Does it involve a war? Yes (See - great question)
Did he lie to someone dying? No

Was he a soldier in the war?

Did he lie about his age to be able to fight (i.e. minimum age)?

Did he actually state his age as a number of years?

(Are you in bed, or are you peaking?)

Was he a soldier in the war? Trying to be - see next question

Did he lie about his age to be able to fight (i.e. minimum age)? Yes

Did he actually state his age as a number of years? I have to say it - yes-ish

(Are you in bed, or are you peaking?) This made me laugh. I was sleeping. We are having thunder and lightening. My dog gets scared so he woke me up. :(

Did he know other languages?

(Are you in bed, or are you peaking?) This made me laugh. I was sleeping. We are having thunder and lightening. My dog gets scared so he woke me up.

I'd hate that. I sleep great through storms, as for some odd reason I find them calming, so I'd be ticked if my dog woke up. (But I have cats, and while they don't like thunder, they tend to dive under the bed, not wake me up.)

Let's go with this language thing...

Did he say his age that in one language meant one thing and in another language meant another? (That would be a very odd coincidence if so.)

Did he hold up a number of fingers?

Was one of his fingers missing?

Did he know other languages? No

I'd hate that. I sleep great through storms, as for some odd reason I find them calming, so I'd be ticked if my dog woke up. (But I have cats, and while they don't like thunder, they tend to dive under the bed, not wake me up.)
He's a good boy, but he's always afraid of the thunder and lightening. Soon after I posted, it stopped and started raining really hard. We had a quiet rest of the night. It can be frustrating - he moans and I know he's upset and wants comforting. He's a big dog (yellow lab), so it's kind of funny.

Did he say his age that in one language meant one thing and in another language meant another? (That would be a very odd coincidence if so.) No

Did he hold up a number of fingers? No

Was one of his fingers missing? No - but that's an interesting thought.

Was the question he answered to something like "How old are you?"?

Did he reply by saying solely a number?

Was the question he answered to something like "How old are you?"? Yes

Did he reply by saying solely a number? No - and this is a good line of questioning.

Did he say something along the lines of "This is my sixteenth summer"?

Since you celebrate your birthday at the END of the year it's marking, it could be taken to mean he's 16, when depending on the time of year he was born, he would only be 15 and some months.

Did he say something along the lines of "This is my sixteenth summer"? No, but it was something misleading. I guess that's kind of obvious. ;)

Since you celebrate your birthday at the END of the year it's marking, it could be taken to mean he's 16, when depending on the time of year he was born, he would only be 15 and some months.

Did he even say numbers in this answer?
- Or did he had to write it down?

The person he's replying to is a soldier and is the one in charge of recruitment, right?

Did he even say numbers in this answer? yes
- Or did he had to write it down? Yes :D

The person he's replying to is a soldier and is the one in charge of recruitment, right? Yes

Wow - three in a row. You are on a roll.

Two were making sure I was not making false assumptions :o

Is there the issue of for example 06/07/92?

Which can mean 6th July 1992 or 7th June 1992?

Two were making sure I was not making false assumptions :o

Is there the issue of 06/07/92?

Which can mean 6th July 2010 or 7th June 2010?

No, but another great thought.

Is there the issue of decimal, as using '.' versus ',' ?

Or is there an issue of writing Jn which can mean January or June?

Is there the issue of decimal, as using '.' versus ',' ?

Or is there an issue of writing Jn which can mean January or June?

No, neither.

Did his lie make him OLDER? Or YOUNGER?

Did his lie make him OLDER? or YOUNGER?

Older

Was his handwriting misleading?

Was his handwriting misleading?

No

I went back to your question about writing it down. I want to clarify something that might be a little misleading. You asked: Or did he had to write it down? He had to write it down to carry out the lie. That doesn't mean the other man made him write it down.

Was this during a specific time? (sorry if it's already been asked)

I'm thinking of the switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian.

Was this during a specific time period? (sorry if it's already been asked)

I'm thinking of the switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian.

No, it wasn't then. It really could have happened during any time, but the puzzle was based on stories from a specific time.

