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AVMA Take 2
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Yes, it's another round of that classic guessing game - Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Abstract [or any combination thereof]. This effort - '03/'04 should address any queries, but then again, may just serve to confuse and baffle which some might say is the point of the game. Patience, integrity and a decent search engine may be useful ....
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Dried bananas? No.
Fizzy? No.
Peanuts?
Peanuts? No.
Something you spread on bread and butter?
Opensandwichable? No.
Is it a rigid solid?
Is it a rhizome?
Is it spicy?
A crisp?
Does it have a mole in it?
Rigid solid? Solid—Yes. Rigid—It depends
Rhizome? No.
Spicy? Sometimes.
Crisp? No. (but a smattering of applause)
Moley? No.
Potato based?
Is the mineral salt?
Potato-based? No.
Salt? Salt is a very common ingredient. There might also be another mineral component, although it appears to be less common. (The possible ANIMAL component that I mentioned seems to be very unusual and is probably best ignored.)
(Also, in my answer to the "crisps" question, I said it might also be found elsewhere. That should not be understood to mean that the crisps aisle is the most likely place to find it in the supermarket.)
Crumpets?
As opposed to crumpet
Biscuit like?
Is more than one vegetable involved?
Crumpets? No.
Biscuit like? Um. Depends which dimension of buiscuitness you’re thinking about. I’ll say more No than yes.
More than one vegetable? Possibly, but the AOTC has one main distinctive vegetable ingredient.
Made from rice?
Rice-based? No.
Does it go hard when it's stale?
Bread?
Hard when stale? *audience murmurs in appreciation of the question* No.
Bread? See previous answer.
Is this edible in its natural form?
Made from a legume?
Originally Mesoamerican?
Do Kellogg's make a version?
Edible in natural form? Yes, technically.
Made from a legume? Yes.
Mesoamerican? No.
Made by Kellogg's? I'm pretty sure the answer is No.
Made from chick peas?
Baked beans?
A beanburger?
Chick peas? No.
Baked beans? No.
Beanburger? No.
Erratum: I have always identified the AOTC with one particular legume that has not yet been mentioned. However, further research reveals that there are variants, including the possibility of making the AOTC with chick peas.
Well now I can think of a two syllable word, but not the three.
Is the AOTC tofu-related?
Also, TIalsoL about Burmese chickpea tofu.
A waffle?
Pesto?
Soybeanish? No.
Waffle? No.
Pesto? No.
Poppadoms?
Lentil based?
A Poppadom (just one, I'm afraid) is indeed the AOTC! (So, yes, lentil-based). No one asked the P question. I and the audience were very taken with the fact that a poppadom actually goes soft when stale.

