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00:20
1
Q: Find the odd ones out!

QuantumTwinkieFind the odd ones out! Each section will have 1 part that is the odd one out. 1. Computer Chancellor Conference Coincide Curriculum Continue Champion Customer 2. 3 Uryc Rvtug Qnlf n Jrrx Qba'g Fgbc Oryvriva Urer Pbzrf gur Fha Url Whqr 4 ...

01:17
3
Q: Why use the gun?

kraby15There was once a man named Ihav Iccups. One day, Ihav walked into a bar and asked the bartender for a cup of water. The bartender pulls out a gun and points it at the man. Ihav simply says 'Thank you', and walks out. Why?

01:53
1
Q: So many Anagrams!

QuantumTwinkieFor this puzzle you have to find two words that are anagrams of each other to fit into the "____". For example you might place earth and heart. After we _____ for many hours we were very ________. After Jane played a sour _____ on the piano, the whole ____ was ruined. Mark placed his _...

02:22
Hello
Contact?
2
Q: Why is he bankrupt?

jkl3699One day, a man named Jonathan Doesar was pushing his car and stopped when he reached a hotel. At that point, he knew he was bankrupt. Why?

02:51
1
Q: Crack this safe

DandelionYet another investigation calls you to the home of John Speldnick, a criminal with ties to a terrorist organization that had plans of bombing the subway station in the metropolitan area. Luckily, your team has thwarted their attempts of attack, but there is very sensitive information hidden insi...

03:02
Finally finished my poetry analysis
I drew a picture of a raven, and I tried to put it on top of a bust, but the bust turned out to be ... well a bust.
My Julius Caesar looks like it has obesity
I would send a picture, but my camera's bad and the poster is huge
Ill just show you the pictures of the ravens
6
Q: How can the baby live?

kraby15One day, while in a twenty-story building, Mary was holding her 2 month old baby. As Mary was playing with the baby, she accidentally dropped it out the window. The baby, though, survived. How? (The baby was wearing normal clothes, not anything special to protect it from this sort of thing.)

03:23
@Sphinx Dear PSE Community - things like this and puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/64056/why-is-he-bankrupt and puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/63997/why-the-7-apples - the kind of stuff you might find in a book or website of "Riddles and Brain Teasers For Kids" - tend to attract attention and get views and votes and HNQ status, but ... are these really Puzzles at all, and even if they are, are they the kind of high quality content SE sites aim to collect?
2
If you answer and upvote this stuff it just encourages more of it, and we're seeing a little too much lately for my taste. If this is what we want here, then by all means, upvote away. If it's not, please make your opinions on it heard.
1
Q: Smash! The metal pole descends upon the barren land

NL628Smash!  The metal pole descends upon the barren land, scorched white by the burning sun. Quickly, the metal cylinder crushes anything in its way and barrels down below the ground.  One hole formed. Two holes formed! Three holes slammed into the ground. The part of the ground that flew off fro...

@Sphinx @Rubio: Same with this one.
Easily findable anywhere on the internet - our goal is to curate high-quality puzzles, and I'm pretty sure that isn't one.
Sid
Sid
@Deusovi well, we don't have a low quality close reason
that one specifically is actually a dup
@Sid But we do have a low quality flag and review queue
We have downvotes. People don't downvote enough, IMO.
03:29
I'm completely fine with saying "crap is off topic".
I'd be up for a "this puzzle is bad and you should feel bad" close reason, but we might want to phrase it better.
Sid
Sid
@Deusovi how do we define "bad puzzles"?
I don't have time atm to go look on our Meta to see if this has been raised before - though I'd be slightly surprised if it hasn't. If we don't already have something to point at and say that riddles and, in particular, "brain teaser" fodder, need to have a minimum level of quality to be on topic here, then we probably should.
I mean, the entire Riddle Sandbox ... endeavor ... was an attempt to combat low quality riddles. Surely something useful was said back then.
30
Q: Okay, the sandbox didn't work. We still have a quality problem; let's figure out how to address it

ZyerahAs of today, the riddle sandbox is no longer mandatory. The close reason related to it has been deactivated, and the requirement has been removed from the sandbox text. It was an experiment to see if it would be sustainable and effective going forward; for a variety of reasons many of you have po...

