Both showed scenes containing errors to identify. I failed miserably: 2 out of 17 in the room and 4 out of 11 in the steamer. Nineteen-twenties children were either much cleverer than us or our world has changed more than we imagine.
I refuse to accept defeat so here are some more, this time a set of fifteen pictures with something wrong in each one. Here are the first three. My answers and the answers are underneath.
It “will help you cultivate your power of observation” it says, “– the power of seeing with your mind and of understanding what you see.” I could definitely do with some of that, so here goes.
Forward to Pictures 4-6
MY ANSWERS AND THE ANSWERS
The first one looks dead easy: just a case of adding up the weights on each side. Everyone over sixty remembers there were sixteen ounces in a pound. So the left adds up to 8 + 4 + 3 + 1 = 16 ounces which makes one pound, and the right adds up to, oh shit, one pound. So it should balance. There seems to be nothing wrong with the instrument either. It means an immediate sneak a look at the answers. Arthur Mee catches me out straight away. How could anyone be expected to know that troy weight has only twelve ounces to the pound? Half a pound of gold and half a pound of silver add up to 12 ounces. 0/1.
OK. We’re going to have to think things through more carefully. Number 2 must be the iceberg. Shouldn’t four-fifths be underwater? The answer says seven parts below to one part above but I’m having that one. I got the correct principle. 1/2.
Number 3. The Royal Flag. What could it be? I bet the sections are in the wrong places. No. Wrong again. Evidently the Scottish Lion does not turn his back on the others. I’m not doing very well am I? 1/3.
1 out of 3 for me. Dunce again!
ReplyDeleteSame as me. You'll get chance to redeem yourself.
DeleteI love these kinds of puzzles but you are correct - these are more difficult than they look. I totally missed the first one forgetting completely about troy weight.
ReplyDeleteI failed on the second one as well. I guess I didn't study icebergs in school!
Now on the third one I could use the excuse that I live in the US and don't know much about Royal Flags, which is true. I won't do that however and I appreciate learning the actual answer of a Lion not turning his back on the other Lions. Makes sense.
So, you are doing far better than me since I scored a 0/0! But I learned some new information and that is worth the loss! These are fun.
A couple of these questions are very English so I've much less excuse. I'll post some more soon, maybe without answers.
DeleteYou should have been alerted to the trick as soon as you saw the gold and silver bars. The Royal Standard we had on a fire screen so I was familiar with it and the iceberg was always 9/10ths underwater and 1/10th above in our TV Quiz book of 1961 and instantly recognisable as wrong in the picture. I am going to call that 3 out of 3.
ReplyDeleteRachel, I'm banking on you to get 15/15.
DeleteI'd heard of troy weight but didn't know it was a crafty way of short-changing us.
Delete1only I'm afraid. Thought that the iceberg was not the right shape in the water and didn't have a clue with the flag, lol
ReplyDeleteBriony
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You mean you got the troy weights? That's impressive.
DeleteI wouldn't know troy weight if I tripped over it. These aren't terribly easy, are they?
ReplyDeleteThat's why I wonder whether nineteen-twenties kids were cleverer than us and that we're all regressing without knowing it.
DeleteThe iceberg one was easy. As for adding up the weights, I was too lazy to even attempt that (it is not yet 7:00 in the morning as I am writing this). And the flag - well, I have the excuse of it not being my country!
ReplyDeleteWe have our system of pounds and ounces especially to confuse Europeans, and the system of troy weights to confuse everyone else.
DeleteAlways confused about those tables on the backs of exercise books, though they had a certain magic. One out of three but I did recognise that gold/silver hsve a different value.
ReplyDeleteI think it should count if you got the principle - 2/3. Better than average. Yes I used to like those tables on exercise books too.
DeleteI guessed the flag one and knew the iceberg one. But didn't know about troy weight.
ReplyDeleteWell done on the flag. It's easy to jump to the wrong conclusion like I did.
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