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riddles >> what happened >> Keen reader
(Message started by: Iceman on Nov 26th, 2006, 1:04pm)

Title: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Nov 26th, 2006, 1:04pm
A man, who is in no hurry, grabs a closed book he eagerly wants to read right away. But he doesn't open it, even though the conditions for reading books are optimal. Why?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Nov 26th, 2006, 2:25pm
The book is booby-trapped.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Grimbal on Nov 26th, 2006, 3:12pm
An archaeologist finds the original copy of The Bible in Aramaic.
But he doesn't know the language.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by cchris on Nov 26th, 2006, 5:54pm
It's the [hide]Ark of the Covenant[/hide]?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Icarus on Nov 26th, 2006, 6:07pm
The Ark was a box, not a book. And the bible was written over a period of 1000 years or more, in at least 3 languages (Hebrew mostly for the old testament, with a few parts in Aramaic; the new testament was all written in koine Greek), so a single original copy of the whole thing never existed.

Another possibility:
It is his lover's diary, and has one of those locks. He doesn't want his lover to know he is reading it, so he can't break the lock.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by cchris on Nov 26th, 2006, 8:03pm
[hide]He's blind[/hide]?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Sameer on Nov 26th, 2006, 8:08pm
what are optimal conditions for reading?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Three Hands on Nov 26th, 2006, 10:20pm
[hide]It's a cruel trick, gluing all the pages together. Bad for the book as well...[/hide]

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Nov 27th, 2006, 4:12am
No winner yet.




on 11/26/06 at 20:08:35, Sameer wrote:
what are optimal conditions for reading?

There is light, also a chair, perhaps a rocking chair, lemonade on the table, it is quiet, nobody will disturb you while you are reading..

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by cchris on Nov 27th, 2006, 7:40am
It's a [hide]book of matches[/hide]?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Nov 27th, 2006, 9:04am
Dunno what [hide]book of matches [/hide]is.  ???




I, myself, prefer this version:


A man, who is in no hurry, takes a book he eagerly wants to read right away. He then accidentally drops the book on the floor right in front of him, but he doesn't pick it up, even though the conditions for reading books are optimal. Why?  




Pick the version you like. It is all the same.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by towr on Nov 27th, 2006, 10:42am
[hide]heart attack?[/hide]

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on Nov 27th, 2006, 4:10pm
I like the answer cchris gave.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchbook

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Sameer on Nov 27th, 2006, 4:25pm
Well the riddle clearly says that he picks up a book "that he wants to read eagerly" ... if he picks up a matchbook he knows he can't read it...

If he drops it.. then completely plausible is towr's answer but somehow that kind of also is contradictory to optimal reading conditions..having a [hide]heart attack[/hide] wouldn't normally count towards optimal reading condition now... let's see what ice has to say..

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on Nov 27th, 2006, 4:30pm

on 11/27/06 at 16:25:54, Sameer wrote:
... if he picks up a matchbook he knows he can't read it...
Only if senility hasn't already fried his poor old brain.  Poor little book, where have all your letters gone?

Or, what I thought cchris meant was that the man was reading the cover of the matchbook.  I might have been wrong to assume this much, though.  I suppose this attempt could be extended to the man reading only the cover of some other kind of book in the matchbook's place.

This would not satisfy the second version of the riddle, but hey, I'm senile little kiddies... bring me my cat and some Spackle.  It's time to make Jello!

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by TheNumberScott on Nov 27th, 2006, 5:24pm
He's having second thoughts about going against his morals regarding porn.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Nov 28th, 2006, 7:09am
Doesn't seem right to me. Keep guessing riddlers.  

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Sameer on Nov 28th, 2006, 10:05am
He has a back problem and since he dropped the book he can't bend over and pick it up??

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Nov 28th, 2006, 10:10am
No. He is in topnotch health.  

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by cchris on Nov 28th, 2006, 1:54pm
Does it have anything to do with the content of the book?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Nov 28th, 2006, 4:34pm
Of course: he wanted to read this book. ;D Kidding aside, I think I know what you are asking, so I will say no.  ;)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Nov 28th, 2006, 4:44pm
Not booby-trapped, so how about magic-trapped?

