HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: carl@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU (Carl J Lydick)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: Astronomy: farther = closer
Date: 29 Sep 1992 16:49:15 GMT
Organization: HST Wide Field/Planetary Camera
Reply-To: carl@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU
NNTP-Posting-Host: sol1.gps.caltech.edu

In article <2492.imc@uk.ac.ox.prg>, imc@comlab.ox.ac.uk (Ian Collier) writes:
>A precise measurement of the cosmic background radiation will show that,
>although it is very smooth, it varies continuously between one direction in
>which it is hottest, and the opposite direction in which it is coolest.
>This is due to the doppler shift induced by the Earth's motion relative to
>the cosmic background radiation.  So in a sense, it is possible to tell what
>is moving and what is not.

Does this mean that someone's confirmed the alleged anisotropy?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carl J Lydick | INTERnet: CARL@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU | NSI/HEPnet: SOL1::CARL

Disclaimer:  Hey, I understand VAXen and VMS.  That's what I get paid for.  My
understanding of astronomy is purely at the amateur level (or below).  So
unless what I'm saying is directly related to VAX/VMS, don't hold me or my
organization responsible for it.  If it IS related to VAX/VMS, you can try to
hold me responsible for it, but my organization had nothing to do with it.
From: s2874066@techst02.technion.ac.il (Eyal Peleg)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: An ancient Chinese puzzle *spoiler*
Date: 3 Oct 92 23:11:42 GMT
Reply-To: s2874066@techst02.technion.ac.il (Eyal Peleg)
Organization: Technion, Israel Inst. of Technology

one way is to take the elephant on board a ship, 
mark the water level (how deep the ship goes into the water)
then take the elephant off board and reload with people/metal/anyting
so that that ship would go into the water for the same depth
then use a normal scale to weight all of those people/metal/anything
one at a time and use an abacus :) or a super computer or whatever is handy
to sum up the weights.

p.s. archimedes solved it before i did :)

eyal peleg
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: sethb@fid.morgan.com (Seth Breidbart)
Subject: Re: Chess-problem
Organization: my opinions only
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 16:30:46 GMT

In article <1992Oct2.121459.27750@hsr.no> onar@hsr.no (Onar Aam) writes:
>Given that you have a chessboard and one black king, how many white queens is the
>least that is required to checkmate the king without moving the queens?
>
>
>presumptions:
>there is no white king on the board
>the black king can be placed at any vacant spot.

You can always place two white queens such that the black king is
under attack from both of them and after any possible move will still
be under attack from at least one of them.

Seth		sethb@fid.morgan.com
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles.crosswords
From: tomd@bali.amd.com (Tom Deneau)
Subject: ACC #10
Organization: Advanced Micro Devices, Austin TX
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 15:53:40 GMT

Welcome to Araucaria Clueing Competition Number 10

To enter, write a cryptic clue for the word given below
(only one clue per person, please).  Email it to me
along with a description of how the clue works by:
	 Wednesday, 07 Oct 92 23:59 CDT.

I'll post my choice of winning clue soon after that,
and a list of all the clues I receive.
The winner will be invited to judge the next ACC.
When you send in your clue, please indicate whether
you would be willing to judge the next contest.


The word to clue (disguised in rot13 mode) is:

        FBSGJNER

(which must be one who practices the art of fbsgjn).

Happy Clueing!!
 Tom Deneau                    {uunet, cs.utexas.edu!ames}!amdcad!cayman!tomd
 Advanced Micro Devices, Austin TX     +1 512 462 4952     tom.deneau@AMD.COM
From: lswan@ucsd.edu (Swan, Lyn)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles.crosswords
Subject: Re: October's Harper
Date: 29 Sep 92 20:50:00 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego
NNTP-Posting-Host: card3.ucsd.edu

In article <05_p5k_.yoo@netcom.com> yoo@netcom.com (Young-Kyu Yoo) writes:
>From: yoo@netcom.com (Young-Kyu Yoo)
>Subject: October's Harper 
>Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 00:37:24 GMT

>Anyone else notice errors in the clues and grid for the October Harper's
>puzzle?  Two of the clues in my copy are numbered incorrectly, one clue
>gives an improper word length, and three dark bars are missing from the
>grid.  There's no indication in the instructions that the 'mistakes'
>are intentional. I've completed the puzzle despite the 'errors' but am
>wondering if there's something going on besides a bad job of typesetting.
> 
Yes - had me very confused until I realized it wasn't me that was 
mixed up.  Terrible editing job.

