mc5 - AVMA Take 2

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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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Nearly there

[Phil] Celtic? - YES
[Spangle] Finn MacCool? - NO *the audience is torn between loud applause and gathering up bags, coats etc. ready to head for the exits*

Cuchulain?

A male legendary character from the UK, pre 1000AD, written about post 1000AD, one word, Celtic, not royalty...hmmm, don't think I'm right, but I need to rule Colin's Dog out.

[Phil] - YES CUCHULAINN it is!
The non-human element referred to the physical changes that affected him in battle when he suffered a beserker frenzy and turned into a sort of monster. As for the rest - exactly as you said - UK because he is mostly associated with Ulster.

A dusty cobwebbed baton handed on to Phil

Gosh - I was aware of the Ulsterness, and thought the animal smidgen might refer to his name, and status as Culann's hound (hence "Colin's Dog", which was a name I used in a few MUDs many years ago).
This time I'll go for ANIMAL

Human?

Mammal?

Merely a fall-back question should the answer to FGZ* be 'no'.

Single specific human/mammal/something else?

[FGZ] Human? NO
[Dujon] Mammal? NO
[CdM] A specific instance of a creature? NO (presuming I've interpreted the question correctly)

Aquatic?

Currently extant?

[Raak] Aquatic? NO
[INJ] Extant? YES

Reptilian?

[Dujon] Reptile? NO

Avian?

Dodo?

Naturally occuring in the UK?

[GL] Extant, not extinct.

Puffin?

Damn these eyes. I must get them replaced.

[INJ] Avian? YES *applause*
[GL] Dodo or puffin? NEITHER
[jim] UK-native? NO

A bird of prey?

[Raak] Bird of Prey? NO

Generally found in a watery habitat?

Waders, gulls, waterfowl etc

Flightless?

Parrot?

[INJ] Found in a watery habitat? NO *a smattering of laughter*
[GL] Flightless? YES *more laughter, mixed with applause*
[Software] Parrot? NO

Alive?

As opposed to, say, cooked.

Native to the continent of Oceania?

My first instinct is to say 'Kiwi'

Ostrich?

Emu?

Turducken?

[INJ] Alive? NO *the distant echoes of previous laughter are replaced by rapturous applause*
[FGZstar] Native to Oceania? NO
[Software] Ostrich? YES-ish, but not the answer on the card. more applause*
[GL] Emu? NO
[jim] Turducken? eh? *sound of Phil googling* Ah! NO, alas.

A clue

The answer on the card is three words, one of which is the indefinite article.

A wild goose?

[Raak] A wild goose? NO
To clarify - perhaps my answer to Software should have been YES, rather than YES-ish. It's not the complete answer, though.

An ostrich egg?

[CdM] An ostrich egg? NO *much applause for two words out of three*
I'm predicting there will be at least one more incorrect guess :-)

sommat do with flaming resurrection?

An ostrich omelette?

Ostrich Egg Omlette?

being more precise

An ostrich steak?

[Dujon] Phoenix? NO
[GL] Omelette? NO
[Software] OMELETTE? NO
[Raak] An Ostrich Steak? YES - the very words on the card! I was expecting feather first. Please accept this low-cholesterol baton of ostrich meat.

Yum. The next is VEGETABLE and MINERAL.

Vegetable = wood?

A hammer?

[Software] Not wood.
[GL] Not a hammer.

Is the mineral metal?

[INJ] Not metal.

Is it man-made?

Edible?

[GL] Yes, man-made.
[Software] Edible? the audience murmurs, wondering how the referee will adjudicate this Strictly speaking, no.

Is the mineral liquid?

[INJ] It is liquid.

A nice cup of tea?

[jim] Not a nice cup of tea (but some applause from the audience).

The brew of a witch?

Is the vegetable paper/card?

[Dujon] Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble? No.
[INJ] Not paper/card.

A pint of beer?

[Software] Not a pint of beer.

A really bad cup of tea?

Containing alcohol?

[jim] Not bad either.
[Spangle] No alcohol.

Is it something that people normally choose to drink?

[GL] Yes, people drink it. (Hence it not being "edible".)

Normally drunk hot?

[INJ] Normally hot.

Associated with a particular place or culture?

[CdM] Particular place or culture? Um...very broadly. We're not talking about boiled yak's milk or infusion of Patagonian lemurs.

Ovaltine?

Used on occasion to promote sleepiness?

Cafe au lait?

A triple venti decaf skinny mocha latte with one shot of hazelnut syrup and whipped cream?

[Projoy] Not Ovaltine.
[Dujon] laughter Does not promote sleepiness.
[irach] applause! Not café au lait.
[CdM] Not, erm, that thing you said.

