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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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Does it have anything to do with religion?
Does it have to do with literature?
religion? No.
literature? No, except very tangentially.
Is there a particular subject matter for the writing?
Was it around in the 1500s?
Particular subject matter? Definitely not.
Around in 1500s? Yes.
Does this exist in ideographic languages (eg Chinese, Japanese)?
Does it rely on the existence of printing?
A letter? (Communication, not alphabet.)
Does this exist in ideographic languages? Yes, although it is arguably somewhat different in those languages. *audience applauds the question*
Rely on printing? No.
A letter? Dear Raak. No. Love, CdM.
Does it have anything to do with alphabetical order?
deorr? No. (nevertheless, a smattering of applause)
A word square?
WO
R  D       ? No. (the audience, which had been looking anxiously at the door waiting for Tuj, begins to sit up and take notice)
A crossword?
Crossword? F*ck No! (oblig.)
A palindrome?
Anagram?
Begins with a P?
Who, me?
A smiley?
Not a bad draw, all. I'll award da baton.
The correct answer is indeed A PALINDROME.
...and double drat.
Phew. The next item is M I N E R A L
Sorry, I keep on thinking that FFFFFF is the black end of the color space. The next word is M I N E R A L. (No significance in the charcoal grey colour.)
Is it an invention?
[Inkspot] Yes, an invention.
Invented prior to 1700?
(Btw, I am glad Raak got that last one; he put in most of the heavy lifting, and got closest. I thought it would fall much more quickly, particularly since written word was identified so quickly.)
[CdM] Not invented prior to 1700. (Discontented murmuring from some of the audience who think they know the history of this thing. The laser display board explains the ruling to them.)
Was it invented in Britain?
CdM] Thanks - one of the most enjoyable for a long time
[I] Not invented in Britain. (It's not clear from Google exactly who invented it or exactly when, but I'm going with the most likely suspect.)
A battery?
Long shot.
Invented in the 20th Century?
[R] Not a battery.
[K] Not invented in the 20th Century.
Does it require electric power?
[I] Does not require electric power.
Used in the home?
[Projoy] Not normally used in the home.
Metallic?
Used on a ship?
Am I likely to own one? or want to own one if I don't already?
[Projoy] Could be used on a ship.
[Lib] You likely to own one? I think not. You want to own one? Not that I know of, at least, not in the capacity of a nurse or a singer.
*ahem* Or doctor.
[Projoy] Apols to Lib. A doctor, qua doctor, would not be likely to have one of these either.
Begins with a P?
[Raak] You appear to have missed irach.
[irach] Not normally metallic.
[Tuj] Does not begin with a P.
Is it used in retailing?
[I] Not used in retailing.
Made of glass?
[Inkspot] Not made of glass.
Related to travel?
Used by a particular profession or trade?
[Projoy] Unrelated to travel.
[I] Yes! Used by a particular profession or trade.
Is it smaller than a toaster?
A tool of some kind?
Made of plastic?
A musical instrument?
Part of it a liquid?
[C] Smaller than a toaster.
[R] Yes, broadly speaking.
[C] Can be made of plastic.
[I] Musical instrument? Er. Yes and no.
[I] No liquids involved.
Is it a tool used in the arts?
Bigger than a pack of cards?
[irach] Used in the arts. applause
[Projoy] Difficult to compare them.
Paintbrush?
[irach] Not a paintbrush.
A comb?
Used in the performing arts, as in dance?
[Rosie] Not a comb.
[irach] Used in the performing arts.
A dance acessory?
[irach] Not a dance accessory.
A drumstick?
[Rosie] Not a drumstick.
Is it used onstage during a performance?
A Swanee Whistle?
[Inkspot] Yes, used onstage.
[INJ] Oo ooooo-oooo OOOO-oo? Nooo.
Conductor's baton
(actually, probably not, cos they tend to have a cork end)
With or without cork, Projoy is correct: a conductor's baton. (Invented, or at least popularised, by Louis Spohr in the 1820's.)
Oh, right-oh, then. MINERAL (maybe the odd trace of the other two, but MINERAL is by far the most sensible category)
Actually MINERAL/ABSTRACT.
A work of art?
Involves gold?
[Raak] Work of art, NO (*the merest momentary demurring murmur from just one audience member*)
[irach] Involves gold? NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE
A coin?
Metallic?
[Raak] A coin? NO
[irach] Metallic? YES, PARTIALLY
Manufactured?