Have this rather fragile disc-shaped bato— erm, have these crumbs.
Does it -
Ah, too late, sorry.
Hmm. Thought of an ABSTRACT last night.
Begin with 'P'?
First mover.
Does it end with a 'P'?
At my age most things end with a 'p' at night.
Is it an -ism?
[P----P] No to both ends
[ism] No
A dream?
Is it the absence of something?
Is it the presence of nothing?
[Privatives, vaccuum] [No and nope]
[dreaming] Also no
Is the AOTC a single word?
Thought?
[unmarried word] yes
[thought] No.
Logic?
Could it exist in the absence of life?
[Logic] No
[Post-universal extinction] Yes.
Mathematical?
Inclement weather of some sort?
[Mathematical, weather] No twice.
Artistic?
[Artistic] ... Yes.
Beauty?
A colour?
[Beauty, colour] No and no.
Connected to music?
[Muscial] No...
A natural creation?
[Natural] No.
Is it something observable?
[Observable] Yes. [I did change my mind about this answer, but on reflection I decided you would have to narrow the definition of 'observable' significantly before it no longer fitted.]
A behaviour?
An instinct?
[Behaviour, instinct] No, you're all getting colder again.
When were we warm?
[Chalky] For me, some time around last September.
Is it spatially located?
[Spatial] No, not especially.
Would it exist if no-one were there to think of it?
[thoughtless existence] yes, I think
Entropy?
Aesthetic?
[Entropy] no
[Aesthetic] yes, but isn't that repetition?
A law of nature?
Recap 1
Artistic, observable, concept that is universal. Not an ism, nor related to maths/physics, seems unrelated to a being or personality.
Photosynthesis?
[legal, photonic] No and no.
[recap] Yes, pretty much.
Beauty?
Do you embody this?
[Radox] I see your pessimistic "1" ;)
Would it exist if the Earth and all its contents did not exist?
[Beatty] No.
[Tuj, embodiment] Do people embody it? No. If you meant in a broader sense, then maybe yes but you'll have to clarify.
[Independent of Earth's existence] No. I suppose it could maybe arise independent of Earth, but based on current knowledge I can only give a firm no.
A view?
[Hygge] Cute, but no.
[Views, whether vistas or opinions] No
Is it something observable using the sense of sight?
Is it an extreme?
[Extreme] No
[Observable using sight] No. I've been uncertain about the best answer to that for several days.
Would it be observable using a sensor for some other range of electromagnetic radiation?
Evil?
[Observable in EM] No.
[Evil] No.
Is it a sound?
Being foreign?
[Sounds] Yes (applause) Now you're getting somewhere...
[Furrin] Nah.
The Last Trump?
That riff from Also Sprach Zarathustra?
[Any number of Trump] Ingenious, but no.
[Also Sprach] Also no
Is the sound a song?
Is it a sound that most of us are likely to have heard?
It's an observable artistic sound which is unconnected to music. It's aesthetic, and not a natural creation, yet could exist in the absence of life and without anyone to think about it.
The Music of the Spheres?
Is it recorded on the Voyager discs, currently somewhere beyond Pluto?
Traffic noise?
A sound made by a fluid?
Zounds!
[Omnes] No. CdM gets a smattering, but even amongst this erudite crowd I can't see many of us having heard the AOTC. Still, I am of a STEM bent, and who knows what perversions students of, say, English get up to in private.
On second thoughts, I said "having heard the AOTC". Slightly better phrasing would have been "having heard an AOTC".
The sound of a tree falling, when there is no-one there to hear?
Is the sound recorded?
I remember in primary school I had a teacher who had a really old wax cylinder gramophone and once played a recording of Tennyson himself reading the "Charge of the Light Brigade".
[tree falling] No.
[audio recording] No. (A borderline answer, for the same reasons as whether it was sight-observable)
Is it artistic as a sound _qua_ sound?
The sound of one hand clapping?
[Artistic as a sound] Yes.
[One hand] No, too Zen
The sound of Raak hammering the taiko?
So I'm going for the double: is this a memory of a sound?
Is it known when this sound first occurred?
Over two months, better pull our socks up!
[taiko] No (Wish I'd thought of that as a q.)
[memory] Good guess, but no. (That too)
[known] Yes, actually. (Well, there's the usual scholarly quibbling)
An echo?
Is this sound only speech?
[Echo] No.
[Speech eech eech eech] No, more than speech.
The Big Bang?
Is it in a specific language?
Please ignore "in" of that's a better question...
[Bang] No
[Specific language] No. Trivia: The first one was in French, though
Is this "My Way", originally recorded as "Comme d'habitude"?
Since elapsed time is greater than a certain amount since the last proposition: is it anything to do with national anthems?
[Bismarck] No, twice. It's not musical
Something to do with recording sounds?
Is the sound made by a human?
[recordings] No
[human-made] Yes. At least, I don't think ChatGPT has had a go, yet
Is it linked to a specific occasion?
Summary:

Via negativa:
Does not end with a P.
Not an ism.
Not a dream.
Not the absence of something.
Not the presence of nothing.
Not thought.
Not logic.
Not mathematical.
Not bad weather.
Not beauty.
Not a colour.
Not connected to music... (those look like significant dots)
Not a natural creation.
Not a behaviour.
Not an instinct.
Not spatially located.
Not entropy.
Not a law of nature.
Not photosynthesis.
Not embodied by people.
Not independent of Earth's existence.
Not hygge.
Not a view (whether vista or opinion).
Not observable with sight.
Not an extreme.
Not observable by electromagnetic radiation.
Not evil.
Not being foreign.
Not the last trump
Not the 2001 theme.
Not a song.
Not a sound that most of us are likely to have heard.
Not the music of the sphere.
Not on the Voyager discs.
Not traffic noise.
Not a sound made by a fluid.
Not the sound of an unheard falling tree.
Not an audio recording.
Not the sound of one hand clapping.
Not taiko.
Not the memory of a sound.
Not an echo.
Not only speech.
Not the Big Bang.
Not in a specific language. (But the first one was in French.)
Not to do with national anthems.

