good chance to be an adjective. Assuming the def is "regular", quick search reveals "rhythmic" and "periodic".
(and maybe "methodic", though Chrome fails to recognize the word)
 
1:23 AM
0
Q: Who Married Whom and When?

Roman OdaiskyLouis Thépault offers this puzzle in his book Le chat à six pattes et autres casse-tête : 100 petits problèmes de mathématiques très amusants. Four men, former classmates, met in a restaurant, each accompanied by his wife. Here’s what we know about these eight people: Alexandre and his wife were...

 
 
1 hour later…
2:38 AM
0
Q: Nurikolor (Level 8)

Player1456Previous Level: Nurikolor (Level 7) It's been 9 days since the last puzzle. We will start Level 8 right now, with new features. There are colored numbers on the grid, which indicate the number of tiles the group of its color holds. There are tiles with 1 color, which indicate the color of the ti...

 
3:07 AM
@PrinceNorthLæraðr I'm not familiar with its meaning "behaving like a good citizen".
 
@JeremyDover I had meant you more as a good-aligned wise mentor Gandalf-style character who helps the player rather than someone evil :p
Didn't mean to make you come across as evil, sorry.
 
I've now run into contradictions in the Statue Park hexomino puzzle thrice.... I'm spending far too much time on it!
 
I'm impressed you can even do those, I'm not good at those spatial-style puzzles at all.
Looking at blocks and hexominos just makes my brain turn to mush.
 
Whereas my reasoning & memory abilities are entirely spatial - I literally can't remember what things look like, just their placement relative to other objects.
And I obviously can't do this puzzle well :(
 
Multiple intelligence theory is applicable here probably :p
I'm Linguistic-Verbal and you're Visual-Spatial
 
3:20 AM
By the way, did you try any of my Around-the-Bends? I've been told they're fun :P
 
I haven't seen those, let me take a look :)
Ohhh I love crosswords
 
They're crosswords, just all twisty
 
I'm one of those people who does the USA Today and Wall Street Journal crosswords obsessively, this is up my alley
 
this one is my personal favorite
 
Ooh
 
3:23 AM
But the alphabetized one is also cool
And that one does have an error
so you probably shouldn't try it :)
 
Now I'm tempted to make one of these actually
How do you go about building yours? Any tips?
 
start here
I made a construction guide!
 
Awesome, thanks :D
 
I'm excited to see yours
 
The concept is super fun, I don't know why I never saw these before
This is literally my thing
 
3:28 AM
If you want a hard one, try this one. It has the clues alphabetized instead of grid order. Plus, no tense/pluralization errors!
 
Oh lord
 
Gareth solved it, and the gerbil got pretty far.
So it's possible
 
I've got a bit of work stuff to do tonight, but if I have time I'll see if I can make one :D
 
Do you ever not have work stuff?
 
Honestly no, my work stuff kinda consumes my life sometimes. Lol
 
3:30 AM
ouch
(also yeah around the bend is a fun crossword variant!)
 
I have a presentation on Friday and we've got to have a bunch of features delivered by then, and we're struggling with some server issues, and there's just... ugh. Lots of stuff taking up my time
 
It's also much more straightforward to construct than a regular crossword, so it was a good variety for me to start with.
 
It looks really fun to build
 
remind me to do some venting tomorrow
 
Just a question about CC wordplay (unrelated to C4): is "before A, B" a legal way to indicate reverse ordering of clues (wordplay for B, then wordplay for A)?
 
3:36 AM
@matt everything okay?
 
@Bubbler with the comma?
 
Yes.
 
@sciborg (it would be kind of personal tbh, will tell tomorrow)
 
or maybe not
 
sleeping
 
3:38 AM
@matt if you don't wanna vent in chat you can add me on Discord or something and vent to me there, i don't mind :p
 
sadly I do not have discord
 
aww
 
@Bubbler seems fine to me!
 
Oh, thanks.
 
*sigh* will shut up for now ...
 