All I can think of is WWII, and the only solution popping into my brain is SAYING the wrong age, but WRITING the correct one.

Or vice versa.

All I can think of is WWII, and the only solution popping into my brain is SAYING the wrong age, but WRITING the correct one.

Or vice versa.

Not WWII in this example, but I don't really think the war is important. It could have happened in any war. It's not either of those. It's more of a trick. He didn't out and out lie, but he knew he was lying. Haha - much clearer now. :o

Wow, I thought for sure this would've been solved by time I got on here.

Unky, you did make an assumption once: that he was answering a question asked. Of course, I made the assumption the guy was a recruitment officer. :D (Shame on me.)

And J-Lo, your comment about he had to write it was not misleading. Your answer doesn't have to established why he needed to write it so I found nothing misleading in it at all - that's our job. ;)

Wow, I thought for sure this would've been solved by time I got on here.

Unky, you did make an assumption once: that he was answering a question asked. Of course, I made the assumption the guy was a recruitment officer. :D (Shame on me.)

And J-Lo, your comment about he had to write it was not misleading. Your answer doesn't have to established why he needed to write it so I found nothing misleading in it at all - that's our job. ;)

I just wanted to make sure Unky understood me. It wasn't for you to read. ;)

Was his handwriting misleading? No.

Clarification:

Was it the written answer that was misleading vs the spoken answer?

Or, was there something about the handwriting itself that was misleading (e.g. lousy handwriting)?

For that matter (don't think this is established), was it the spoken answer that was misleading?

I'm sorry - I won't read it next time. :)

Clarification:

Was it the written answer that was misleading vs the spoken answer? No

Or, was there something about the handwriting itself that was misleading (e.g. lousy handwriting)? No

For that matter (don't think this is established), was it the spoken answer that was misleading? Yes

Haha - I was being silly. :p I just felt like Unky was on the verge of something and I wanted to push him into more questions.

So you were cheating! :)

Did he write his age in years, in actual numbers?

(Dang, I'm supposed to be outside working while it's light. I expected this to be solved and only came to see the answer. Arg! This is almost as addicting as my computer games I play.)

Did he write his age in years, in actual numbers? No If this were Unky, I'd give him a hint. :D

(Dang, I'm supposed to be outside working while it's light. I expected this to be solved and only came to see the answer. Arg! This is almost as addicting as my computer games I play.)

It is addicting. I'll be on and off tonight if you want to do your work and come back. It's pouring rain here! The thunder and lightening have been plentiful today - I bet my poor doggy is very upset.

Was it something as simple as the recruiter asking "Are you old enough to go to war?" and the man answering "yes" but putting his actual age on the forms?

Was it something as simple as the recruiter asking "Are you old enough to go to war?" and the man answering "yes" but putting his actual age on the forms?

Not quite that simple. Unky has identified the question that was asked. It's the trick in the answer that has to be solved.

Does it have to do with the numbers he says are NOT a birthday or year?

Does it have to do with the numbers he says are NOT a birthday or year?

No

Gah. Every time I think I'm out of the box, I'm right back in it.

Gah. Every time I think I'm out of the box, I'm right back in it.

I feel your pain. :D

I'm going to drive home from work now. I'll be back later. There are some clues in previous answers... usually along the lines of encouraging more questions in response to a question.

Did he write his age in years, in actual numbers? No If this were Unky, I'd give him a hint. :D



That was actually the answer I wanted. ;) Everyone always thinks Yes is a "good" answer. Not true. A yes would have eliminated an idea I'm working on. All sorts of things were going through my head while I was outside working. Now let's see if I can put them together into something.

And no hints!

Is what he was telling the truth about also his age? No - good question

"About...."

OK, is what he was telling the truth about the actual age?

Or, something "about" his age, and not the age itself?

Hope you aren't here yet, so you'll catch my edit:
I should clarify that "telling" above refers to writing, not speaking, since my impression is that the written part was the truth part.

Let me see if I've got some things straight:
He spoke and he wrote.
The spoken words were in answer to a question asking what his age was. The spoken answer was deceptive. His spoken reply included numbers, but only "sorta" was his age in years. (whatever that means)
He wrote something, and this was the truth. And what he wrote was not actually his age in years.

