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This was actually kind of disappointing as a personal experience but… it’s also somewhat interesting as a story, maybe. As it happened, today I got to see a live jumping bean, straight out from mexico. For a long time, I had known there was a species of mexican beans which leaped around, because they were inhabited by this larva or a similar creature. As the little beast struggled to get out, I’d heard, the bean would jump as tough it had a will of its own (which in fact it does, sort of). The trouble, perhaps was that my vivid imagination always pictured astounding leaps and bounds, whereas the actual things barely hops, at all. Still it’s quite an odd/amusing effect worth checking out, I suppose. If you ever hold one of these, try to focus on the magic of the bean, rather than the maggot inside. Otherwise you may feel a little disgusted - I know I was.
This is probably one of the sites I’ve visited most recurringly, ever since I’ve become adept to the internet. It’s a depository of abandonware videogames (old game that have become freely available to public domain), which includes painstaking cataloguing that makes it a pleasure to just surf trough. Furthermore, it’s possibly one of the most comprehensive repositories of abandonware in the internet (including applications and ramdom software, as well as games). Truly, home of the underdogs is a genuine retro videogaming encyclopedia, and a wonderful resource for learning about “new” old games.
There are times when I like to just press the “random” button and reading reviews, staring at screenshots and wonder about different game concepts. That’s the sort of freak I am… i actually enjoy checking out new games, learning about their game-ness, perhaps even more than actually playing the games. Who knows, maybe some day I’ll be making games of my own! Anyway… ramblings aside, be sure to check out The Home of the Underdogs.
Yesterday’s riddle ( no I won’t paste the solution yet) has got me thinking on this cool concept of the twin doors. I think that throughout our lives, we keep choosing between them as we take every step. Sometimes we make good choices, sometimes we’re deceived; sometimes we have dreams worth fighting for, sometimes we waste our times with delusions. I’ve come across the following passage from the Aeneid which also revolves around the same concept:
Two gates the silent house of Sleep adorn;
Of polish’d iv’ry this, that of transparent horn:
True visions thro’ transparent horn arise;
Thro’ polish’d iv’ry pass deluding lies.
This is one of my favourite riddles ever, and it’s a genuine brain teaser, until you fully grasp the concept. It’s a bit confusing because it revolves around truth and lies, but then again so does life! Here goes:
You approach two talking doors. One door leads to the City of Truth, while the other door leads to the City of Liars. You do not know which door is which, and they look very much the same. However, the door that leads to the City of Liars always speaks lies, while the door that leads to the City of Truth always speaks the truth. You are able to ask only one question to determine which door is which, and then you must choose. Provided you want to visit the City of Truth, what would you ask?
I won’t even bother writing down the solution to the riddle because a) you’ll probably find someone who knows the answer, or you can look up in the internet. b) It would ruin all the fun. c) you can just contact me and /or I’ll eventually post the answer here.
These lyrics are from a song in the latest album of one of my favourite bands out there, Gomez. It’s called “see the world”, and it always makes me want to drop everything and go elsewhere, wherever that may be.
“Day to day
Where do you want to be?
‘Cos now you’re trying to pick a fight
With everyone you meet
You seem like a soldier
Who’s lost his composure
You’re wounded and playing a waiting game
In no-man’s land no-one’s to blame
See the world
Find an old fashioned girl
And when all’s been said and done
It’s the things that are given, not won
Are the things that you want
Empty handed, surrounded by a senseless scene
With nothing of significance
Besides a shadow of a dream
You sound like an old joke
You’re worn out, a bit broken
An’ askin me time and time again
And the answer’s still the same
See the world
Find an old fashioned girl
And when all’s been said and done
It’s the things that are given, not won
Are the things that you want
You’ve got a chance to put things right
So how’s it going to be?
Lay down your arms now
And put us beyond doubt
So reach out it’s not too far away
Don’t mess around now, don’t delay
Looking for an exotic pet that doesn’t cause too much trouble? Do you think fish are boring? If so, this may just be what you were looking for! It’s Sea monkeys! …. well, actually, they’re not really monkeys, they’re more like a marketing gimmick (they were sold in the 60’s as novelty pets). Do you remember those old comic magazines with fantastic ads claiming you could hatch these amazing humanoid creatures in your aquarium? Well, even tough it was mostly hype, sea monkeys are actually quite cool after all… as long as you don’t let yourself be deceived by the advertising, that is. These strange shrimp-like creatures appear ”instantly” in your aquarium, after you mix a “water purifier” on day one with the “magic eggs” on the next day. After that, the community of little squirming aquatic fellows will endure up to two years of acrobatic adventures, or so they say.
Some reptiles get all the reputation for all the wrong reasons. Take this Plumed Basilik lizard, for instance: there are people who refer to it as the “jesus christ” lizard, because it’s able to perform a feat which earned the lord of hosts good popularity and status: walking over water. However, unlike the christian Lord, there is no divine intervention whatsoever, merely one of nature’s gimmicks.