I gotta run for a while - will hopefully be able to look more closely when I get back
 
1 hour later…
04:48
@Deusovi Did you mean the most recent one I posted was bad? Could you please explain why it's bad so I can learn? Thanks :D
@NL628 No - look at the one I was replying to.
Sid
Sid
05:04
@NL628 No, the one you answered to. :P
@Deusovi You could have closed the dupe puzzle earlier, I believe?
I know, you guys are a bit conservative about using the mod-hammer but that one was a clear dupe. There was no point waiting for close-votes on that one
05:21
@Sid I could have, but I couldn't find the duped puzzle easily. I just happened to notice it when it already had 4 close votes.
 
2 hours later…
07:34
0
Q: I have three brothers

NoOneIsHereThe number of brothers I have is three Though they each deny knowing me Each of them I can swiftly defeat Yet they do not accept they're beat For each shall claim at last "Cheated, thou hast" Do you see? What might I be?

08:56
thanks
 
3 hours later…
11:43
0
Q: A men was found on the street

UnknownBrightnessA men bought a package. On the next day, his body was found on a grassland. The package was unopened. He was dead. What happened'? He did not need to consume anything from the package, neither the package’s content was the death cause.

0
Q: I guess you could palindromically call me "IddI"

Chowzen I may be yellow; two-faced I be, But you would be wise to never cross me. I stand straight and tall; my authority's given. You'd best follow me if you're want to stay livin'. Don't Cross Me Explain the above and show me my picture for acceptance.

12:37
0
Q: Another prefix - suffix - infix mix

OnlyF My start shortens round about My ending settles doubt My middle means combined with My whole is always split

13:13
0
Q: Counterfeit Coins

MollyI've seen this question around before but have yet to find an answer that did not have errors along its path. Someone help a girl out! You have a machine that lights up if a counterfeit coin is placed in it. Any number of coins can be placed in the machine. It only lights up and does not indica...

13:47
2
Q: You wouldn't want to touch me

Dheemanth Bhandarkar My prefix is an organ, My suffix is an officer, My infix sounds Russian, You touch me everyday, But if I was someone else's you wouldn't want to touch me. What am I?

0
Q: He is hiding a big smile

Midori My name is red and I like dragons though Charizard ain't among my companions; Sometimes I wish I could think before I speak my purity and ingenuity are what make me weak; I even met the lighting god but sadly it was just a fraud; I also have a brother, far bigger than m...

14:22
0
Q: How did they survive?

DandelionA plane, traveling from China to India, was about to land when all of a sudden, two of the four engines failed. Neither the pilot nor copilot was able to stabilize the plane successfully and as a result, the plane crashed and every single person died. However, when paramedics and authorities ar...

15:02
-2
Q: Counterfeit question clarification

MollyLast post was a duplicate, I'm very sorry. I was working through the solution here: Counterfeit Detector by user3294068 and I can not seem to solve 15 combo's in 4 tests. for example in the yes, yes, no pathway I keep using more tests then possible. Ideas? Sorry, thanks. Molly =)

 
1 hour later…
16:10
-2
Q: What is the next in the sequence?

DandelionFill in the blanks for each sequence: 1) ottffssentettff _ _ _ _ _ 2) J A S O N _ _ _ 3) 1 11 21 1211 111221 312211 ?

16:44
-3
Q: Guess the number game - maximum number of tries using optimal strategy

studeoIn the well known "guess the number from 1 to 100" game, using optimal strategy, the 7th try (at the latest) should be correct. So for N = 100, X = 7. If N = 2, X = 2. How do I compute X for N in general? It is probably something like X = log2(N) rounded up, but I am not sure how correct it is (...

