Unlucky numbers--or, how I learned to stop worrying and solve the riddle!

[John_and_Yoko]

Here's a REALLY challenging riddle--the answer is NOT what you think it is, not even close. The STRUCTURE of the riddle is what's important here, and there are multiple steps to figuring it out. Therefore it will take quite awhile for even the most creative, patient, and intellectual mind to get it.

I'll offer hints as you need them (you probably will), but I'll be very impressed indeed if someone can get it without needing any.

Good luck!





A fruit whose color doth reveal its name,
And yet organic it is surely not,
But rather is mechanical and tame;
How can this be, I do beseech you lot? A Clockwork Orange (Guessed by Brice)

A bullet covered with an alloyed shell,
A thing an ancient king would hope to give
To his militia; canst thou hope to tell
The name to give this weapon, while ye live? Full Metal Jacket (Guessed by Jon)

And now as we delve further into dark,
A perfect crime; a clean break that can be
Another name for murder--just a lark,
Or is there something deeper we can't see? The Killing (Guessed by Gaberax)

The two most base emotions are we two,
Anxiety and want, but not as these
Are we best known to those like me and you,
But can you tell our true names, if it please? Fear and Desire (Guessed by Jon)

A slave who spoke of freedom in old Rome,
He did a losing revolution lead;
As now our minds do wander far from home,
Can we give name to he who once did bleed? Spartacus (Guessed by Jon)

A scientist who yearns for something to
Well occupy his time, but lo, how odd!
Not fear? But simply learn acceptance, you,
Of this exploding weapon? O, by God! Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Guessed by BROWNING'S CHILDE)

I believed you loved me--wrong was I!
Your lips caressed me, but I was deceived!
A murderer were you, and so the lie
Forever haunts me, leaving me bereaved. Killer's Kiss (Guessed by BROWNING'S CHILDE)

My name resembles Homer's tale--O how
Ancient is this epic poem his!
And yet a new millennium dawns now
Not B. C. but A. D. the new year is! 2001: A Space Odyssey (Guessed by BROWNING'S CHILDE)

Not to the sun but only unto death
Do these roads lead--these roads of great renown;
Do we detect--as we draw knowing breath,
A pattern to this fair unending sound? Paths of Glory (Guessed by BROWNING'S CHILDE)

A lovely, lyrical, lilting name be you,
O little nymphet fills me with desire!
Your mother stood between us, sad but true,
but this sad fact did naught to quench the fire! Lolita (Guessed by BROWNING'S CHILDE)

It's what a light does, such as in the sky,
God can be said to do it from above,
So too do all celestial objects high
above the earth, as though they showed us love. The Shining (Guessed by BROWNING'S CHILDE)

Not open but well closed these organs two,
As closed as are the gates of secret lands,
And yet they see but choose to hide from view,
Lest what they see curse them with iron bands. Eyes Wide Shut (Guessed by BROWNING'S CHILDE)

An Irish rogue whose last name became first
When incarnated as a lord was he;
Taking his lady's last name--O accursed
Was this man!--as his own, in luxury. Barry Lyndon (Guessed by Gaberax)



FINAL ANSWER: HORUS(guessed by Gunkslinger)

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

That is too long for me, cant wrap my brain around it.

*leaves to go find something less brain hurty*

[John_and_Yoko]

That is too long for me, cant wrap my brain around it.

*leaves to go find something less brain hurty*

Heh, it is challenging, I know....

I have hope that Gaberax, at least, can figure out how to solve this riddle--it isn't your typical orthodox kind of riddle....

But there IS an answer.

[Jon]

A few lame stabs in the dark. I was stuck on history for the most part...for some reason.



A fruit whose color doth reveal its name, Orange?
And yet organic it is surely not,
But rather is mechanical and tame;
How can this be, I do beseech you lot?

A bullet covered in an alloy shell - gilding metal, cupronickel, or a steel Full metal jacket (FMJ)

A thing an ancient king would hope to give
To his militia; canst thou hope to tell

The name to give this weapon, while ye live? Greek Fire? Byzantine Fire? Smoke Screen?

And now as we delve further into dark,
A perfect crime; a clean break that can be
Another name for murder--just a lark, Caper?
Or is there something deeper we can't see?

The two most base emotions are we two,
Anxiety and want, but not as these
Are we best known to those like me and you,
But can you tell our true names, if it please? Fear, desire?

A slave who spoke of freedom in old Rome,
He did a losing revolution lead;
As now our minds do wander far from home,
Can we give name to he who once did bleed? Spartacus?