Lyn
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles.crosswords
From: fy@lucid.com (Frank Yellin)
Subject: Re: October's Harper
Organization: Lucid, Inc., Menlo Park, CA
	<lswan.32.0@ucsd.edu>
Date: 30 Sep 92 11:27:14


In article <lswan.32.0@ucsd.edu> lswan@ucsd.edu (Swan, Lyn) writes:

In article <05_p5k_.yoo@netcom.com> yoo@netcom.com (Young-Kyu Yoo) writes:
> Anyone else notice errors in the clues and grid for the October Harper's
> puzzle?  Two of the clues in my copy are numbered incorrectly, one clue
> gives an improper word length, and three dark bars are missing from the
> grid.  There's no indication in the instructions that the 'mistakes'
> are intentional. I've completed the puzzle despite the 'errors' but am
> wondering if there's something going on besides a bad job of typesetting.

Hey, at least it was one of the easiest puzzles they've had in quite a
while.  

And all the typos were obvious.  The length mistake, too, if you realized
the grid was meant to be symmetric.

-- Frank Yellin
   fy@lucid.com
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles.crosswords
From: rt@ukc.ac.uk (R.W.Thearle)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles.crosswords
Subject: CWC19
Summary: Son of CWC rides again
Date: 29 Sep 92 17:39:16 GMT
Reply-To: rt@ukc.ac.uk (R.W.Thearle)
Organization: Computing Lab, University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.

I seem to have got all the work of judging the next cwc, without any of
the glory ...

			Roy

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to CWC19!

This is the next instalment in the clue writing competition started by
Ian Gent. Later on in this posting, you will find two words to write
clues for. They have been encrypted (rot13) for extra protection.
The first word is chosen to be rather easy to clue; the second is slightly
(i.e. considerably) harder. Competitors are invited to submit one (1)
cryptic clue for each word, together with explanations of their
clues, and an indication as to whether they would be able to run the next
contest, to the following address:

		rt@ukc.ac.uk
by
		23:59 GMT, 5th Oct 1992.

Only the first clues submitted by each competitor will be counted. Do not post
your clues, as some people may prefer to solve the winning entries.
After the deadline has passed, judging will commence; one winner will be chosen
for each word, and the best of the two winners will be invited to judge the
next competition.

The submitted clues will be posted as follows:

		7th Oct : the winners;
		8th Oct : the rest.

The words for clueing follow (rot13) after lots of space:



































	PUVAN

	UBATXBAT

If it makes any difference, assume that the two words are 1 across
and 1 down respectively.

Clues I like? fun ones, preferrably with unusual subsidiary treatments of
Clues I like? Fun ones, particularly those with unusual subsidiary treatments
for the solutions.
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles.crosswords
From: yoo@netcom.com (Young-Kyu Yoo)
Subject: October's Harper 
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 00:37:24 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 

Anyone else notice errors in the clues and grid for the October Harper's
puzzle?  Two of the clues in my copy are numbered incorrectly, one clue
gives an improper word length, and three dark bars are missing from the
grid.  There's no indication in the instructions that the 'mistakes'
are intentional. I've completed the puzzle despite the 'errors' but am
wondering if there's something going on besides a bad job of typesetting.
From: roger@quantime.co.uk (Roger Phillips)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles.crosswords
Subject: ACC 9 Winner
Date: 28 Sep 92 12:52:56 GMT
Reply-To: roger@quantime.co.uk (Roger Phillips)
Organization: Quantime Ltd, London (software for market research)

From a rather better-than-average set of clues,
I've chosen as the winner:

  Going outside topless and bottomless, rather nasty burns could
  result in this person! (9)

submitted by tomd@cayman.amd.com (Tom Deneau)
whom I invite to run ACC 10.
Congratulations, Tom.

