wu :: forums
        (http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~wwu/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi)
      

        riddles >> what happened >> Catcher in the wheat
        
(Message started by: alien on Oct 8th, 2006, 9:57am)
Title: Catcher in the wheat
Post by alien on Oct 8th, 2006, 9:57am
The police is chasing an armed masked man, because he just robbed a smaller bank. Suddenly the police cars stop, because they approached a thicker forest, but the fugitive continues, since he is driving a motorcycle. This got him some advantage, but the forest became steep and thicker, so he left his motorcycle behind. Not knowing much about local geography, he continues ahead, leaving the forest, running on a plain. Upon entering a huge field of wheat, he notices a group of armed officers on foot behind him, quite distant though. At one moment, he almost fell in a chasm, dropping his gun in the lake, which lay in the bottom. He remembered someone who lives in one of several rather secluded houses, about a mile away from this field. He told him that the lake is the only way out of it, considering the direction opposite to the approaching police. He then became more desperate, looking at his bag full of money, alone in the field, but not for long since police is steadily approaching the field. He thinks of holding on to the straw by staying low, playing hide and seek in the wheat, when they enter the field. He knew it would get dark in about an hour, but the police, who were consistent and had flashlights too, would most probably find him by then. Jumping in the lake seamed like a better idea to him, but the chasm is rather high, so the fall would most probably kill him. But then he thinks of something, which gets him of the hook, so he gets away with the bag full of money. Have fun.  
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by cchris on Oct 8th, 2006, 10:46am
I would say he [hide]leaves the empty bag nearby so the police can assume he fell down the chasm.[/hide]
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Grimbal on Oct 8th, 2006, 12:52pm
He bribes the policemen.
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on Oct 9th, 2006, 3:32pm

on 10/08/06 at 10:46:38, cchris wrote:
I would say he [hide]leaves the empty bag nearby so the police can assume he fell down the chasm.[/hide]

I think he wants to keep all the money.  Maybe he could throw his clothing or shoes instead.
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by alien on Oct 10th, 2006, 5:07am
Grmbal's answer made me laugh. As for Maverick's and cchris's answers, they are not good enough. Just because policemen eat doughnuts, it doesn't mean they are dumb.    ;D
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Sameer on Oct 10th, 2006, 9:04am
[hide]He removes his clothes and leaves it such that it appears he has jumped into the lake and then he continues onto the field towards the house??[/hide]
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by alien on Oct 11th, 2006, 6:26am
But why would he [hide]take most of his clothes off[/hide]? The fall would probably kill him anyway. Not bad though, but I do not think caps would buy it. We need something concise here, or at least, something better.   ;)
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Grimbal on Oct 11th, 2006, 7:06am
Another idea:
[hide]As it happens, he is always carrying a fishing rod everywhere he goes.  So he just sits down on his precious bag and starts fishing.  When the police arrives, he points at the opposite direction and innocently says "He went that way.".[/hide]
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Roy on Oct 18th, 2006, 1:49am
How did iceman turn into a guest?
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by towr on Oct 18th, 2006, 5:36am

on 10/18/06 at 01:49:58, Roy wrote:
How did iceman turn into a guest?
Odd.. Perhaps something broke when the server was down, and he got dropped from the userbase.
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by plumberry on Oct 18th, 2006, 6:20am
I got dropped from the userbase? This is great man. Thanks a lot. I wrote riddles for you.. I was member on this forum for two years. About two weeks ago, I became uberpuzzler, and now I am nothing here? I do not even have my nick no more? I try to log in, and it says, there is no such user name. I am not an alien no more? I mean nothing here? Towr, I want you to tell me the truth: did you, or did you not, kicked me from this forum? Perhaps Icarus, or William did? My Windows ME is full of bugs, gets on my nerves, and maybe ME is responsible, but don't you lie to me.. I think you owe me a good explanation after two year of being a member here. So tell me, what do I do from now on? Do I register again under the same name 'alien'? Maybe you dislike my former nick, so do I stay plumberry now? You tell me, towr, Icarus, and maybe William who visits rarely lately, what do I do? Do I say goodbye, and never come back? Do I register again, becoming a newbie? If this was an honest mistake, if this had nothing to do with any of you, then the computer broke my heart. But if computer is not responsible, be it the above server, or my questionable Windows ME, then one of you broke my heart. Either way, only you can fix my heart, by giving me back my nick, by giving me back my uberpuzzler status. So you tell me, towr, you tell me what to do. What do I do? Am I a newbie to you, after posting a lot of riddles? I didn't check, and I can't because I am not a member here no more, but perhaps I was the one who posted the most riddles? Am I a ghost now? Is my entire existence on this forum being erased, for no reason? Is this your answer to two of my newest riddles, and the answer being 'get lost', for both of them? If you want me to leave, I will leave. I know when I am not wanted. But if you want me to stay, you tell me, right now, what do I do? What do I do? What would you do? What do I do?
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by SMQ on Oct 18th, 2006, 6:46am
Iceman/alien/plumberry, it was undobtedly due to the server problems which have had this forum offline since Thursday.  See the OCF blog (http://ocfblog.blogspot.com) (as in ocf.berkeley.edu which hosts this forum) for a technical description of the problems, including the casue of some "minor" resulting data loss.  It would appear that your esteemed login was an unfortunate victim of a random disk failure. :-(

