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Good guess. But, the punctuation is fine. It was written in the '20s, after all. Not many people use semicolons these days, so it may look odd to you. The punctuation is not what is uncommon about the paragraph. :devil:Quote:
Originally Posted by Bree Fletcher
Since this is a new page, I'll repeat the question for those who don't like to look back in threads. ;)
What is uncommon about this paragraph?
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Great Gatsby
Everything is dead common about it. Not a nob in sight, not even Gatsby; the elected mayor is merely a plebian among plebians.
EDIT: I just realized - there doesn't seem to be a letter "e" in sight.
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BTW: About the longest word in the English language -
Yes, "language" is the answer of choice for those that prefer wit to thought (and apparently to Rota as well). Other witticisms include "parsec" (pretty long) and "eternity" (quite long indeed).
Some literalists would insist on "Hepaticocholangiocholecystenterostomies" as the longest word in a medical dictionary; residents of Wales would remember "Gorrsafawddachaidraigodanheddogleddolonpenrhynare urdraethceredigion". A chemist would positively insist upon "ACETYL*SERYL*TYROSYL*SERYL*ISO*LEUCYL*THREONYL*SE RYL*PROLYL*SERYL*GLUTAMINYL*PHENYL*ALANYL*VALYL*PH ENYL*ALANYL*LEUCYL*SERYL*SERYL*VALYL*TRYPTOPHYL*AL ANYL*ASPARTYL*PROLYL*ISOLEUCYL*GLUTAMYL*LEUCYL*LEU CYL*ASPARAGINYL*VALYL*CYSTEINYL*THREONYL*SERYL*SER YL*LEUCYL*GLYCYL*ASPARAGINYL*GLUTAMINYL*PHENYL*ALA NYL*GLUTAMINYL*THREONYL*GLUTAMINYL*GLUTAMINYL*ALAN YL*ARGINYL*THREONYL*THREONYL*GLUTAMINYL*VALYL*GLUT AMINYL*GLUTAMINYL*PHENYL*ALANYL*SERYL*GLUTAMINYL*V ALYL*TRYPTOPHYL*LYSYL*PROLYL*PHENYL*ALANYL*PROLYL* GLUTAMINYL*SERYL*THREONYL*VALYL*ARGINYL*PHENYL*ALA NYL*PROLYL*GLYCYL*ASPARTYL*VALYL*TYROSYL*LYSYL*VAL YL*TYROSYL*ARGINYL*TYROSYL*ASPARAGINYL*ALANYL*VALY L*LEUCYL*ASPARTYL*PROLYL*LEUCYL*ISOLEUCYL*THREONYL *ALANYL*LEUCYL*LEUCYL*GLYCYL*THREONYL*PHENYL*ALANY L*ASPARTYL*THREONYL*ARGINYL*ASPARAGINYL*ARGINYL*IS OLEUCYL*ISOLEUCYL*GLUTAMYL*VALYL*GLUTAMYL*ASPARAGI NYL*GLUTAMINYL*GLUTAMINYL*SERYL*PROLYL*THREONYL*TH REONYL*ALANYL*GLUTAMYL*THREONYL*LEUCYL*ASPARTYL*AL ANYL*THREONYL*ARGINYL*ARGINYL*VALYL*ASPARTYL*ASPAR TYL*ALANYL*THREONYL*VALYL*ALANYL*ISOLEUCYL*ARGINYL *SERYL*ALANYL*ASPARAGINYL*ISOLEUCYL*ASPARAGINYL*LE UCYL*VALYL*ASPARAGINYL*GLUTAMYL*LEUCYL*VALYL*ARGIN YL*GLYCYL*THREONYL*GLYCYL*LEUCYL*TYROSYL*ASPARAGIN YL*GLUTAMINYL*ASPARAGINYL*THREONYL*PHENYL*ALANYL*G LUTAMYL*SERYL*METHIONYL*SERYL*GLYCYL*LEUCYL*VALYL* TRYPTOPHYL*THREONYL*SERYL*ALANYL*PROLYL*ALANYL*SER INE", which is the longest "real" word ever to appear in a publication (apologies for the caps; presumably the site apologizes for the *s and rogue spaces; source available upon request or Google).
But my dad offered the best answer:
"Marriage - It's not just a word; it's a sentence."
Good guess, since there have been a lot of tricky questions and riddles of misdirection. But, there really is something disquietingly uncommon about the paragraph. If noone guesses it by the end of this page, I'll reveal the answer.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gnerphk
Ok, just guessing here, but something feels wrong with the tense that the paragraph is written in
Good guess, but the "tense" of the paragraph is appropriate.Quote:
Originally Posted by tindris
We're halfway through the page. :oops:
edit: To the reply below; it is not the story itself that is uncommon. The Great Gatsby is considered a classic piece of literature. I would bet half the school systems in America have it on the reading list for a junior high, or high school english class.
Ok, you have me stumped. It is written in 3rd Person which is as i have understood pretty common.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rota
The only thoughts i have left is its the actual story line which is uncommon.
The edit is correct! :cheer:Quote:
Originally Posted by Gnerphk
The single most common letter in the english language is "e".
Yet, the entire paragraph has not a single "e" in it. ;)
King Arthur sets 4 of his knights of the round table a puzzle. the knights are taken to the sea, where a stone wall is erected. 3 of the knights are set facing the wall in a row. thus they are only able to see the knight in front. the one closest to the wall can only see the wall, the second one can only see the first and the third can see the first and second knight. the fourth knight is set behind the wall. thus, no one can see him and he cant see anybody. all the knights are facing the wall. king arthur then produces 4 helmets with a feather on top. 2 of the helmets have black feathers and 2 have white feathers. the helmets are placed on the knights as such.
W B W| B
K K K | K
> > > | <
K:knight
> and <: are directions the knights are facing.
|:wall
W: white helmet
B: black helmet
the aim is for one of the knights to work out what colour his own helmet is. he cannot see his own helmet. he cannot communicate with other knights. they can only see knights in front of them so long as they are not blocked by a wall which knight can work out his helmet colour and how?:knight::knight::knight:
> > > l <
this ^ one because
^ this one can see him and tell him what colour helmet he has on?
I see no solution for the puzzle as written save for the knights to evade the rules. It seems similar to the "prisoner" puzzle in the earlier incarnation of this game.