I'll post the full set of clues, with some commentary, soon.
-- 
Roger Phillips                            roger@quantime.co.uk
"*butterfly* a general name for any of the daylight Lepidoptera, roughly
distinguished from moths by their clubbed antennae: a gay, flighty
person (fig.): butterfly breast-stroke" -- Chambers English Dictionary
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles.crosswords
From: cooper@cs.arizona.edu (Andrew E. Cooper)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: An ancient Chinese puzzle
Summary: answer
Date: 3 Oct 92 22:24:17 GMT



I've heard this one before, but the main characters were a ferryman who
charged his fares by weight with a customer needing to get an elephant
across.  The problem was that no scales were large enough to weigh the
elephant thus the fare could not be calculated.  A village elder was called
to mediate the dispute but it was his young son who solved the problem.

Lead the elephant onto the ferry and mark the waterline of the ferry when
the elephant is aboard. Lead the elephant off and put enough rocks or other
weights aboard to load the ferry to the same waterline.  Take all the weight
off the ferry and measure it piece by piece, the total weight is the weight
of the elephant.

Curiously the source of the story I heard is also Chinese, probably an _old_
folk tale.


| Andrew Cooper                        |  Experience is directly       |
| cooper@caslon.cs.arizona.edu         |  proportional to equipment    |
| In the likely event you do not agree |  ruined.   -unknown           |
| with all that I have said, I alone   |                               |
| am responsible for this drivel.      |   -<>-   -<>-   -<>-   -<>-   |

Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: dant@techbook.com (Dan Tilque)
Subject: Re: Attribute Puzzles
Organization: Pseudopolis Yard
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 06:51:22 GMT

wvanweer@wsuaix.csc.wsu.edu (Wayne VanWeerthuizen) writes:
>
>Set#1
> Item w/ attribute: battery, key, yeast, diskette, bookmark
> Items without    : rubix's cube, pill bottle, stapler, calculator, envelope
>
>Set#2
> w/ : traffic light, rubix's cube, chess set, electrical wiring, flags
> w/o: clock, rope, tic-tac-toe, pencil sharpener, coat hanger

Congratulations.  You asked a puzzle that isn't in the FAQ.  That's
pretty rare these days.

You stumped me on the first list, but the second I think I got.



Color.  To be more exact - different parts have different colors which
are important.

---
Dan Tilque    --     dant@techbook.com
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: myrberger@elin.e.kth.se (Johan Myrberger)
Subject: mechanical puzzle
Reply-To: myrberger@elin.e.kth.se (Johan Myrberger)
Organization: School of EE, Royal Institute of Technolgy
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 20:57:22 GMT

Has anybody seen this before?

   
          *********
            *   *   *
            *   *   *
            *   *   *
            *********
            *  /*\  *
            * /Y*Y\ *
            */YY*YY\*
            *********
            *\YY*YY/*
            * \Y*Y/ *
            *  \*/  *
*********************************
*   *  /*\  *  /*\  *  /*\  *   *
*   * /R*R\ * /B*B\ * /G*G\ *   *
*   */RR*RR\*/BB*BB\*/GG*GG\*   *
*********************************
*   *\RR*RR/*\BB*BB/*\GG*GG/*   *
*   * \R*R/ * \B*B/ * \G*G/ *   *
*   *  \*/  *  \*/  *  \*/  *   *
*********************************
            *  /*\  *
            * /P*P\ *
            */PP*PP\*
            *********
            *\PP*PP/*
            * \P*P/ *
            *  \*/  *
            *********
            *   *   *
            *   *   *
            *   *   *
            *********

This is a mechanical puzzle I once bought in Germany without any instructions.

