Puzzlebrains

I had a good laugh from the last 5 minutes of 'Front Row' this evening on Radio 4. It makes reference to the number of cinema films that involve the solving of puzzles.

Start the iplayer from below and zoom along to the 25-minute mark. Within half a minute the piece starts. I particularly liked the NAME of the character telling his story


http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... 9_05_2009/



We can keep this thread open for other things that people hear and want to share - as well as commenting on the things posted (which is going to happen ANYWAY - isn't it)

Yeah, it was a pretty good piece (then again, most of Andrew Collins' stuff is good.)
And I laughed at the name too... Can't imagine why.

For some strange reason, I thought that people here might be interested in this little piece:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/ne ... 142874.stm

It's about bells and London and a nursery rhyme...
The page includes a link to the item on the Today programme.

Very interesting, and very relevant. Shame this peice didn't come up a couple of months ago!!

The Grand Masquerade

A wonderful programme celebrating the 30th anniversary of perhaps the best picture puzzle ever.

Scurra wrote:The Grand Masquerade

A wonderful programme celebrating the 30th anniversary of perhaps the best picture puzzle ever.

Now that's another spooky! I got a box out of storage yesterday, and in the top was Masquerade. I just read the story to my children last night and went through the picture puzzle pages with them. Pumpkin faintly remembers it from long ago (when she anxiously asked if the Practical Man was going to cook Jack) but Monkey had never seen it before, and he was fascinated. He's made a pretty passable attempt at going through and extracting the treasure clue letters on many of the pages.

Scurra wrote:The Grand Masquerade

A wonderful programme celebrating the 30th anniversary of perhaps the best picture puzzle ever.

Wow - doesn't that bring back some memories, Scurra and Eirian? The hours we spent as a family poring over those pictures.....

Wulfruna wrote:

Scurra wrote:The Grand Masquerade

A wonderful programme celebrating the 30th anniversary of perhaps the best picture puzzle ever.

Wow - doesn't that bring back some memories, Scurra and Eirian? The hours we spent as a family poring over those pictures.....

yep, remember it well. In fact the other day, I found the photo we took pointing at the place the prize was eventually found!

I remember my mum being totally scathing about the whole thing. Her view was that it was outrageous to encourage people to go trampling around the countryside digging stuff up!!

dont tell her about geo caching then


or the competition texaco petrol stations did a few years ago

they gave a clue with each purchase several sets of clues each set pointed to a brand new car

a friend decided to drag me off to find the one we ended up arrivind 10 mins after the winner we approached the place and heard him on the phone claiming his prize...

darn thing if only we'd gone with my instinct and kept going down the motorway and not turned of and lloked at the wrong service station

Scurra wrote:The Grand Masquerade

A wonderful programme celebrating the 30th anniversary of perhaps the best picture puzzle ever.

First the book thread, and now this one. I like it when threads I start prove useful.

Although I'm of an age... who's sniggering? I actually have never heard of this puzzle I've just enjoyed listening to the 'celebration' of it and wonder how I missed the whole thing. Very odd.

Thanks for posting the link, and I'm glad it raised such good memories for so many of you.

MBH it's probably because you were 18, like me. Out on the town and probably full of hormones and lust. The last thing on my mind was the idea of solving puzzles and digging in fields.

erm i've heard of it and think it was in the library though :-p

did i mention i read every fiction book in my admittedly small local library the very nice lady behind the desk was allway ordering "new" junior sci-fi/fiction stuff for me pity my doctors was below it..... lol

it was shame when it closed the building is a home now mind it was orig a upper/middle class one for a low level factory boss definately up from the terrace houses all around it

fyi dewsbury is(was) an important textiles centre and the middle of the rhubarb triangle and got some nice canals so its not all bad

and yes i can sew etc not brilliantly but its been awhile since i was 11

in fact for one project i made various clock faces using various methods including leather work metal work (we were 11 so was a simple project)
strange ending since when we started they tried asking us about time... for some reason i quoted general relativity to them...about how movement + mass can change your perception of time and it all being relative to the frame of reference... and then explained how a sundial worked....
think i surprised the art teacher actually looking back no wonder my friends used to want to sit next to me in science...

I've read that twice now and still can't work it out. Can you put that whole post in plain speak for dummy me?

Bunnylump wrote:MBH it's probably because you were 18, like me. Out on the town and probably full of hormones and lust.

That tells me so much about you, as well as how little you know about ME in those days

I'm still not out on the town but the last part probably still applies



Katsmom Re: clvrlad

He had heard of the puzzle but from the libraray. Drift into reminiscence about childhood libraray use. Moving on to practical arts classes as 11-year-old.

The bit you might be stumbling over is the fact when making a clock face and asked about time he threw out all the science fact knowledge he'd picked up in science fiction stories (and elsewhere) which was unexpected.


Clvrlad - on the library shelf yesterday I came across Poul Anderson's "Tau Zero" where I'm sure I learned most of my understanding of Relativity. I even used the equation in an early computer programming class.

MBH have you ever thought of becoming a translator

That's exactly the bit I couldn't work out. How did that fit in there? Must be me.

Under 'other skills' I like to think I can explain the 'technical' to the 'non-technical'. I like to think I can act as a bridge between people in their own (little) worlds.

Still have problems with accountants - after all these years - they really are in a world of their own
{YES - I know we may have some around But I have evidence}

YES - I know we may have some around

At least three so you're outnumbered

Are you an accountant then Giraffe?

And Katsmom, after a while you do get to follow Clvrlad's drift. But it does take some practice.

Clvrlad I bet you were one of those kids who continuously asked questions about everything? Just like my son. Two of my particular favourites were when he was about 3
1. WHY does jelly wobble?
2. WHY do I fall off my bike if it stays still, but stay on it when I'm moving?
...should have known we'd end up with another scientist in the family.

Bunnylump wrote: Are you an accountant then Giraffe?

I'm not sure how to take that. You had me down as an airhead? Or were you about to confess to tax evasion?

I didn't name and shame the three.