Is all of that correct so far?

Was the writing on a form of sorts?

Did the recruiter look at the writing?

Did he write his birthday?

Is so, did it include the birth year?

Does it have to do with the numbers he says are NOT a birthday or year? No

I forgot about this. And how I hate these "not" questions. (Never mind that I accidentally asked one.)

So does this mean the numbers he says ARE a birthday or year?

And did you take "year" to mean birth year?

"About...."

OK, is what he was telling the truth about the actual age? No

Or, something "about" his age, and not the age itself? No

Hope you aren't here yet, so you'll catch my edit:
I should clarify that "telling" above refers to writing, not speaking, since my impression is that the written part was the truth part.
Since this isn't a question, I won't comment. I did understand your meaning of "telling". :)

Let me see if I've got some things straight:
He spoke and he wrote. Yes

The spoken words were in answer to a question asking what his age was. Yes The spoken answer was deceptive. Yes His spoken reply included numbers, but only "sorta" was his age in years. (whatever that means) I don't see where I said sorta, so I'm thinking you are referring to this: Did he actually state his age as a number of years? I have to say it - yes-ish He answered the question of his age with a number, but I can't answer a full out yes to that question. I think we need to clarify this with another question to be sure I know what you are asking.

He wrote something, and this was the truth. Another tough one to answer. Needs more questions. And what he wrote was not actually his age in years. Right



Was the writing on a form of sorts? Not a form

Did the recruiter look at the writing? No

Did he write his birthday? No

Is so, did it include the birth year? N/A

Or, something "about" his age, and not the age itself? No

Can you clarify what you meant by putting about in quotes?

Or, something "about" his age, and not the age itself? No

Can you clarify what you meant by putting about in quotes?

Yes, I was going to ask about that anyway. I just meant anything that could have referenced the age in any way, directly or otherwise. For instance, a birthdate or year (already a no), a reference of his age to someone else's, etc. Pretty much anything that wasn't the age itself, but something that would 'indicate' or 'imply' his age in some other way.

Just trying to clarify how you took the question when you answered it. And you can still re-answer this question if necessary.

However, I also just realized this entire time I thought you said that yes, the truth was also about his age. And you said no. Freaking DUH! :rolleyes:

Yes His spoken reply included numbers, but only "sorta" was his age in years. (whatever that means) I don't see where I said sort of, so I'm thinking you are referring to this: Did he actually state his age as a number of years? I have to say it - yes-ish

I know you didn't say "sorta." To me "yes-ish" means sort of. It's only sort of a yes, but not quite. I just take that to mean it's not quite what I said, but there's sort of something to it, and don't assume what that might mean - but rather that it's something I'll have to figure out. So no issues here.

Yes, I was going to ask about that anyway. I just meant anything that could have referenced the age in any way, directly or otherwise. For instance, a birthdate or year (already a no), a reference of his age to someone else's, etc. Pretty much anything that wasn't the age itself, but something that would 'indicate' or 'imply' his age in some other way.

Just trying to clarify how you took the question when you answered it. And you can still re-answer this question if necessary.

However, I also just realized this entire time I thought you said that yes, the truth was also about his age. And you said no. Freaking DUH! :rolleyes:

This is a tricky one. The written part does not indicate or imply his age, but is used to imply it. I know that is confusing, but you will get the gist when you figure this out.

I think you missed #793.

Do you know I wanted to go back to the actual posts to see something (not trusting what I copied to my wordpad file) and didn't even know where it began. Anal me did not write the post this started in! (711 by the way) This has gotten long.


Did he reply by saying solely a number? No

So in his spoken reply, he said a number (or numbers) and also said something else?

I forgot about this. And how I hate these "not" questions. (Never mind that I accidentally asked one.)

So does this mean the numbers he says ARE a birthday or year? No

And did you take "year" to mean birth year? Yes

I missed this earlier.

I think you missed #793.

