I was cleaning my room when I found this list in a pile of papers:
It’s my handwriting from the last couple years, and it looks faintly familiar, but for the life of me I have no idea what it means or why I wrote it.
… can anyone help figure this one out?
evenings resupplying
foxhounds bunting
Johns leg
parrot
lithographer
legends
—
1. (relisting them)
—
—
2. (count how many times each letter is used– first column)
4. (b is the key– divide the numbers in the first column below by 2)
5. (The 0s and 1s still left should be converted into binary [rewritten in third column and below]
—
a=2 1 1
b=1 0.5
c=0 0 0
d=2 1 1
e=7 3.5
f=1 .5
g=6 3
h=4 2
i=4 2
j=1 .5
k=0 0 0
l=4 2
m=0 0 0
n=6 3
o=5 2.5
p=3 1.5
q=0 0 0
r=5 2.5
s=5 2.5
t=2 1 1
u=2 1 1
v=1 .5
w=0 0 0
x=1 .5
y=1 .5
z=0 0 0
—
3. (Take Binary from the ones and zeros– then, without moving the digits around, find ‘b’ if you convert back to text)
—
Binary:
1 /01100010\ 110
=
b
=
2
=
cipher;
01010011
=
S
=
—
6. (Use the xx at the bottom of the paper)
—
ans.-xx
;
7. (ans.= XXS || Extra Extra Small)
I think it might be a memory game. You make up an outrageous story with all the words and somehow you remember all of them. We did it in my AP U.S. history class. For example: On several evenings throughout September, several foxhounds were heard messing with John’s parrot, which annoyed many local lithographers. In retaliation, the lithographers made up several legends about pirates who were resupplying baseball players with bats made specifically for bunting. This somehow scared the foxhounds and they legged it out of there.
The x marks at the bottom may have been how many times you got it wrong or right.
NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER
“Or perhaps you’ve just been picking words out of recaptcha?”
I dunno, lithographer? Isn’t that a tad long?
Completely irrelevant and late comment here but I’d just like to say that when I saw this I immediately said “How did he get my note!” You see, I thought that I had written that! Our handwriting is spooky similar. Though if I did write it we’re in the same boat as to why.
Well, this one’s easy -
You wanted to get easy laughs and amuse us at the same time, so you scribbled on a piece of paper(notice the paper is not folded/crumpled etc.) and posted it, challenging us to find the answer.
I do like it, though, as meaningless riddles are my cup of tea… But after an hour or so of meaningless manipulations of binary representations of the words in ASCII, i finally figured out that it spells out “THE END IS NIGH!!!”.
You have obviously been reading “Naive. Super.” and you wanted to write a list.
It’s a good list.
Randall: care to share some of the rot13 words you’ve come up with? I toyed with the idea of searching for rot13 doubles but decided it was not an effective use of my time. Can I just bask in the glow of your research?
It’s really too bad that inconsequentially isn’t spelled “inconsequintially”. I suppose I’ll need to add another “X” to the bottom of my personal list.
But I think I get a point for: totalitarian
Anglave I hate you so much.
And I’m not even sure if you’re the same Anglave who posted above. I like to think you’re not a troll, but I think someone else would have got it by now if one person could.
Were you playing Metal Gear Solid 3? Snake’s name was John, The End had a parrot, there was a map in the pause menu, you could attack supply stations, snake co-founded Foxhound, there was both day and night in the game…. which just leaves: “leg, bunting, and lithographer.” You’re on your own for those.
Or I am just too obsessed with MGS 3.
Great news! Thanks a lot for sharing!
It looks fantastic – well done!
Keep up the good job!
Gorgeous site…
Not boggle or scrabble or some such game?
parrot=parrot
lithographer=parrot+leg+hit
legends=leg+ends
evenings=?
foxhounds=ohns+fox+u
johns=j+ohns
resupplying=guin+reply+sp
bunting=guin+bnt
Uh, that’s all I’ve got. I’m pretty stumped right now, but the “parrot-leg-hit” is very interesting.
ROT13:
Riravatf
Sbkubhaqf
Wbuaf
Cneebg
Yvgubtencure
Yrtraqf
Erfhccylvat
Ohagvat
(Yrt)
….not ROT13
Daedalus’ suggested solution of words in words (lithographer=parrot+leg+hit legends=leg+ends) seems the simplest while also in line with the type of dictionary foolery that Randall engages in (see xkcd post on April 30th, 2008 at 3:15 pm.) I think a lot of people here are thinking too hard and thus missing the mark.
But johns is a clear execption to that.
hmmm… are you familiar with the Lovecraft story “The Shadow out of Time”, and if so, have you noticed any lapses in memory? the Great Race of Yith may have written those words for some dark and eldrich purpose far beyond the reasoned imaginings of mankind.
Your past self obviously put it under your bed to fuck with your future self.
… And no one mentioned Mad Libs?
Oh wait. Never mind. Disregard.
It sounds a little bit like treasure island to me… John (Long John Silver), Parrot (Duh), Legend, Leg (peg leg) but i have no idea. To me it sounds more like u were playing some crossword or just drunk and bored. By the way i love your comics… even though you are much superior to me in intelegence and i dont understand the square root of 1/100 of them ( for you, the math genius)