Even tough it’s always on the run, this omnivore reptile has a 10-year lifespan, while living on his habitat in Latin American forests. The reason why it’s able to walk over water is not only because of his slim weight (only 7 oz / 200 grams). Actually, it has got prominent membranes between its toes which give it fan-like properties, allowing the little creature to paddle over the surface of the water at speeds up to 10 miles! And it’s actually quite a good swimmer too, which can be underwater for up to 30 minutes.
Technicalities aside, just take notice of the exhilariating expression on the little slugger’s face, as it runs across the water… looks like it’s really having a blast!
Here’s the solution to that which is currently the hottest slice around this block: The infamously Impossible Quiz. This faq aims to provide not only the right answer but also the twisted logic behind each answer; this document represents an on-going effort to dissect this disturbingly engaging quiz show from hell!
Also, be sure to look around Slices of Life, the daily reminder of everything nice about life! There’s a lot of cool stuff in here besides this cool Flash game… including, but not limited too… Impossible Quiz 2!
1. “How many holes in a polo?” four (2 arms, 1 collar 1 waist)
2. “Can a match box?” no,but a tin can (there is a saying “a match can’t box but a tin can”)
3. “sdrawkcab siht rewsna” o.k. (reverse spelling)
4. “Click, the answer” answer (literally)
5. “Put mouse here…” go around the screen (w/out touching blue).
6. “sqr onion” shallots (wordplay: shallots are small onions)
7. “The answer is really big” an elephant (literally; also possible reference to legendary moment of dumbness in TV quiz who wants to be a millionaire)
8. “Search!” for the word yes ( a little down bellow S and E)
9. “What was the answer to question 2?” top right (self explanatory)
10. “Choose food” click on the teeth (Choose is a homophone for “Chews”)
11. “What follows December 2nd?” n (1st thing: “2″ 2nd thing: “n” 3rd thing: “d”)
12. “Click on the smallest” the dot on the I (makes sense)
13. “What sound does a bell make?” F’tanng (makes sense)
14. “What can you put in a bucket to make it lighter?” torch (”lighter” as in fire tool)
15. “Neigh! Whinny!” Just type in horse (cryptic, but makes good sense)
16. “What is the 7th letter of the Alphabet?” h (literally, the 7th letter in “the alpHabet”)
17. “24 - 7 =” click on the circled 17 (devious, but logic)
18. “Stop time” … with a hammer (“stop. hammer time!” [break out the “running man” dance])
19. “Color in the correct color” Blue Orange Green Green Yellow (makes sense)
20. “Deal or no deal?” seal! (because whatever you choose, you *seal* the “deal”.)
21. “Watch Carefully… now choose!” top left (blinks green)
22. “The choice is yours” +1 skip (kind of makes sense; in this question, you get +1 skip)
23. “Save changes to ‘untitled’?” bran (you must type something to save?)
24. “click on the ‘v’ in lives” click V in bottom left corner (hidden message)
25. “How do you kill a werewolf”? Shoe polish (Shoe polish has silver nitrate, silver kills werewolves)
26. “Which of this place names doesn’t exist”? Arsefacey (It’s a fact!)
27. “I hope you’ve been paying attention to the question numbers!” go to 28 (logic)
28. “What is this?” abundance (a bun dance! get it?)
29. “What flavour is cardboard?” egg mayonnaise (*allegedly* because they somehow use mayo in the process of making cardboard — can anyone back this up?)
30. “Don’t click on the green” stay on the path! (makes sense)
31. “woof. woof. woof.” (just watch puppy for a while)
32. “What are the main ingredients of champoo?” babycham and human faeces (Babycham(sham) + Human Faeces(‘poo’)= shampoo.)
33. “How many letter in ‘his hand’?” 7 (literal)
34. “Elephants don’t like mice” take mouse away from screen (makes good sense)
35. “If you touch this button, it’s game over!” click on green smily face (just wait a bit)
36. “What do you call a wingless fly?” a walk (makes sense)
37. “Can you get this question wrong?” all four buttons work (just a teaser)
38. “Mary Rose sat on a pin.” Mary Rose (Because she sat on a pin, she had to get up! It’s a bad pun.)
39. “cylindrical adventures” (animation by Splapp-me-do, available on Newgrounds.com)
40. “Hmm… if only you had a bridge” alt+tab, or hold the left mouse to clink pink (logic)
41. “the afro” on the ducks head (perhaps because it’s the only part that doesn’t belong in a duck; answer available in link: afroduck)
42. “What is the answer to life, the universe and everything?” the 42nd 42 (bottom row, second collumn - it’s a reference from “The Hitchhicker’s guide to the galaxy” )
43. “Bridget makes everyone… “tom cruise (Jerry McGuire movie reference)
44. “Puzzle” Put pieces together (behind piece marked 44 there’s a button)
45. “Gibberish” top right (kindly translated from windgdings by Max - Question: “Potatoes fly”. Top-left:indeed / Top-right: WRONG / bottom-left: Why not? / bottom-right: ROFL)
46. “OMFG u kills sonikku bastard” bottom left (self-explanatory, South Park reference, reference to video “sonic breaks his neck” by splapp-me-do)
47. “Vanish” click on red dot (mouse cursor vanishes)
48. “Snake? Snake?!” Snaaaake! (videogame reference - metal gear solid)
49. “Which is the correct spelling?” splapp-me-do (It’s the name of the group behind the game - refer to opening credits)
50. “Remember:”o.k. (you’ll get this one later on.)