16:56
@Deusovi sorry to ping you, but I just found a puzzle that was a typical example of a random cipher and its like "here! Solve it!"
0
Q: Just got sent this weird message on discord? Cypher or bitcoin?

Dialgahi5bVcs3yYAU7j68epybiJtD72Ljp hiX4TcQCvTQrDFKl hiWTwpcVuVhSjbeB5ddPEnpHP I seriously have no clue what to do with this

I forgot the link where you gave the example, however
17:07
-3
Q: Just got sent this weird message on discord? Cypher or bitcoin?

Dialgahi5bVcs3yYAU7j68epybiJtD72Ljp hiX4TcQCvTQrDFKl hiWTwpcVuVhSjbeB5ddPEnpHP I seriously have no clue what to do with this

17:29
Ugh
My puzzle is buried ontop of bunch of puzzles
So you'll most likely pass it
Sid
Sid
@North your puzzle?
Ah, that mod-kidnapping thing? Deus hasn't solved that yet?
17:46
@Sid probably because he got kidnapped
18:01
@Sid I have not. I looked at it, but didn't make any progress. A lot of it seemed like attempt at doing cryptic clues without all the rigor that cryptic clues require, which frequently leads to "guess-what-I'm-thinking syndrome".
deus escapes
Sid
Sid
Yeah, that German man clue didn't give me anything. Also, I thought there were some letters on the Gareth waterfall but I didn't go any further than that
@Dragonrage that hasn't stopped him before.
@Sid I spent the most time looking at that, but it doesn't seem solvable as a cryptic. (Or at least, it doesn't appear to be a valid cryptic at first (or second) glance.)
18:19
Deusovi's nightmare: To be at the mercy of a kidnapper who doesn't understand cryptic clues.
7
I just got a quick puzzle up here
I think im just gonna delete the cc. That was just a bad attempt at a practical joke — I was TRYING to spell RED HERRING. Completely irrelevant to solving the puzzle
I probably did the CC wrong though
Yeah, that's... not how cryptic clues work.
Sorry to be MR Clueless but what a cc?
@IIRawCodeII He's referring to a cryptic clue: it's a type of crossword clue common in the UK where each clue contains both definition and wordplay leading to the answer.
18:24
A Cryptic Clue.
He included one in his recent puzzle, but it wasn't valid.
What's the puzzle you're talking about?
Sid
Sid
@North How do you get RED Herring from that clue?
Puncture the heart from READ = RED
Herr = Man or Mr. in German
18:26
Read and puncture the beginning, heart of a German man named Ing
all of the bolded words there are unused, which is a Very Bad Thing in cryptic clues
and there's no definition
Sid
Sid
That ^
Not quite: the German man named Ing is Herr Ing, so the "named" is used.
ah, right, fair enough
So, are any of you currently working on a puzzle (Making or Solving)?
Nevertheless, it was pretty bad
18:31
@IIRawCodeII I keep procrastinating my next puzzle.
I should just do some stego thing and get it done already :P
Sid
Sid
@IIRawCodeII Yeah, stuck on creating a meta-puzzle that I had in mind, a few months back. Hectic college-life means there's not much time to make puzzles, sadly.
I should probably complete it in the summer...
I never knew puzzles got planned out that much.
0
Q: Account for the Accounts, I'm searching for something right now

IIRawCodeII This text never peaks Yet more of it I seek Account for the accounts, account for all Ten errors are still fine I want this aspect of me How much and why?

0
Q: Riddle - you love me and you hate me

tyobrien With two I’m affirmative With three I’m respectful With four I’m more respectful With all five I’m either loved or hated But when I’m loved, I kill; and when I’m hated, I may save lives.

