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☖ Forums → Discussion Forum → Riddle me this, Batman.
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Riddle me this, Batman.
2006-02-11, 3:58 PM #1
A riddle for you, my massassian cohorts:

You have two ropes, and a book of matches. Each rope is unique, sharing one property: They both take one hour to burn, from one end to the other. The speed the fire travels down the rope varies however, each rope changes thickness, density, and toughness at multiple points. It is impossible to predict how fast the flame will be travelling at any given point on the rope.

You need to figure out how to time exactly 45 minutes given only your materials.

Go.

I'll be checking back often, giving hints and validating responses when needed.
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2006-02-11, 4:00 PM #2
Count out 'till 45 minutes... or look at your watch.

(I'm such a *******. :p)
DO NOT WANT.
2006-02-11, 4:03 PM #3
Are the ropes the same length?
Stuff
2006-02-11, 4:06 PM #4
It does not matter. They both take 1 hour to burn from one side to the other.
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2006-02-11, 4:08 PM #5
Does the 45 minutes have to start when you begin burning the ropes, or can it be any interval you want?
Stuff
2006-02-11, 4:10 PM #6
You want to be able to time 45 minutes. So you should be able to say "Go" and do something, and 45 minutes later say "Now." and be correct.
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2006-02-11, 4:11 PM #7
Okay, so it doesn't matter if you spend an hour burning rope-bits before you start timing.
Stuff
2006-02-11, 4:24 PM #8
Light one rope at both ends and the other at one end. When the one you lit at both ends is done, light the other end of the other rope.
2006-02-11, 4:25 PM #9
I feel like an idiot. I took a look at the word riddle and I thought that it will take more than 10 seconds to figure it out so I won't read the riddle at all.
2006-02-11, 4:27 PM #10
Not bad.

Here's another:

Where can you find a forest without trees, roads without cars, and cities without houses?
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2006-02-11, 4:36 PM #11
I would like to propose these solutions:

1. Make a sundial: Hold one rope so that it's hanging straight down; this becomes the stick thingy that makes shadows. Burn the other rope and use the ashes to make markings on the floor/ground/whatever. By using your extensive mathematical knowledge, and assuming you know your latitude and what day of the year it is, you can figure out how far the markings should be apart to time 45 minutes.

2. Make a pendulum: Tie one of the ropes into a big knot, then tie it to one end of the other rope. Find the center of gravity of the system, then measure the distance from there to the end of the rope. Then you will be able to calculate the period of oscillation and count until you get to 45 minutes.

3. Light yourself on fire, while hanging yourself with the rope.
Stuff
2006-02-11, 4:37 PM #12
Originally posted by happydud:
Where can you find a forest without trees, roads without cars, and cities without houses?


In New Orleans.

(too soon?)
Stuff
2006-02-11, 4:41 PM #13
Hahah... Nice.. but wrong. :D
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2006-02-11, 4:51 PM #14
Nowhere.
DO NOT WANT.
2006-02-11, 4:53 PM #15
Good try, but also wrong.
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2006-02-11, 4:58 PM #16
My friend's answer:

happydud: What has forests but no trees; roads without cars, and cities but no houses?
Justin: ArrayLists
happydud: That is funny, but incorrect.
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2006-02-11, 4:59 PM #17
No, I'm right. I'm just too awesome to be wrong.
DO NOT WANT.
2006-02-11, 4:59 PM #18
I've got a conundrum for you, a riddle if you will.

What's the difference between you and a mallard with a cold?
D E A T H
2006-02-11, 5:03 PM #19
I don't know but your mother is a whore.

Next guess!
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2006-02-11, 5:16 PM #20
Originally posted by happydud:
Where can you find a forest without trees, roads without cars, and cities without houses?


A map. :D
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

-Douglas N. Adams
2006-02-11, 5:16 PM #21
I heard it differently, no roads without cars, but lakes without water.

a map
2006-02-11, 5:18 PM #22
Excellent. Another:

We are very little creatures; all of us are different and yet each of us have features. One of us in glass is set, one of us you'll find in jet. Another you may see in tin, and a fourth is boxed within. If the fifth you should pursue, it can never fly from you. What are we?
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2006-02-11, 5:19 PM #23
aw :(
2006-02-11, 5:21 PM #24
A, E, I, O, U... sorry, I'm bored.
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

-Douglas N. Adams
2006-02-11, 5:24 PM #25
They are the seeds of my imagination that swim, dodge, and race swiftly through the tunnels and corridors of my dark, crowded brain.

:confused:
2006-02-11, 5:26 PM #26
As my signature says, fool proof things are solved by fools. I have no idea what this means, with the vouels and stuff, but I've solved too many riddles in my life to not know this one.
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

-Douglas N. Adams
2006-02-11, 5:28 PM #27
Hahaha! (@ Delphian)

What is more evil than the devil, more righteous than god, more deadly than poison?
DO NOT WANT.
2006-02-11, 5:28 PM #28
Good, H.Q. Pendragon. No one better be using google...


I have a hundred legs but cannot stand, a long neck but no head, and I eat the maid's life. What am I?

[edit- to answer Zell's- The answer is "Nothing."]
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2006-02-11, 5:32 PM #29
Yeah, it was kind of obvious after my last post. It's the only one I know.

PS- I couldn't resist and I googled the answer to yours(never occurred to me until you said it :p), but I won't tell the answer.
DO NOT WANT.
2006-02-11, 5:33 PM #30
I know this one! I wont guess it, but I'll give everyone else a hint.

We love it more than life.
We fear it more than death.
The wealthy want for it.
The poor have it in pleanty.
:rolleyes:

EDITED: this is in reply to Zell's post.
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

-Douglas N. Adams
2006-02-11, 5:33 PM #31
Originally posted by Zell:
What is more evil than the devil, more righteous than god, more deadly than poison?


Vin Diesel.
Stuff
2006-02-11, 5:34 PM #32
I was going to post that one next! :p

And to everyone: That was a hint to Zell's riddle, not mine.
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2006-02-11, 5:37 PM #33
Never heared that one. I'm genuinely puzzled. :o

EDITED: ...But I'll wadger $100 in Monopoly money that it's a featherduster.
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

-Douglas N. Adams
2006-02-11, 5:45 PM #34
Okay, you're close enough. It's a broom.

next:

Cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind the stars and beneath the hills. Ends life and kills laughter. What is it?
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2006-02-11, 5:46 PM #35
It's silence isn't it?
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

-Douglas N. Adams
2006-02-11, 5:48 PM #36
Nope.
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2006-02-11, 5:49 PM #37
Dang. Well, that's it for me. Catch you on the flip-flop, time pants. :cool:
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

-Douglas N. Adams
2006-02-11, 5:51 PM #38
Time, if that was your guess, is also incorrect. :p
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2006-02-11, 5:55 PM #39
No, that's just an old 'Engrish' game quote. I'm really leaving. Really.
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

-Douglas N. Adams
2006-02-11, 5:59 PM #40
darkness?
一个大西瓜
123

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