3:45 AM
Hope you have a better day tomorrow.
 
you too
 
0
Q: What should the captive say?

ViviRukishaYou are lost in a jungle and suddenly get caught by a tribal group who are cannibals. They keep you captive and however think of offering you a second chance to save your life. Their leader says- "We will give you one chance to say something. It should be a sentence, not a question. It should not...

 
hmm the author approved the dupe. never seen that before
 
I think the question closes immediately if the author chooses to VTC it as a dupe (not sure about other close reasons)
 
I knew about that vaguely from one of my main-meta dives but had never seen it in action.
 
4:01 AM
yep! it's nice when askers recognize duplicates like that
 
It would be nicer if people who found old chestnuts online checked for dupes before posting.
 
Well, you know, it's not so easy to search for dupes on Puzzling after all
 
Damn
I lost an upvote bc a user was removed
 
You're at least better than me. I lost three upvotes and once went from >2k back to <2k, losing a privilege level
 
4:06 AM
I lost one, but I'm well into 3k
 
4:35 AM
@GarethMcCaughan platonic (regular, of a polyhedron) PLATOON taking NICe with its "way out" (its extreme removed), ON leaving
 
 
1 hour later…
5:52 AM
@msh210 or if you count e(ast) as a "way" that works too, I guess? (too much text adventure for me)
 
That seems better than mine.
 
But then you could also say N(orth), which makes the wordplay ambiguous...?
 
6:08 AM
That's actually not uncommon, people use "direction/compass-point" to clue N/S/E/W quite often
(never seen "way" cluing E, but I suppose it can be done)
 
6:34 AM
yeah, I try to avoid it (for the same reason I avoid "note" cluing A/B/C/D/E/F/G/DO/RE/MI/FA/SO/SOL/LA/TI) but it's a thing i've seen before
 
7:13 AM
0
Q: 7x7 Knight's tour: Minimal proof for universality on black squares

BubblerWe already know that 7x7 board cannot have a closed Knight's tour, and it cannot start or end at a white square if R1C1 is black. But our knowledge about 7x7 Knight's tour is still limited. So here is the final piece: Construct exactly three Knight's tours on a 7x7 board, so that their six endpoi...

 
@Deusovi /UT :-)
 
ah of course, UT too
 
good old
 
7:38 AM
0
Q: Can you fold a paper, make one hole and produce a bear's template?

NickYou are given a piece of paper with no marks on it. With this paper (A4 or A5 size), you have to make a bear's template. You are given no tools such as a ruler or scissors, and all you can do is fold the paper and make an one hole with nail or hole puncher. Can you fold the paper, make one hole,...

 
8:27 AM
@bobble Oof, that one is particularly hard. I finally finished working my way through that pack yesterday. The hexomino one had so many phases where it took aaaages to spot the next step, but it felt like a huge achievement in the end. Probably my favourite in the pack.
 
9:16 AM
@msh210 Correct! Well done. (The "way" was indeed the E. I am not troubled by the small ambiguity in the way Deusovi is; I don't see the fact that "way" could mean N, S, E, or W as any worse than the fact that "soldiers" could mean ARMY, PLATOON, or dozens of other things. Words have multiple meanings.)
 
9:40 AM
ah crap, can I make a question a community wiki after posting it?
I'll just delete and repost, sorry mods
Oh, non-mods cannot even create community wiki questions.
 
9:53 AM
@LukasRotter but a mod can do it for you if the bribe is large enough
@GarethMcCaughan thanks. I'm not sure if I should get the next one or @Graylocke
 
@msh210 Hmmm, do mods accept rep as bribe? :P I don't think I have enough for that.
 
@LukasRotter certain mods have so much rep they can't be bribed with it. Dunno about the PSE mods but for me (mod on another site) fresh, homemade chocolate-chip cookies work well
 
e.g. Deus
 
(or, since we meet only online, pictures of fresh, homemade chocolate-chip cookies... emojis will do in a pinch)
 
So the first Fortnight for 2020 season starts in only 10 days? Sounds a little tight for gathering ideas and votes
 
10:08 AM
@msh210 You, I think.
 