@IIRawCodeII If a puzzle requires thinking to solve it, then it should require at least as much thinking to create it
8
@IIRawCodeII I've got several puzzle ideas in various stages of completion.
18:35
Even I have some.
I only make simple puzzle I form in a day
*puzzles
I recommend spending more time on them, then. Puzzles with little thought put into them often aren't well-received.
Sid
Sid
@MOehm Maybe, post the first one, soon? :P
@IIRawCodeII I've had a metapuzzle in the works since... 2016?
18:37
That's a very long time
Just because I have procrastination issues.
@Mithrandir Why procrastinate now when you could procrastinate later?
3
Hey Mith i have an idea
If you're working, does that mean you're procrastinatin from procrastinating?
18:39
Its called precrastination — you do everything ahead of tine so you don't have to do anything late
Anyways, I'm reading up on what Contact is.
@North Google wait but why procrastination
you can't just change a whole letter, the procrastination is too much...
Maybe once I understand the game maybe we can start a game
(warning: language if you find the three articles I mean)
Hmm, yes, Clue One was posted in July 2016. This has been moving slowly.
18:45
@Sid Maybe. Don't hold your breath. (The problem is the "various stages of completion".)
Transferred to Mobile
I wonder if @GarethMcCaughan has puzzles in any stage of completion. xD
Has anyone ever made a knowledge puzzle that required the use of other languages?
Eeek. I've been reading through my old puzzles and... ouch.
@thecoder16 He prefers to call them "research papers".
Looks cool
But it isn't. It's a slog.
Yeah, those don't typically turn out well
What’s a slog? Something tedious?
Yes.
18:49
@IIRawCodeII Yes, if the puzzle is a matter of "How fast can you use Google Translate"
(Well, at least I thought it was. I've looked it up and I'm not so sure any more)
Sorry @thecoder16
...don't go giving me more ideas to procrastinate on! :)
A slog is a lot of difficult, tiring work.
18:51
A slog is a slug with bad handwriting
3
Anybody up to play contact?
I want to, but I’m still confused on how it plays
contact is...inactive rn
@EriktheOutgolfer what does that mean?
@IIRawCodeII We'll explain. It's a lot easier to see if you watch it played.
18:52
The OP has disclosed to mode of encryption, but no-one has bothered to go through it to the end. You have to find the languages, then find the countries where they are spoken, then pick the right ones to make words. Perhaps there was a nice idea at the core once, but it isn't a lot of fun to solve.
@WELZ like, no talking going on
So, I’ll just spectate?
That’s fine with me
@EriktheOutgolfer that's how it works... until somebody is playing, no?
Sid
Sid
Codenames and Spyfall are more or less dead by now...
nah spyfall has seen good activity
codenames is indeed dead
codenames hasn't seen a game for like 6 months
18:54
@IIRawCodeII well, maybe you may not want to "c<n>", "contact <n>", "<n>: <...>" or "<n>. <...>", that is, play, but you don't need to be completely silent :)
Sid
Sid
Oh, people have played spyfall then...
shall we try codenames
reviveeee
@EriktheOutgolfer wut..?
Sid
Sid
@thecoder16 All the hair-pulling and heart-attacks were too much for the people to bear....
@WELZ the occasional off-topic chatter happens too, especially when there's no game going on
18:55
meh
@IIRawCodeII Here are two other ones that use language. The second one works better than the first.
The rules should be starred in the Contact room. Basically:
- The Defender chooses a word. They give a letter.
- The Attackers try to guess the word. They do this by providing a numbered clue about the word they're trying to guess.
- If an Attacker has posed a clue, the Defender tries to solve the clue, and figure out which word the Attacker is trying to hint.
- If you're an Attacker, and you think you can solve another Attacker's clue, then you say "Contact (the clue's number)".
- If the defender is unable to solve a clue, but any of the other attackers have contacted it, then the Defender
0
Q: It's a Small World After All

WafflebabyHe should have known better. Explain. Note: I do not recall the origin of this puzzle, though I think it may have circulated the Internet a few years back. If you have already heard it, please give users who haven't heard it a chance to answer first.