Do you know I wanted to go back to the actual posts to see something (not trusting what I copied to my wordpad file) and didn't even know where it began. Anal me did not write the post this started in! (711 by the way) This has gotten long.



So in his spoken reply, he said a number (or numbers) and also said something else?[/QUOTE]

That's correct. He said a number and other words.

OK, some more things to clarify, and then hopefully I can get back to my other questions. This is stuff I've been looking at:


Did he tell the lie, and tell the truth at the same time? i.e. he only said one thing and that was a lie and the truth both? Yes.

Was it the written answer that was misleading vs the spoken answer? No

He wrote something, and this was the truth. Needs clarified.

I've been under the impression that the written part was the truth, but you just answered that it needs clarified.

He's told a lie and a truth. We know the spoken part was a lie. I also asked if it was the written answer that was misleading and you said no.

Now, I'm taking that to mean then the written answer was the truth if that was not the misleading statement. You're saying this isn't quite correct? And needs clarified?

Then back up to that top question. I asked if this was at the same time, as in, he said "one thing" and it was both the truth and a lie. Meaning a) you took "said" literally and that the spoken part is both truth and lie. Or b) it wasn't "one thing" cause there was a spoken and a written. Somehow this is creating a conflict in my mind.

Questions that might clear it up depending on the answer:

Did the spoken part contain both truth and lie?
Did the written part contain both truth and lie?
Was there more than one truth?
Was there more than one lie?

Is it relevant what this paper was he wrote on?

You said the recruiter didn't look at the writing.
But did the recruiter take the paper (and just not look at it)?
Was the paper going to go to someone else (some 3rd party)?

Did he state his age relative to something else? (For example, I'm 2 years older than the requirement, or I'm a year younger than my brother.)

OK, some more things to clarify, and then hopefully I can get back to my other questions. This is stuff I've been looking at:



I've been under the impression that the written part was the truth, but you just answered that it needs clarified.

He's told a lie and a truth. We know the spoken part was a lie. I also asked if it was the written answer that was misleading and you said no.

Now, I'm taking that to mean then the written answer was the truth if that was not the misleading statement. You're saying this isn't quite correct? Right - the written part was neither truth or lie, but was used to imply. And needs clarified? I think it is now clarified by your answers below.

Then back up to that top question. I asked if this was at the same time, as in, he said "one thing" and it was both the truth and a lie. Meaning a) you took "said" literally and that the spoken part is both truth and lie. Or b) it wasn't "one thing" cause there was a spoken and a written. Somehow this is creating a conflict in my mind.

Questions that might clear it up depending on the answer:

Did the spoken part contain both truth and lie? Yes, the spoken part was intentionally a lie and was technically the truth.
Did the written part contain both truth and lie? Goes back to this: This is a tricky one. The written part does not indicate or imply his age, but is used to imply it. I know that is confusing, but you will get the gist when you figure this out.
Was there more than one truth? No
Was there more than one lie? No

Is it relevant what this paper was he wrote on? I think it would help you to know more about the paper.

You said the recruiter didn't look at the writing. Correct
But did the recruiter take the paper (and just not look at it)? No
Was the paper going to go to someone else (some 3rd party)? No


Did he state his age relative to something else? (For example, I'm 2 years older than the requirement, or I'm a year younger than my brother.) No

Was the piece of paper his, and not for the officer?

Is it relevant by how old his lie makes him be? (ie is it relevant that he could be taken as being older by 1 year, 2 years, etc)

Is he writing numbers on the piece of paper?
- Letters?
- Tally?
- Other symbols to count?

So, what he is writing down is not what he is saying. Right?

Was the piece of paper his, and not for the officer? He was not going to give it to anyone.

Is it relevant by how old his lie makes him be? (ie is it relevant that he could be taken as being older by 1 year, 2 years, etc) Yes

Is he writing numbers on the piece of paper? yes
- Letters? No
- Tally? No
- Other symbols to count? No

So, what he is writing down is not what he is saying. Right? What he wrote down is not exactly what he said.

So the guy just kept the paper for himself?

