As we saw last week, you can’t wrap eggs in aluminum foil without creating wrinkles. But, as Rafael Granero points out, “Mathematically (and physically) it is impossible to adapt a flat surface (inelastic or limited elastic) to a spherical surface without deforming it; it will either stretch, wrinkle, or break, and vice versa. That’s why you can’t flatten an entire half-orange peel without cracking it. But if you play around with heat… There are adjustable thermal wrappers, such as heat-shrink covers, which shrink when heat is applied.
When it comes to animals whose names contain five vowels only once, Fernando Gallo skillfully “cooks” the mystery and once again reveals the importance of accuracy in statements. “My brother-in-law is an animal and his name is Aurelio.”
I should specify that I am referring to common names for non-human animals, in which case there are some controversial or humorous answers, such as ‘possum’ (colloquially, although not recognized by the RAE). Or “pachyderm”, which is not the name of the animal, but a taxonomic name (which, by the way, is no longer in use). However, since it is common to call elephants pachyderms (although it is currently correct to call them pachyderms), Javier Andueza’s answer is accepted as correct. And if you’re open to endearing particles, “little hound” (well, the proofreader didn’t underline it in red) or “ant” (which is underlined in red) might work.
In the same humorous vein, Bretos Bruso proposes “futoborinella” (a woman who likes table football) as a word containing five vowels in reverse alphabetical order. And, without leaving soccer behind, a Portugal vs. Chile match is also possible, and it would be a Portugal vs. Chile match.
As for the maximum number of non-repeating five vowels in a name, Bourso suggests 91,000. However, Granero switches to Catalan and attacks with “Four Trillion”, while Bourso counters with “Saint Quadrillon”. Who would give more?
Jaime Zubieta’s answer to last week’s third riddle is, “There are 35 letters missing from this sentence.” Are there any other solutions?
And the “official” answer to the fourth riddle is “5.” But are there others?
word symmetry
When we talk about word games and puzzles, we can’t avoid talking about palindromes.
A palindrome is a word or phrase that is arranged so that the letters do not change when read from right to left. There are many palindromic words, especially the short ones: asa, ama, ara, ata, efe, eme, ene, oro, oso, ojos… How many can you find in three letters? And, going to the other extreme, what is the longest palindromic word?
When it comes to palindromic expressions, let’s recall a very successful phrase. One is a popular phrase (Spanish) and the other is a cultural phrase (Latin). “Give the rice to the abbot’s fox” and “In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni” (We will walk around at night and the fire will consume us). The Latin palindrome could be an ancient mystery about moths and torches. Or some say it’s for the devil. Therefore, this poem is known as the Devil’s Verses. Guy Debord, founder of the Situationist International, adopted the palindrome “In girum…” as his motto and made a short film with this title in 1978. And after Latin, the mysterious multiple palindromes of Sator Square must be mentioned. SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS (but that’s another article).
In Spanish, the palindrome of the fox and the abbot is difficult to overcome. Can you think of anything?
(I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but this is palindrome #545 from Science Games, also known as a capicua).
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