[Rosie] Manufactured? YES
Does it have moving parts?
Invented since 1900?
[Inkspot] Moving Parts - YES
[INJ] Since 1900? YES
[INJ] There are two possible answers to that question, although as it happens they are both YES.
A computer?
[irach] A computer? YES *significant applause from audience*
Designed by Babbage?
[Raak] Babbage? NO (except inasmuch as all computers are)
Invented since the 2900?
I've worked on programs written for International Computers and Tabulators machines
Hmm..
[INJ] Invented since the 2900. This time the two answers bifurcate: YES and NO.
The computer HAL in 2001:A Space Odyssey?
Fictional?
[Tuj] Yes, fictional, and
[irach, who is clearly on the same astral wavelength as me today] HAL 9000? YES *audience applause*
*looks suspiciously at the monolith behind irach*
Coincidentally, I was listening to the theme music of the movie on the radio when I made my guess...Even more psychic!
The next one is very simply ANIMAL.
A person?
Alive?
A specific individual?
[Inkspot] No.
[Rosie] Yes or No.
[Raak] No.
Native to a region of the world?
[Inkspot] Fairly widespread globally.
Four-legged?
[Raak] No.
Three-legged
It's a process of deduction.
[Projoy] No.
A mammal?
[Inkspot] No.
Any legs at all?
A virus?
[Raak] No legs at all.
[Inkspot] Not a virus. Quite macroscopic.
Part of an animal?
[Rosie] No, the whole animal.
A fish?
A reptile?
A snake?
[Irouleguy] Yes ! A Fish!
[Inkspot] By deduction from comment to Irouleguy, NO.
[Tuj] ibid.
A freshwater fish?
Can a fully-grown one exceed 1 metre in length?
Cod?
A shellfish?
[Inkspot] No.
[ImNotJohn] Quite possibly.
[Irouleguy] No, not cod.
[Chalky] Not shellfish.
A deep sea fish?
[Inkspot] According to Wikipedia, not necessarily exclusively a deep sea fish.
Do we routinely catch it and eat it?
[Rosie] While I have never caught one (and I kind of doubt you have), it IS routinely caught and eaten.
Shark?
[Raak] No, not shark.
Squid?
[Projoy] Not a squid (No legs, remember? Not even a multiple-amputee squid). Think Phylum Pisces.
Squid have tentacles! :P
[Projoy] Squid are in the order Decapodiformes which literally means ten-legged, although you are correct in that the tentacles do not function really efficiently as legs. Neither do the legs on a two-legged stool. : )
Tuna?
[Inkspot] Not tuna.
Some sort of ray?
[irach] Just cos the Greeks got it wrong is no reason to perpetuate the error. :) Interestingly, Wikipedia refers to them as "arms".
A skate?
Not a skate.
Would I be likely to find it at the fish counter in the supermarket?
[Raak] Very likely to find it at the fish counter.
Some sort of ray?
[Projoy] Not a ray.
A ray-finned fish?
[Inkpot] Yes, a ray-finned fish (Class Actinopterygii).
A Salmon?
[Inkspot] Not salmon.
Haddock?
Cod?
[Irouleguy] Not haddock.
[inkspot] Not cod.
Herring?
Mullet
[Phil] Not herring.
[Inkspot] Not mullet, either.
Is this normally found in the waters around Britain?
Of the super order Acanthopterygii form the class Actinopterygii ?
Of the super order Paracanthopterygii form the class Actinopterygii?
While it is quiet ....
Of the super order Protacanthopterygii form the class Actinopterygii?
Of the super order Ostariophysi form the class Actinopterygii?
[Irouleguy] Certainly found in the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea.
[Inkspot] Actinopterygii, yes, but not any of the orders mentioned.
(Time for a clue?)
[Inkspot] I retract my former comment to you. It should have been a "Yes" to Superorder Acanthopterygii.
Plaice?
[Irouleguy] Getting much warmer, but no. [The audience is on tenterhooks].
Swordfish?
That was me.
Sole?
[Chalky] No.
[Inkspot] Very warm, but not quite there. [the audience's sole response is to stand in plaice, and some begin applauding the fact that the net is finally cast in the right direction to bring in the big fish].
Gosh - the anticipation is killing me ...
Flounder?
[CdM]. Yes, flounder it is. Actually the word on the card I was looking for was "Halibut", but "flounder" is close enough for a win, since halibut are a class of flounder. Take it away, CdM....