What the heck is the point of ‘It’s a Small World After All”. It’s just one sentence of puzzle.
as you can see it has been put on hold
i.e. closed less than 5 days ago
18:59
i.e closed right now
Sid
Sid
@Eric Probably a hint for the C4?
@IIRawCodeII It's an excellent example of why it's important to put sufficient time and effort into creating a puzzle
19:03
Anyways, what do you think of my most recent puzzle?
it’s on the front page.
Also, GTG, it’s dinner
My dietary restrictions prevent me from trying to solve puzzles
my moral restrictions prevent me from trying to solve puzzles
"I am a thing. You find me in a place. I do stuff. What am I?" tags:
19:11
That's HNQ gold!
And there's an 80% chance that someone will guess "Life" or "Death" or both
With an answer that goes: Life/death is a thing; place -- not sure; stuff -- not sure.
Sid
Sid
@MikeQ robot.
@Sid No that's wrong because it's not what the answer I was thinking of
I’m back!
Sid
Sid
19:18
@MikeQ yup, @MOehm This is certainly HNQ gold. :P
I have no idea what tag I could put.
*tags
Less then 20 hours left to answer "What makes a man wise?" and get the bounty!!
there's a newline there, fyi
ninja
Ask me anything!! I'll see if I can answer.
@WELZ What have I got in my pocket?
19:23
@MikeQ keys/wallet
@WELZ Harder question: What is the solution to this puzzle?
@MikeQ It's actually easier (for me)
19:48
Who's still in for codenames?
me too, but, eh, technically you need at least 4 players to play the game
@WELZ perhaos another hint for your man wise thingy?
@North Where are you holding?
What do you mean?
I still don'y even get the whole morse number and color
19:58
just added one.
Ugh all the comments are making my head dizzy
yep.
maybe post a new answer with your progress.
Idk
And "Fried eggs" is an answer to a comment? I'm not going anywhere with this one. I think the ingrediants are all there, but I can't put them together. (I've also got a feeling that I'll groan when I see the answer.)
I'm just gonna let this one pass
It's not worth it
20:07
Think kinds of fried eggs.
C4 hint: I'm not a medical doctor
Eggs over easy? Sunny side up?
On another node: Does this have something to do with what you saw in the forest?
@MOehm post an answer and find out :P
I'm not confident that it is the answer. It doesn't seem to be anything worth noting and getting there involves a step that isn't indicated.
Trust me, post how you got there.
I added in a cleaned up image in wise man.... see hint 5
20:24
6
Q: Man buys item, throws it away on his way out

RileyI thought of this lateral thinking puzzle. Hopefully, it's not too broad and hasn't been asked before. A man walks into a store, buys an item for $1, and throws it away along with the receipt on his way out. What item did he buy? Notes: His decision to throw the item away on his way out w...

20:41
0
Q: I know the truth

OldBunny2800Firstly, I am one word long. Secondly, you will need the first three things. You'll need a handful of guesses to figure out what I am. But even if I tell you, I might be lying, mate! Hint:

0
Q: A quad Riley with 4 (little) parts

Jake OPJMy prefix is a person, trust him you cannot. My first infix is a number, must work with circles to find it. My second infix is confirmative, when you understand what you were told. My suffix is so cold. But overall I'm just tasty for some.

20:52
@MOehm regarding the rot13, just about everyone on the site knows and tries phrases against it.
21:33
0
Q: Another little Riley, beware of the silent 'H'

Jake OPJMy prefix is a part of speech, we use it every day. My infix is a remedy, used by people from the cities away. My suffix is an object you kick, without hatred I'd say. And overall I'm not visual, but information in another way.