So, he spoke something that was both truth and lie. He wrote something entirely different that was neither truth nor lie, but somehow helped imply something in what he said, but perhaps was not deceptive in and of itself? This means the "truth" in the scenario is a spoken one, and not the written part, correct? (Cause that confused the heck out of me.)

All correct?

Since you said the truth was not about his age, it must have been about the other words he spoke truthfully which helped with the deception?

I think I've been confused for a while cause I thought you answered something early on differently, but there it is in black and white. Big waste of time. But I think I get the "gist" of how it all came across, but now just have to figure out what it was.

OK, need to make a quick run to the store (late, I know) and I'll see what's happening when I return.

Is he writing numbers on the piece of paper? Yes. - Doh, I don't think anyone ever bothered to ask this before.

Is what he wrote down somewhat similar to what he said? (You said "not exactly.")

So the guy just kept the paper for himself? Yes

So, he spoke something that was both truth and lie. Yes He wrote something entirely different that was neither truth nor lie, but somehow helped imply something in what he said, but perhaps was not deceptive in and of itself? This means the "truth" in the scenario is a spoken one, and not the written part, correct? (Cause that confused the heck out of me.) Yes, the spoken part is the truth and the lie. The written part is in itself neither truth or a lie.

All correct? Yes

Since you said the truth was not about his age, it must have been about the other words he spoke truthfully which helped with the deception? Yes

I think I've been confused for a while cause I thought you answered something early on differently, but there it is in black and white. Big waste of time. But I think I get the "gist" of how it all came across, but now just have to figure out what it was.
I've read my answers a few times and haven't found a blooper yet. There are some answers that were quite literal that may have confused you, but once you figure this out they are correct. I'll go double check again, though.

Well, I need to ask this then:

Does his lie make him older by a year?
- Two years?
- Three years?
- More!

Did the number he wrote include other symbols like '.', '/', etc?
- Or just plain numbers?
- With spacing (eg. 641 684 643)? (as opposed to 6384164)
- Does it matter?
- Is it relevant to know with what he is writing?

Well, I need to ask this then:

Does his lie make him older by a year? Only relevant that it makes him older, but we don't know his real age. I think 1-2 years tops.
- Two years?
- Three years?
- More!

Did the number he wrote include other symbols like '.', '/', etc? No
- Or just plain numbers? Yes
- With spacing (eg. 641 684 643)? (as opposed to 6384164) No spacing
- Does it matter? Yes
- Is it relevant to know with what he is writing? Sorry - misread this. No - it doesn't matter what he wrote with.

Is he writing numbers on the piece of paper? Yes. - Doh, I don't think anyone ever bothered to ask this before.

Is what he wrote down somewhat similar to what he said? (You said "not exactly.") Yes, there's something in common.

Is there something about reading the numbers in the other way?

(For example, I write 654 but read 456?)

So the guy just kept the paper for himself? Yes

So, he spoke something that was both truth and lie. Yes He wrote something entirely different that was neither truth nor lie, but somehow helped imply something in what he said, but perhaps was not deceptive in and of itself? Not entirely different This means the "truth" in the scenario is a spoken one, and not the written part, correct? (Cause that confused the heck out of me.) Yes, the spoken part is the truth and the lie. The written part is in itself neither truth or a lie.

All correct? Yes Except the entirely different

Since you said the truth was not about his age, it must have been about the other words he spoke truthfully which helped with the deception? Yes

I think I've been confused for a while cause I thought you answered something early on differently, but there it is in black and white. Big waste of time. But I think I get the "gist" of how it all came across, but now just have to figure out what it was.
I've read my answers a few times and haven't found a blooper yet. There are some answers that were quite literal that may have confused you, but once you figure this out they are correct. I'll go double check again, though.

I meant to comment on this earlier and didn't.

I checked all my answers and feel they are fine. What is confusing are questions that refer to "his age". Since he lied, it was hard to answer these at times.

Is there something about reading the numbers in the other way?

(For example, I write 654 but read 456?)

No

I checked all my answers and feel they are fine. What is confusing are questions that refer to "his age". Since he lied, it was hard to answer these at times.

I didn't mean you. The real truth is I'm not even sure if anything you said is off.

