It was perfectly okay to ask for more puzzles. I just wanted jskls' puzzle to get a fair amount of play. She put a lot of effort into it. I have a neurotic habit of addressing things plainly or I get anxious. I intended it as a general reminder than anything else. Really want to make that clear. The guidelines say that simpler clues are provided after 24 hours, and the puzzle-maker provides a time-frame for posting the answer. Once that time is up the field is open for new puzzles. Of course we do a fair bit of rule-bending when it is clear that the puzzle-maker is occupied otherwise. It's mostly science and just a little bit of art.
Answer to puzzle #5047 : Chinese Compass - One of the four great inventions of ancient China. Si nan Compass - The word "Si" means "pointing to" and "Nan" means "the South". Referred to as a "South-pointer". This compass dates back to the Warring States Period (475 B.C. - 221 B.C.) At the time, people used an instrument called "sinan" for fortune telling and other spiritual applications. A sinan consisted of two components. The spoon- or ladle- shaped compass is of magnetic lodestone, and the plate is of Bronze with markings pointing to twenty-four different directions. Because loadstone aligned with the Earth's natural magnetic field, the spoon's handle would always point to south when placed on the plate. Pointing-to-the-South Fish During the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), artificial magnetization was discovered, giving rise to the Pointing-to-the-South Fish The magnetic compass was first invented as a device for divination as early as the Chinese Han Dynasty (since about 206 BC). The compass was used in Song Dynasty China by the military for navigational orienteering by 1040–1044, and was used for maritime navigation by 1111 to 1117. Image #1 : pointer (just a fancy mouse pointer) Image #2 : Lodestone - A naturally occurring magnet Image #3 : Bronze plate Image #4 : Antarctica to denote South Image #5 : Magnet suspended in mid air Image #6 : geometric compass Keywords : south, pointer, lodestone, magnet, bronze, compass Acceptable answers : Compass , chinese compass, si nan, Marine(fish in bowl) compass Interesting to learn about south-pointing chariot - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South-pointing_chariot.
Gauri, I should have given some simpler clues after 24 hours. Will remember that next time. for me its a learning experience both by solving and puzzle making. I Learn a lot from this thread. China seems to be interesting though I didn't vote for it.
Tend to be rather impetuous at times and at such times I tend to forget everything else. Shall keep that in mind next time around.
We got one for free at a seminar. I didn't know it was so cool - thought it is one more company promotion product, gave it away to Goodwill!
Attended Google I/O ? in may 2015, they had given it to every one who attended unfortunately I coulndn't make it thou , anyways its a simple DIY...
Answer for #5024: The I Ching or the Book of Changes The I Ching is an ancient Chinese divination book and one of the five classics of Confucianism. It was widely used for seeking moral guidance for decision-making. The book saw a resurgence in popularity during the rise of 1960s counterculture. It influenced many popular writers including Philip K. Dick, John Cage, Jorge Luis Borges, and Herman Hesse. I got the idea for this puzzle while reading Philip K. Dick's "Man in the High Castle". He is quoted as saying that he used the I Ching to determine the actions of the characters in the book. Image 1: A six pointed star also called a Hexagram. This symbol is found in the mythologies of nearly all Eastern religions and also Judaism where it is known as the Star or David. This was a reference to the 6 line symbols used for divination in the I Ching. Those are also called hexagrams. Image 2: A fortune teller to indicate a connection with prediction/divination. Image 3: Book of Changes! A direct reference to the answer. Image 4: The yin-yang symbol. The lines in the hexagrams can represent either the yin (dark) or yang (light). This is indicated by solid or broken lines, meaning a positive or negative answer respectively. Image 5: Ching's hakka noodles. The noodles were a red herring, the clue was the brand name to indicate the name of the book. Keywords: Any search for Ching+Change or Change+fortune teller+ China would have brought up the answer. Verbal Clue: Favorite herbal tea of a Greek hero with a weak ankle. (provides a crucial keyword) The answer for the verbal clue was the herb Yarrow, also called, Achillea Millefolium. It was named for Achilles. Greek myth had it that Achilles painted himself with a tincture of yarrow to make himself invulnerable to arrows, everywhere on his body except his heel. Traditional methods of divination in the I Ching called for yarrow stalks. The stalks were thrown into the air and the pattern in which they fell gave the hexagrams for predicting the answer. Here is an online I Ching predictor. I asked a few questions, and got a few good answers! Enjoy! -- I Ching Online Original - the Online Book of Changes