21:47
@Sid C4 bigger hint: O______
22:02
I think that means Remove is def and Bob's heart is O, but can't think of a word for remove that starts with O
@EricTressler [-b]OB[-s]+VIA+T_+E_
ah nice Apep
@Apep that's right
i need to extend my vocabulary for these cryptics
The def. there was a little shaky. That's partly why I gave away a letter
22:11
CCCC: King interrupted advisory official, turned up without clothing. (5)
Huh...
There's an obvious answer, but no obvious justification
is it "NAKED" == DEAN (turned up = reversed or anagrind) interrupted by K?
AFAIK "turned up" for reversal is only standard if it's a down clue in a crossword
FWIW i think turned up as reversal is fine no matter the orientation
@EricTressler Correct.
so far cryptics i've answered have been 50% by Eric, here goes :P
I probably should have mentioned that it only worked as a down clue. "Turned" would work regardless of orientation, but I don't think "turned up" does.
22:20
CCCC: Half of taxonomic structure's interrupted by a fake (6)
oh, geez. I just realized I used the same word you did, @Apep. Well, too late now
CCCC: Half of taxonomic structure includes a fake (6)
Let's go with that, disregard the earlier one.
22:36
"Anagram fodder 'ere; I! (10)"
so by this being an &lit should we assume you're anagram fodder?
OK, it doesn't quite work as an &lit, but I thought it was amusing enough that people could overlook it. :P
I suspect it's PH(ONE)Y = half of a taxonomic structure (PHY) contains a (ONE)
@MikeQ you got it, you're up
oy vay, I haven't done these in a long while
And nobody has been keeping track of CCCC words since late 2017?
22:52
that sounds accurate
I proposed that people should add their clues once they're solved; the way it is currently people get discouraged by the huge backlog that gets formed from lots of quick clues in a row
I thought it was only a few people who had write access?
I can't edit it
Yo
23:08
we could make an open fork that is editable by anyone, but I'm not particularly interested in bugging people to use it
@ffao That might lead to problems
Like spam, promoting personal products, pharma spam, abrusive language, etc.
Haven't done this in a while, so I'm a bit rusty...
CCCC: Prevent ride about circa obstruction. (9)
@GarethMcCaughan you probably want to un-starboard the old C4
(I can edit it but I'm still waiting for that rainy day when I'm bothered to update the backlog)
one issue too is that I was writing full explanations in the sheet instead of just cryptic notation (because I think the full explanations for the earlier answers helped me when I was learning what CCs were)
I think I won't bother anymore, but the ones that are there should still be helpful
23:26
@ffao i would totally update it if i could
pretty sure GPR said he was happy to give known people edit access if they were willing to contribute...
^ this
This puzzle is just bothering me
16
Q: Why the 7 Apples?

jkl3699A doctor and a bus driver are both in love with the same woman, a girl named Sarah. The bus driver had to go on a long bus trip that would last a week. Before he left, he gave Sarah seven apples. Why?

First of all, how did that puzzle have 17 upvotes (I downvoted, so the score is 16)
I had to consciously restrain myself from posting my wall of comments on that one too
If that user doesn't accept the correct answer in the next 36 hours
23:36
@MikeQ BAR+RI(CA)DE
A): Today's(yesterday for some of y'all) been a very chatty day
B): What is with the load of riddles that get solved within the first five minutes
C): I've been having to flag posts left and right everywhere
> write
D): I've ben receiving said flags left and "write"
Whoops
@thecoder16 :|
23:40
11/10
(Silently necks myself)
Sigh It's just frustrating when you spend a whole week creating a puzzle to share
And it gets buried on "[on hold]" questions and questions accepted within the next minute
trust me, we remember the good puzzles
True
Has nobody figured out the "I am an Island" and its following puzzles?
35
Q: I am an island (ysaujdiolkiun)

paramesisAn entry in Fortnightly Topic Challenge #32: Grid Deduction Hybrids I received an envelope containing two drawings and no return address. I would recognize that handwriting anywhere - my dear friend has written me a letter! It would appear that wherever he was, he's okay now. Where he is no...

nope
it's absolutely a beautiful puzzle
23:44
It is
I've spent hours trying to make sense of it, but no advancement
CCCC: Side dish first — can I even understand? (9)
Appetizer comes to mind, but I have no way of prooving it besides the fact that its nine letters and appetizer is a side dish that comes before the entree
It's always bugged me that the US refers to the main course as entree... :)
Why?
Is it entrée
Because it's not :P (or more seriously because the word derives from 'entrance', i.e. the start of the meal)

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