No, first I asked if the truth he told was about his age, you said no, and somewhere I got stuck in my head that you said yes. Entirely my fault, but sure made a difference!

And once Unky brought up the writing thing, for some reason I got it into my head that the paper was the truth one, and the spoken the lie. Despite having specifically asked earlier if what he said all at one time was both truth and lie. I was tying to make sure the scenario statement wasn't being deceptive itself. (I think I covered that pretty thoroughly. :D)

For the moment I'm stuck. But I've got some stuff to do and hopefully will think of something to ask while I'm doing it.

Did the recruiter give him the piece of paper to write on?

Did he already have the paper with him?

Even though it wasn't a "form," was it still something official?

Did he make (spoken) reference to what he wrote down?

If so, was that reference somehow how he was "technically" telling the truth?

Did he read the paper to the man?

Could the recruiter read?

No, first I asked if the truth he told was about his age, you said no, and somewhere I got stuck in my head that you said yes. Entirely my fault, but sure made a difference!
This answer is deceptive in a way. While No is correct, one would think it was about his age if they heard what he said. Maybe that is obvious, but I thought it might make things clearer.

Did the recruiter give him the piece of paper to write on? No

Did he already have the paper with him? Yes

Even though it wasn't a "form," was it still something official? No

Did he make (spoken) reference to what he wrote down? Yes

If so, was that reference somehow how he was "technically" telling the truth? Yes

Did he read the paper to the man? No

Could the recruiter read? Yes, I assume so. Irrelevant really.

I really have no idea now... :(

He scribbles some numbers on a piece of paper, and he says something which is true, but a lie. Lie in the sense that it is not his real age, but true in some other way...

Did he make reference to someone he knew?
Did he try to pass himself for another person?
Is it relevant the number of digits he wrote down?
- If so, did he write two digits? 3? 4? 5? 6?

Was the piece of paper his birth certificate?

A letter from his mother?

A note from his doctor?

Did the paper belong to him?

Is the "lie" part actually not his age, but his identity?

He scribbles some numbers on a piece of paper, and he says something which is true, but a lie. Lie in the sense that it is not his real age, but true in some other way... Right. What he says about his age is a lie, but because of what he wrote on the paper what he says is actually a truth. What he says therefore has 2 different meanings.

Did he make reference to someone he knew? No
Did he try to pass himself for another person? No
Is it relevant the number of digits he wrote down? Yes
- If so, did he write two digits? Yes 3? 4? 5? 6? No to the rest.

Was the piece of paper his birth certificate? No

A letter from his mother? No

A note from his doctor? No

Did the paper belong to him? Yes, it's just a piece of paper.

Is the "lie" part actually not his age, but his identity? No

Is it relevant the number of digits he wrote down? Yes
- If so, did he write two digits? Yes 3? 4? 5? 6? No to the rest.



I have to slow down in my reading. I read your first question as, "Is it relevant the digits he wrote down?" The number he writes down is relevant, and the only reason the number of digits is relevant is in determining what that number is.

Well, all I can think about a two digit number is: the year, the date or the month...

Is this number related to a year? A date?

Well, all I can think about a two digit number is: the year, the date or the month...

Is this number related to a year? a date? No. Just a number. Try to narrow down the number.

Do I have to ask all the 100 2 digit numbers? :eek:

Does the number contain a:
0?
1?
2?
3?
4?
5?
6?
7?
8?
9?

Do I have to ask all the 100 2 digit numbers? :eek:

Does the number contain a:
0?
1? yes
2?
3?
4?
5?
6?
7?
8? yes
9?

That was a clever way to do it.

Ok, now is the number:
18?
81?

Ok, now is the number:
18? yes
81? no

Now, that surely means 18 years... but then, I'm still confused as to what he might have said :(

Maybe it's because I don't use English often enough :(

I'll have to think more about it.

Now, that surely means 18 years... but then, I'm still confused as to what he might have said :(

Maybe it's because I don't use English often enough :(

I'll have to think more about it.