I don't know if anything can be done to recover your Uberpuzzler status -- short of creating another 600 posts -- but it would truely be a shame to lose your unique style from this forum.

--SMQ
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by plumberry on Oct 18th, 2006, 7:48am
At least someone loves me.  :) I mean, likes me. You don't love me, do you? When someone says 'love', I don't think of a woman. This is normal, so I am not gay. First they kick me from the forum, and then they say they love me. What kind of a way is that? Say you love me  :-* before I get kicked form the forum. Don't wait so long, while things go wrong, I'll be there, where I belong..
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by towr on Oct 18th, 2006, 9:14am
First off, no one wants you gone. As far as I know, what occured is due to a computer malfunction on the server. My best guess is part of the database got corrupted.
I will email William to see if he can fix it, but unfortunately there's a chance it may not be repairable.

If William isn't able to restore your userdata, then you could register your name again. But unfortunately your post-count would also start at 0 again. However, you shouldn't think for a moment that we would see you and treat you as 'only' a newbie, just because you don't have 'uberpuzzler' under your name. We don't need a server to tell us that you are. And I hope you know us well enough to know that's true.
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by towr on Oct 18th, 2006, 9:34am
Hmm.. looking at the OCF blog, it may be a while till William gets the mail I sent, because I only have his OCF adress, and the mail there is still being queued (the mail-delivery system is down untill they're sure everything works)
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Sameer on Oct 18th, 2006, 10:09am
hmm these plumberries making me hungry...  ::)
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Three Hands on Oct 18th, 2006, 11:09am
From what I remember when I first started on the forum and was looking over the old threads, one discussion which came up was over the so-called status of posters, and whether it was a true reflection on the individual as to how good a riddler that person is. Incidentally, I believe that was the thread that caused Icarus to choose his signature.

Simply put, this forum tends to recognise the quality of the poster, rather than the post-count attached to the name. All the post-count reflects is how long you have been an active member of the community, something that all the regulars here already know you to be and can vouch for. I would hope that you are not shallow enough to be put off contributing to this forum simply due to not having the post-count you had worked for, even though I do appreciate that it is still a loss, as I know I certainly will not consider the posts you make any less valuable.
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Oct 18th, 2006, 1:08pm

on 10/18/06 at 09:14:21, towr wrote:
.........And I hope you know us well enough to know that's true.

I know that's true. But when I saw my nick all in white, doubt made a nest in my mind. This was probably because I am not optimistic person by nature. Has nothing to do with you. You got to admit it, though, it does sound a bit suspicious that my nick became white, and nobody else's. If your nick becomes white, you will probably take it pretty well only if you are white earthling. I myself am green, and alien, so you will encounter my plasma gun if Iceman becomes white too. I am not kidding. I will zap you with my plasma gun 99 times, even though this particular gun can destroy entire city if you use it once.


Keep in mind one thing though: my nick will not be alien no more, rather the latest one, Iceman. And yes, I would have left the name plumberry if it didn't sound gay. So you are lucky that I am quite manly, even though I am not a man. Yes, there is no way I will register for the 2nd time as alien. No sir. Like it or not, you and me are stuck with the nick Iceman. The only way I will revert to nick alien, is if William restores my uberpuzzler status. But, let's drop this subject for now, and get back to riddles.




on 10/18/06 at 06:46:00, SMQ wrote:
...but it would truely be a shame to lose your unique style from this forum.

