Connected to a celebration? *considerable audience laughter*. I think I have to say No, though some might argue the point. Relevant to archaeology? No. Vegetable part edible? Yes. (And remember the whole thing is vegetable, not just part of it.) Was it art? *more laughter* Not in the conventional sense, No.
After your good start I am surprised this is taking so long. As a hint, you could always explore the animal connection further.
Named after a person? Strictly speaking, No. But Yes would actually be a more helpful answer. “The” is not in third place. I said it wasn’t “The X of Y”. For free, I’ll tell you “The King Edward potato” exactly corresponds to the AOTC, though I’ll mention again that other descriptions would be perfectly acceptable. The King Edward potato? No. I’ll also remind you that the AOTC is unique “of”-inclusive? No.
Vegetable = vegetable? Yes. The Liz Truss lettuce? Yes! Have this unconventionally shaped baton. It’s slightly brown on the edges, but still perfectly usable.
Thank you, though this baton is somewhat rotten on the inside. No similarity to any person, living or half-dead, is to be inferred. So let's relaunch with MINERAL with some VEGETABLE connotations.
Its purpose is not entertainment. It is located in the UK. It was built for transportation purposes. I'm not sure if it's regarded as old-fashioned. It's not a train.
It does not cross the river Forth. It is not on the A5. The name does supply a vegetable connotation. But it's such a punnish and abstruse one, that to be honest I can't recommend this line of investigation. It is not the Prince of Wales' bridge on the M4. It is not the Menai bridge. If you don't want a hint, read no further. Hidden textRemember that this is a mechanical device.
It is not a suspension bridge. Reconfiguration has me stumped. I think the best answer is No, but only because the standard functioning configuration defines its usage under all circumstances. But Yes might also be possible.
Right answer! A nice piece of engineering not far from me. Also an example of "The A-Road, Interrupted". Sadly it's out of service at the moment and could well never get back into operation. So congrats to Tuj, to whom the baton is being delivered via a gondola.
Is it the feeling of never having heard of the Tees Transporter Bridge then being amply compensated by having now heard of the Tees Transporter Bridge?
[SM] NO. If I'd set that and there wasn't a guess straight away, that could have taken years! [RTG] NO. Although, to be strictly honest, YES it can be linked. Hidden textThat feeling seems to me like something that might have been named by Liff, but it's possible my thoughts are being influenced by my main source of the feeling being my job QCing British geographic data!
[R] NO. Well, no more than your average abstract does. Or maybe slightly more. I need to ask a blind person! [CdM] NO. I *think* this one is inarguable!
If you were standing in front of Raak and Chalky, one of whom always tells the truth and the other of whom always lies, and both know the AOTC, and all of you know the foregoing but you do not know which one is the truth teller, and you were to ask Raak "if you asked Chalky if the AOTC begins with the letter P, is it the case that she wouldn't not say 'No'?", is it the case that he wouldn't not say yes?
[C] YES. Unless I've made a mistake! Are you? :P Hidden textIf I had chosen the AOTC to be something related to lying all the time, and gave the opposite answer to every question... that would have been very brave indeed! [SM] NO! Hidden textHonestly, NO!
[C] Interpreting that as asking whether this thing has always existed: YES. [B] NO. But the audience, who applauded the previous question, make appreciative noises.
[B] NO. [C1] YES is the useful answer. A strict and slightly tedious reading of your question could yield the answer NO. [C2] NO. (but good to know I got your logic question correct!) [R] YES, it seems, but probably not significantly for a very long time.
This AVMA seemed like an interesting idea when I thought of it, but in hindsight probably was a mistake. :) And my commitment to exemplifying the AOTC with my answers has left me unable to communicate any nuance in my responses. You are all being too specific; the AOTC is a general (and very simple concept) that is a feature of many of the guesses you have collectively made.
[bl] Not a mythical creature. [B] Not fictional. [SM] The animals that could be involved are all chordates. [T] Not a hedgehog that thinks it's the King. Neither, for that matter, it is an elephant that thinks it's President Putin, nor a platypus that thinks it's Napoleon.
[T] That could be considered a political matter these days. [R] Yes, that's a reasonable description. The few who do not have it might kick up a storm about the AOTC being ableist, hence previous answer.
As I'm feeling generous, here are a few hints. 1. You'll probably need to come at this from both angles. That is, you need to identify what kind of thing the MINERAL thing is, and you will also need to figure out the ABSTRACT connection. 2. Most, probably all, of you won't actually know the specific wording of the AOTC. But an equivalent identifying phrase is acceptable (and, once you've figured that out, the AOTC would be a quick google away). 3. Despite (2), most, probably all, of you know the ABSTRACT connection and most—though probably not all— have in some sense encountered the MINERAL AOTC.
There are lots of geographical features associated with fiction, spanning the spectrum from Rockall to the Marianas trench. Does it span more than one country?
This might be a good point to suggest you re-read my earlier hints. I suppose you could eventually get to the answer via geographic elimination, but that will be boring and might take a while. You won’t get there by guessing the names of mountains that you know; I doubt if any of you know this mountain by name. So I’d suggest following the abstract connection, which I promise you is not obscure.
Feature? No. The AOTC is the name of the entire mountain. The mountain does in some broad sense have a relevant “feature” but it is one that many mountains possess. Kunlun Mountains? No.
Form of AOTC? The AOTC is [Mountain Name]. But the judges would accept an answer in a similar form to "The mountain which stood in for the Lonely Mountain in the film version of the Hobbit" Aoraki, which stood in for the Lonely Mountain in the film version of the Hobbit? No. *applause* North of the equator? No.
JRRT? Yes, because the AOTC is indeed Mount Ngauruhoe, the volcano that was used to represent Mount Doom in the LotR films. Mount Ngauruhoe is a mere 25 km away as the Nazgûl flies (can you have just one Nazgûl?) from where I have been hanging out for the past few weeks. It's a spectacular mountain.
This AVMA was taking so long that I seriously considered just throwing the baton away when we were hiking near the mountain a week or so ago. But I'm glad I didn't, because now I can hand the baton over to Rack. Which I'm totally going to do. Only maybe just not yet.
[SM] I think it unlikely, but I don't know. [C,R,B] Neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire a dam, nor a quarry, nor a barrow. Calling it partly man-made may have been misleading. A simple "no" might have been a better answer there also.
[CdM] Something like, in the sense that it would advise caution. (I have not actually seen the place myself to see just what warnings are posted, and haven't found anything on Google Street View.)
[T] It is an island, but [CdM] not Lindisfarne, because [R] it is indeed St Michael's Mount. Have this perspex replica of the Great Pyramid with St Michael's Mount inside.
Sorry for the delay. Distracted by thunderstorms and general torpor. (CdM) Not sea-level (Tuj) Despite the above remark, NO (Bis) NOT Radio Caroline (SM) NOT Al futures (Tuj) NOT fictional but maybe uncommon. (Raak) NOT scientific (CdM) Mineral connection NOT liquid.
(Raak) Already answered that. See Tuj (above). Still not fictional. (CdM) NO. Could be anywhere (on earth). (SM) YES, could be, but not its most common use.