mc5 - AVMA Take 2

Concrete (in the concrete sense)?

[Merlyn] Naughty nineties? - NO
[Raak] Concretion? - NO

A reservoir?

Could it be seen from space?

[Rosie] The big reservoy? - NO
[Tuj] Spatial visibility? - Well, space is a big place - did you have any particular bit of it in mind? How big a pair of binoculars have you got with you?
Anyway, the sensible and useful answer is NO

Is the mineral water?

Is the mineral water what?

[Rosie] Perrier? - NO

Is the 'manufacture' of this mineral natural, in the sense, say, of granite or pumice?

[Dujon] Naturally manufactured? - I think I see what you mean and the answer is NO. I probably should have said 'In a broad sense' for manufactured, just as a clue that you shouldn't interpret it too narrowly. This is the product of a human process.

Is the mineral a by-product of another process?

Is it in a specific fixed location?

[Dujon] Mineral a by-product? - NO
[CdM] In one place? - YES *a few appreciative murmurs in the audience*

Located in Europe?

[cfm] European? - NO

On Earth?

Has this thing necessitated the shifting of large quantities of rock, soil etc?

Begins with P?

[Chalky] Terrestrial? - YES
[Rosie] Moving rock/soil - YES *some applause*
[Tuj] THE QUESTION? - NO

Fracking?

[Raak] Fracking? - Frack NO!

Chalky

If it's not fricking fracking - is it in aNY WAYconnected to fuel extraction

Cold

[Chalky] Drilling/mining/etc? - NO

Is it linked to death?

[GL] Morbid? - To some extent but not exclusively or even chiefly *whispered discussions in the audience*

Connected with transport?

[Rosie] Transport-related? - NO

Is this an individual object?

[Raak] Individual object? - NO (this explains the hesitation over Unique). Strictly speaking it's a group, but the words on the card card refer to the whole group.

Current hours of business

I will respond as quickly as I can between 8am & 6pm UK time, but I'm not carrying my laptop the 2 mile walk to my hotel.

Is this collection to be found in China?

The Pyramids?

[Dujon] Sinitic? - NO (but it so easily could have been since I was in Xi'an in October)
[Rosie] Pyramids? - NO, but *some applause*

Does it end with P?

[CdM] Pending? - NO

Stonehenge?

[Raak] Stonehenge? - NO (it was still in Europe last time I looked)

Does it contain a P?

[GL] Pinternal? - NO

Should the fact that you were in Xi'an in October (or at all) influence our search?

[Rosie] China etc? No, not in any obvious way and if at all, then probably only after the fact. Certainly thinking along lines suggested by China and terracotta armies isn't likely to help. My comment was only because I thought that was what Dujon was thinking of.

The statues of Easter Island?

In the Americas?

[Raak] That looks a good guess.

You were correct in your thoughts, ImNotJohn.

*Awaits response to Raak's query before losing any more podumes*

In the Middle East?

[Raak] Moai? - NO
[Tuj] American? - NO
[Dujon] There you are, you could have had a go
[irach] Mediaorientalist? - NO (but tying this down geographically is a good approach)

Australasian?

Manufactured/constructed/whatever within the last 100 years?

[Tuj] Built upside-down? - NO
[CdM] - Less than 100 years old? - NO

Chalky

In Africa?

A bit warmer

[Chalky] Africa? - YES *applause*

Taller than a double-decker bus?

Resisting guessing "the twin peaks of Mt. Kilimanjaro"

[Tuj] The routemaster measurement? - In one sense, YES, in another, NO *audience nods knowingly*

Is it in a single country?

[Tuj] In 1 country? - YES

BTW - with an arm up my back I'd plump for 'taller than a bus' but you'll understand why I answered as I did when you get the answer, or very shortly before.

Do people live in it?

The Kimberley Mine (aka The Big Hole)?

(Although I now see you answered the earlier fuel-extraction question with a general negative comment about mining, so I suspect my guess is not right.)

[Tuj] Inhabited? - NO
[CdM] Big 'ole? - NO
*audience applauds both questions*
Re mining/drilling - if it had been a diamond mine, even if open-cast, I wouldn't have replied as I did, but you have got the right idea as to the bus answer, so don't read too much into it - and don't forget Rosie's early question.

Is this conglomeration situated in Ethiopia?

Celle-ci n'est pas une question

So, if I am inferring correctly from the answers, we are looking for something underground or below ground level, but not linked to mining, not inhabited, created by humans more than a century ago and not containing water. Man-made caves? Tunnels? Tombs?