--SMQ

Thanks SMQ. I remember posting several rather bad riddles about a year ago, but you are absolutely right about the rest of them, because I do have unique style, which is getting better and better. So wherever there is a good riddle, that is where I will be. Wherever there is a hard riddle, particularly in the hard section, that is where I wont be. Wherever there is a yellow nick that may become white, I'll be there. Whenever server is out of order so you become newbie even though you were uberpuzzler, I'll be there. You cannot get rid of me, earthling riddlers, no matter what you do. You can reset my posts to zero, but I will return. You may say that I am gay, which will truly hurt me, but I will return and zap you with my plasma gun, to show you that I am a manly alien. Yes sir, I am here to stay, for better or worse, and I like the worse part better, since I can take the blow like a man, I mean, like an alien, and stay tall. Still, I will not post anything for about four days, because I am still a bit mad at you. You may call this silence silence of the lambs, silence behind the moon, or alien's uber silence. See you on Sunday, and have a good night.  



Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Sameer on Oct 18th, 2006, 1:19pm
Yes Iceman, you are unique even though you took the plumberries from me..  ;)

Anyways, all this discussion "diverted" us from the true purpose of this thread which gave me a brilliant clue...

[hide]He finds a big rock and throws into lake toe create a huge splash, while he hides in the field. The policeman think he jumped into lake and stop and don't search the field. Diverting tactics indeed....[/hide]
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Oct 22nd, 2006, 6:17am

on 10/11/06 at 07:06:49, Grimbal wrote:
Another idea:
[hide]As it happens, he is always carrying a fishing rod everywhere he goes.  So he just sits down on his precious bag and starts fishing.  When the police arrives, he points at the opposite direction and innocently says "He went that way.".[/hide]

Funny idea. Alas, he didn't have a fishing rod, or any other object on him that I didn't mention. He had his gun though, but so did the police.



on 10/18/06 at 13:19:15, Sameer wrote:
Yes Iceman, you are unique even though you took the plumberries from me..  ;)

Sameer, plumberry is a delicacy on Mars, but I assure you that you wont like it, because it is about three times bitter than lemon. Aliens have a different palate. It is half fruit half berry, like the name suggests, bred by an alien scientist, who was insane and liked plums. One day he created a plumberry, by crossing plums and bitter berries.  



on 10/18/06 at 13:19:15, Sameer wrote:
[hide]He finds a big rock and throws into lake toe create a huge splash, while he hides in the field. The policeman think he jumped into lake and stop and don't search the field. Diverting tactics indeed....[/hide]

This answer looks to me like the best answer so far, even though it belongs to the category of not so good answers. As for the splash, the policeman might think it is landslide, not manslide.  :P
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by sofeffi on Oct 22nd, 2006, 6:20am
[hideb]Tricky. Maybe he could throw the rock, then start firing his gun. The police would think he had jumped in and the gunshots would confirm it: they would think another policeman had seen him and was firing at him. Its just another version of the diverting one though...[/hideb]
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Oct 24th, 2006, 6:58am
Not bad. But not the answer I'm looking for.  
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Sameer on Oct 24th, 2006, 9:55am
ok another shot [hide]He throws the bag of money in the water which will sink at the bottom. Since he has no money, the police has no proof he stole it. He can claim he is going to visit his friend that lives in one of those secluded houses a mile down the field. He goes there, gets on the lake on a boat travels back and gets the money that is hiding at the bottom.[/hide]
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by cchris on Oct 24th, 2006, 10:33am
I like the answer, but [hide]wouldn't the money get wet and be pretty much useless? Unless it was in a waterproof bag, in which case he might jump and use the bag as a cusion to hit the ground/water, and then dive under, then escape later.

