Where on Earth is this?

Aerial view of Jerusalem. Showing Mount Moriah (Temple Mount) and the Temple area.

Which singer claimed to live at Wrigley Field?

Elwood Blues.

JAKE: How are you gonna get the band back together, Mr. Hotrodder? The cops got your name, your address.

ELWOOD: Nah.. they don't got my address! I falsified my (licence) renewal. I put down 1060 West Addison.

JAKE: 1060 West Addison. That's Wrigley Field.

Peter

Whose bones built the calculator?

John Napier built the first multiplication device around 1600 called "Napier's Bones", based on logarithms. Later calculating engines used this technology.

Hoyland 54

Who is this?

Lilian Gish

In which year did the man who would be king open the tallest building?

The Eiffel Tower was built for the International Exhibition of Paris of 1889 commemorating the centenary of the French Revolution. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII of England, opened the tower. It was the tallest building in the world until 1930.

Alan

Who is this?

Ayn Rand

Who is this?

Bilie Holliday

Everybody knows I always have my lunchbreak at noon, you can set your watch by me.

On Sunday as I went off for my break I saw the display on the clock-radio flashing 01:10.

On Monday as I returned from my break the display was flashing 04:10.

On Tuesday somebody had set it correctly, as I returned from my lunch it clearly read 13:00.

On Wednesday as I went for my lunch it flashed 03:10.

How long is my lunchbreak and what time will the clock-radio display when the shop opens at 9 am on Thursday?

Very simple, remember I said it was a real world puzzle, meaning that the key to the answer is not necessarily contained in the text of the question, but it can be answered using fuzzy logic, common sense and general knowledge about the way the world is.

Clock radios keep time, but when the power supply is interrupted they reset to 00:00 and the display flashes. I work in a shop which sells, amongst other things, clock radios. Shops give their staff lunchbreaks, not usually the 7 hours 28.9 minutes that one contestant suggested, one hour is more normal. Actually there is an exception, on Sunday the shop opens at 11am rather than the usual 9am and I only get half an hour, but that is another story, although Sunday trading hours are also an element in this real world puzzle.

If you run a first guess of an hour through the facts given it does fit and it becomes obvious that the power supply is interrupted at some time in the day and comes back on ten minutes before the shop opens. (The power to the circuits that the stock is connected to is switched off fifteen minutes after the shop closes and comes on ten minutes before it is due to open, it is actually controlled from head office, the shop has over a hundred televisions and many hi-fis plugged in, quite a current drain for no benefit when there are no customers) When it goes off is of no consequence to the puzzle, but when it comes on is vital.

On Monday the clock was showing it was four hours and ten minutes after 08:50 (switch on time) when I finished my hour long break.

On Tuesday it didn't flash, clearly showing the correct time at the end of my lunch break, one hour after noon.

On Wednesday it was flashing again, showing that noon was 3 hours and ten minutes after switch on.

Sunday is special, by law most British shops may only open for six hours, so the opening time was 11 am, and at noon the display was flashing to show that the power had been on for one hour and ten minutes.

From this it can be clearly anticipated that on Thursday morning at 9 am the display will be flashing 00:10, and my lunch break is (usually) one hour.

Note: this is a real world puzzle.

What is happening here?

The lack of padding, the homicidal glee and the exposed deltoids could only come from Aussie rules football. AFL or simply footy.

Well, it's Australian Rules Football, which I now know far more about than I did this morning. 22 March 2001 Geelong v. Hawthorn. Clint Bizzell (Geelong) and the Nick Holland (Hawthorn). The photographer is Michael Dodge and it was published in the Herald Sun (wherever that may be) Says Hoyland 54.

>( ! )<

Who is this?

J R R Tolkien

At what time of the day does a holy day begin for Hindus, Jews and Christians?

Hindus at dawn, Jews at sunset, Christians at midnight.

And they also have total faith that theirs is the correct start of the day...

Damon

Who painted this?

Henri Toulouse-Lautrec.

Yes there are a lot of nudes out there aren't there? In researching for these picture questions sometimes I get bored stiff with all the nudes ;-)

Who wrote this footnote:

If you are reading this on Earth then:

a) Good luck luck to you. There is an awful lot of stuff you don't know anything about, but you are not alone. It's just that in your case the consequences of not knowing any of this stuff are particularly terrible, but then hey, that's just the way the cookie gets completely stomped on and obliterated.

b) Don't imagine that you know what a computer terminal is.

A computer terminal is not some clunky old television with a typewriter in front of it. It is an interface where the mind and body can connect with the universe and move bits of it about.

Douglas Adams, from Mostly Harmless, the fifth part of the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the book that brings a whole new meaning to the word trilogy.

Which mammal has the most teeth?

Apparently the long-snouted spinner dolphin, with 252.

I should have asked which Hollywood star has the most teeth instead.

If you play a tune and a person don't tap their feet ...

...don't play the tune. Count Bassie.

What did Tom and his friend do to gain notoriety with the Audobon Society?

Poisoning Pigeons in the Park

by Tom Lehrer

Verse four

We've gained notoriety, and caused much anxiety,
In the Audobon Society with our games.
They call it impiety and lack of propriety,
And quite a variety of unpleasant names -
But it's not against any religion, to want to dispose of a pigeon!

So if Sunday you're free, why don't you come with me,
and we'll poison the pigeons in the park.
And maybe we'll do in a squirrel or two,
while we poison the pigeons in the park.
We'll murder them all amidst laughter and merriment,
except for the few we take home to experiment,
My pulse will be quickening with each drop of strychnine
We feed to a pigeon -
it just takes a smidgen to poison a pigeon in the park.

Gutenburg, Plato, Kepler, and Darwin are all on the same side, Jules Verne is on the other.

Explain.

Jules Verne is a crater on the far side of the Moon, and thus never seen from Earth, while you can see the craters Gutenburg, Plato, Kepler and Darwin with the help of a good pair of binoculars.

Whose coming of age caused as much confusion and controversy as the Piltdown Man, for similar reasons?

Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead set the agenda of anthropology and sociology (back) for over a generation. More recent research as revealed that her findings were based on systematic deception by young Samoan women exploiting the young American's gullibility. The damage to the social sciences is probably far greater than the damage caused by the hoax skull known as Piltdown man. Millions of people have been given a thoroughly incorrect notion of human nature and the power of socialization as a consequence. It may take another generation or two before all the misconceptions are dispelled. Contrary to Mead's findings Samoans do have sexual guilt, shame, and virginity taboos and are very unlike the laid back free loving nature's children proto-hippies she depicted.

Coming of Age in Samoa is probably second only to the Bible as the book that has most damaged man's quest for truth through science. The damage was made far worse by Margaret Mead's talent in writing a tale that the world wanted to hear.

What is this?

That is an Israeli IAI Kfir...couldn't find that plane, but I did find plane 565.. very weird colouring, but great for desert conditions I expect... Kfir means Lion Cub or Young Lion Says 3iff

The Kfir is based on a French Mirage design, but the Israeli airforce markings are quite clear.

What sport discriminates against the cack-handed?

Polo would be far too dangerous if players could be approaching each other and contesting possession of the ball head on at a full gallop so it is only allowed to play with the right hand.

(Field) hockey, arm wrestling and jai-alai were also offered.

© 1999 - 2008 by Martin Willett.

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