I hope it's not a language barrier, but I don't think it is. You've had some great questions and are closing in on this. I have to go into a meeting, and I know it's late for you. I'll check back later to see if you posted anything. :)

I'm going to sleep now, yes. I'll be trying to think about this :)

Got another student cancel so I get to look at this a bit. 'Course it took a while to go through the new questions.


No, first I asked if the truth he told was about his age, you said no, and somewhere I got stuck in my head that you said yes. Entirely my fault, but sure made a difference!
This answer is deceptive in a way. While No is correct, one would think it was about his age if they heard what he said. Maybe that is obvious, but I thought it might make things clearer.

No, actually, you just gave a clue away. It might be obvious to you, but that the truth would "seem to be an age if they heard what he said" is not obvious. The "truth" part could have been anything, and also really the truth, and not necessarily something that would sound like the truth. Yes, it's obvious there's a deception, but that little detail is not obvious.


Could the recruiter read? Yes, I assume so. Irrelevant really.

Don't know when this takes place, but the idea of assuming everyone can read is a relatively new one. ;)

So, what he said had a lie, and the truth part was actually technically truthful, but in combination with the lie and the piece of paper, came off sounding like the lie was true? Is that the general idea? (You don't need to get technical - just is that the general idea?)

Is the 18 the age he wanted the recruiter to believe he was?

(You know, you really cheated on that. In fact, I had it in my head that he didn't write an age. Of course, looking back, you only said he didn't write "his" age, not "an" age.)


Did he actually state his age as a number of years? Yes-ish

Does this mean he stated "an" age and not "his" age?

Did he state the number 18?

So, what he said had a lie, and the truth part was actually technically truthful, but in combination with the lie and the piece of paper, came off sounding like the lie was true? Is that the general idea? (You don't need to get technical - just is that the general idea?) Yes (but I like to get technical :p)

Is the 18 the age he wanted the recruiter to believe he was? He wanted the recruiter to believe he was qualified for which he had to be at least 18.

(You know, you really cheated on that. In fact, I had it in my head that he didn't write an age. Of course, looking back, you only said he didn't write "his" age, not "an" age.) Well, there we get back to semantics. It wasn't his age. Plus, it was just a number he wrote. This was shortly after we had talked about how much to give away.


Does this mean he stated "an" age and not "his" age? It was all in how he stated it.

Did he state the number 18? Yes, and it's been established he said the number plus other words.

I feel like we are running out of time to solve this so I need to give more info in my answers, like the one directly above. :o

(You know, you really cheated on that. In fact, I had it in my head that he didn't write an age. Of course, looking back, you only said he didn't write "his" age, not "an" age.) Well, there we get back to semantics. It wasn't his age. Plus, it was just a number he wrote. This was shortly after we had talked about how much to give away.

Oh, I wasn't commenting on how you answered it. I see that you never answered it incorrectly. I just didn't "catch it." The whole puzzle is deceiving, and I imagine difficult to answer from your side, like how literally to take things, etc. I really don't like too much being given away, especially early into the puzzle.

But you're right that we're running out of time. Guess you didn't expect this to take so long. :p Doesn't help that I got caught up with some stuff after work and couldn't get back to this.

I guess it's just a matter of figuring out what it was he said besides the 18, how he said it, and what the reference to the paper was. We've kind of got the idea of what happened, just not the detail of what he said. Do you think I'm right on this? That we've got the idea and just need to come up with exactly what he said?

And I can't think of anything really tricky, other than something simple like "I wrote 18 on this piece of paper, and that is how old I am." Which is dumb. (It fulfills the requirements that we've established, but it's still dumb.) I guess I'm trying to take the idea in that dumb statement and find a way to say it in a really good, deceptive sort of way.

Well, I'll think upon it. Maybe Unky will have an idea. I don't even know what to ask, unless something I said above is incorrect. I would say... if you want to give some hints, go ahead. If you need to get to bed or you too busy with last-minute packing or whatever, just give it away. Do whatever you need to do.