A scientist who yearns for something to
Well occupy his time, but lo, how odd!
Not fear? But simply learn acceptance, you,
Of this exploding weapon? O, by God! Nuclear bomb, Oppenheimer? Atomic Bomb, Hydrogen bomb, Thermo- Nuclear bomb, The Manhattan project? Neutron Bomb?

I believed you loved me--wrong was I!
Your lips caressed me, but I was deceived!
A murderer were you, and so the lie
Forever haunts me, leaving me bereaved.

My name resembles Homer's tale--O how
Ancient is this epic poem his!
And yet a new millennium dawns now
Not B. C. but A. D. the new year is!

Not to the sun but only unto death
Do these roads lead--these roads of great renown; El Camino de la Muerte?


Do we detect--as we draw knowing breath,
A pattern to this fair unending sound?

A lovely, lyrical, lilting name be you,
O little nymphet fills me with desire!
Your mother stood between us, sad but true,
but this sad fact did naught to quench the fire!

It's what a light does, such as in the sky,
God can be said to do it from above,
So too do all celestial objects high
above the earth, as though they showed us love. Twinkle?

Not open but well closed these organs two,
As closed as are the gates of secret lands,
And yet they see but choose to hide from view,
Lest what they see curse them with iron bands.

An Irish rogue whose last name became first
When incarnated as a lord was he;
Taking his lady's last name--O accursed
Was this man!--as his own, in luxury.

[Brice]

Here's a REALLY challenging riddle--the answer is NOT what you think it is, not even close. The STRUCTURE of the riddle is what's important here, and there are multiple steps to figuring it out. Therefore it will take quite awhile for even the most creative, patient, and intellectual mind to get it.

I'll offer hints as you need them (you probably will), but I'll be very impressed indeed if someone can get it without needing any.

Good luck!





A fruit whose color doth reveal its name,
And yet organic it is surely not,
But rather is mechanical and tame;
How can this be, I do beseech you lot?





clockwork orange

[Jon]

Sweet call Brice!!

[Brice]

Thanks! :)

[John_and_Yoko]

"A Clockwork Orange," "Full Metal Jacket," "Fear and Desire," and "Spartacus" are all correct.

HOWEVER....

...they are all red herrings and have nothing to do with the actual answer to the riddle. That isn't to say you can't have fun guessing the rest--although knowing those are right the rest should come easily.

BUT although these specific answers are red herrings, the ORDER in which they appear might serve as a clue to solving this riddle....

<.<

>.>

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

Is the answer Stanley Kubrick?

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

A fruit whose color doth reveal its name,
And yet organic it is surely not,
But rather is mechanical and tame;
How can this be, I do beseech you lot? A Clockwork Orange (Guessed by Brice)

A bullet covered with an alloyed shell,
A thing an ancient king would hope to give
To his militia; canst thou hope to tell
The name to give this weapon, while ye live? Full Metal Jacket (Guessed by Jon)

And now as we delve further into dark,
A perfect crime; a clean break that can be
Another name for murder--just a lark,
Or is there something deeper we can't see?

The two most base emotions are we two,
Anxiety and want, but not as these
Are we best known to those like me and you,
But can you tell our true names, if it please? Fear and Desire (Guessed by Jon)

A slave who spoke of freedom in old Rome,
He did a losing revolution lead;
As now our minds do wander far from home,
Can we give name to he who once did bleed? Spartacus (Guessed by Jon)

A scientist who yearns for something to Dr. Strangelove: Or how I learned to stop
Well occupy his time, but lo, how odd! worrying and love the bomb?Not fear? But simply learn acceptance, you,
Of this exploding weapon? O, by God!

I believed you loved me--wrong was I! Killer's Kiss?
Your lips caressed me, but I was deceived!
A murderer were you, and so the lie
Forever haunts me, leaving me bereaved.

My name resembles Homer's tale--O how 2001 a Space Oddessy?
Ancient is this epic poem his!
And yet a new millennium dawns now
Not B. C. but A. D. the new year is!

Not to the sun but only unto death Paths of Glory?
Do these roads lead--these roads of great renown;
Do we detect--as we draw knowing breath,
A pattern to this fair unending sound?

A lovely, lyrical, lilting name be you, LOLITA?
O little nymphet fills me with desire!
Your mother stood between us, sad but true,
but this sad fact did naught to quench the fire!

It's what a light does, such as in the sky, The Shining?
God can be said to do it from above,
So too do all celestial objects high
above the earth, as though they showed us love.