Above is a picture of it as I think it'll look solved, but as I bought it in a
scrambled position it's only a guess (but it seems reasonable to me).

It consists of 20 squares, each of them half coloured:

e.g. *****    Y=yellow                *****
     *\  *    R=red                   *   *
     *B\ *    B=blue                  *   *   = empty place
     *BB\*    G=green                 *   *
     *****    P=pink                  *****

They are placed in a cross which allow you to move either all the squares in
the left-right arm simultaneously left or right, or all the squares in the 
up-down arm simultaneously up or down.

If anyone could give me a hint on how to solve it or any references I would
appreciate it.

Thanks

Johan Myrberger

E-mail: myrberger@elin.e.kth.se
From: jaw@cs.arizona.edu (Jim Wilson)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: No vowels, One syllable
Date: 2 Oct 92 16:57:57 GMT
Organization: U of Arizona CS Dept, Tucson

In article <DV0wRB1w164w@cellar.org> kml@cellar.org (Scott Tiger) writes:
>Given that we've beaten the one-vowel, two-syllable puzzle into the ground,
>how about a no-vowel, one-syllable word.  I know of one in Webster's.
>I does not contain an A,E,I,O,U,or Y.
>
>Any takers?
>
  How about "nth"?
--
   _              
  | | _  _ _     |	Everybody complains of his memory, and
 _| || ||  \ \   |	nobody complains of his judgement.
 \_/ |_||_\_\_|  |				- La Rochefoucauld
From: rmjarvis@cco.caltech.edu (Robert Michael Jarvis)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: Brown/Blue eyes (SPOILER!)
Date: 26 Sep 1992 22:35:41 GMT
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
NNTP-Posting-Host: punisher.caltech.edu

In article <1992Sep25.234536.28663@Csli.Stanford.EDU> hiraga@Csli.Stanford.EDU (Yuzuru Hiraga) writes:
>
> What happens if the foreigner says "At least none of you are blue-eyed"?
> What happens if the foreigner lies and says
>    "At least 301 of you are blue-eyed"?
>
>-Yuzuru Hiraga

In the first case, the foreigner does not add any new information.  Everyone
knows that the number of blue-eyed people is >= 0.  And everyone knows that 
everyone else knows that.  So nothing untoward will happen in this case.

The second case is much more disasterous.  On the first night, all of the 
brown-eyed people will think they have blue-eyes, and will kill themselves.
The blue-eyed people, however will know that the foreigner is lying, but they
won't know whether he is off by 1 or 2, so they won't do anything.  After the
first night's catastrophe, all of the blue-eyed people will realize why the
brown-eyed people killed themselves, and will realize that they themselves
must therefor have blue eyes, and will kill themselves.  So in two nights,
that one comment will cause the death of everyone on the island.  So, if 
ever you feel like making a comment to such a group of people, make sure you
don't over-estimate.  :-).

Mike
From: isaak@aurora.com (Mark Isaak)
Subject: Re: Minimal Pairs (SPOILER)
Reply-To: isaak@aurora.com (Mark Isaak)
Organization: The Aurora Group
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 15:20:05 GMT

In article <1992Sep29.211329.18317@wam.umd.edu> faust@wam.umd.edu (...joe miller...) writes:
>Can you find a minimal pair for /TH/ (hard "th") and /th/ (soft "th").  In
>other words, can you find two distinct words which are pronounce the same
>except that one has a hard "th" and the other a soft "th".

either / ether

lather [suds] / lather [one who uses lathe]

thy / thigh

this'll / thistle
-- 
Mark Isaak           "Every generation thinks it has the answers, and every
isaak@aurora.com      generation is humbled by nature." - Philip Lubin
From: lbaum@bcsaic.boeing.com (Larry Baum)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: Brown/Blue eyes (SPOILER!)
Date: 27 Sep 92 06:04:03 GMT
Organization: Boeing Computer Services AI Center, Seattle

In article <1992Sep25.234536.28663@Csli.Stanford.EDU> hiraga@Csli.Stanford.EDU (Yuzuru Hiraga) writes:
: # Yes, the answer is all the blue-eyes will "identify themselves"
: # on the 300-th day.