[hideb]
He was told he would be killed if he opened it, so when he dropped it he thought that it was a sign that they would follow through on killing him?[/hideb]

Does it have anything to do with the name of the book?

Was there anyone else with him?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by TheNumberScott on Nov 28th, 2006, 5:44pm
he's at a book store, and even though there are many comfy chairs around, he wants to pay for it first.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Icarus on Nov 28th, 2006, 7:07pm
Perhaps he simply doesn't know how to read?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Nov 28th, 2006, 7:13pm
Then why would he pick up the book in the first place and then just drop it?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Nov 29th, 2006, 5:50am
No to all.



on 11/28/06 at 16:44:32, flamingdragon wrote:
Does it have anything to do with the name of the book?

Not really.




on 11/28/06 at 16:44:32, flamingdragon wrote:
Was there anyone else with him?

Unimportant.





on 11/28/06 at 19:07:47, Icarus wrote:
Perhaps he simply doesn't know how to read?

He can read well.      

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Icarus on Nov 29th, 2006, 6:55am
Is he able to read what is written in the book?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by ChunkTug on Nov 29th, 2006, 1:11pm
[hide]As he removes the book, the bookcase slides to the right revealing the secret resting place of the[/hide] Ark of the Covenant!!!

or...

[hide]He's in a library and on the opposite side of the stack he sees a woman he once romanced during an adventure to recover the[/hide] Ark of the Covenant!!!

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Noke Lieu on Nov 29th, 2006, 4:13pm
OR it was a signed copy of Das Kapital (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx#Main_works), and Senator Joseph McCarthy had just shown up for dinner...

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Nov 29th, 2006, 4:27pm
When he picks the book up, the walls start pushing in AND the ceiling start to colapse, so he has to get the hell out of there first.

And what the hell, it was the Ark of the Covenant.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Nov 29th, 2006, 4:46pm
No to all.




on 11/29/06 at 06:55:07, Icarus wrote:
Is he able to read what is written in the book?

Well, I cannot give an answer w/o revealing too much, so I suppose I will say nothing for now. But if I said [hide]yes and no[/hide], would that by a chance be helpful?    ;)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by TheNumberScott on Nov 29th, 2006, 6:23pm
He is blind, but the book is not a brail copy.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Nov 29th, 2006, 7:02pm

on 11/29/06 at 16:46:06, Iceman wrote:
Well, I cannot give an answer w/o revealing too much, so I suppose I will say nothing for now. But if I said [hide]yes and no[/hide], would that by a chance be helpful?    ;)


If its a what happened riddle, ur required to truthfully answer all yeserno's.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Nov 29th, 2006, 7:09pm

on 11/29/06 at 19:02:39, flamingdragon wrote:
If its a what happened riddle, ur required to truthfully answer all yeserno's.

Who said I didn't.. But if you want a straight asnwer, then I say that he [hide]cannot read the book[/hide].  ::)





on 11/29/06 at 18:23:14, TheNumberScott wrote:
He is blind, but the book is not a brail copy.

Nope.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Nov 29th, 2006, 7:50pm
lol, and I said so, duh.  ;)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Nov 29th, 2006, 8:11pm
Just in case you are wondering, the riddle is not over. Nobody provided a solution yet.   ;)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Nov 29th, 2006, 9:10pm
The book is in a different language? (Probly said b4 but im to lazy to check)

Does anything happen when he picks up the book?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Dec 1st, 2006, 2:48am

on 11/29/06 at 21:10:34, flamingdragon wrote:
The book is in a different language?

No.




on 11/29/06 at 21:10:34, flamingdragon wrote:
Does anything happen when he picks up the book?

[hide]Yes.[/hide]

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Dec 1st, 2006, 8:14am
AHA!
Finally getting somewhere!

Does what happens when he picks up the book put him in danger?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Grimbal on Dec 1st, 2006, 8:27am
It is an audio book.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by TheNumberScott on Dec 2nd, 2006, 9:48pm
he was on a cruise, and he dropped on the sea floor.

-or-

He can't find his glasses.

-or-

he is in the bathroom, maybe even a public one, and doesn't dare pick up the book after it's been on a public bathroom floor, or needs his other hand to wipe.


Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Dec 3rd, 2006, 7:43am
No to both.



on 12/01/06 at 08:14:36, flamingdragon wrote:
AHA!

Does what happens when he picks up the book put him in danger?

No.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Dec 3rd, 2006, 10:33am
Does what happens when he picks up the book make him drop it?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Dec 3rd, 2006, 10:59am
No.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by TheNumberScott on Dec 3rd, 2006, 11:16am
does what happens when he picks up the book change the ideal conditions for reading, or his topnotch health?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Dec 3rd, 2006, 11:18am

on 12/03/06 at 10:59:38, Iceman wrote:
No.


Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by cchris on Dec 3rd, 2006, 6:39pm
It doesn't even fit, but is he [hide]swearing on the bible in a courtroom[/hide]?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Laudie on Dec 3rd, 2006, 11:07pm
[hide]He's a thief who knew his victim well.  The victim was far away from the scene, but the thief would still feel better if he read the book at his own location.  The book was in a bedroom, and when it dropped he was afraid someone may have heard him rummaging in the bedroom.[/hide]

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Grimbal on Dec 4th, 2006, 2:31am
He is a librarian and the book is the next Harry Potter.    He knows that he is not allowed to read the book before the sales have officially started.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Dec 4th, 2006, 3:55am
No winner yet.



The answer is not quite, how would I put it, a usual one.. It will most probably never happen to riddlers like you and me.  ;)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Grimbal on Dec 4th, 2006, 5:31am
The guy was on a pirate ship with no food.  He took the black pearl so he was sold to a sultan for some food.  The sultan wanted him because he had an affair with his daughter.  He could choose to be hung or beheaded by telling a lie or the truth.  He said that he would be hung after eating baklava or reading "Das Kapital", but not both.  He needs to delay his execution until the Sultan realizes he has red eyes.  By an extraordinary coincidence the Sultan offered him the book "Das Kapital".

Well, maybe some of it is true  :(.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on Dec 4th, 2006, 6:37am
Does he have [hide]20/20 vision?[/hide]  He could have [hide]farsighted eyes[/hide].  Or the opposite way.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by SMQ on Dec 4th, 2006, 6:58am
WTF's answer sparked a memory of a classic Twilight Zone episode: did he, perchance, [hide]sit on/drop the book on his only pair of glasses[/hide]?

--SMQ

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Dec 4th, 2006, 7:05am
No.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Dec 4th, 2006, 10:53am
None of these answers have included something we already established, something happened when he picked up the book.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on Dec 4th, 2006, 12:36pm
Well, obviously something happened, dragon.  There wouldn't be much of a riddle if nothing happened now would there?  "A man picks up a book he wants to read, drops it, and nothing happens.  What happened?"  ;)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Dec 4th, 2006, 1:46pm
The point I was making was that in all the answers everyone gave, nothing happened.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by cchris on Dec 4th, 2006, 11:14pm
Does [hide]the book flip open to something, [/hide]perhaps?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by TheNumberScott on Dec 4th, 2006, 11:44pm
did he drop it in the trash?

although, if it's not going to happen to riddlers, does it involve some hot girl or something? Like, he picked up "101 ways to wank it", and just then a hot girl walked by, but dropped it out of embarassment?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Sameer on Dec 5th, 2006, 8:54am
[hide]The book is a mystery suspense novel and he accidentally sees how it ends when he drops it?[/hide]

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Dec 5th, 2006, 9:52am
No to all of the above.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Laudie on Dec 5th, 2006, 10:16am
Does it involve his job?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Dec 5th, 2006, 12:35pm
It could. Not necessarily though.  ;)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Dec 5th, 2006, 12:46pm
[hideb]When he picks up the book, he drops it, and it then disapears?

When he piclks it up, quicksand appears, and he drops it in the quicksand?

When he picks it up, fire appears, and he drops it in the fire?