10:30 AM
All right.
CCCC: A classic mistake: gather $50 without recompensing all the helpers at the beginning (3,6,2,5)
 
Hmm, "land war in asia" is not 3,6,2,5
 
I give up.
 
@Bubbler that was quick
 
10:49 AM
2
Q: Fortnightly Topic Challenges Threrun: Topic Suggestions

Lukas RotterLet's do fortnightly topic challenges once again! What to Do: If you have an idea for a tag or a theme of any kind to use as a topic challenge, post it as an answer below. (Do note, you can propose anything, not only a tag). Only one suggestion per answer, please. Here is a list of all tags, to ...

 
11:07 AM
Not the CCCC: A classic mistake: shaky logician Ian insisting again that he needs no "while" (5,2,7,1,8,4,5,2,2,3,4) TBVAT VA NTNVAFG N FVPVYVNA JURA QRNGU VF BA GUR YVAR*
 
I give up (2)
 
11:40 AM
Gah, The Comedy Of Errors is so close to 3,6,2,5
 
@Ankoganit oh, shoot, is it called The Comedy of Errors ? ugh
(kidding)
 
Hehe that would've been hilarious
 
@msh210 thegra*+peso+ f_ w_ r_ a_ t_ h_ (a classic)
 
11:55 AM
Nice!
How's $50 peso?
 
peso's sign is $
f is the first letter of "50"
 
Ahhh
I see, nice
 
@jafe yep!
 
CCCC Regular G-man having injured heart almost captured, put in jail (6,9)
3
made this in response to the regular soldiers clue earlier but didn't get to post then :P
 
@Bubbler Get thinking! :) The new challenge series has been featured in the sidebar for 2 weeks - it should be lurking in the back of people's minds even if they don't think they have any ideas just yet. I'm going to post a few suggestions - I encourage you to do the same!
 
12:09 PM
@Sciborg This is why I hate chat...I was joking...no offense taken at all!
 
1
Q: An extra one? Who knows

Prim3numbahEach of the 5 images at the bottom of this picture represent a single word. And the answer to this puzzle is a six letter word. Try to somehow make sense out of it!

1
Q: Great-Uncle Alfred's Letter Sequence

hexominoMy Great-Uncle Alfred loves sequences and likes to test me with them whenever I visit. The other day, with a flourish, "Voilà!", he presented me a piece of paper with the following sequence, UI, AI, EEI, EUI, EEI, AEI, ? "What comes next?" he asked. "I'm not sure", I replied, "but I would guess...

 
12:40 PM
@jafe glad he got away
 
imagine being put in jail and getting captured
 
Ohh I thought he was almost {captured, put in jail} but actually got away
 
that does make more sense
 
which would probably be bad for his injured heart
 
 
1 hour later…
1:54 PM
3
Q: Where does my friend live?

00xxqhxx00When I asked my friend who lives overseas where he lives, he gave me a code: MBOD, DONE, ETNA, LAYS, ANMA, PINE, ILAN, PORE, RUNE, ESTE The country where he lives is not included in the code, where he is?

 
2:19 PM
1
Q: Ted's answer had Thomas shocked! "He... he's alive..." he realized

risky mysteriesThere's this built-in python module, we'll call it mystery. Now, mystery has this function, we'll call it ted. Also, mystery has another function, we'll call it jan. Finally, lets bring Thomas into the equation, your typical python programmer. One day, Thomas goes import mystery print(mystery.te...

 
2:36 PM
@Stiv, did you ever consider changing your parent user to Puzzling? You can do in the chat profile screen.
@Stiv I can see deductions, but obviously at some point I'm making invalid ones.
 
i hath returned
 
that you have
 
yes.
we're basically the only people here
 
2:54 PM
*eyeroll*
 
hello there :)
 
\o
 
bows to the Prince
 
^ of Trees
 
2:59 PM
@matt are you sure about that
 
ghfrfrgr
would you mind deleting that :P
 
@Deusovi You forget about lurkers
 
ah yes, the L U R K E R S
 
Not surprisingly, they tend to lurk
 
hence, lurkers
quick maths linguistics
 
3:03 PM
wow it's almost as if "-ers" is some sort of productive suffix or something
 
I think we're onto something new
 
@Deusovi isn't it amazing!
 
