• this paperback i have... which is full of the hardest problems...

    From HenHanna@NewsGrouper@user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid to rec.puzzles,rec.games.trivia on Wed Aug 13 19:16:08 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.trivia


    The Recent problems from James Dow Allen reminded me of this paperback i have...
    which is full of the hardest problems...


    The author of the book seems to be the [Marilyn vos Savant] of the UK


    (if i was older and lived in the UK, i'd be better at them)


    For most of the problems, I look at the answer,
    and I still have no clue....

    ____________________________


    i'd think that... FW is full of puzzles of this kind :


    Where might you find an English soup of very little worth ?


    How are Peter, Owen, Billy and Albert related to a chimney sweep ?


    A pelican was admitted in 1812, a badger in 1848, and a beaver in
    1859. To what ?


    Which men of straw gave their name to an Italian opera ?


    Whose arms have three legs ?


    The one in Messina is a storm in a teacup, while the one in Vienna
    promises like for like. What are they ?
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From HenHanna@NewsGrouper@user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid to rec.puzzles,rec.games.trivia on Wed Aug 13 19:39:59 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.trivia


    HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:


    The Recent problems from James Dow Allen reminded me of this paperback i have...
    which is full of the hardest problems...


    The author of the book seems to be the [Marilyn vos Savant] of the UK


    (if i was older and lived in the UK, i'd be better at them)


    For most of the problems, I look at the answer,
    and I still have no clue....

    ____________________________


    i'd think that... FW is full of puzzles of this kind :


    Where might you find an English soup of very little worth ?


    How are Peter, Owen, Billy and Albert related to a chimney sweep ?


    A pelican was admitted in 1812, a badger in 1848, and a beaver in
    1859. To what ?


    Which men of straw gave their name to an Italian opera ?


    Whose arms have three legs ?


    The one in Messina is a storm in a teacup, while the one in Vienna
    promises like for like. What are they ?



    ____________________

    is NovaBBS ever going to come back to life?
    ____________________


    i can't find my paperback copy,
    but i found a Bootleg PDF.


    280. There are twenty-two altogether. Fifteen of them are
    red, one is white, and the other six are of various colours.
    and itrCOs all supposed to be due to Col. Sir Neville
    Chamberlain. What are they, and what are the six colours?


    281. Mary Anne Talbot, Hannah Snell and Polly Oliver all
    made their mark in the same profession. What was it?
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From James Dow Allen@user4353@newsgrouper.org.invalid to rec.puzzles,rec.games.trivia on Thu Aug 14 04:29:16 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.trivia


    HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:


    The Recent problems from James Dow Allen ...
    ... use a very simple variant of a rather well-known cipher method


    Whose arms have three legs ?

    I think I know the answer to this one. Rather than rot13, I'll
    encrypt my answer with the same method I used a few days ago.

    He stands in spite of rats.


    Cheers,
    James
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Richard Heathfield@rjh@cpax.org.uk to rec.puzzles,rec.games.trivia on Thu Aug 14 05:57:13 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.trivia

    On 14/08/2025 05:29, James Dow Allen wrote:

    HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:


    The Recent problems from James Dow Allen ...
    ... use a very simple variant of a rather well-known cipher method


    Whose arms have three legs ?

    I think I know the answer to this one.

    So do I. At least, I have an answer that could not reasonably be
    rejected as wrong.

    Rather than rot13, I'll
    encrypt my answer with the same method I used a few days ago.

    He stands in spite of rats.

    Despite knowing the answer to the riddle, I have no idea what
    that means. Book code?
    --
    Richard Heathfield
    Email: rjh at cpax dot org dot uk
    "Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999
    Sig line 4 vacant - apply within

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From HenHanna@NewsGrouper@user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid to rec.puzzles,rec.games.trivia on Thu Aug 14 05:40:01 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.trivia


    Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> posted:

    On 14/08/2025 05:29, James Dow Allen wrote:

    HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:


    The Recent problems from James Dow Allen ...
    ... use a very simple variant of a rather well-known cipher method


    (it's not that simple for us!!!)


    What is it? give me a keyword (describing the method)
    so i can Google or ask my AI.


    Or... give us a few simplest problems
    to get us initiated... Thanks!


    i tried to look for a Bootleg PDF file of
    J.D.A's (GOAT mathematicians) book,
    i'll try the ultimate Shadow-Library maybe later.


    ________________________

    I guess... Neville Chamberlain is the ultimate foil, which
    makes W.Churchill look great.

    is he the greatest such foil in history?




    Whose arms have three legs ?

    I think I know the answer to this one.

    So do I. At least, I have an answer that could not reasonably be
    rejected as wrong.

    Rather than rot13, I'll
    encrypt my answer with the same method I used a few days ago.

    He stands in spite of rats.

    Despite knowing the answer to the riddle, I have no idea what
    that means. Book code?

