THIS WEEK'S little CRYPTIC TEASER........

......great..........

........pleasure..........

.......to announce...........

........that........

..........after all this agonizing wait..........

........you...........

...............have..............

................HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD !!!!!!!!!!!.........

............YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...........

:jump :jump

   :rolling:     :rolling:     :rolling:   :rolling:    :rolling:

...... WELL DONE!!!!.......YOU ARE THIS WEEK'S TEASER CHAMPION!!!!!...........

....now, aren't you glad you rushed home from the pub???

martin,i can honestly say im overjoyed: im not a dummy after all :) although it took some coaxing, didnt it? at one point i thought the torment was going to continue; the minute after i posted the answer my computer froze and i couldnt get it to restart for ages...so i thought id have another night of not knowing.. youve got to set another one..please, i love these things..

What does that have to do with Radiohead or universality ?!

You'll have to explain this further, Martin...

so now i know. i'm sure i would have got there with a few more tries. and if you hadn't confused everyone with the radiohead thing. explain please!

I feel deflated, here, a bit cheated.

As I said, Martin, I don't care about the prize, though it certainly would have been nice.

But keeping us guessing just for this...

I thought, with the solution, I would have felt 'yeah, that's right, that was so obvious !'.

Sorry mate, but next time, you better come up with something that lives up to the build up you made.

Well, my congratulations to you velocity girl!

Finally, all this is over. :) What will the prize be?

Hi everybody: I know there's almost been a bit of a mass revolt since I last posted, but if you care to read on and see how all the clues I gave you ultimately DID lead to what was the correct explanation, perhaps you wouldn't feel so exasperated with me.

Are you sitting comfortably? Lets' start backtracking then, okay?

THE CORRECT EXPLANATION WAS: NUMBER ONE HIT SINGLES ("FIRST" in the charts), usually "=NEARLY ALWAYS" get played "LAST", in most chart rundowns over the world (this is"TRUE")

Three of you got THE CHART/HIT PARADE RUNDOWN aspect of it right: Ian S., King of Nothing, and Maria - in that order! I honestly thought one of you was going to get it!! Ian was closest, followed by K.o.N.

Now, taking each clue in reverse order and how they were relevant:

1. Last and third clue was "RADIOHEAD" - merely an example of a band who got massive by having NUMBER ONE RECORDS! (So there IS a relevant link with Radiohead here, you see, despite a few of you being of the opinion that I put that in to confuse people!)

2. Second clue was "on TV or Radio weekly" - self explanatory really. Charts happen usually each week.

3. First Clue was "UNIVERSALITY" - which of course implies that charts (with the number one record always being played last) occur all over the world, not just UK/US/Europe.

So that wraps up the teaser for everybody. I hope you can take solace from this explanation.

As for Velocity Girl - well, it seems having a few at the pub has helped your powers of thinking no end!! No wonder you want me to set another one: the sound of someone buzzing from having triumphed at this last one. And as for Tabs, Geoff, Sophisticated, Maria: don't be too disheartened or upset. It was fun really (Geoff, you even admitted you enjoyed getting your brain in knots, so you can't then come back and say you didn't like the way the clues left you feeling short-changed!!), and yeah.....thanks a million for all of you patient enough to stick with it.

I honestly didn't think I would get so much interest in this thread. It seemed to attract posts like a car-crash attracts ghoulish onlookers! So thanks again......hope it was a laugh anyway!!

Now, something else, yeah? … :)

Originally posted by velocity girl martin,i can honestly say im overjoyed: im not a dummy after all :) although it took some coaxing, didnt it? at one point i thought the torment was going to continue; the minute after i posted the answer my computer froze and i couldnt get it to restart for ages...so i thought id have another night of not knowing..youve got to set another one..please, i love these things..

....do you still want to receive your prize for all this sterling (drink-fuelled!) effort?? ;)

Originally posted by Nicolas LeBlanc Martin, I can assure you there is another answer to your teaser?The number "One"if you have only 1 number, and it's the number on.. on a list.1 is the first, and it's the last, and in boolean 1 = True :DAlright, I'll shut up my mathematics skills... but I like this kind of stuff, it beats arithmetics :)Sorry, I'm bored.

Oh my god!! What planet am I on now???? Help!!

