51 replies to this topic

[Luke]

By popular demand, and only a little later than expected, here is the newest edition of the weekly message board puzzle/story/problem/thing. For the first two editions, look for threads that involve entertaining Michigan Goat.

Last week I apparently threw some people off by saying I didn't think the problem was very hard. No such chance this week. This thing is a monster. It is hellish. It is fiendish. If it were any more difficult, your brains would leak out your ears. It does not, unfortunately, involve a love triangle on the space shuttle. Still working on that one, sorry MG.

Any yes / no question is allowed, and I will be monitoring the thread throughout the day, although probably not quite as close as last week.

And here we go.



Three men were taking a walk along a deserted beach. Not far in front of them the beach curved off to the left sharply, obscuring their view of the beach behind a low hill.

The first man, who was having a hard time walking in boots through the thick sand, said "Looks like we're comin' up on another of those big bends".

"Indeed," grunted the second man, trying to squint through the glare of the sun while steadying the cameras draped around his neck.

"When we round that bend," the third man, who wore a thick beard and carried a cane, said cheerfully, "I think we'll see the most beautiful sight in the world."

"That's what you said before the last bend," complained the first man.

"I was right, though," the third man replied. The other two men didn't reply, but just walked.

Suddenly, as they started around the hill, the second man spoke up. "I know where we are," he exclaimed, "and this won't be a beautiful sight at all. It will be sickening, disgusting, and tragic."

"Oh, yeah," said the first man, "I think was watchin' this on the news. I'm sorta interested in seein' it for myself, to be honest. It oughta be pretty interestin'."

"Fine," the second man grumped, passing over one of his cameras, "you take the pictures this time. But if you break that lens, you're dead."

A few moment later, the three men had rounded the hill and stopped to stare at the scene in front of them.

"Well would ya look at that," said the first man in an awed voice, and started taking pictures.

"Now that has to be the prettiest thing I ever saw," said the third man cheerfully. "Just listen to those birds."

The second man didn't answer. Overcome by the sight, he was too busy vomiting onto the sand.

All three men were describing the same scene, and all three were telling the truth. Explain.

[Brett]

Is this on Earth?

Is the thing that they're seeing something that really happened?

Are the thick beard and cane on the third man significant?

Are the boots on the first man significant?

[Luke]

Is this on Earth?

Is the thing that they're seeing something that really happened?

Are the thick beard and cane on the third man significant?

Are the boots on the first man significant?

Yes.

Yes, but in a general, not a specific sense. What they are seeing is a thing that does happen, but not any one instance of that thing happening.

Yes, and yes. They may not be equally significant, and they may not be a significant key to the whole thing, but they are significant to unraveling what is going on in the scene. That's not to say that they won't turn out to be red herrings. I make no promises on that count.

[Spencer]

Yeah! Thanks for doing this, Luke.

Were the birds eating something that was decaying?

[TWC]

Wasn't this the season 4 finale of LOST?

[Luke]

Wasn't this the season 4 finale of LOST?

I haven't seen that episode, so I can't say. I hope not.

[Luke]

Were the birds eating something that was decaying?

That was... fast. Yes.

[Brett]

Is the third man a psycho/fucked up in the head/twisted?

[SirCub]

Are any of the men ornathologists/bird watchers?

[TWC]

Are they on an island?

[Spencer]

Was it some sort of mass grave?

[Spencer]

Building on SirCub, is the third man a bird watcher, and is that why he was so thrilled by the scene?

Is the first man a photographer?

[Luke]

Is the third man a psycho/fucked up in the head/twisted?

No.

Are any of the men ornathologists/bird watchers?

No.

Are they on an island?

Irrelevant. The beach (in this story) is entirely fictional. I imagined it as a generic, rocky, southern California coast line, but it could be in a lot of places.

Was it some sort of mass grave?

No.

Building on SirCub, is the third man a bird watcher, and is that why he was so thrilled by the scene?

Is the first man a photographer?

No, and no.

No.

[SirCub]

Is the man with the cane blind?

Do any of the men have any other physical ailments?

[Luke]

Is the man with the cane blind?

Do any of the men have any other physical ailments?

Yes. Nicely done.

No.