When he picks it up, water appears, and he drops it in the water?[/hideb]

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Sameer on Dec 5th, 2006, 1:38pm
[hide]It is the latest issue of playboy magazine and he drops it and sees his wife looking at him  :P[/hide]

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Dec 5th, 2006, 3:18pm

on 12/05/06 at 12:46:03, flamingdragon wrote:
[hideb]When he picks up the book, he drops it, and it then disapears?
[/hideb]

I sure hope that you are kidding.   :-[ Nevertheless, I think you are closer with this try than you think..   ;)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Dec 5th, 2006, 3:35pm
When he picks up the book, a portal to the abyss opens up and he trips over his shoelace and drops the book through the portal.  ;D

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by cheesepuff on Dec 5th, 2006, 7:08pm
[hide]Some bratty little kid took it away, and ran away too fast to be caught[/hide]

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Dec 5th, 2006, 7:14pm
Hmm, or it was a shy guy.  ;)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by cchris on Dec 5th, 2006, 10:28pm
Book's not actually there. That, or it makes me think of an episode of the show "Night Gallery" called "Eyes" in which a wealthy blind woman pays a doctor to have a healthy man's eyes transplanted so she can see for 12  hours. As the bandages are taken off, she only sees for a few seconds before a blackout occurs in New York City.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by chinkle on Dec 5th, 2006, 11:48pm
[hide]his tv was broken..
and by the time he found the manual (as thick as a book?), it was working again.
so no need to read it
;D[/hide]

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by TheNumberScott on Dec 6th, 2006, 12:49am
is his electricity working okay?

is it a novel, or some other type of "book"?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by cchris on Dec 9th, 2006, 10:58am
Any solution yet?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Dec 9th, 2006, 11:13am
Heh, maybe you should watch again an old old movie..  ;)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by koonie32 on Dec 10th, 2006, 11:23am
ICeman does something distract him from reading the book?

Does he drop it because he has to (his life is in stake or something like it) or because he just felt like it.


Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Dec 10th, 2006, 12:01pm
He accidentally drops the book, like I said.   8)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by raven on Dec 10th, 2006, 1:58pm
He was frozen in horror--the photo of his wife's killer staring up at him from the book's jacket sleeve--certainly one detail was left out in the About bio of the author!

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by raven on Dec 10th, 2006, 2:00pm
--or--

He realized his extended warranty had just expired--the lcd screen a dull black--who was this d*mn Murphy with his infernal law, anyway?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by raven on Dec 10th, 2006, 2:04pm
--or--

"This mission, should you choose to accept it..." *drop*...**FOOM** ...and the book self destructs in a puff of smoke!

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Dec 10th, 2006, 2:25pm

on 12/10/06 at 14:04:37, raven wrote:
"This mission, should you choose to accept it..." *drop*...**FOOM** ...and the book self destructs in a puff of smoke!

You know, you are closer with this one than you think.  ;)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by cchris on Dec 10th, 2006, 4:27pm
Reading by the fire, was he?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by koonie32 on Dec 10th, 2006, 4:57pm
Some type of scenario in MI 3 when tom cruise's kodak camera or w/e explodes into a puff after reading it. Maybe hes a spy or something for a job. Who knows..

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by cchris on Dec 10th, 2006, 5:25pm
Reminds me of "rapidly dissolving toilet paper".

"Just how rapidly are we talking? Cause if it's dark, and I'm wiping, I want to be sure that toilet paper's gonna be there to finish the job."

Like that...what good is a mission if it self-destructs before you can read it?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by raven on Dec 10th, 2006, 5:32pm
Well my suggestion was definitely meant to be tongue-in-cheek... however, your by the fire answer seems to be a likely candidate!

;)

[edit]But it doesn't work as well if you use the first set of puzzle clues...[/edit]

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Dec 10th, 2006, 10:06pm
Hmm, he died shortly after picking up the book?

And I believe I already suggested he dropped it in the fire, Raven.  ::)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Grimbal on Dec 11th, 2006, 5:29am
He picks up the book and *poof* a genie appears in a cloud of smoke!  In fact he didn't wish to read the book, but to know its contents.  That wish was granted.

or

He is investigation journalist and just managed to find the accounts book of a mafia boss.  As he looks up he sees the bookkeeper.  And this bookkeeper is not the usual bookkeeper.  This on is the guy whose job is to make sure the secret accounts remain secret.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Dec 11th, 2006, 9:08am
Or the book he picked up is in fact the elder scrolls while he is playing oblivion, however at just that moment one of the blind monks notices who he is and he drops the book to make a run for it.  8)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Dec 11th, 2006, 9:12am

on 12/10/06 at 17:25:34, cchris wrote:
Reminds me of "rapidly dissolving toilet paper".