Via positiva:
Is a single word.
Could exist in the absence of life.
Artistic.
Observable.
Would exist if no-one were there to think of it.
Aesthetic.
A sound! (The first real progress.)
An artistic sound.
A sound made by a human.

And not "My Way", originally recorded as "Comme d'habitude".
Does this sound come from a human vocal tract?
[Occasional] No.
[Human voice] Yes, it would do.
Is it the sound of someone imitating something?
Inarticulate?
[Imitation] No.
[Inarticulate] No.
I hope no-one is finding this too frustrating. I find it interesting how close you got and yet the right path has still managed to slip through the gaps between questions.
Is it ceremonial?
Is it humorous?
[SM] Surely you're the one whose frustration limit is most tested?
But is it art?
One originally French word is proving difficult, bien sur.
[Ceremonial] No
[Humerus] No.
[Repetition!] Yes
So it is art, and I win!?
Is it to do with poetry?
Presuming that artistic is the same as art, and so the puzzle continues. Now which of the Nine Arts could be referred to?
[winner?] No, but suddenly you're on the right lines
[Poetry] Yes. It's poetry. Claps and cheers from the audience
A sonnet?
Dies the Morniverse contain examples?
[Sonnet] No, but more claps
[Morniversal examples] No, not as far as I know. But I wouldn't put my shirt on it, because I haven't followed the poetry games very closely. It's possible.
Does it have a specific number of lines?
[Lines] Yes! Strong applause
Is the name of this form of poetry French?
Does it figure on this list?
[Two more yeses] Si and Oui.
A lai?
[Lai?] Non.
Was the first example composed before the 19th century?
A triolet?
[Pre-19th C] Bien sur
[Triolet] Non
A rondeau?
[rondeau, more like nondeau] Guess again.
Villanelle?
Raak did introduce this into the Morniverse over on Orange.
Bismarck has it
Villanelle is the right answer!

Sorry to be inadvertently misleading about there being Morniversal examples. I didn't know that had been done.
In lieu of a baton I shall pass over this lovely scroll sealed with wax.