Not open but well closed these organs two, Eyes Wide Shut?
As closed as are the gates of secret lands,
And yet they see but choose to hide from view,
Lest what they see curse them with iron bands.

An Irish rogue whose last name became first
When incarnated as a lord was he;
Taking his lady's last name--O accursed
Was this man!--as his own, in luxury.

[John_and_Yoko]

The individual answers you've given are correct (though I wonder why you haven't guessed them all yet), but no, the answer is NOT Stanley Kubrick.

Ignore the actual movie titles and look at the ORDER in which they occur. That will lead you to the clue to the actual answer....

[Gaberax]

Seems I'm a little late to the party... :(

An Irish rogue whose last name became first
When incarnated as a lord was he;
Taking his lady's last name--O accursed
Was this man!--as his own, in luxury. Barry Lyndon?

And now as we delve further into dark,
A perfect crime; a clean break that can be
Another name for murder--just a lark,
Or is there something deeper we can't see? The Killing?

[John_and_Yoko]

You are correct.

Now that you've answered all these clues, look at the ORDER in which these Kubrick films are presented--do you notice anything interesting about it?

There's a method to this madness....

[Jon]

I may be ignorant here, but are these in reverse as in his reverse tracking shot?

[John_and_Yoko]

I may be ignorant here, but are these in reverse as in his reverse tracking shot?

Nope, not reverse.

But it is NOT a random, out-of-order thing. There is a reason I chose this particular order....



Ask Gaberax, he might know.... :evil:

[Jon]

I'd imagine he does know.

[John_and_Yoko]

I'd imagine he does know.

He does, even if he doesn't know it--you might find a clue to the order from his most recent riddle....

[John_and_Yoko]

Anyone?

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

I figured out the order last night, seemed random. I'm stumped

[John_and_Yoko]

I figured out the order last night, seemed random. I'm stumped

Well, one can easily figure out the chronological order in which these films are SUPPOSED to go....

If I were ye, I'd assign each a number and then look at the order in which those numbers appear.

First, however, it might behoove ye to look at the numbers themselves--THEY might be a clue indeed as to what you ought be looking for....

As to the order, perhaps it might help if you assigned each number a letter....

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

I tried assigning a letter to the number and got just gibberish. However, I only counted the movies listed in my figures, are there more Kubrick films, if so I did not account for them.

[John_and_Yoko]

I tried assigning a letter to the number and got just gibberish. However, I only counted the movies listed in my figures, are there more Kubrick films, if so I did not account for them.

These are the only Kubrick films that exist.

And perhaps you didn't assign the RIGHT letters, because the LETTERS are in the RIGHT order, even if the NUMBERS are not....

*wink wink nudge nudge*

[John_and_Yoko]

EDIT: *winces*

I was wrong, the letters aren't in the right order either.... (I'm forgetting my own riddle, sorry.... :() My clue might still be helpful in figuring out the answer, but I can see I'm going to have to give another hint....

Two sets of numbers, each in a different order by the letters--one set is in the right order, the other is in the wrong order.

[John_and_Yoko]

SECOND EDIT: To make it easier, forget about the order and just look at the numbers associated with each movie and apply those to the stanzas--I think you'll find what you're looking for that way, and this riddle will go by a LOT quicker then....

[Gaberax]

Don't give the answer away! I am working on it now and again (and walking around with it in my head most of the day!) ;)

[alinda]

*falls over dead* This is either a damned fine riddle or your having us on !
keeps considering the above clue....:orely:

[John_and_Yoko]

Don't give the answer away! I am working on it now and again (and walking around with it in my head most of the day!) ;)

Don't worry, I haven't given the answer away--I'm just trying to provide a bit of help for those who might not quite be thinking of the particular pattern I'm using.... You know I wouldn't just give it away. ;)


*falls over dead* This is either a damned fine riddle or your having us on !
keeps considering the above clue....:orely:

Well, I hope it's the former because it's sure not the latter.... ;)

[alinda]

:) Me too, its just me racking my brains :pullhair:

[John_and_Yoko]

Just bumping the riddle so you don't have to keep going back and forth:



A fruit whose color doth reveal its name,
And yet organic it is surely not,
But rather is mechanical and tame;
How can this be, I do beseech you lot? A Clockwork Orange (Guessed by Brice)

A bullet covered with an alloyed shell,
A thing an ancient king would hope to give
To his militia; canst thou hope to tell
The name to give this weapon, while ye live? Full Metal Jacket (Guessed by Jon)

