One day, you come across an old friend, who is looking very worried.
"What's the matter?" you ask.
"Well, I've been doing a lot of soul-searching," he says, "and I've realized that all of life's questions can be reduced to three basic ones. Does red smell like green? Is tree bark cromulent? And is 42 loud?"
You think about that for a moment, and realize that he's right. "Of course!" you say. "Answer those, and you'll know the true purpose of life! But what are the answers?"
"That's the problem," he said. "I went on a pilgrimage to visit the Great Australian Guru to find out, but he only said the following: 'Either red smells like green or tree bark is cromulent (but not both!), and 42 is loud. That is, if and only if the square root of negative one smells like pine.'"
You frown. "That doesn't really answer any of the three questions."
Your friend nods. "But maybe this helps. When I rented a car for my pilgrimage, it had one of those air fresheners hanging from the rear view mirror, and it was labeled 'The Square Root of Negative One.' And it smelled exactly like pine!"
You step forward excitedly. "And during summer school when I was eight, I learned that tree bark is, in fact, cromulent!"
"Eureka!" shouts your friend. "We now know the answers to all three questions!"
Question
Guest
Here's a simple riddle:
One day, you come across an old friend, who is looking very worried.
"What's the matter?" you ask.
"Well, I've been doing a lot of soul-searching," he says, "and I've realized that all of life's questions can be reduced to three basic ones. Does red smell like green? Is tree bark cromulent? And is 42 loud?"
You think about that for a moment, and realize that he's right. "Of course!" you say. "Answer those, and you'll know the true purpose of life! But what are the answers?"
"That's the problem," he said. "I went on a pilgrimage to visit the Great Australian Guru to find out, but he only said the following: 'Either red smells like green or tree bark is cromulent (but not both!), and 42 is loud. That is, if and only if the square root of negative one smells like pine.'"
You frown. "That doesn't really answer any of the three questions."
Your friend nods. "But maybe this helps. When I rented a car for my pilgrimage, it had one of those air fresheners hanging from the rear view mirror, and it was labeled 'The Square Root of Negative One.' And it smelled exactly like pine!"
You step forward excitedly. "And during summer school when I was eight, I learned that tree bark is, in fact, cromulent!"
"Eureka!" shouts your friend. "We now know the answers to all three questions!"
...what are they?
Link to comment
Share on other sites
6 answers to this question
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.