Originally posted by Martin Gray Hi everybody: I know there's almost been a bit of a mass revolt since I last posted, but if you care to read on and see how all the clues I gave you ultimately DID lead to what was the correct explanation, perhaps you wouldn't feel so exasperated with me.Are you sitting comfortably? Lets' start backtracking then, okay?THE CORRECT EXPLANATION WAS: NUMBER ONE HIT SINGLES ("FIRST" in the charts), usually "=NEARLY ALWAYS" get played "LAST", in most chart rundowns over the world (this is"TRUE")Three of you got THE CHART/HIT PARADE RUNDOWN aspect of it right: Ian S., King of Nothing, and Maria - in that order! I honestly thought one of you was going to get it!! Ian was closest, followed by K.o.N.Now, taking each clue in reverse order and how they were relevant:1) Last and third clue was "RADIOHEAD" - merely an example of a band who got massive by having NUMBER ONE RECORDS! (So there IS a relevant link with Radiohead here, you see, despite a few of you being of the opinion that I put that in to confuse people!)2) Second clue was "on TV or Radio weekly" - self explanatory really. Charts happen usually each week.3) First Clue was "UNIVERSALITY" - which of course implies that charts (with the number one record always being played last) occur all over the world, not just UK/US/Europe.So that wraps up the teaser for everybody. I hope you can take solace from this explanation.As for Velocity Girl - well, it seems having a few at the pub has helped your powers of thinking no end!! No wonder you want me to set another one: the sound of someone buzzing from having triumphed at this last one.And as for Tabs, Geoff, Sophisticated, Maria: don't be too disheartened or upset. It was fun really (Geoff, you even admitted you enjoyed getting your brain in knots, so you can't then come back and say you didn't likethe way the clues left you feeling short-changed!!), and yeah.....thanks a million for all of you patient enough to stick with it.I honestly didn't think I would get so much interest in this thread. It seemed to attract posts like a car-crash attractsghoulish onlookers! So thanks again......hope it was a laugh anyway!!Now, something else, yeah? … :)

Of course, I enjoyed it Martin, but I didn't enjoy the solution.

Because it was all a rephrasing thing, since some people got it right for quite a long time.

In fact, it lacked universality and obviousness as there was too many other possible interpretations.

You see, I thought it was some kind of 'real' equation, undisputable, not a try and guessing what you had in mind.

Anyway, I know it won't prevent me to have a go at yout next quiz, so...

Your helpful comments have been taken taken on board, Geoff, and I will happilly bear them in mind should the occasion for another brain-scrambler arises.....

Talking of the winner........where are you Velocity Girl?............there will be something sent to you in due course ......the small matter of the Factory 12" I promised ....... you seem to have gone quiet all of a sudden! You haven't deserted us already, surely, have you?

Martin, just another word.

You know, in a way, my reaction is a testimony to your teaser in the 1st place, the way I'm so disappointed shows just how much I had fun and excitement participating.

Hitchcock said a lot of things about those kind of subjects. For instance, the plot was revealed at least 15 minutes before the ending. Because he knew that, after such a buildup, the viewers would leave the theater disappointed. So there was still some action afterwards to not leave the theater on the wrong impression. Best example of this is 'Vertigo' : the solution comes 45 minutes before the ending while, in the original book, it came in the end.

Of course, you can't do such a thing. So, Martin, be careful the next time not to make us mad... The longer the build up, the stronger the solution must be...

Yours,

Geoff the Klump

Originally posted by Geoff The Klump Martin, just another word.You know, in a way, my reaction is a testimony to your teaser in the 1st place, the way I'm so disappointed shows just how much I had fun and excitement participating.Hitchcock said a lot of things about those kind of subjects. For instance, the plot was revealed at least 15 minutes before the ending. Because he knew that, after such a buildup, the viewers would leave the theater disappointed. So there was still some action afterwards to not leave the theater on the wrong impression. Best example of this is 'Vertigo' : the solution comes 45 minutes before the ending while, in the original book, it came in the end.Of course, you can't do such a thing. So, Martin, be careful the next time not to make us mad... The longer the build up, the stronger the solution must be...Yours,Geoff the Klump