51. “Fight” just click on screen several times
52. “Find the Carrot.” the third one, below the ! (logic)
53. “Mar mite” but pa might not (word play)
54. “Shanghai?” no, about 20cm off the ground (word play)
55. “What is the digestive system?” a game console for wholemeal biscuits (a game console is a “system” and wholemeal biscuits are often used to help babies digestion)
56. “I hope you remembered?” click on dot blue, red, blue, yellow in that order (refer #50)
57. “Look! Count Dracula!” erm…one? (word play)
58. “On the *subject* of dracula, what’s his favorite food?” Sheperd’s pie (logic, wordplay)
59. “Charge U’r laser” click on the black circle dude as fast as you can (logic)
60. “Be honest… did you manage to do the last question on the first go?” yes or no (just be honest)
61. “(Y)” thumbs up (if you type (Y) in MSN a thumbs up emoticon appears)
62. “It’th thimple. Click the moth!” the moss (answer with a lisp, makes sense)
63. “What are Chicken McNuggets made of?” tastless white fluff (Author’s personal opinion, allegedly)
64. “Which is true?” egg>28 (according to jewish low, there are two main sizes of food portions: olives & eggs. an olive in considered these days as 28 gr. (very big olives), and eggs are double.)
65. “Click the *largest*” click the word largest (literal)
66. “Hurry up! It’s the end of the World!” click the ! after world (self-explanatory “!”)
67. “What is this?” a big hairy arsonist (wordplay)
68. “pet the kitty” just rub it w/ mouse.
69. “Are you enjoying the quiz?” lol,69 (duh)
70. “My dog’s got no nose. How does it smell?” using its anus (“smell” is an adjective describing the dog and not a verb)
71. “Oh, Christ…” just click the green (logic)
72. “Where is it?” move down from between 7 and 2 in question number (logic)
73. “?” top right (similarity)
74. “How many questions does this quiz have?” no one knows that (They hadn’t yet finished making the game! )
75. “Pay attention….” and quickly press the escape button (beneath question number)
76.”….You are my candy girl” sugar honey honey (as in the popular 80’s pop song)
77. “What is this?” question 77 (duh)
78. “Déja vu?” four (refer #1)
79. “Where is the horseshoe?” it’s the ‘u’ in what do you mean? (bottom left)
80. “Sell your liver to…” filthy romanians (possibly because Romania has the highest rate of hepatitis infection in Europe. 1 out of 11 Romanians has some form of hepatitis, which is a liver disease.)
81. “Rub the pole” … to draw a lightning
82. “Clip Toenails” click on toenails to trim them (must be real fast)
83. “What does DNA stand for?” national dyslexic assosiation (go figure)
84. “Only click the shooting start.” right click screen and wait for star to show up (otherwise it’s just too tough)
85. “Did you enjoy the last question?” i loved it! (you’d better)
86. “I’m green and I have sticky balls. Who am I?” the prince (the Frog Prince from Katamari Damanci videogame)
87. “Click on what’s missing from this question” click on invisible dot after 87 (logic)
88. “Break his leg” click really fast anywhere (logic, reference to splapp-me-do video “sonic breaks his neck”)
89. “Which magical property do dog eggs contain?” blindness
90. “How many times has Michael Jackson had a nose job?” nonce
91. “Dear reader…” rip the page by sliding cursor beneath third hole (no clicking)
92. “Descend” 194 27 26 14 9 3 2.5 10.4 (clicking order, from Left to Right: 2 6 9 3 5 1 7 4 8 )
93.drag the bomb
94.wait for it to time out
95.press the button that the cat leaves
96.a right mess
97.10+ times
98. blue, red, blue, yellow (just like the other remember)
99.wait for light to turn green
100.two
101.chihuahua
(check video solution below for remaining answers)
Also, be sure to look around Slices of Life, the daily reminder of everything nice about life! There’s a lot of cool stuff in here besides this cool Flash game!Try the The Fool’s Errand for some Tarot-bound puzzle action! And try Super-Kickups for some reflex-oriented action. Enjoy your slices, and make sure to have fun while you’re living, because when you die it might be too late! Don’t forget to floss, and be kind to your fellow human beings!
“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their
parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.
Creeds and schools in abeyance,
Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never forgotten,
I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,
Nature without check with original energy. ”
While these lyrics are not my own, I can definitely subscribe to what the author expresses throughout: I like to think this passage from Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” revolves around the elusive concept (yet persistent) which is often referred to as universal love. The idealistic concept that we might all be able to get along, someday. Who knows…
I just came across a great resource for every blogger out there, as well as everyone who edits conten from public computers. It’s basically a website that lets you perform basic image editing, without the inconvenience of installing software! Everyone who has ever needed to rezise/crop a .jpg picture in a computer w/out photoshop and w/o administor status will definitively appreciate this gem!