"Just how rapidly are we talking? Cause if it's dark, and I'm wiping, I want to be sure that toilet paper's gonna be there to finish the job."

Like that...what good is a mission if it self-destructs before you can read it?

..........and getting closer..  ;)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Dec 11th, 2006, 9:17am
The rapidly dissolving toilet paper?

How bout he drops it on a switch that changes the normal reading conditions?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Grimbal on Dec 11th, 2006, 10:00am
[hide]It is an old book in a prehistoric tomb ::) and it falls into dust when he takes it.
Maybe it was the 1st edition of the Bible after all?[/hide]

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Dec 11th, 2006, 11:03am

on 12/11/06 at 10:00:17, Grimbal wrote:
It is an old book in a prehistoric tomb ::) and it falls into dust when he takes it.

Yes. But why are you rolling your eyes? I saw this in Time Machine. The book was really old.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by cchris on Dec 11th, 2006, 11:42am
Ah, good riddle then.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Dec 11th, 2006, 11:45am
time machine is the best riddle. try to solve it if you can.  ::)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Laudie on Dec 11th, 2006, 9:35pm

on 12/11/06 at 11:03:38, Iceman wrote:
Yes. But why are you rolling your eyes? I saw this in Time Machine. The book was really old.


What exactly are the reading conditions in the movie or in any scenario where the book is so archaic that it turns from a book into a pile of dust as soon as someone picks it up?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Dec 11th, 2006, 9:42pm
True, Iceman, the reading conditions are not normal when the book crumbles when u pick it up. As u can not read a crumbled book.  ::)

And I believe I, or someone else, asked if the reading conditions change once he picks up the book.  ::)

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Grimbal on Dec 12th, 2006, 1:47am

on 12/11/06 at 11:03:38, Iceman wrote:
But why are you rolling your eyes?


Hmm.. "prehistoric" and "book" don't fit well together.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Iceman on Dec 12th, 2006, 8:12am
Reading conditions are reading conditions, and old book is old book. Old book has nothing to do with reading conditions. Grimbal is right though, because time travel is not yet possible. So why not delete this riddle altogether??  ???

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by towr on Dec 12th, 2006, 8:19am
If a book was sufficiently maltreated over a few centuries, it's not at all impossible that'd it'd break apart in your hands if you're not exceedingly carefull handling it.
Parchment books are much better in that respect than paper books. Because the acids from the wood it's made from start to break down the paper.
Nevermind fungi and bookworms and all that.

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by koonie32 on Dec 12th, 2006, 2:56pm
Or what if it was inside one of those things in da vinci code where the thing inside disenigrates if the code is wrong?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Dec 12th, 2006, 3:57pm

on 12/12/06 at 08:19:55, towr wrote:
If a book was sufficiently maltreated over a few centuries, it's not at all impossible that'd it'd break apart in your hands if you're not exceedingly carefull handling it.
Parchment books are much better in that respect than paper books. Because the acids from the wood it's made from start to break down the paper.
Nevermind fungi and bookworms and all that.


Yeah, I just picked up an old first harry potter book off of a book shelf in my garage and it ripped in half.  :-/

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Grimbal on Dec 13th, 2006, 2:37am

on 12/12/06 at 15:57:48, flamingdragon wrote:
Yeah, I just picked up an old first harry potter book off of a book shelf in my garage and it ripped in half.  :-/


The garage?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by cchris on Dec 13th, 2006, 5:28am
Garage Days? Kind of funny, since I had a Metallica song off that album stuck in my head, and I saw "Garage".

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Dec 13th, 2006, 7:03am

on 12/13/06 at 02:37:07, Grimbal wrote:
The garage?



There's something wrong with having a bookshelf in my garage filled with old books?

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by Grimbal on Dec 13th, 2006, 7:34am
I meant: did the garage rip in half?  That would be wrong.

Silly, I know. :-[

Title: Re: Keen reader
Post by flamingdragon on Dec 13th, 2006, 4:09pm
ok, I obviously meant the book.  ::)



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