The flaw in all this is that it depends on 2 tenuous
assumptions:

1) Every person must know exactly how many blue-persons he or
she has seen.  

2) Every person must know that assumption 1 is true.

In other words, if I am blue-eyed I must know that there are
exactly 299 blue-eyed people I have seen.  And I must know
that all 299 of them know exactly how many they have seen (298
or 299 depending on my eye color.)

This strains my credulity.

-- 
Larry Baum
Computer Science Organization
Boeing Computer Services     uucp:       uw-beaver!bcsaic!lbaum
(206) 865-3365               internet:   lbaum@atc.boeing.com
From: goodin@sunset.sedd.trw.com
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: 20 question story
Date: 29 Sep 92 08:58:34 PST


>>A man comes home with his car. His wife leaves the house, inspects the
>>car, returns and shoots her husband. What has happened?

   What has happened is that a wife has shot her husband. The interesting
   question is WHY did she do it?


   When the going gets tough,
   you've cooked it too long!      M. Goodin
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: phoffman@crcvms.unl.edu
Subject: STORY PUZZLES
Organization: University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Date: 5 Oct 92 14:58:42 CST

Long ago, after my father had challenged me to figure out most of them, I
was given two books containing "story puzzles" (for lack of a better term).
They were called "How Come?" and How Come, Again?".
They contained puzzles wherein you where given the overview of a story or
situation, and had to (by answering questions answered with "yes" or "no") 
divine the full set of circumstances leading up to the event.

They puzzles, as example, followed this kind of delivery:
Two men were having lunch when they spied their respective wives across the
street from where they ate. After paying the tab, they steped across the 
street to greet them. Suddenly, a truck came racing around the corner, striking
one of the men. The hapless fellow realized he was dying, but before succumbing,
he pulled a revolver from his bloody jacket and shot his lunch companion to
death.
How come?

I LOVE puzzles like this and would appreciate any tips about where I could
locate ones to add to my collection. If there is interest, I will post
bibliographic citations for the two above-mentioned books.
With thanks,
Paul S. Hoffman
********************************************************************************Paul S. Hoffman	
Paul S. Hoffman			           INTERNET: phoffman@crcvms.unl.edu
OCLC Network Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission    
1420 P Street	Lincoln, NE   68508
(402) 471-2045  fax: (402) 471-2083        "Solvitar Ambulando"
********************************************************************************
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: peltz-russell@CS.YALE.EDU (Russell Peltz)
Subject: Re: QUEUEING (quasi-SPOILER)
Organization: Yale University Computer Science Dept., New Haven, CT 06520-2158
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 18:29:08 GMT

In article <16222@ksr.com> tdh@ksr.com (Dave Hudson) writes:
>> The word QUEUEING has 5 vowels in a row.  Is this the only word with
>> this property? 
>

How about MIAOUED?  It contains 5 different vowels consecutively.

-Rusty
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Russell Peltz                                     peltz-russell@cs.yale.edu
P.O. Box 3838 Y.S.                                pelrusm@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu
New Haven, CT 06520                               pelrusm@yalevm.BITNET
From: blum@news.ils.nwu.edu (Daniel Blum)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: Puzzles...
Date: 29 Sep 92 04:30:24 GMT
Organization: The Institute for the Learning Sciences
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5

>In article <1992Sep27.163759.12084@wisipc.weizmann.ac.il>, jhsegal@wiscon.weizmann.ac.il (Livy) writes:
>|> 1) Suppose there is a game in which two players place little paper marks
>|> (of different colors) on a big,white,square paper.The purpose of the game is
>|> to place your marks on the paper.If you cannot place a mark on the big piece
>|> of paper,you loose. YOUR mission is to build a strategy by which the first
>|> player will ALLWAYS win.(I hope u understood the question...)