And now as we delve further into dark,
A perfect crime; a clean break that can be
Another name for murder--just a lark,
Or is there something deeper we can't see? The Killing (Guessed by Gaberax)

The two most base emotions are we two,
Anxiety and want, but not as these
Are we best known to those like me and you,
But can you tell our true names, if it please? Fear and Desire (Guessed by Jon)

A slave who spoke of freedom in old Rome,
He did a losing revolution lead;
As now our minds do wander far from home,
Can we give name to he who once did bleed? Spartacus (Guessed by Jon)

A scientist who yearns for something to
Well occupy his time, but lo, how odd!
Not fear? But simply learn acceptance, you,
Of this exploding weapon? O, by God! Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Guessed by BROWNING'S CHILDE)

I believed you loved me--wrong was I!
Your lips caressed me, but I was deceived!
A murderer were you, and so the lie
Forever haunts me, leaving me bereaved. Killer's Kiss (Guessed by BROWNING'S CHILDE)

My name resembles Homer's tale--O how
Ancient is this epic poem his!
And yet a new millennium dawns now
Not B. C. but A. D. the new year is! 2001: A Space Odyssey (Guessed by BROWNING'S CHILDE)

Not to the sun but only unto death
Do these roads lead--these roads of great renown;
Do we detect--as we draw knowing breath,
A pattern to this fair unending sound? Paths of Glory (Guessed by BROWNING'S CHILDE)

A lovely, lyrical, lilting name be you,
O little nymphet fills me with desire!
Your mother stood between us, sad but true,
but this sad fact did naught to quench the fire! Lolita (Guessed by BROWNING'S CHILDE)

It's what a light does, such as in the sky,
God can be said to do it from above,
So too do all celestial objects high
above the earth, as though they showed us love. The Shining (Guessed by BROWNING'S CHILDE)

Not open but well closed these organs two,
As closed as are the gates of secret lands,
And yet they see but choose to hide from view,
Lest what they see curse them with iron bands. Eyes Wide Shut (Guessed by BROWNING'S CHILDE)

An Irish rogue whose last name became first
When incarnated as a lord was he;
Taking his lady's last name--O accursed
Was this man!--as his own, in luxury. Barry Lyndon (Guessed by Gaberax)



FINAL ANSWER: HORUS(guessed by Gunkslinger)

[Gaberax]

I have the tried the release date of each movie in year order and used the last digit coming up with: 3567024815079.

Similarly, I have tried the same method with the stanza order to get: 1763045872095

I have assigned numbers to the alphabet A-Z and added the release date digits together (71,87,56..) but get gibberish.

I was wondering if the answer is a number (I was thinking PI) or a word?

:orely: :pullhair:

[John_and_Yoko]

I have the tried the release date of each movie in year order and used the last digit coming up with: 3567024815079.

Similarly, I have tried the same method with the stanza order to get: 1763045872095

I have assigned numbers to the alphabet A-Z and added the release date digits together (71,87,56..) but get gibberish.

I was wondering if the answer is a number (I was thinking PI) or a word?

:orely: :pullhair:

The final answer is NOT a number.

As for the numbers associated with each film, release dates as such will not work--try using the numbers that give the chronological order of the films and you'll soon find the answer.

[Gaberax]

Would the first two letters, or first word, be OF?

[John_and_Yoko]

Would the first two letters, or first word, be OF?

Nope.

As far as using the numbers in each stanza, this shouldn't be that hard....

[Gaberax]

A Clockwork Orange
Full Metal Jacket
The Killing
Fear and Desire
Spartacus
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Killer's Kiss
2001: A Space Odyssey
Paths of Glory
Lolita
The Shining
Eyes Wide Shut
Barry Lyndon

Genius Reality?

***My girlfriend pulled this out. She's tired of me obsessing over this riddle. :lol: I am lost.***

[John_and_Yoko]

:lol:

No, no, you need to be searching for WORDS in the STANZAS, not letters in the movie titles.

For example, which number is A Clockwork Orange chronologically?

[Gaberax]

Okay...trying to follow the logic here...
I took what I considereded to be the most likely answer from each stanza (1-10) and married it with the most likely word in the chronolical stanza...not sure i f this is correct (guessing it is not)

orange road (or orange sun), metal band (or metal iron), killing see (sea?), organic fear? ,Spartacus mind (Spartacus educational), lip bomb, true path, lolita fashion, shining light, irish eyes, naught (knott) berry.

There appeared to me to be a lot of book, anime references or Japanese culture.

