X Marks the Spot...

With regards to this Q&A session I promised - only one of you will have the oppurtunity to extract information from me. I say extract information as, once again, it won't be as straight forward as asking questions - quite the opposite infact. You will have to gather your information without asking one - the minute you ask something remotely close to a question, the session is over.

Pick one of your number, and we shall arrange a time when we can chat.

Yours,

The Enigmatic Writer.

QI: The Fifth and Final Round

Well then, another right, and quite interesting, answer, meaning you now have 17 points. At this rate I may just have to draw you a map.

The correct answer was, of course:

' Saddam Hussein after he donated about $250,000 to the Chaldean Sacred Heart church.  That poor judgement was only partially tempered by Detroit's mayor Dave Bing when he recently presented Elmo (of Sesame Street fame) a key during a visit to the Children's Hospital.   But perhaps Miami commissioner Tomas Regalado showed equally poor judgement when he gave that city's key to rapper and admitted drug-dealer Pitbull. Mayor Pro Tem of Dallas Dwaine Caraway gave a key to the city to Mike Vick, which, I suppose, is not as surprising, given that Dallas has quite a problem with stray dogs.'

So, for my fifth question:

What was Jonathan Swift's contribution to science?

Your almost there - let's see if you can make this a clean sweep.

Yours,

The Enigmatic Writer.

P.S. Noticed an email I hadn't yet recieved. Make that 20 - 1 right answer and 2 interesting ones on top.

QI: Round 4

Two interesting answers, two correct answers, adding 4 to your total - meaning you now sit pretty on 15 points!

"There were several attempts at creating a dishwasher for the sole purpose of washing dishes but they all had fatal flaws. The design that modern dishwashers come from was invented by Josephine Cochrane. Her reason for inventing her dish washing machine wasn't to make washing dishes easier but simply that she was fed up with her servants chipping her fine china."

So, your second to last question:

Who was given a key to the city of Detroit in 1980?

Yours,

The Enigmatic Writer.

QI: Round 3

My my my, i'm going to regret this decision aren't I? 5 interesting answers, including the one I was looking for, giving you a grand total of 11 points!

1: bugs, brer and the easter bunny have also all been involved in racism rows, and requests for them to be banned.

bugs had several cartoon in the 50s which are no longer shown due to the portrayal of deep south characters, and the film the song of the south has never been released by disney in full in the usa, due to concerns about possible complaints over the uncle remus character.  the easter bunny has been called into question in recent years for its association with christianity (though this may well be in the main just the usual scare-mongering of the more right wing press and their 'political correctness' phobia).  ironically though, a recent case found that someone had been leaving racist messages inside plastic easter eggs in michigan - not the kind of kinder surprise you might want yr child to find.

2:  All of them are tricksters in a way. Bugs Bunny tricks the atagonists, and get's back at them. Brer rabbit also is shown to be a trickster after being thrown into a biar patch. Easter bunny hides easter eggs around not always in obvious spots. This is considered a trickster
3: All were taken from folklore or people. Bugs bunny is thought of by the runaway slaves. Which could refer to the main atagonist being a hunter. Brer rabbit taken from African folklore of being a hare which was tradiontally a figure of a trickster. Easter Bunny was taken from German folklore of a hare who gave eggs to good little children.

4: They are not bunny's they are hare's. This is actually a politically correct statement that in each situation they follow the name of Hare not Rabbit or Bunny.

5: All appeared in animated shorts or in movies. Alot of shorts for Warner Bro's for Bugs Bunny. Brer rabbit in Song of the south. Easter Bunny in Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The movie.

And so, your next question:

What was the dishwasher invented for?

Yours,

The Enigmatic Writer.

QI: Round 2

Well then, thanks to this answer:

'possibly first, or at least equal first, would be a special bacterium which can bury its own genetic material inside the living cells of flies.  if not the first living thing sent into space deliberately, this would definitely be the first hitch-hiker to leave earth into orbit - as an estimated 20% of all fruit flies carry the bacteria dormant inside their bodies; and fruit flies were sent into space just after the second world war, as the usa and ussr began their programmes to break both the sound barrier and the outer limit of the earth's atmosphere.

so, there had in fact been many living things sent out from earth before the flight of laika the dog - which is often incorrectly assumed to have been first.

mycroft'

You are 2 points better off, putting you on a total of 5.

Now your second question;

What does Bugs Bunny have in common with the Easter Bunny and Brer Rabbit?

Yours,

The Enigmatic Writer.

QI: Round 1

So, you have accepted my challenge. How daring!

A recap of the rules:

I will give you a base score of 5.
I will ask you 5 questions. Your answers do not have to be right, just quite interesting.
If they are so, I add one to your score. If you are wrong and they are not interesting at all, I take away a point.
If you fall in to the trap of giving a far too obvious answer, I take away 2.