Only reason your answer wouldn't work is that the police saw him running and know he robbed the bank, plus he was evading officers so he'd be arrested for that at minimum.[/hide]
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by graphia on Oct 24th, 2006, 1:27pm
It could be in a country where money is made of plastic instead of paper.
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Oct 25th, 2006, 11:01am
No winner yet.



cchris is right: the police have a description of what he is wearing. Policemen see everything, and we see nothing.  ::)
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by cchris on Oct 25th, 2006, 4:43pm
Any way to [hide]jump across or make a bridge across the chasm? Or maybe go around it. If nothing else, hang onto the edge and use his arms to move around.[/hide]
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on Oct 25th, 2006, 6:04pm
I've decided to post what I feel are the discrepancies in my answer along with it because I am unhappy about them.  [hideb]Because he was so close to falling into a chasm that he dropped his gun in and almost fell in himself, the robber could attempt to put the police in the same peril.  He can quickly crawl (if this is possible carrying a sack of money) around the chasm (which may or may not be too large to crawl around at all) until he reaches approximately the opposite side from where he almost fell in.  He can then stand up and continue running in the direction he was originally traveling.  When the police make it to the same area, they do fall into the chasm because they are too busy watching where the robber is running to notice the ground open up underneath them.  (what are they stupid?)  If the police are relatively close to each other as they chase the robber, they might all fall in.  (if they are not...)[/hideb]
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by cchris on Oct 25th, 2006, 11:09pm
That's why I was asking you if he could go around at all, I was getting towards perhaps fooling the police.
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on Oct 25th, 2006, 11:24pm
Sure, try to steal credit for my non-logical answer that I hate.  Sure.    >:( ;)
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by sofeffi on Oct 26th, 2006, 6:48am
He could lure the policemem so they fall in to the chasm, then he can jump is to the chasm safe in the knowledge that there is a big soft pile of donut-eating policemen to break his fall. He can then escape across the lake. lol

[hide]The only way out is through the lake: surely this is a lie as the forest would serve as an equally good escape route?[/hide]
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Oct 26th, 2006, 8:03am
sofeffi, cchris and Maverick: yes, jumping into the lake would have been the only way to loose the police if he hadn't think of something. You might be lucky though and survive the fall, but don't bother with this, because he was to coward to jump. I wouldn't jump either. Would you?  ;D


........and remember those riddles that do not [hide]mention everything[/hide]? ;)
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Oct 26th, 2006, 9:52am
I cannot modify the riddle, so I will do that here: The bag is not full of money. He wasn't very lucky when he was robbing the bank, but he got away, and with a few nice bundles of money too.   ;)
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by sofeffi on Oct 26th, 2006, 11:39am
maybe he ran in to some other robbers and he shoved them into the chasm and took their money?
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Oct 26th, 2006, 12:31pm
No. Just cops.   ;D
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by TheNumberScott on Oct 26th, 2006, 1:45pm
If his friend's house is only a mile away, he should be able to make it there before the police catch up with him, stash the cash, change his clothes, and act innocent.

Or, if there are facts that have been omitted, perhaps he has just recently crossed a state or country borderline, and the police cannot arrest him now that he is out of their jurisdiction.
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by cchris on Oct 26th, 2006, 2:25pm
[hide]Hide in the bag, then stuff it with wheat to make it look like a bag of just wheat?[/hide]
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Oct 27th, 2006, 5:27am
No to both.
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on Oct 27th, 2006, 7:49am

on 10/26/06 at 09:52:35, Iceman wrote:
I cannot modify the riddle, so I will do that here: The bag is not full of money. He wasn't very lucky when he was robbing the bank, but he got away, and with a few nice bundles of money too.   ;)

I'm a little confused now.  This might not matter, but I see your post meaning two different things.  He either has:
1) only one unfilled bag of money, nothing else
2) one unfilled bag of money, some number of filled (or possibly unfilled) bags
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Oct 27th, 2006, 11:06am
The bag shouldn't be important here. That is why I tried to modify the riddle. So he might as well throw the bag before entering the field, and put the money in his pockets. Makes no difference. To put it in short: forget the bag.   ;D
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Sameer on Oct 27th, 2006, 3:23pm
He plays dead?
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by TheNumberScott on Oct 27th, 2006, 4:29pm
he takes off his pants, ties the legs into knots, and uses it as a parachute as he jumps down into the water.