Hi Geoff,
Of course, you can feel free to analyse the outcome or the context as much as you wish, but do remember that as with anything of this sort, there is a tendency for the thread to take on a life seemingly of its own (not unlike a lot of the threads you've seen posted here) and the momentum - if indeed that is what you were referring to above - can go either way: it can reach a feverish pitch of such expectation that, come the final revelation, it's not uncommon to feel a sense of anti-climax or bewilderment. Or, it can simply start on a high, dip mid-way, then gather itself up again for the final kiss-off. (God, forgive me, this sounds so pretentious!) With this teaser - the important thing to remember was my regular prompt that the answer was actually something pretty mundane and straightforward. The reason it seemed such a disappointment to some, like yourself, is a direct result of all the expectation that had built up during the course of various attempts at getting the explanation right, such that, when the answer unravelled, you would - quite justifiably - think : "is that it?" Please don't feel like you spent an age trying to get the answer only to be put off at the end. It wasn't my intention to set a "trick" question either. The whole purpose of this teaser - like I stated right at the very beginning - was simply to test other peoples' methods of LATERAL THINKING. No more no less. There shouldn't be a need to get too wrapped up in post-mortems or over-analysis of the final outcome. Your claim that there could have been different answers may well have some grounding, but, again, the solution I was looking for was the one that was written down in front of me when I set the teaser. I mean, surely the solution couldn't have been THAT obscure - seeing as - like you said - a few people were getting the gist of it by supplying very near and very credible explanations after being given a few clues. To conclude then, I reckon it served its purpose pretty well all told: it's certainly whipped up a bit of controversy and debate even after all the madness has subsided. What use be a brain-bending teaser if it didn't cause people to get all wrapped up and indulging in heated debate??

For the record Geoff, I've been asked elsewhere to think of another one for later.....i.when I do, I'll make sure it's something more to do with New Order themselves rather than a general trivia one.

Keep your words coming. That's all part of the fun!
But that's it - just fun - please don't take it too seriously!!

where are you Velocity Girl?............there will be something sent to you in due course......the small matter of the Factory 12" I promised ....... you seem to have gone quiet all of a sudden!You haven't deserted us already, surely, have you? hi martin, ive been away on a merry jaunt, although im not feeling quite so merry now :( , if you know what i mean...nevertheless, the thought of a lovely piece of factory vinyl is fast cheering me up (as long as its not northside). thanks martin :) now i must go and rest my weary head..and my ringing ears.. vg

As I said on that other thread, I will certainly participate in your next brain teaser.

Thing is, I thought of the right solution because of some posts but I thought, no, it has alerady been said, it's not that, blah blah blah, again with you confusing us...

The problem here is also that I lack the vocabulary to express how I felt.

And, by the way, I don't mind if it's non-NO.

One final word having fun is a pretty serious business...

And please, Martin, don't say Radiohead was a real clue. Almost everyone understood this was about charts.

Putting Radiohead there had nothing to do with helping us.

That's ok, but be honest and say so.

I think I'm gonna stop on this subject because this page is toooooo long to load...

Originally posted by velocity girl the thought of a lovely piece of factory vinyl is fast cheering me up (as long as its not northside). thanks martin :)now i must go and rest my weary head..and my ringing ears..vg

Doh!........I was just going to say, it was a Northside LP I was going to send you....... :devil:

.....ho ho..............only joking!!!!!.....

Pardon my asking but isn't the #1 song ALWAYS played last?

when was it NEARLY ALWAYS?

u mentioned sex pistols and I don't know their chart positions that time never mind the fact I didn't even exist yet

.....ho ho..............only joking!!!!!..... have you actually got any northside records? if you do, i suggest you take a blow torch to them as i once did to an old babs streisand record i picked up in oxfam; it was very cathartic and i managed to shape it into a wonky yet funky fruitbowl..

Originally posted by velocity girl .....ho ho..............only joking!!!!!..... have you actually got any northside records? if you do, i suggest you take a blow torch to them as i once did to an old babs streisand record i picked up in oxfam; it was very cathartic and i managed to shape it into a wonky yet funky fruitbowl..

The answer to your question is an unequivocal NO!! If I did, I don't think I could live with myself. They were probably the worst band ever to come out of Manchester, even worse than Freddie And The Dreamers (ask your dad!) .

The answer to your question is an unequivocal NO!! If I did, I don't think I could live with myself. good lad