*claps, cheers, generally goes wild*
Winning
Sorry about the delay, I had to go and lie down in a darkened room for the excitement to wear off. Unscrolling the scroll, I find this
MINERAL
concept for your delight. At least in the AVMA scheme of things, M seems the most appropriate: it might have bits of all of them.
Metalic?
Is it a Char D1 French light tank?
Is it fictional?
Is there just one of it?
And so it begins, unknowing...
[Software] Yes, largely so.
[Simons Mith] Not a French light tank of any kind. But a little bit warm.
[Boolbar] No, there is surely nothing more real.
[Raak] No, there are lots.
Something military?
Functional?
Would I have seen one frequently?
What roads cerebral will be taken...
[Raak] Not military. There may be military versions, but you won't find any book called Jane's Whatever-this-is.
[Chalky] What isn't?
[Radox] I'm pretty sure you're familiar with this.
A bicycle?
A steam locomotive?
Worth a shout even at the expense of cruel mockery.
Has it wheels?
Is it a machine?
In the quest, for only you
[Simons Mith] No.
[Rosie] No.
[Tuj] Yes.
[Raak] Yes.
It is a means of transport?
In the AVMA scheme of things is Metal always 'functional'?
Can comprehend the unseen way...
[Raak] Yes. It's a machine with wheels.
[Chalky] Yes. Mineral, like Animal, Vegetable and Abstract, all have functions.
Does it transport people?
Has it an engine?
In words and images unthought...
[Chalky] Yes.
[Tuj] Yes, it is motorised.
Is it most gregarius?
Is it normally able to transport at least 10 people at a time?
To follow, lead or travel there...
[Simons Mith] Not sure what that means.
[Raak] After thought, yes, though it poses some uncomfortable questions.
An escooter?
A motor-bike and sidecar?
A Tesla?
Does it have a reverse gear?
To unreal phantomatic places ...
[Software] Not an electric scooter.
[Rosie] Not a motorbike with sidecar.
[Radox The Green] Not a Tesla.
[Tuj] !seY
Does it run on rails?
Transport for the disabled/mobility impaired?
Fork lift truck
Has it been in a movie chase scene?
Does it begin with P?
Where transports delightfully await...
[Raak] Not rail guided.
[Chalky] I hope not.
[Software] Not a forklift.
[Simons Mith] Had to look it up, but Yes!
[Tuj] Sadly not, at least none of the common synonyms begin with P.
Was it able to achieve 0-60mph by 1970?
Does the machine stay in one location while moving people around?
[Boolbar] You've given me the idea, and now I want to see a movie with a chairlift chase in it!
Those lost and numb to ordinary love...
[Simons Mith] Difficult to say. On balance, No.
[Boolbar] No. Nice lateral thinking though.
Are these road legal?
A steam roller?
A light aircraft?
Though still the sea kisses the golden shore...
[Raak] Yes, very legal.
[Simons Mith] Not a steam roller.
[Rosie] No. A piece of three-dimensional thinking there.
Is it made by a particular marque?
Does it run on electricity?
A boat of some kind?
One of those special airport vehicles?
The Popemobile?
I really want to imagine that's been in a chase scene
With skies aflame in the sun rising..
[Tuj] No, there are many.
[Raak] As of today, yes.
[Rosie] Not aquatic.
[Superman] I think you'd find them in airports too, but they aren't specific to airports.
[Simons Mith] Not the Popemobile.
Is it larger than the average car?
Of an endless dawn awaking...
[Tuj] Yes it is.
A railway coach?
Diddly-dee, diddly-da.
Is it a Bagger 288?
I'm sure they're road-legal...
A low-loader?
Would you reject this heaven...
[Rosie] Not a railway coach.
[Simons Mith] Not a Bagger of any size.
[Raak] Not a lo-loader.
Does it primarily carry things other than people?
A vehicle transporter?
A cherry picker?
And still remain, and still remain?
[Raak] Yes, it does other things than carry people.
[Chalky] Not a transporter.
[Simons Mith] Not a cherry picker.
Is it for transporting fluids?
Dustcart?
End on the high note, fat lady.
[Raak] Not really, no.
[Simons Mith] I had "bin lorry", but "garbage truck" and "dustcart" have been judged equivalent by Mycroft. Therefore take this recycled and slightly smelly baton and proceed!
[Bismarck] Thanks very much! I had been wondering whether the lyrics you've been posting were clues.

I'm going to pick... another MINERAL

It might be about time to kill off this game and start a fresh one. It is ~40,000 moves. When I checked back for past repetitions my browser started to struggle.
A diamond?
A manufactured object?
[diamond] No.
[manufactured] No.
Unique?
[unique] Also no.
Is it mined?
Is it solid?
Does it begin with P?
[mined] No
[solid] No
[P] No
Is it a constituent of seawater?
Is it bigger than Battersea Power Station?
Is it safely potable?
reasonably, to the average person, say
[constituent] Yes
[station-sized] No
[potable] Yes
Water?
[water] Yes Stock footage of WI ladies applauding
Bottled water?
Is it the name of a river?
Is the water contained within something specific?
[bottled] No
[river] No
[contained] No
Dew?
[dew] No Nevertheless, stock footage of large crowd cheering
Is it the result of a natural phenomenon?
Rain?
A cloud?
A winner!
Stock footage of crowd on their feet, cheering. Fireworks explode, triumphant music plays
[rain] Yes
Raak wins this tiny 5¢ metallic-looking commemorative plastic baton whose most prominent feature is the writing on it saying MADE IN CHINA
And let's call it a day
High time for some turnover, methinks. Hope the winning move is standard.
Audience
shouts, screams, generally goes wild for Simons Mith
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