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From James Dow Allen@user4353@newsgrouper.org.invalid to rec.puzzles,rec.games.trivia on Thu Aug 14 12:16:36 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.trivia


    HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:
    Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> posted:
    On 14/08/2025 05:29, James Dow Allen wrote:
    HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:


    The Recent problems from James Dow Allen ...
    ... use a very simple variant of a rather well-known cipher method


    (it's not that simple for us!!!)

    Whose arms have three legs ?
    I think I know the answer to this one.
    Rather than rot13, I'll
    encrypt my answer with the same method I used a few days ago.

    He stands in spite of rats.

    Here are the earlier examples of such hidden messages:
    (These are "political predictions.")
    ** Betray a sovereign? The newlywed overvalued is.rCi
    rCi** Appreciate cure; buffoonery conquer; rhetoric amuses.rCi

    iha
    vea
    bro
    ken
    typ
    ewr
    ite
    rth
    esp
    ace
    key
    doe
    snt
    wor
    kan
    dic
    ano
    nly
    fit
    thr
    eec
    har
    act
    ers
    toa
    lin
    e


    Che
    ers
    ,Ja
    mes
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From James Dow Allen@user4353@newsgrouper.org.invalid to rec.puzzles,rec.games.trivia on Fri Aug 15 11:44:00 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.trivia


    HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:
    What is it? give me a keyword (describing the method)
    so i can Google or ask my AI.

    I did post a response to this yesterday, and Newsgrouper
    responded with "Message sent" but the message still has not
    appeared. ??? The message I sent had a slightly funny-looking format.
    Is there some sort of "Moderation" happening?

    Cheers,
    James
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Pete Gayde@pete.gayde@gmail.com to rec.puzzles,rec.games.trivia on Fri Aug 15 09:38:56 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.trivia

    HenHanna@NewsGrouper wrote:

    The Recent problems from James Dow Allen reminded me of this paperback i have...
    which is full of the hardest problems...


    The author of the book seems to be the [Marilyn vos Savant] of the UK


    (if i was older and lived in the UK, i'd be better at them)


    For most of the problems, I look at the answer,
    and I still have no clue....

    ____________________________


    i'd think that... FW is full of puzzles of this kind :


    Where might you find an English soup of very little worth ?


    How are Peter, Owen, Billy and Albert related to a chimney sweep ?

    My answer in rot13:

    V oryvrir gur nafjre gb guvf vf eryngrq gb gur snpg gung gurl ner nyy
    gvgyr punenpgref va Orawnzva Oevggra bcrenf (Crgre Tevzrf, Bjra
    Jvatenir, Ovyyl Ohqq, Nyoreg Ureevat). V'z abg fher ubj gur "puvzarl
    fjrrc" svtherf vagb guvf.



    A pelican was admitted in 1812, a badger in 1848, and a beaver in
    1859. To what ?

    My answer in rot13:

    Gur Havgrq Fgngrf. Cryvpna ersref gb Ybhvfvnan, Onqtre = Jvfpbafva,
    Ornire = Bertba.



    Which men of straw gave their name to an Italian opera ?


    Whose arms have three legs ?


    The one in Messina is a storm in a teacup, while the one in Vienna
    promises like for like. What are they ?


    Pete Gayde
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From HenHanna@NewsGrouper@user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid to rec.puzzles,rec.games.trivia on Fri Aug 15 16:13:18 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.trivia


    Pete Gayde <pete.gayde@gmail.com> posted:

    HenHanna@NewsGrouper wrote:

    The Recent problems from James Dow Allen reminded me of this paperback i have...
    which is full of the hardest problems...


    The author of the book seems to be the [Marilyn vos Savant] of the UK


    She (the UK woman) i'm thnking of was described
    as the [Brain of Brains]


    17. How are Peter, Owen, Billy, Albert, and Elizabeth (by an
    adulatory nickname) related to a little sweep?


    [The Little Sweep] is also by ........




    (if i was older and lived in the UK, i'd be better at them)


    For most of the problems, I look at the answer,
    and I still have no clue....

    ____________________________


    i'd think that... FW is full of puzzles of this kind :


    Where might you find an English soup of very little worth ?


    How are Peter, Owen, Billy and Albert related to a chimney sweep ?

    My answer in rot13:

    V oryvrir gur nafjre gb guvf vf eryngrq gb gur snpg gung gurl ner nyy
    gvgyr punenpgref va Orawnzva Oevggra bcrenf (Crgre Tevzrf, Bjra
    Jvatenir, Ovyyl Ohqq, Nyoreg Ureevat). V'z abg fher ubj gur "puvzarl
    fjrrc" svtherf vagb guvf.



    A pelican was admitted in 1812, a badger in 1848, and a beaver in
    1859. To what ?

    My answer in rot13:

    Gur Havgrq Fgngrf. Cryvpna ersref gb Ybhvfvnan, Onqtre = Jvfpbafva,
    Ornire = Bertba.



    Which men of straw gave their name to an Italian opera ?


    Whose arms have three legs ?


    The one in Messina is a storm in a teacup, while the one in Vienna promises like for like. What are they ?