Looks like I just lurked my way to another victory. All right.
VEGETABLE and MINERAL
A building?
Building? No.
Edible?
A mass produced manufactured item?
Edible? No.
Mass-produced manufactured item? Yes.
Made of wood and metal?
Made of plastic?
Can it be held in one's hand?
Does it use electricity?
Wood and metal? No.
Plastic? In part.
Held in one's hand? Um. Yes and No.
Use electricity? No.
Clarification: As it happens, I have held this in my hand. But under normal circumstances you would not think of it as being something you can or would hold in the hand.
Has it working parts?
Working parts? No.
Always the same size?
(not meaning to within a fraction of an inch, but roughly the same)
Always the same size? The words on the card imply no necessary specific size at all. There is considerable variation in most actual instances as well, although you might still say that most actual instances are (very) roughly the same size. (Audience applauds the question, even as they try to make sense of the answer.)
And to clarify (!) I should say that many actual instances are indeed roughly (as opposed to (very) roughly) the same size.
Is it bigger than a shoebox?
Is it used in entertainment?
Bigger than a matchbox?
Is it used in industry?
Bigger than shoebox/matchbox? In the actual instances that I referred to, it would be bigger than a shoebox (and it would pretty much always have to be bigger than a matchbox).
Used in entertainment? Broadly speaking, yes.
Used in industry? No.
Used for a recreational activity?
To do with audio reproduction?
Recreational activity? Yes. (Perhaps not always, but yes is the best answer).
audio reproduction? No.
(nothing from me for the next 18 hours or so -- about to get on a plane)
Used in sports?
[CdM] Look out for snakes.
Could it be found in a home?
Used in sports? Yes. applause
Could it be found in a home? Highly unlikely.
Used in one particular sport?
One particular sport? No, although largely confined to a small number of sports.
A ball?
Some form of protection?
Is it too big for one person to carry?
A goal?
Ball? No.
Protection? No.
Too big for one person to carry? Yes, in usual circumstances (but see earlier responses)
Goal? No.
Is the vegetable cotton?
A scoreboard?
cotton? No.
scoreboard? No.
Astroturf?
Astroturf? Not quite, but massive applause
A piece of Wembley Stadium turf?
A running track?
getting colder
Wembley? No.
Running track? No.
Astroturf was really very close indeed, but not exactly right.
A pitch?
Some form of matting, eg for high-jumpers to land on?
Actually, upon reflection, I think I should just award the victory to Raak. I was actually looking for Fieldturf, which is sort of a new generation astroturf (made of rubber, sand, and plastic, and much more like real grass). (Fieldturf, like astroturf, is a brand name, but I think there are several manufacturers of similar products.)
Number 2, I guess, at least in popular consciousness.

The next is MINERAL with ABSTRACT connections.

A sculpture?
Iron hand?
A natural feature?
[C] Not a sculpture.
[i] Not an iron hand.
[R] Not a natural feature.
Does it have religious connections?
[I] No religious connections.
Is it in a particular country?
[I] Not specific to any country.
Is it a mass-produced object?
[I] Yes, mass-produced.
Is it edible?
Is it actually an object, as opposed to a substance?
[C] Not edible.
[R] An object.
Is it made of glass?
[C] Partly made of glass.
Larger than a telephone kiosk?
[C] Smaller than a telephone book.
Was it invented?
[C] Oops, misread your question. Well, it's smaller than a telephone book.
[I] Invented. Actually, one might question whether there was an "inventive step" in first making these, or if it was an obvious application of existing inventions, but patents have been granted on slighter grounds.
A microscope?
Taking a pot shot from the halfway line.
[R] Not a microscope.
Is it a product of a particular company?
Would it have a use in a particular part of one's house?
[I] Not a particular company.
[T] Yes (although it could be used anywhere in the house).
A stationery connection?
Connected to lighting?
Connected to lighting?
[P] Not conneted to stationery.
[C] Connected to lighting? Sort of.
Anything to do with time?
[C] Nothing to do with time.
Does it have an optical function?
Is it used on its own, or is it a component of some larger entity?
A window?
[P] Yes! It has an optical function. Applause!
[C] Neither.
[P] Not a window.
Eyeglasses?
Small picture frame?
[i] Not eyeglasses.
[P] Not a picture frame.
Is a lens involved?
[P] Yes! More applause.
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