Contains coffee?

Is coffee?

I'll have a double espresso please.

[INJ] *applause*
[GL] *more applause*
[INJ] *cheering in the aisles* Of the 40,000 ways to prepare an infusion of Coffea arabica, it is indeed a double espresso. One stainless steel lead-weighted rosewood-handled coffee tamper passed on.

Coo

Moving along quickly then. This one is:
ABSTRACT with Mineral (and arguably Animal and Vegetable) connections

A human concept?

[Software] That human question? - YES

Is the mineral stone?

[CdM] Stony? - YES and NO (but more NO than YES)

Fictional?

[CdM] Fictional? - NO

Begins with T?

Unique?

Specifically cultural?

Ends with Y?

[Puj] FirstT? - YES (ish) - I would accept an answer with an initial T although it isn't the first letter on the card
[Dujon] Unique? - YES (at least as a human concept)
[CdM] Neither specifically cultural nor culturally specific in the normal sense of those phrases.
[GL] Yending? At last, an easy question - NO

Something people do?

[Software] An Action? - NO
BTW I've just looked again and technically 'T' is the initial letter on the card, but that's because it's the definite article.

Two word answer incl the definite article?

[Spangle] The Answer? - NO
(4, 5 or 6 words will be accepted - the 6 word version is on the card and starts with the definite article)

Confused enough yet?

Actually I can also think of a 2-word answer that I'd accept as well.

Does the answer contain a superlative?

Does the answer contain a number?

Do any of the words begin with P?

[Raak] Bestest? - NO
[jim] Numeric? - NO
[GL] P-ness? - YES

Scientific?

A geographical feature?

Does the answer involve damming?

[CdM] Boffinology? - YES *considerable audience applause*
[Raak] Geography? - NO
[Dujon] Dam your eyes? - NO (where did that one come from?)

A scientific law or theory?

Related to theoretical physics?

Related to applied physics?

Completely unrelated to physics?

[jim] law/theory? - NO
[CdM] Theoretical? - YES
[Projoy] Applicable? - YES
[GL] Unrelated? - I think you can guess this one;-) - NO

Does this have to do with standard weights and measures?

[Raak] Weights and Measures? - NO (well, actually it has got quite a lot to do with them, but not in a helpful way)

Might we poor souls who aren't very scientific have actually heard of this?

Rephrase: Is it a phrase or saying that is in common usage?

[Spangle] Well known to us poor non-scientists? - YES (I promise you'll know this). As to the rephrase, I wouldn't really call it a phrase or saying, but it is in common usage.

Does it have to do with levers?

[Raak] Momentous? - NO

Does the word Principle appear on the card?

[CdM] You should know by now that I'm completely unprincipled, so: NO

Does the word Power appear on the card?

[GL] Powerful? - NO

Electrical?

[Software] Electric? - NO

A summary

OK, it’s a non-fictional unique scientific human concept, but not a law or theory. It’s related to Physics, both theoretical and applied. The mineral connection is partly, but not predominantly to stone. It has nothing to do with electricity, levers, weights & measures (with some caveats – as a clue, I would say that you can draw a tenuous connection to an awful lot of things if you put your mind to it). There are 6 words on the card, one of which starts with P, the first word being the definite article – I will not insist on your getting the exact words. None of these words is a number nor a superlative.
It is not an action, nor is it culturally specific, nor to do with geography.

So, if it’s not a law or a theory but is a scientific human concept, what is it?

The periodic table of the elements?

Not really physics, but connected, and it fits the pattern of words.

Fallait y penser

[jim] Indeed yes. The periodic table of the elements it is
No-one asked the Chemistry question, but I couldn't really say it was not related to Physics.

Here, have this glowing transuranic baton before it disappears.

Takes glowing thingy with some caution

My hair is falling out fast enough as it is, thankyou. No, the physics thing was definitely the right call. It's amazing how misleading one can end up being--completely unintentionally--by simply answering the questions as asked.

Anyway, let's have a nice ANIMAL/ABSTRACT.

Is the animal element human?

[Jim] Many of us will sympathise with that. I've gotten myself terribly tied in knots before now, just trying to say "yes" or "no" truthfully.

Is the answer a fictional character?

[jim, Kim] I know exactly how that feels, I remember trying to decide if Jupiter was flammable.

Unique?

[Kim] Human: YES
[GL] Fictional character: YES
[INJ] Unique: YES

Well, it doesn't look like this is going to take long.

Related to Harry Potter?

Male?

[GL] "Is Jupiter Flammable?" There must be scholarly philosophical articles written on that very question.

[Raak] Potter: NO (phew!)
[GL] Male: YES

In a work originally published post 1899 CE?

Originally in written fiction?

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