Are we "onto something new"-ers?
 
hello gerbil
 
@bobble A M A Z I N G
@Deusovi Oh yeah btw that question about the x^6 was about intermediate value theorem, descarte rule of signs, and the even synonym thing
 
3:07 PM
what has happened
 
@PrinceNorthLæraðr they did want you to use all 3 of those? huh
 
"not very quick maths"
today's random fact: every odd number, if spelled out as a word, has an e in it.
 
3:27 PM
three
five
seven
nine
eleven
cool
 
yes
and also "one"
 
Thirteen
Fifteen
 
go on, if you wish
 
also, nine in mongolian is "yes"
 
3:37 PM
un, trois, cinq...
 
@PrinceNorthLæraðr in amharic they all have at least one syllable ending in -i
I think
 
Base six or base twelve?
 
i do not know
 
No I mean do you mean base12 is superior like artefaxian or base 6 like jan misali?
 
what do bases have to do with anything
 
3:39 PM
"mean" that? don't see where matt implied anything about that
 
also jan misali is great
 
@Deusovi Nvm I was starting a new conversation
 
i prefer base 324 /sarcasm
 
@matt Ya
bAsE 64
 
if only numbers had lowercase
 
3:42 PM
@matt also, in some sense, most even numbers
 
If numeric symbols had lower and upper case, what could it mean?
 
well "A" doesn'tmean anything different from "a"
 
Text figures (also known as non-lining, lowercase, old style, ranging, hanging, medieval, billing, or antique figures or numerals) are numerals designed with varying heights in a fashion that resembles a typical line of running text, hence the name. They are contrasted with lining figures (also called titling or modern figures), which are the same height as upper-case letters. Georgia is an example of a popular typeface that employs text figures by default. == Design == In text figures, the shape and positioning of the numerals vary as those of lowercase letters do. In the most common scheme...
 
beat me to it
alternatively:
Balanced ternary is a non-standard positional numeral system (a balanced form), used in some early computers and useful in the solution of balance puzzles. It is a ternary (base 3) number system in which the digits have the values –1, 0, and 1, in contrast to the standard (unbalanced) ternary system, in which digits have values 0, 1 and 2. Balanced ternary can represent all integers without using a separate minus sign; the value of the leading non-zero digit of a number has the sign of the number itself. While binary numerals with digits 0 and 1 provide the simplest positional numeral system for...
(and other balanced bases)
 
now my ridiculous conlang will have to use balanced ternary
gah can't spell
just imagine balanced elevenary
it uses zhuang tone letters for the negative thingies (what's a base-11 digit called?)
 
3:54 PM
...a digit? the word "digit" isn't specific to any base
 
in binary there are bits; ternary has trits
is there not a pattern?
 
yes, those are base-specific words
but you could also call them "digits"
 
so then the digit set would be H, Q, X, J, Z, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
that totally makes sense, right? /sarcasm
also, why is there an "all of the above" on a "Select all that apply" question i have?
... and i got it wrong because of that
stupid thing
 
4:25 PM
0
Q: Using the number 8 6 4 2 = either 19 or 17

DaphneThe numbers can only be used once You can use any operator from BEDMAS

 
4:46 PM
Yaya I got my choir solo ~
Also we got roasted by our choir teacher for not knowing the words
 
congrats!
 