or, there is a dead man nearby, he switches clothes with him, and hides the money.
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Oct 28th, 2006, 4:49am
When I said that I didn't [hide]mention everything[/hide], I didn't mean [hide]unusual and rather coincidental everything[/hide], so no convenient corpse either.  ;) And the answer for this one is a plausible one, if you get my meaning,  :-[ so the robber was rather lucky.  ::)
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by graphia on Oct 28th, 2006, 5:47am
The chasm has a [hide]non-obvious overhang?[/hide]
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Oct 28th, 2006, 6:14am
Nope. But thanks for playing.  :P
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on Oct 28th, 2006, 11:25am
Perhaps he wasn't being hard-headed enough.  Maybe he needs to jump in headfirst, assuming he didn't leave that ability when he left his bike.  ;)
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Oct 30th, 2006, 6:23pm
How about a spoiler? I say spoiler because I am optimistic, thinking that this riddle could be spoiled, and not vice versa,  whatever that means.   ;D ???
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on Oct 30th, 2006, 6:38pm
Okay then, helmet-head.   ;)
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Oct 31st, 2006, 12:01am
The spoiler is: [hide]I was careful about choosing which field. [/hide]And one of the riddlers is on the right track on the 2nd page.  ::)
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Sameer on Oct 31st, 2006, 8:44am
[hide]He made some raggy clothes from bag material and pretended to be a scare crow?[/hide]
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Grimbal on Oct 31st, 2006, 10:05am
He was caught, served 10 years, then worked in the fields, bought a piece of land, made some money with that, bought more land, and 20 years later was a rich owner of a large prosperous farm.  He sold everything, put the money in the old bag he still had and left alone on the dirty road at sunset.
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by cchris on Oct 31st, 2006, 11:08am
Hell, maybe [hide]since I'd lost the gun, I'd toss the money down there as well, throw the mask too, maybe take off my coat and pretend I was being held hostage by the criminal.[/hide]
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on Oct 31st, 2006, 1:30pm
In my way of thinking, the bike he left behind is a tad suspicious.  Why mention it unless it has something to do with how he got away?  Surely there can't be that much misdirection.
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by graphia on Oct 31st, 2006, 5:51pm
Is there a scarecrow in the field?
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Sameer on Oct 31st, 2006, 8:22pm

on 10/31/06 at 17:51:11, graphia wrote:
Is there a scarecrow in the field?


I think i put that solution down... the iceman hasn't acknowledged the answer yet
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Nov 1st, 2006, 3:10am

on 10/31/06 at 08:44:53, Sameer wrote:
[hide]He made some raggy clothes from bag material and pretended to be a scare crow?[/hide]

You got it. [hide]It had legs too, since a human body can't float with legs submerged under the water. He put most of his clothes on the scarecrow, and his mask too. The officer in charge recognized the clothes, because of the bright colors. The lake is a rather inaccessible location, it can be reached only from the other side, and so they left the field. It got dark soon, and the robber proceeded half naked to the mentioned houses. He was lucky to find clothes on the rope there. [/hide]


Now that this riddle is over, you can try to solve a good riddle. But the biggest riddles you have to solve, is the one in your heart. What is inside can be opened only from within. Not even god can solve a riddle that makes you. And why would he?  :P
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Nov 1st, 2006, 5:23am
Now I get what you were trying to say Sameer. Your answer is plausible, and probably better than mine. :-[  Not bad,  :D not bad at all, if he had a mask of a man. The problem might be his clothing, unless he managed to use the bag like you said. ;) Or he stood behind the ??? [hide]scarecrow[/hide], and no one noticed.  8) 
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by TheNumberScott on Nov 3rd, 2006, 12:03pm
I thought scarecrows were generally in corn fields.
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Iceman on Nov 3rd, 2006, 12:18pm
Dunno much about scarecrows, so maybe this riddle is not over after all.   :-[  ;)
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Sameer on Nov 3rd, 2006, 5:11pm
No I do think they use scarecrows in wheat field. It was only after ice said think "what kind of field" that I was able to think about scarecrows...
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Icarus on Nov 3rd, 2006, 7:15pm
In all my years living in the biggest wheat producing region in the world, I've never seen a scarecrow in a wheat field. But then again, we grow a lot of corn around here, too, and I've never seen a scarecrow in a cornfield either (and yes, we do have lots of crows!)
Title: Re: Catcher in the wheat
Post by Sameer on Nov 3rd, 2006, 8:10pm
I don't think I have seen wheat fields in US.. haven't been to country side here a lot.. but i have seen few during my child hood in India and seen few scare crows.. not in all of them though.. mostly farmers used to stay in field flinging rocks at birds whole day....


Powered by YaBB 1 Gold - SP 1.4!
Forum software copyright © 2000-2004 Yet another Bulletin Board