Quizzes & Puzzles 6
Some new problems with which to exercise the brain. But first a look at answers and solutions to Quizzes & Puzzles 5. New problems below the image.
Answer to Quiz 5:1
The name of a plant is also part of a magic password, or formula, in a well-known story.
What plant, and what story?
HerBAE had the right answer: sesame and “Ali Baba and the forthy thieves”. You can read more about both in The Magic of Sesame: Password, Health & Etymology, an article I published here in December 2020.
Answer to Quiz 5:2
Which well-known group of islands was once known for housing a large breed of dog, something also giving this group its name?
That is The Canary Islands [Latin: Insulae canariae], from canis, dog. The dog, Dogo Canario, has been preserved as Presa Canario, a recognised Spanish breed, although the original Canary dog was cross-bred with English breeds to produce the modern breed.
When thinking about islands and dogs, many suggestions come to mind, none of them right though. The Labrador or the Newfoundland dog has not given name to groups of islands. Neither has the Malteser or the "Cão de Fila de São Miguel" (Azores Cattledog).
An interesting suggestion is Shetland Sheepdog. Interesting because while the Canary islands are the isles of dogs, The Shetlands are the isles of cats. They were called "Inse Catt" in old Irish literature. That is, the Island of Cats. This has to do with clan symbols of the old Celts. Cats was used by several clans, and it still lives on in Scotland, e.g. Clan Chattan. The Shetlands were obviously inhabited by a cat clan.
The derivation of the word "Shetland" is a long chain of gradual changes from Hetlandensis (1190) and on, nothing of which has anything to do with dogs.
Answer to Quiz 5:3
Change of personality by the use of a drug. A classical story treats this theme in an almost archetypal way. A man of unquestionable character becomes a beast. What is the name of the story, and who wrote it?
A clue: The author is known for a pirate story, which is generally considered as the unsurpassed classic in that genre.
The author is Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850-1894; the story I asked for is “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. It is a true classic. Today few people have actually read the story, but it has been immortalised in the movie industry. Several film versions have been made, and the story itself is archetypal for stories about double personalities.
Interestingly, there is a real life model for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The author was inspired by the real life of Deacon Brodie (1741-1788), a man who led a double-life. In one a respectable locksmith and cabinet maker, a true gentleman and family man; in the other he was a gambler and drunkard, holding himself with two mistresses and several illegitimate children. His expensive life was supported by burglary. He managed to uphold this life for quite a while, but in the end he was arrested. In 1788, in Edinburgh, he was hanged.
The pirate story in the clue, is “Treasure Island“, which in much has shaped the popular view of pirates.
Answer to Puzzle 5:4
What do you get from this?
- Only bleary-eyed military men ever try to shave with a toothbrush.
- No bleary-eyed military men are musical.
- Men who never try to shave with a toothbrush never play golf.
- Major Tanner plays the cello on Saturdays.
- Only musical people who are golfers forget to change their socks.
Exactly what can you conclude about Major Tanner?
I warned you that there was a trap somewhere. Most of you probably reached the solution that Major Tanner:
a) is musical
b) is not bleary-eyed
c) is not a golfer
d) does not try to shave with a toothbrush
e) does not forget to change socks.
Correct as it may seem; if this is your answer, you did fall into the trap. Strictly you have assumed something which is not stated among the premises, something that can be wrong.
The only thing you can conclude, is that Major Tanner plays the cello on Saturdays. That is not a great deal, since it is explicitly stated, but strictly that is all you can know about the Major. If that was your answer, congratulations! Your thinking is far above average!
To conclude a-e above, you have to assume that Major Tanner is a man, which most of you probably did without even realising that you made an assumption about something. But nothing was stated about the Major's gender. It could be a woman, either in an army accepting female officers, or in the salvation Army.
And now some new quizzes and puzzles.
Quiz 6:1
In mythology, a being, whose name is related to a weather phenomenon, was by a major deity cast down and imprisoned beneath a mountain, a volcano. What is the being called, and what is the name of the mountain?
Quiz 6:2
In forensics, there is often the problem of determining the time that has elapsed since the death of a corpse. An animal can be of good help. Which animal?
Quiz 6:3
As we all know, Russia is involved in a war, and its history is full of wars. If we look at it historically, invading Russia is very difficult. Indeed, from the west, it has not happened many times that Moscow has been taken. So the question this time is how many European military commanders have ever taken Moscow? Who and when?
Puzzle 6:4
A less complicated puzzle this time. Well, it's two puzzles, but they are closely related:
Brothers and sisters I have none.
But this man's father is my father's son.
How many men are there and how are they related? It is relatively easy but there might be readers who want to try their own solution.
The French dramatist Ernest Legouvé described in his autobiography how he once in a company asked if it was possible for two unrelated individuals to have the same sister. Everyone in the company, including a lawyer, concluded that it is impossible.
"But it is really possible", said Legouvé, "and I can name two such persons. One of them is Eugène Sue, I am the other one."
Then he explained how this was possible. Eugène Sue and Ernest Legouvé were unrelated, yet they same woman was the sister of both. Can you explain how this can be possible?
As a special note, I think it is necessary to add that in this reasoning a half-sister = a sister, and a half-brother = a brother.
You'll find answers and solutions in the next “Quizzes & Puzzles”.
Quizzes & Puzzles has now its own label in my Index, where all issues of the series can be found.
In my INDEX, you can find all my writings on Read.Cash, sorted by topic.
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(Cartoon by Christian Dorn/Pixabay, CC0/Public Domain.)
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Wow, these are nice. I guess for 6:1 is it Vulcan in Mount Etna? 😅 Then on 6:2 I guess it's Maggots . The puzzle I guess have 2 man, The man who is speaking and his son. "this man's father" (this man in here refers to his son), and he is the father which do not have any other siblings.