>Winning strategy: make your first mark cover the entire paper. (I don't think
>I understood the question.)

>----w-w--------------Joseph  De Vincentis--jwd2@owlnet.rice.edu----------------
>   ( ^ )   Disclaimer: My opinions do not represent those of Owlnet.
>   (O O)   Owlnet: George R. Brown School of Engineering Educational Network. 
>    v-v    (Unauthorized use is prohibited.)  (Being uwop-ap!sdn is allowed.)


This is kind of an old chestnut, except I've generally seen it
described as a game with eggs, rather than bits of paper.  Anyway,
assuming that all the bits of paper are of the same size and shape and are
diagonally symmetric, the winning strategy for the first player is to
make the first move in the center of the field, and after that to
mirror the second player's moves.  He can only be certain of being
able to do this if all the pieces are identical.  I believe that
diagonal symmetry is sufficient as an additional requirement: it is
certainly necessary, but it may be that the pieces of paper must be
squares.

							Dan Blum
							blum@ils.nwu.edu
From: jwd2@owlnet.rice.edu (Joseph William DeVincentis)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: Puzzles...
Date: 28 Sep 92 19:43:33 GMT
Organization: Rice University

In article <1992Sep27.163759.12084@wisipc.weizmann.ac.il>, jhsegal@wiscon.weizmann.ac.il (Livy) writes:
|> 1) Suppose there is a game in which two players place little paper marks
|> (of different colors) on a big,white,square paper.The purpose of the game is
|> to place your marks on the paper.If you cannot place a mark on the big piece
|> of paper,you loose. YOUR mission is to build a strategy by which the first
|> player will ALLWAYS win.(I hope u understood the question...)

Winning strategy: make your first mark cover the entire paper. (I don't think
I understood the question.)

|> 2)How many numbers of 9 are from 1 to 100 ?

Only one.  Nine is the only number from 1 to 100 that is 9.  Or, if you meant
how many digits '9' are in all the integers 1 to 100, the answer is 20:
10 nines in the last position of 9, 19, 29, ..., 99 and 10 nines in the
first position of 90, 91, ..., 99.

|> 3)A cowboy have 1243 cows.Besides 345,all of them die.How many cows he still
|> have?

He still has 1243 cows.  345 living ones and 898 dead ones.

|> 4)From one hundred fifty  you take! How much do you have?

fifty.

-- 
----w-w--------------Joseph  De Vincentis--jwd2@owlnet.rice.edu----------------
   ( ^ )   Disclaimer: My opinions do not represent those of Owlnet.
   (O O)   Owlnet: George R. Brown School of Engineering Educational Network. 
    v-v    (Unauthorized use is prohibited.)  (Being uwop-ap!sdn is allowed.)
From: frank@guiness.cetia.fr (Frank O'Neil)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: Big number [SPOILER]
Date: 28 Sep 92 15:52:26 GMT
Reply-To: frank@guiness.cetia.fr (Frank O'Neil)
Organization: CETIA

In article <19tgmcINNek1@uwm.edu>, radcliff@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (David G Radcliffe) writes:
|> What are the two rightmost digits of
|>   
|>    9^(8^(7^(6^(5^(4^(3^(2^1))))))) ?
|> 
|> In other words, what is the remainder when the above number
|> is divided by 100?
|> 
|> ( The caret (^) denotes exponentiation.)







[SPOILER FOLLOWS -----vvvvv]































The answer is 21


Reason :

5^anything = xxxx{...}xxx25           where the x's are different digits
6^xxxx{...}xxx25 = xxxx{...}xxx76     and are different for each number
7^xxxx{...}xxx76 = xxxx{...}xxx01
8^xxxx{...}xxx01 = xxxx{...}xxx08
9^xxxx{...}xxx08 = xxxx{...}xxx21

and, finally xxxx{...}xxx21 mod 100 = 21.

Cheers