Tuesday 19 June 2007

SIMPLE ANSWERS

So, how did you do with yesterday's little brainteaser?

The first two correct answers came from John van der Put and Suzanne whose cleverness wins them an evening for two at The Hungry Crocodile All-You-Can-Eat Buffet!

Shortly behind came Andy J Latham, whose comment --- "I think you have to be drunk to answer these questions... I suppose, in that sense, they are a good measure of a professional!" --- wins him the runner-up prize of escaping a visit to The Hungry Crocodile All-You-Can-Eat Buffet!

Gill ventured some imgainative answers that, whilst not being entirely correct, showed her skill in lateral thinking and the reason why she is such a whiz when it comes to crosswords. So, no, Gill, although it wasn't some sort of anagram based on the fact that the word 'giraffe' can almost be found inside 'refrigerator' your second guess at question 1 was correct...

Another of Gill's suggestions was that the one animal who didn't attend the Animal Conference was Man. "We do not generally consider ourselves animals," she wrote, "though we are, of course." OK, when the Other Animals get back, I'll ask if they saw Man; if they did, I'll give a point for that! And points, as we know, mean PRIZES!

For Question 3 on getting across the river, Gill suggested (as did another reader): "How about over the bridge?" Well, since you weren't told there wasn't a bridge, this seems pretty fair to me... So another point there...

Bela posted a comment: "I turned out to be a complete moron the last time I tried to do the longer version..." (see below) "...It's hilarious but not good for one's self-esteem!"

As for Good Dog, his comments were the only ones to actually get posted as a comment to yesterday's blog - simply because by the time I read it, it was time to blog this post! So, when you've finished reading this drivel, you can check back and see what he wrote!

Anyway, having dealt with all that, here, once again, are those three questions --- with (for what good they are) the answers!

1. How do you put a giraffe into the refrigerator?

Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door.

This question, apparently, tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way. So if you said, "Kill the giraffe, chop it up, cook it and make it into pies, puddings and casseroles," that involved far too much effort!

2. The Lion is hosting an Animal Conference and all except one animal attends. Which animal does not go?

Answer: The giraffe.

The giraffe is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there!


This is a test of memory - although how the hell anyone could forget having a giraffe in the refrigerator is beyond me!

By the way, Quenny noted that the last version he saw of this teaser, there was a supplementary question about how to put an elephant in the fridge which, of course, you can only do by first removing the giraffe! Apart from been plain silly (!) this raises an issue that the smart-ass question-setter obviously overlooked: viz that two animals would then fail to get to the Animal Conference - the elephant (because he's in the fridge) and the giraffe because, by then, he's probably frozen to death!

3. There is a river you must cross but it is inhabited by crocodiles. It is too wide to jump over and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?

Answer: You SWIM across.

You don't have to worry about the crocodiles, because like all the other animals (except the refrigerated giraffe) the crocodiles are attending the Animal Conference!


This test, we are told, reveals whether you learn quickly from your mistakes...

Your first mistake, of course, was in even trying to find answers to these damn fool questions!!

12 comments:

SharonM said...

So is there a prize for having had the good sense not to attempt to answer the questions?

Boll Weavil said...

Well, as a council official, I would question the necessity of ALL crocodiles attending the animal conference as this is clearly a waste of tax payers money. What I would suggest is a two-week trip to the Florida Crocodile Reserve for six of the highest paid officials in order to assess the level of need required for such a conference. On their return a symposium could be organised at a suitable venue to decide delegates for the conference. Pro tem, the rest of the workers can get on with staffing that lake and gobbling up all those pesky humans stupidly swimming across it.

Brian Sibley said...

LisaH - Your prize, my dear Lisa, is having maintained your dignity and/or sanity!

BOLL WEAVIL - Brilliant!!

Boris Hiestand said...

you have too much time on your hands my dear man...
It made me laugh though!

Anonymous said...

Well, that's ME told, isn't it! I was beginning to feel quite chuffed that I actually knew all three answers to a brain teaser... Oh well!

SharonM said...

Brian - my sanity departed me a long time ago - which makes it puzzling that I didn't attempt to answer the riddles.

Brian Sibley said...

BORIS - I need some paying work, then you'd all be spared!!

SUZANNE - You wrote: "Well, that's ME told, isn't it! I was beginning to feel quite chuffed that I actually knew all three answers to a brain teaser... Oh well!"

Er...?

You were quite right to be chuffed and you were duly acknowledged as joint-winner with Mr van der Put, now what's wrong with THAT?!

Besides, The Hungry Crocodile All-You-Can-Eat Buffet has been terribly well reviewed: no less a gourmet than A A Gill wrote: "Meals with real bite and first-rate snappy service"!

LisaH - Very wise!

Good Dog said...

Hell, my dignity went years ago, but it's good to have confirmation that the sanity's on the way out. Now it all makes perfect sense.

When I first saw yesterday's questions the first thought was, Oh no!! We used to have a tutor who would end classes early and then in the last remaining minutes fire these sorts of questions at us. Damn the man!! He made me an addict!!!

Ah, Florida Croc Reserve... Go to Gator World. Go to Gator World when - if they're still doing it - they have the annual Cook Out. Chefs from around the country come down to Florida and show off new gator recipes - surrounded by alligators. Which seems really perverse. But then... Florida.

Brian Sibley said...

GOOD DOG - Most Floridian Crocs prefer mouse --- MICKEY Mouse...

Anonymous said...

Giraffes are well known for their surprising ability to survive in very low temperatures. The distance of their brains from their hearts means that they have evolved a very efficient brain that has lower oxygen requirements of other mammals. When subjected to sub-zero temperatures, the consequent slowing of their metabolism doesn't cause them any serious problems. Consequently, the giraffe would have been able to attend the animal conference once he or she had warmed up a bit, leaving only the elephant out of the game.

Anonymous said...

BTW, I hope that stuff about the giraffe sounded convincing. It's completely made up.

Brian Sibley said...

QENNY - I belived EVERY word!