For every point you have, I will give you a nudge in the right direction.
However, for every point under 0, I shall hinder you in some way.
A score of -5 results in a major hinderance.

And so, your first question:

What was the first living thing to be sent into space?

Remember, do not give the obvious answer, your scores are cumulative (for example, someone sends in a right answer, and someone sends in an obvious one, you would gain -1 points) and you do not have to be right - just Quite Interesting.

Good luck my friends.

Yours,

The Enigmatic Writer.

The Story Continues...:Part 2

Again, congratulations, you managed to solve the riddle and answer the bonus question - the answer being a Geomagnetic Reversal. And so, we come to part 2:

In the past 50 years, the people who our dear Kezia had sacrificed herself so selflessly to save learned nothing. They simply continued to live their sinful lives, ungrateful of her gift to them and the second chance their Creators had chosen to grant them. The Creators saw that this might happen when they accepted Kezia as a sacrifice, and so implemented a failsafe; a watcher, who was to stay behind and monitor the world. If they continued as they were, which of course they did, the Observer was to ressurect Kezia as a sign - a sign that again, they had failed the very ones who gave them life, and who had given them the second chance that so many other races had not.

The Observer has of course now ressurected Kezia, though presently none of the world but herself knows. It shouldn't be too long before they found out though - a grave being reopened is something that won't go unnoticed for too long. And, of course, when the world learns that Kezia has been ressurected, history is bound to repeat itself - some parts of it at least.

And, as promised, the bonus piece of information:

I believe an old friend of hers would like to hear of this news before anyone else.

sistercambria@gmail.com

Of course, there is more to the story, but I believe that this will do for now. No doubt you will have questions, which I will answer - but, as is and will always be the case, not for free.

Yours so long as there is still history in the making,

The Enigmatic Writer.

The Story So Far: Part 1

Well, congratulations are in order. You managed to solve my little riddle! The answer of course, was who I believe to be one of the greatest examples of musical greatness on your world - the legendary AC/DC.

And now, as promised, some information on what is happening.

Around 50 years ago, the People of a certain world that, as mentioned earlier, is practically identical to yours other than how history panned out, became threatened when their sinful lives angered their Creators. How their very children, to whom they bestowed life, love, and all the pleasures of the world, could become so arrogant, so insolent as to turn their backs on them! The Creators decided that they must start afresh; they must re-originate the Planet and their Children so that they would not be ashamed of their work. This message was sent throughout their World so that they may know exactly why they did not deserve the gifts they had been given.

However, a single young woman by the name of Kezia D'Autur offered herself so that the rest might be spared. The Creators saw this, and it touched them to think that perhaps there was a glimmer of hope left, that perhaps they hadn't just created a disgraceful example of Humanity. They agreed to take her as a Sacrifice, so long as in a Court of Law they could prove that she was guilty of at least one sin in her life. While awaiting trial, she was sent to Prison to wait - after all, if she was to be tried, surely she should be treated as a criminal. There she met and befriended the young priestess Sister Cambria, who became a great comfort to Kezia, as she had grown up practically alone - her Father left her as a child and her Mother became terminally ill and died when she was a mere 8 years old. Before she died, however, her Mother gave her a sealed letter, telling her only to open it when the time was right, and that she would know when that time was. It eventually came to the trial, and unbeknownst to Kezia or her good friend Cambria, the Judges and the Elders had decided to find her guilty no matter the circumstances, to ensure the safety of her people.

She was immediately taken away and placed in front of a firing line, and Kezia, thinking now was as good a time as any, reached into her pocket and pulled out a wax-sealed envelope. Before she could actually read it however, the squad was ordered to fire, and fire they did. Sister Cambria, who was there to comfort Kezia at this darkest hour, saw the envelope clutched in her hand, and retrieved it before any of the Guards could. She keeps it to this very day, still sealed, waiting for the day when it should be opened.

Of course, this is not the full story - if you want the rest, your going to have to solve another of my puzzles ;).

For the continuation of the story, riddle me this:

If east is still east, and west is still west, how can it be possible that North is South, and South is North?

Answers on a (virtual) postcard please.

Yours so long as there is still a story to be told,

The Enigmatic Writer.

A Challenge, if you wish to accept it...

As you are aware, somewhere in another dimension there is something of great significance going on. I could simply tell you what it is, but i'm rather bored, so instead I shall offer you a challenge.

The rules are quite simple. At the minute, you know nothing, and I know everything. No doubt you wish to change this so that you at least know something. So, I will present you with various challenges - riddles, if you will, and if you pass, then I divulge some information.

So, your first challenge:

They came like a missile that follows, tearing all asunder
Shaking the world all the night
Arrived they did as if striking like thunder
And lightning and fire and dynamite

Answers on a (virtual) postcard, please.

I wish you luck, my Friends.

Yours so long as the pen still has ink,

The Writer.