You Spin Me Right 'Round
Note: The zebra has moved here.
When I was in grade seven my homeroom teacher, Mr. Whitty, gave us a puzzle to work on before first period. It was titled, "Who Owns The Zebra." It kept us all occupied for those fifteen minutes, but not one of the thirty twelve-year-olds in that classroom solved it by the time the bell rang.
I held onto it for weeks. I puzzled and puzzled until my puzzler was sore. And eventually, I solved it.
I think the Norwegian owned the zebra. I forget who drank the water.
You can find anything on the Internet, this I know, so today I Googled "who owns the zebra" and discovered that it's a rather famous logic puzzle. And here I thought Mr. Whitty had created it just for us!
The version I remember from all those years ago involved the nationality, house colour, pet, preferred beverage, and — wait for it — preferred cigarette brand of seven men living in adjacent houses. Cigarette brand! How politically incorrect. But it was the 1970s.
The versions of the puzzle you'll find online now have been edited. Gone are the cigarettes. Now, it's flowers or some such nonsense.
I found this one from Britain, but the cigarettes are British. The one I remember, the cigarettes are American brands. I distinctly remember Lucky Strike. Not that I knew what they were at the time.
In previous posts I've mentioned that you don't exactly have to twist my arm to get me to sing. Or do anything in front of an audience, for that matter. I'm a regular at KAK at both the Rivoli and the Bovine. At Accordion Guy's party I spent too much time in the front room, where the karaoke machine was. Accordion Guy has this extravagent system that plays cheesy stock footage video and still images behind the lyrics. And when the song is over it gives you a score. I got 100 twice!
My karaoke equivalent of a bar trick is singing "9 Luftballons" in German.
And so it is in memory of Mr. Whitty of Jacob Beam Senior Public School in Beamsville, Ontario that I offer the following puzzle featuring my karaoke buddies.
See if you can figure out which one is Mo, which one is Sparky, and which one is Goldilocks.
Today Mr. Whitty would be in his late fifties, early sixties maybe. He might still be teaching. Maybe even at Jacob Beam Public School.
* * *
In the next story, Postmodern Sass has tickets to the CASBYs, but no date. In the coming months there will be more stories about Postmodern Sass and her karaoke buddies. Like this one, in which there is a karaoke spat. Or this one, on Valentine's Day. Or this one, in which Postmodern Sass learns that Vikings and karaoke don't mix. And almost two years later, you can see all three of Postmodern Sass's karaoke buddies — and her! — in this photo.
When I was in grade seven my homeroom teacher, Mr. Whitty, gave us a puzzle to work on before first period. It was titled, "Who Owns The Zebra." It kept us all occupied for those fifteen minutes, but not one of the thirty twelve-year-olds in that classroom solved it by the time the bell rang.
I held onto it for weeks. I puzzled and puzzled until my puzzler was sore. And eventually, I solved it.
I think the Norwegian owned the zebra. I forget who drank the water.
You can find anything on the Internet, this I know, so today I Googled "who owns the zebra" and discovered that it's a rather famous logic puzzle. And here I thought Mr. Whitty had created it just for us!
The version I remember from all those years ago involved the nationality, house colour, pet, preferred beverage, and — wait for it — preferred cigarette brand of seven men living in adjacent houses. Cigarette brand! How politically incorrect. But it was the 1970s.
The versions of the puzzle you'll find online now have been edited. Gone are the cigarettes. Now, it's flowers or some such nonsense.
I found this one from Britain, but the cigarettes are British. The one I remember, the cigarettes are American brands. I distinctly remember Lucky Strike. Not that I knew what they were at the time.
In previous posts I've mentioned that you don't exactly have to twist my arm to get me to sing. Or do anything in front of an audience, for that matter. I'm a regular at KAK at both the Rivoli and the Bovine. At Accordion Guy's party I spent too much time in the front room, where the karaoke machine was. Accordion Guy has this extravagent system that plays cheesy stock footage video and still images behind the lyrics. And when the song is over it gives you a score. I got 100 twice!
My karaoke equivalent of a bar trick is singing "9 Luftballons" in German.
And so it is in memory of Mr. Whitty of Jacob Beam Senior Public School in Beamsville, Ontario that I offer the following puzzle featuring my karaoke buddies.
See if you can figure out which one is Mo, which one is Sparky, and which one is Goldilocks.
- One sings Dead Or Alive.
- Two blog; the third thinks blogging is pretentious.
- Two sing David Bowie.
- One is a ham.
- One would be chided by Simon Cowell for closing his eyes while he sings.
- One leaves the room when anyone else sings David Bowie.
- All three are shorter than me.
- One has a British accent.
- One sings Wicked Game, which causes me think un-buddy-like thoughts.
- I leave the room when one sings Elton John.
- Two are not blonde.
- The one who doesn't blog is the most pretentious of the three.
- One kills with Mac The Knife.
- The one who sings Chris Isaak has a girlfriend.
- The blonde one sings You Spin Me 'Round.
Today Mr. Whitty would be in his late fifties, early sixties maybe. He might still be teaching. Maybe even at Jacob Beam Public School.
In the next story, Postmodern Sass has tickets to the CASBYs, but no date. In the coming months there will be more stories about Postmodern Sass and her karaoke buddies. Like this one, in which there is a karaoke spat. Or this one, on Valentine's Day. Or this one, in which Postmodern Sass learns that Vikings and karaoke don't mix. And almost two years later, you can see all three of Postmodern Sass's karaoke buddies — and her! — in this photo.
Labels: karaoke, sprachspiele
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