Comments on: Brain Game: Don’t Squeeze Me!

By: Matt R.

Matt R. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:09:35 +0000

I know it’s been a year and nobody’s reading, but I figured I’d put my 2 cents in anyway. Temperature, Light, The Sun, Oxygen, and Moisture seem to fit the most, but none with certainty or without convoluted reasoning. “No” does not work because if the question is “Can you solve the riddle?” and “No” were the answer, then answering “no” would solve the riddle, thus undoing the answer. “Yes” is feebly viable, but returns you back to 169 (thank you, Hodge).

By: Will

Will — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:50:44 +0000

I love how both the Onion and XKCD were mentioned (two of my favorite sites).
Any generic magic-eight-ball answer would, in some obscure fashion, be acceptable.

By: Stevw

Stevw — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:01:10 +0000

The answer is No.

The question is “CAN YOU SOLVE the riddle” not “WHAT IS THE ANSWER to the riddle”

So either you can solve it or you cannot solve it and the answer is no.

There is no one thing that does all those things. Why do you suppose children can answer the question in less then 5 mins where well educated adults talk hours and discuss the riddle in forums. Children quite simply admit they cannot answer it where adults will look for the answer and not read the question

By: Alec

Alec — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 03:06:27 +0000

The answer is yoursenses.
It makes you see polar bears as white, it makes you feel sadness, it makes you digest food (and excrete it later), it makes girls subject to social stigmas based on appearance.
It makes us see celebrities as who they really are and regular people as how special they really are, and lets you see the brownness of pancakes and taste the bubbles in champagne. If you hurt someone’s “feelings”, I’ll hurt, and if you look at them, deep inside of my SOUL, you’ll die.
I know, it doesn’t always fit, but I like it.

By: Ian

Ian — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:52:01 +0000

the answer is “you”

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:23:43 +0000

If the last line were not to be considered part of the riddle, as Joe suggests, then why is it so awkward? If the point of the riddle were simply to guess who the “I” was, the last line would be, “Who am I?” The unusual construction draws attention to itself and makes it part of the riddle.

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:30:36 +0000

The last line should be considered completely separate of the riddle itself. I don’t mean to write this as a cop-out, but here’s my reasoning out in the open:
After reading up to the second-to-last line, the riddle itself is over. The question at the end begins an entirely new thought. Considering the question elicits two possible answers – No, as in I cannot answer the riddle, and therefore would not attempt to do so, or Yes, as in I can in fact answer it. Answering the riddle would require a preemptive prompt such as ‘What is the answer?’, which of course is another line of thought.

In other words, ‘What’s the answer to this riddle?’ and ‘Can you guess the riddle?’ are two completely isolated questions. Quite frankly, I cannot answer the riddle and would respond No to the last line, but someone who could answer it would answer Yes and move onto the next line of questioning posed by Sandy here.

By the way, I’ve been drinking (and yes, I do focus more on my typing grammar when I have a buzz on.

By: LE

LE — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:27:18 +0000

If the correct answer is “no,” then you just solved the riddle. So wouldn’t the answer be “yes”?

By: tess

tess — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:40:14 +0000

The sun…
The light from the sun reflects off the polar bears’ fur, making them white.
The Sun magazine, I believe, is filled with celeb gossip.

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:31:40 +0000

How about “Yes,” because yes, I can guess, but I sure as hell won’t be able to answer it correctly.