    Pete Gayde
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Mike Terry@news.dead.person.stones@darjeeling.plus.com to rec.puzzles,rec.games.trivia on Fri Aug 15 18:59:09 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.trivia

    On 15/08/2025 12:44, James Dow Allen wrote:

    HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:
    What is it? give me a keyword (describing the method)
    so i can Google or ask my AI.

    I did post a response to this yesterday, and Newsgrouper
    responded with "Message sent" but the message still has not
    appeared. ??? The message I sent had a slightly funny-looking format.
    Is there some sort of "Moderation" happening?

    Cheers,
    James


    This group is not moderated.

    Sometimes servers drop certain posts due to their own policies, common ones being spam filtering or
    posting limits (too many posts, too much bandwith etc.). If so your server ought to have given some
    different message. Perhaps your server provides a mechanism to interogate its log to find out why a
    post was dropped.

    Sometimes servers just "throw a wobbly", to use the techie term... Giganews had a recurring issue
    where it would accept a post, but not "link" it to the required newsgroup. Such posts were
    retrievable if queried by Message-Id (which is not specific to any group), but not when enumerating
    by article number (which is group specific). Sometimes the article appeared in the group several
    hours later, sometimes not!


    Mike.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From James Dow Allen@user4353@newsgrouper.org.invalid to rec.puzzles,rec.games.trivia on Fri Aug 15 19:19:22 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.trivia


    Mike Terry <news.dead.person.stones@darjeeling.plus.com> posted:

    On 15/08/2025 12:44, James Dow Allen wrote:

    HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:
    What is it? give me a keyword (describing the method)
    so i can Google or ask my AI.

    I did post a response to this yesterday, and Newsgrouper
    responded with "Message sent" but the message still has not
    appeared. ??? The message I sent had a slightly funny-looking format.
    Is there some sort of "Moderation" happening?

    Cheers,
    James


    This group is not moderated.

    Sometimes servers drop certain posts due to their own policies, common ones being spam filtering or
    posting limits (too many posts, too much bandwith etc.). If so your server ought to have given some
    different message. Perhaps your server provides a mechanism to interogate its log to find out why a
    post was dropped.

    Sometimes servers just "throw a wobbly", to use the techie term... Giganews had a recurring issue
    where it would accept a post, but not "link" it to the required newsgroup. Such posts were
    retrievable if queried by Message-Id (which is not specific to any group), but not when enumerating
    by article number (which is group specific). Sometimes the article appeared in the group several
    hours later, sometimes not!


    Mike.


    Thanks, Mike. A few days ago I sent a different message, got the equivalent
    of "Message sent" but the message did not appear at Newsgrouper (the same server where I post) for several hours. This seemed very odd.
    Then this. Message missing from the same server that accepted the
    message!

    - - - - - - - -

    Anyway, PLEASE solve for the simple way I've hidden messages
    recently, so I don't have to compose further hints!!
    Here are the two lines, each with a hidden "political prediction."

    ** Betray a sovereign? The newlywed overvalued is.rCi
    rCi
    ** Appreciate cure; buffoonery conquer; rhetoric amuses.rCi

    The first uses the (3,1) variant of a general method; the
    second uses the (3,2) variant.

    Cheers,
    James
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Richard Heathfield@rjh@cpax.org.uk to rec.puzzles,rec.games.trivia on Fri Aug 15 20:34:32 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.trivia

    On 15/08/2025 20:19, James Dow Allen wrote:


    <snip>


    Anyway, PLEASE solve for the simple way I've hidden messages

    Alas, Egypt occurs warily, shah.

    recently, so I don't have to compose further hints!!

    Quite! What a nuisance!
    --
    Richard Heathfield
    Email: rjh at cpax dot org dot uk
    "Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999
    Sig line 4 vacant - apply within

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From James Dow Allen@user4353@newsgrouper.org.invalid to rec.puzzles,rec.games.trivia on Sat Aug 16 05:27:34 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.trivia


    HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:
    Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> posted:
    On 14/08/2025 05:29, James Dow Allen wrote:
    HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:
    Whose arms have three legs ?
    I think I know the answer to this one.

    So do I. At least, I have an answer that could not reasonably be
    rejected as wrong.

    Rather than rot13, I'll
    encrypt my answer with the same method I used a few days ago.

    He stands in spite of rats.

    The Recent problems from James Dow Allen ...
    ... use a very simple variant of a rather well-known cipher method

    give us a few simplest problems
    to get us initiated... Thanks!

    As you wish:

    Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> posted:
    Alas, Egypt occurs warily, shah.

    Cheers,
    James
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Mike Terry@news.dead.person.stones@darjeeling.plus.com to rec.puzzles,rec.games.trivia on Mon Aug 18 00:55:13 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.trivia

    On 14/08/2025 05:29, James Dow Allen wrote:

    HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:


    The Recent problems from James Dow Allen ...
    ... use a very simple variant of a rather well-known cipher method


    Whose arms have three legs ?

    I think I know the answer to this one. Rather than rot13, I'll
    encrypt my answer with the same method I used a few days ago.

    He stands in spite of rats.

    Could be. Maybe


    Which silly persons framed a pun?


    Mike.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2