Otherwise, I am so f'ing lost it ain't funny. :doh:

[John_and_Yoko]

Okay...trying to follow the logic here...
I took what I considereded to be the most likely answer from each stanza (1-10) and married it with the most likely word in the chronolical stanza...not sure i f this is correct (guessing it is not)

orange road (or orange sun), metal band (or metal iron), killing see (sea?), organic fear? ,Spartacus mind (Spartacus educational), lip bomb, true path, lolita fashion, shining light, irish eyes, naught (knott) berry.

There appeared to me to be a lot of book, anime references or Japanese culture.

Otherwise, I am so f'ing lost it ain't funny. :doh:

I can see I'm going to have to spell it out....

Ignore the "most likely" answers, and just focus on the ordinal numbers that match the chronological order of the films.

Case in point: A Clockwork Orange is Kubrick's NINTH film--ergo, you ought perhaps to seek the NINTH word in that stanza....

[Jon]

what color am I thinking of?

[gsvec]

And king as the of to believed ancient sun be god the incarnated

:lol:

[John_and_Yoko]

And king as the of to believed ancient sun be god the incarnated

:lol:

Those are the correct words, yes, but clearly something yet remains to be worked out....

And the answer remains ever elusive.... ;)

[Gunkslinger]

And king as the of to believed ancient sun be god the incarnated

:lol:

I see this and think the ancient Egyptian sun god Ra.

I feel your pain Gaberax.

[Gaberax]

And king as the of to believed ancient sun be god the incarnated

:lol:

I see this and think the ancient Egyptian sun god Ra.

I feel your pain Gaberax.

Ra as an answer seems reasonable, Gunkslinger.

BTW, I have been meaning to say how good it is to see you back at the forum. Your riddles are always devilishly clever. Welcome back!

[alinda]

KA ?

[Gunkslinger]

And king as the of to believed ancient sun be god the incarnated

:lol:

I see this and think the ancient Egyptian sun god Ra.

I feel your pain Gaberax.

Ra as an answer seems reasonable, Gunkslinger.

BTW, I have been meaning to say how good it is to see you back at the forum. Your riddles are always devilishly clever. Welcome back!


Thanks! Blame it on Jon!

[Jon]

The order of release dates is hard to determine. His early works are disputed as to the dates. And would that include the documentaries?

[John_and_Yoko]

The order of release dates is hard to determine. His early works are disputed as to the dates. And would that include the documentaries?

I don't know why it would be difficult (unless maybe you're using imdb.com, which I don't advise), and no, it doesn't include the documentaries, just the features.

It isn't Ka.

RA is CLOSE, but not quite the name I'm looking for....

[Gaberax]

Perhaps Nimrod?

[John_and_Yoko]

Perhaps Nimrod?

*sigh*

No, think Egyptian, but not Ra....

[alinda]

Ra is what I meant..sh**, I must have something else on my mind,
How about set?

[John_and_Yoko]

Ra is what I meant..sh**, I must have something else on my mind,
How about set?

I think I might have mixed up two Egyptian gods there.... Sorry about that....

Ignore the sun god part and focus on the rest of it....

[Gunkslinger]

Omar Sharif?

[Gunkslinger]

A Pharoah?

[Jon]

A Pharoah?


Yes, the man gods.

What are the lessor gods called in Desperation?

[John_and_Yoko]

Come on, people....

The son of Isis and Osiris?

[Gunkslinger]

Come on, people....

The son of Isis and Osiris?

Horus? That's another Egyptian god if memory serves me. Remember I'm older than Jon.:P

[John_and_Yoko]

Come on, people....

The son of Isis and Osiris?

Horus? That's another Egyptian god if memory serves me. Remember I'm older than Jon.:P

That's right.

Anyway, sorry for this long and complicated riddle--my mind just needed exercise....

[Gunkslinger]

Come on, people....

The son of Isis and Osiris?

Horus? That's another Egyptian god if memory serves me. Remember I'm older than Jon.:P

That's right.

Anyway, sorry for this long and complicated riddle--my mind just needed exercise....

I really enjoyed the complexity of this riddle, however I felt I stole the completion of the riddle from the others working hard to solve this riddle.

So I'm going to host a Feast with this Goose, all riddlers invited. Pull up a chair and enjoy.

Mike

[Jon]

Good plan Mike!

I was (am) virtually useless on this riddle.

[Gaberax]

Good solve, Mike! :clap:

A very challenging riddle, John_and_Yoko. ;)

[alinda]

:P good going, and thanks for the feast , I am starving:P

[John_and_Yoko]

Glad you all liked the riddle, and I now officially declare it solved. :D