• Squares of 1 to 10 are spelt out in Ndom language . . . nif, sas, [ "mer abo ithin" ]

    From HenHanna@NewsGrouper@user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid to rec.puzzles,sci.lang,alt.usage.english on Fri Mar 6 01:13:05 2026
    From Newsgroup: sci.lang



    (This is an Extremely hard puzzle!)


    https://i.imgur.com/sChZMvg.png

    The squares of the numbers 1 to 10 are spelt out in the Ndom language . . . nif, sas, [ "mer abo ithin" ]


    Ndom is a real language --- (iirc, used in Papua New Guinea).



    (This is an Extremely hard puzzle!)
    I got to the part where I realized that it's ........ and gave up!
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From James Dow Allen@user4353@newsgrouper.org.invalid to rec.puzzles,sci.lang,alt.usage.english on Fri Mar 6 06:37:51 2026
    From Newsgroup: sci.lang


    HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:
    (This is an Extremely hard puzzle!)

    https://i.imgur.com/sChZMvg.png

    The squares of the numbers 1 to 10 are spelt out in the Ndom language . . . nif, sas, [ "mer abo ithin" ]

    Ndom is a real language --- (iirc, used in Papua New Guinea).


    PARTIAL SPOILER (with hint rot13'ed)
    Rolling Stone magazines's list of the "50 Greatest Singers of all time"
    as spoiler warning space.
    50 Joni Mitchell
    49 Rod Stewart
    48 Toni Braxton
    47 Linda Ronstadt
    46 Mavis Staples
    45 Ella Fitzgerald
    44 James Brown
    43 Ariana Grande
    42 Teddy Pendergrass
    41 Etta James
    40 Aaliyah
    39 Louis Armstrong
    38 Curtis Mayfield
    37 Van Morrison
    36 Kurt Cobain
    35 Dusty Springfield
    34 Thom Yorke
    33 Bessie Smith
    32 David Bowie
    31 Luther Vandross
    30 Hank Williams
    29 Chaka Khan
    28 Mahalia Jackson
    27 Dolly Parton
    26 Paul McCartney
    25 Mary J. Blige
    24 George Jones
    23 Smokey Robinson
    22 Adele
    21 Nina Simone
    20 Marvin Gaye
    19 Frank Sinatra
    18 Celia Cruz
    17 Elvis Presley
    16 Prince
    15 Bob Dylan
    14 Freddie Mercury
    13 Patsy Cline
    12 John Lennon
    11 Little Richard
    10 Al Green
    9 Otis Redding
    8 Beyonc|-
    7 Stevie Wonder
    6 Ray Charles
    5 Mariah Carey
    4 Billie Holiday
    3 Sam Cooke
    2 Whitney Houston
    1 Aretha Franklin



    Nob ybbxf yvxr 'naq' jvgu gur ahzore jbeqf nyjnlf va n pregnva beqre. Rkcrevzrag jvgu qvssrerag onfrf, ybbxvat sbe bar gung jbexf.
    Gur ercrgvgvba bs nob gbaqbe nob zre nob gubavgu sbeprf n fcrpvsvp svg.
    Gur npghny onfr fhecevfrq zr.

    Purref,
    Wnzrf
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From HenHanna@NewsGrouper@user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid to rec.puzzles,sci.lang,alt.usage.english on Fri Mar 6 07:31:16 2026
    From Newsgroup: sci.lang


    James Dow Allen <user4353@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:


    HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:
    (This is an Extremely hard puzzle!)

    https://i.imgur.com/sChZMvg.png

    The squares of the numbers 1 to 10 are spelt out in the Ndom language . . . nif, sas, [ "mer abo ithin" ]

    Ndom is a real language --- (iirc, used in Papua New Guinea).


    PARTIAL SPOILER (with hint rot13'ed)
    Rolling Stone magazines's list of the "50 Greatest Singers of all time"
    as spoiler warning space.
    50 Joni Mitchell
    49 Rod Stewart
    48 Toni Braxton
    47 Linda Ronstadt
    46 Mavis Staples
    45 Ella Fitzgerald
    44 James Brown
    43 Ariana Grande
    42 Teddy Pendergrass
    41 Etta James
    40 Aaliyah
    39 Louis Armstrong
    38 Curtis Mayfield
    37 Van Morrison
    36 Kurt Cobain
    35 Dusty Springfield
    34 Thom Yorke
    33 Bessie Smith
    32 David Bowie
    31 Luther Vandross
    30 Hank Williams
    29 Chaka Khan
    28 Mahalia Jackson
    27 Dolly Parton
    26 Paul McCartney
    25 Mary J. Blige
    24 George Jones
    23 Smokey Robinson
    22 Adele
    21 Nina Simone
    20 Marvin Gaye
    19 Frank Sinatra
    18 Celia Cruz
    17 Elvis Presley
    16 Prince
    15 Bob Dylan
    14 Freddie Mercury
    13 Patsy Cline
    12 John Lennon
    11 Little Richard
    10 Al Green
    9 Otis Redding
    8 Beyonc|-
    7 Stevie Wonder
    6 Ray Charles
    5 Mariah Carey
    4 Billie Holiday
    3 Sam Cooke ------------------ (I don't know him)
    2 Whitney Houston
    1 Aretha Franklin



    I like Neil Sedaka, Barry Manilow, (Simon, Garfunkel), Basia

    and this AI woman
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpNpqHCmxYc
    Voice-wise, this AI-voice sounds most like who?



    Wow... You solved it without any hints?



    Nob ybbxf yvxr 'naq' jvgu gur ahzore jbeqf nyjnlf va n pregnva beqre. Rkcrevzrag jvgu qvssrerag onfrf, ybbxvat sbe bar gung jbexf.
    Gur ercrgvgvba bs nob gbaqbe nob zre nob gubavgu sbeprf n fcrpvsvp svg.
    Gur npghny onfr fhecevfrq zr.

    Purref,
    Wnzrf
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2