I mean I knew my words but that's kind of not a fair comparison bc I like know this song really, really, really well
Orchestra's played this music since like my 8th-grade year and every year hence for their annual VG concert. I think VG concert is canceled this year though :((((
 
@PrinceNorthLæraðr ouch
 
@matt Granted, they've had this music for about 7 weeks now
I get that it's in Swahili, but NOW you ask how to pronounce mbinguni?
 
that's even worse
 
4:51 PM
Baba yetu, yetu uliye / mbinguni yetu, yetu anima / baba yetu yetu uliye / m'jina lako elitukuzwe
That's not that bad tbh
 
@PrinceNorthLæraðr "mbeeng-goo-nee"
also why swahili?
 
And that's pretty much all they sing other than
/ufalme wako ufike utakalo / lifanyike duni anikama mbinguni amina OOO /
@matt The song is in Swahili. It's the Lord's Prayer in Swahili
 
yes but why swahili specifically?
 
@PrinceNorthLæraðr I love the song but can't pronounce a word of it
 
4:54 PM
h
 
m
 
@Mithical I forced myself to learn it a while back. It's pretty hard once you get to "utupe leo chakula chetu"
The rhythm makes everything harder tbh
 
ahh
meanwhile i've made myself a fancy chart of spanish verb endings & subject pronouns
also my j key is shit
oh, yay, i fixed it by holding it down and hearing a snappy noise
 
@Mithical The word roll right off really nicely once you can get the pronunciation and rhythm
It has a smooth flow in its pronunciation that idk I don't find with many European-based languages
 
at least it's not in xhosa .... (it's like swahili but harder and with clicks)
 
5:07 PM
Xhosa is so cool though
They used it in Black Panther
 
yep, that's right, it has <thsh> and <ngx> in its orthography!
 
(that was sarcasm)
 
I think it's cool
 
indeed it is :)
 
5:12 PM
@Deusovi True. But etymologically…
 
"etymologically" is a fun word
 
@PrinceNorthLæraðr I Googled "vg concert" and remain unenlightened.
 
@msh210 Video game concert. Sorry
 
@bobble hyphenator but that does not exist here: et-ym-o-log-ic-a-lly
 
I would flex and put my middle school's performance (bc it was amazing) but I don't want to disclose my high school....
 
5:16 PM
@PrinceNorthLæraðr I… remain unenlightened. Is that a concert of music that was written for use in video games?
 
@msh210 Yup!
 
And now I am enlightened. Thanks.
 
Quick question: which close reason do you use when a question is blatantly off-topic?
okay wait it's not anymore
they updated
 
@bobble i imagine "off-topic"?
 
Is there one? I just looked.
 
5:19 PM
@bobble Yeah there is
Hold on
Right...?
 
eternal loading wheel
 
Oh, I guess there's not a straight-up off-topic.
 
I thought that was just for speculative questions
I initially thought the question was asking for tech support on an IQ test app
 
You can just do "other'
and explain it's blatantly off-topic
 
hello @avi :)
 
5:35 PM
hi xhosa is indeed cool ok bye it's past midnight here heh
 
Can someone give the latest "please help with this IQ test question" Q a better title than "Puzzles Mensa IQ check app"?
(and also fix the tags?)
 
1
Q: Puzzles Mensa IQ check app

JanIn the Mensa app the same kind of puzzles keep coming back. I don't see how to solve it. Can anybody help me?

 
okay Deus fixed tags I guess
 
yeah, not sure what to do about the title but I at least edited in a tag
 
I'm not sure there's any good way to title the IQ test questions, since all they differ by is a picture that's usually hard to describe.
 
5:42 PM
agreed
and because of that they're really not great questions to have
 
the latest one actually changed the picture after posting - I'm not sure what to think about that
 
6:33 PM
Late to the party, but if binary has bits and ternary has trits, does base 20 have twits?
I'll see myself out.
 
I liked The Twits
 
icosits
actually... duodigits?
The base is called vigesimal so vigesits... which isn't all that bad
maybe kaalits, based on Mayan language?
 
6:48 PM
shouldn't that base-20 thing be the natural meaning of "digit" since we have 20 of them
toes are digits, right?
 
I do believe "digit" excludes the thumbs?
 
no, thumbs are digits
i think
i literally can't find "dig-" anywhere in this table
 
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