And if I don't have time before you take off, I'll say now to have yourself a good wedding and a wonderfully terrific honeymoon. And I hope new hubby keeps you busy enough that you're not tempted to "sneak on" and see what's going on. :D

Okay, stupid guess--but does he just say "I am 18"--but means the number on the paper (his number in line or something) and not his age? So he's telling the truth when he says he's 18--just lying that he's 18 years of age.

I guess it's just a matter of figuring out what it was he said besides the 18, how he said it, and what the reference to the paper was. We've kind of got the idea of what happened, just not the detail of what he said. Do you think I'm right on this? That we've got the idea and just need to come up with exactly what he said? I know you are close. It would help a lot to figure out where the paper is.

And I can't think of anything really tricky, other than something simple like "I wrote 18 on this piece of paper, and that is how old I am." Which is dumb. (It fulfills the requirements that we've established, but it's still dumb.) I guess I'm trying to take the idea in that dumb statement and find a way to say it in a really good, deceptive sort of way.

Well, I'll think upon it. Maybe Unky will have an idea. I don't even know what to ask, unless something I said above is incorrect. I would say.... if you want to give some hints, go ahead. If you need to get to bed or you too busy with last-minute packing or whatever, just give it away. Do whatever you need to do. I'm working on cleaning, laundry, and packing - and just checking in here on occasion. I'm pretty well ready.

And if I don't have time before you take off, I'll say now to have yourself a good wedding and a wonderfully terrific honeymoon. And I hope new hubby keeps you busy enough that you're not tempted to "sneak on" and see what's going on. :D

Haha, thanks for the well wishes. I'm sure I won't be coming on here for the next few weeks. :)

Okay, stupid guess--but does he just say "I am 18"--but means the number on the paper (his number in line or something) and not his age? So he's telling the truth when he says he's 18--just lying that he's 18 years of age.

It's along these lines, but just a little more to it. There is just one word missing from what you said.

I think you will all be laughing when you hear the answer. When you know it, it seems so obvious... but you just have to figure out something about that piece of paper.

I'm surprised you're still with us.

Does it have something to do with how he's holding the paper? Um... I'm thinking like "I am over 18" - like literally standing over the piece of paper. Or something like that?

I'm surprised you're still with us.

Does it have something to do with how he's holding the paper? Um... I'm thinking like "I am over 18" - like literally standing over the piece of paper. Or something like that?

I wanted to see if we could finish the puzzle. I've had this page open all night, but only looked at it about once an hour. I've been busy getting ready, other than that. :)

Yes - that's it. :p


Official solution:
During the American Civil War, it's estimated that a third of the Union Army was underage. One tactic was for underage recruits to write the number "18" on a slip of paper and put it in their shoe. When asked their age, they could respond without lying, "I'm over 18." He was perfectly honest when he lied about his age.

Oh - I just noticed your comment above about needing to find out the location of the paper!!

So am I right?

(Hey, and I thought of that without seeing what you said. )

Oops - that post was 'caught' in there while the site re-set itself, or whatever it does every night at this time. It ended up posting anyway before I could see your answer.

So YAAAHHHHH! After all this... and I really was having no clue at all.

Civil War, huh? Somehow I was picturing Russia or something. Don't ask me why.

Now I need to go scrounge something up so Unky'll have something to do when he gets here . :)

You have a great time, and I assume we'll see you when you get back!

Now I need to go scrounge something up so Unky'll have something to do when he gets here . :)

You have a great time, and I assume we'll see you when you get back!


Thanks. I may peek in tomorrow, especially if I'm having a hard time concentrating on work. I'll be back in November. Have fun with the games!

New thread started over here. Come one, come all:
https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/games/lateral-thinking-puzzles-part-vi-513982.html#post2550405

A bunch of people are on an ocean voyage in a yacht. One afternoon, they all decide to go swimming, so they put on swimsuits and dive off the side into the water. Unfortunately, they forget to set up a ladder on the side of the boat, so there's no way for them to climb back in, and they drown.

Rolcam, we did that puzzle like a month ago, and have done numerous other ones since. It also sounds like you copied that answer directly off some site where you found the puzzle, which is really not the idea.

Oops, I'm sorry I forgot something :o

Have a good trip JLo and a really good time :)