Guest Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 Here it goes...... Why is a Raven like a writing desk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 This question is posed by the Mad Hatter in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The Mad Hatter asks “why is a raven like a writing desk?” The guests at the tea party attempt to puzzle the riddle out, and several pages later, the Hatter admits “I haven't the slightest idea.” The author, Louis Carroll had intended for the riddle to have no real answer. Having said that, my answer to this riddle is 5. because motorcycles don't have doors. Riddle me a smile! Ironman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 Poe wrote on both. Per ironman, this one has a bit of history. I take no credit for my answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 soop Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 I heard this one in a Batman comic (The Batman poses the question to the Riddler or Joker). Although he admits there is no answer, you can pretty much form a link from anything to anything else. Well they both have black feathers (at the time, a quill shouldn't have been uncommon, and when it's covered in ink...) Also, the collective noun for ravens is an unkindness, or a storytelling. That's quite a poigniant link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 preflop Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 This reminds me of an oldie I heard 30 yrs (or so) ago. How is a piece of paper like a lazy dog? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Pickett Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 1. Because it can produce a few notes, tho they are very flat; and it is nevar put with the wrong end in front! (this quote was from Caroll himself in a preface to a later edition of his book...he spelled nevAr so that it is RAVEN backwards...but later editions mis-stated him and put "never" instead...although, I agree, his original riddle when he wrote it did not have an answer.) 2. Because the notes for which they are noted are not noted for being musical notes. 3. Because Poe wrote on both. 4. Because you cannot ride either one of them like a bicycle. (my favorite answer) How is a piece of paper like a lazy dog? A piece of paper is an "ink-lined plane". An "inclined plane" is a "slope up". A "slow pup" is a lazy dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 soop Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 This reminds me of an oldie I heard 30 yrs (or so) ago. How is a piece of paper like a lazy dog? Because they don't bark. But it doesn't work. I like the above answer. Smart! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 preflop Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 A piece of paper is an "ink-lined plane". An "inclined plane" is a "slope up". A "slow pup" is a lazy dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Pickett Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 nice job Pickett! Had you heard it before?A piece of paper is an "ink-lined plane". An "inclined plane" is a "slope up". A "slow pup" is a lazy dog Yeah, don't remember where I heard it, but I like that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 (edited) I heard this one in a Batman comic (The Batman poses the question to the Riddler or Joker). Although he admits there is no answer, you can pretty much form a link from anything to anything else. Well they both have black feathers (at the time, a quill shouldn't have been uncommon, and when it's covered in ink...) Also, the collective noun for ravens is an unkindness, or a storytelling. That's quite a poigniant link. they both have quills. And in Lewis Carroll's time the answer would have been obvious. Why is everyone so sure he didn't intend it to have an answer? I guess it is ironic that obvious riddles to your grandfather become nonsense to younger generations. Maybe that is what Carroll referred to. Like with that father son rhyme "now be off or i'll kick you downstairs' I love that lazy pup /piece of paper riddle! I never heard that. Are there more like that? Edited May 18, 2009 by chicory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 I love that lazy pup /piece of paper riddle! I never heard that. Are there more like that?they both have quills. And in Lewis Carroll's time the answer would have been obvious. Why is everyone so sure he didn't intend it to have an answer? I guess it is ironic that obvious riddles to your grandfather become nonsense to younger generations. Maybe that is what Carroll referred to. Like with that father son rhyme "now be off or i'll kick you downstairs' because he...himself...said it he first intended it not to have an answer...it was used to show the overall nonsense of the world....he later then said the answer was "Because it can produce a few notes, tho they are very flat; and it is nevar put with the wrong end in front.." but over all the answer is debatable...I was just intrested in seeing what responses this infamous riddle will get Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Why is a Raven like a writing desk?
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