[Dujon] Abyssinian? - YES! *loud and prolonged applause*
Why didn't you just have a guess at it?
[CdM] Fairly accurate, but Dujon has leap-frogged you.

The Sof Omar Caves?

[Raak] Sof Omar caves? - NO, but they look fascinating - however they're too natural.

Royal Tombs of Aksum?

Isn't that in Earthsea?

[CdM] Axum tombs - NO (my reading is that they are megalithic, which I would take as being above ground)
Come on, someone must get it soon!

The pyramids of Meroe?

I didn't think there were so many possibilities

[Raak] Pyramids of Meroe? - NO
Basically below ground level, remember

Lalibela churches?

That has to be it! :-)

At Last!

YES
It is the rock-cut (or monolithic) churches of Lalibela, where I hope to be in about a week's time.
Here's a mountain and a chisel - carve your own baton.

(INJ) Could you and CdM conduct your nerdy little game in private and give the rest of us a chance? It seems pointless and time-wasting to ask questions when one has no chance whatever of guessing the answer, and this is not for the first time, either.

[INJ] Exceedingly cool.
[Rosie] Really? I had no idea you felt that way. In future you should make sure we all know if you are unhappy about how the game is played.
MINERAL

~~In Ethiopia?~~ Unique?

Man made?

Unique? Yes.
Man-made? No.

(CdM) Fuck off, Cunt de Melbourne. What a pair of irritating nerdish selfish twats you and your brother are.

Terrestial?

[Rosie] Behave! :)
[Tuj] Behave! ;)
[INJ] Because I have no desire to 'win'. ;)

Terrestrial? No.
[Rosie] Your recurring temper tantrums really are getting a little tiresome. Perhaps it's time for you to take your ball and go home again for a couple of weeks. I don't think you've done that yet this month.

Oops

Sorry. YES to Terrestrial

Is the mineral water?

Water? No.

A geological feature?

Geological feature? Yes.

A mountain?

Well, whilst I feel a little guilty in banging in consecutive questions no one else has bothered for a day or so.

A mountain? Yes. *applause* [Dujon] Better be careful. You might end up winning. :-)

In Africa?

Yes it does! Er. Oops. I mean
Under African skies? No.

Surely it's more obscure than...Kilimanjaro?

Begins with P?

In Europe?

Ooops :-)

Under African skies? Still no.
Begins with P? Yes. (That was what I meant with my last answer.)
In Europe? No.

Pinatubo?

Does this edifice have an attraction for motor sport?

Pinatubo? No.
Motor sport? No.

Popocatepetl?

Popocatepetl? No. (I can't help feeling that there are a lot of non-European, non-African mountains beginning with P.)

In the Americas?

[CdM] Ahh, I wondered what that answer meant!

Puncak Jaya?

Pike's Peak?

In the Americas? Yes
More random mountains beginning with P? No.

In the US?

In the US? Yes.

This mountain does have a claim to fame, by the way, so it is certainly possible to approach the questioning by routes other than the purely geographic.

Mount Palomar, with its additional claim to fame in astronomy circles?

Famous for a specific event?

Palomar Mountain? Yes! *hands irach hollowed baton with lenses in each end*

Dizzied with my success I see stars....!!!! The next one is ABSTRACT WITH A STRONG ANIMAL CONNECTION

Is the animal connection human?

Is it a single-word answer?

[CdM] The animal connection is not human.
[Tuj] The answer is multiple-worded.

A symbolic animal?

Begins with P?

a well-known phrase or metaphor?

jim

A phrase containing the name of an animal (e.g. lion's share, dog's breakfast etc)?

Is it a fictional part of a real animal? (eg hen's teeth, horse feathers etc)

[Raak] The animal in qustion is not exactly symbolic or iconic, except in one limited way.
[Tuj] Does not begin with "P".
[cfm] YES, a well-known phrase.
[jim] Yes, the phrase contains the name of the animal.
[GLogin] No, not a fictional part of a real animal.

Is the answer a title (e.g., of a book, play, film, TV show, work of art by Tracey Emin...)?

Is the animal a mammal?

Is it the Bee's Knees? (with or without an arrow through them)

[CdM] Not the title of anything, as far as I am aware.
[cfm] The animal in question is not a mammal.
[GLogin] Not the bee's (or any other arthropod's) knees.

Is the animal a reptile?

Is the animal a fish?

Is the fish a reptile?