RB Quiz Prize Special – The Solution

Last week Brit the Elder  supplied a fiendish riddle for your puzzlement – somewhat too infuriatingly fiendish if the messages in the editorial inbox are anything to go by. Here’s the solution…

The question to which Alby the Owl supplied the answer “Twelve” is: “For how many years was Anne queen of England?”

The secret is that each word of the question is embedded in the conversation of the keepers. Or as Wally puts it: “You won’t believe how clever the words are. Bet we end your winning streak today!”

And as the stammering owl M-Monty puts it in Tuesday’s clue: “Those words…c-can all of them be d-deduced from the c-conversation?”

Clever, eh? Here it is in full:

 

The owls at Blackstone Zoo, on the edge of Exmoor, were famous throughout the world. Indeed, people would come to Blackstone from the furthest corners of the globe to see these amazing birds. One owl in particular had caught the attention of the media. He was a long-eared owl called Albuquerque, and he had featured on the covers of both Time and the National Geographic, where he was hailed as “The wisest bird on the Planet!”

To ensure that Albuquerque’s intelligence was always up to scratch, his keepers, Sid and Wally, would give him a little test each day, before the visitors arrived. Thus, early one morning, the two keepers approached the owl cages, whispering conspiratorially. The cages were numbered, and Albuquerque’s cage was number five, hence he was often referred to by the zoo staff as Fiver, The Fifth, or often just Alby.

“Good morning, Alby,” Wally said cheerfully. “Got a great problem for you! You won’t believe how clever the words are. Bet we end your winning streak today!”

“Tell us Fiver,” Sid enquired, “which is more, a half or half of two halves?”

There was no response from the bird. Wally turned to Sid. “The fifth owl looks a little peaky today, don’t you think?” he asked.

“Hmm, he certainly does,” replied Sid. “You haven’t given him anything unusual to eat, have you?”

“No, not I! But maybe one of the punters has. Why, even his pointy ears look somewhat floppy!”

Sid agreed. “He just doesn’t have the same healthy glow as the others today.”

This exchange had thus far left Albuquerque unmoved. He sat upon his perch with his eyes closed, as if completely indifferent to the banter of the keepers.

“You know,” Wally continued gamely, “I reckon the problem, whatever it is, began nearly two months ago.”

“Perhaps it’s the cage. Maybe we shouldn’t keep Albuquerque enclosed so much.”

Wally nodded. “Perhaps he could go for a flight more often.”

Sid’s brow furrowed, as if he was thinking back to some incident in the past. “Or…maybe he’s just got those swollen glands again.”

The two keepers fell silent, but now they both stared intently at Alby. After a brief but tense pause, the owl slowly opened one eye and fixed it upon the anxious pair. Then, in a dark, strident voice, reminiscent of the great Richard Burton, he growled, “Twelve!”

The trick was to get that ‘england’ or perhaps the ‘queen’ after you’d sussed that there were embedded words. Only a handful of you got it without any clues, and the winner drawn at random was…. none other than regular quiz-whizz Adelephant! Appropriate really as she solves loads of these for no reward. A book will be on its way to her soon.
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One thought on “RB Quiz Prize Special – The Solution

  1. Worm
    November 9, 2011 at 08:36

    D’oh!

    I spent some time exploring the frankly ridiculous premise that the answer ’12’ had something to do with an owl saying ‘two-eight two-oh’

    🙁

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