Editing 2869: Puzzles
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
+ | {{incomplete|Created by AUNT '''A'''MY, AS IN AN '''A'''WFUL CLUE FROM A CHILDREN'S BOOK - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
− | + | <!--The characters in the panel are contemplating a riddle. Considering words that share the same letter as the propagator of the riddle, they decide that they must dig a hole in the yard. This leads us to Randall's point — that these connections made by the characters are tenuous at best and are unreasonable to make, especially as part of a riddle.--> | |
− | + | The comic explains that some of the books that Randall read as a kid had horrible puzzles. It lists a (fake?) example about Aunt Gertrude's amulet, which the characters guess is hidden in the Ground because that starts with a G, like Gertrude, and that they should diG a hole. These guesses are unreasonable unless the answer is already known. (It is supposedly not already known by the characters.) There are several other unrelated words that begin with G, such as Gulf, or Gull, or Go-Get-a-plane-and-fly-to-Greenland. | |
− | + | The title text references {{w|Alice and Bob|Alice}}, a fictional character commonly used in discussions about cryptography. In those discussions, Alice is often sending and receiving encrypted messages, and she would be expected to be able to make a better puzzle than the one shown in the comic. Alice and Bob and other characters from the same set have been mentioned previously in xkcd, like in [[177: Alice and Bob]]. Using modern cryptography in lieu of riddles in children's stories was also mentioned in [[370: Redwall]]. | |
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− | The title text references {{w|Alice and Bob|Alice}}, a fictional character commonly used in discussions about cryptography. In those discussions, Alice is often sending and receiving encrypted messages, and she would be expected to be able to make a better puzzle than the one shown in the comic. Alice and Bob and other characters from the same set | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | :[ | + | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
+ | <!--:[Hairy is in a thinking pose, Jill faces Hairy, and Ponytail and Cueball are walking to the right; Cueball pointing off-panel.]--> | ||
:Hairy: Aunt Gertrude must have left a clue to the amulet's location. | :Hairy: Aunt Gertrude must have left a clue to the amulet's location. | ||
:Jill: Hmm. Wait a minute. | :Jill: Hmm. Wait a minute. |