The Last Post Game!!!!

[Aggie]

How did you actually find it (in concrete terms, 'google' is a wee bit imprecise)?. The first clues were quite obscure.

My initial false-lead was Greek fire (stated) - it's hot, exact composition is not known & I figured Swato might have some insight into the Byzantine formula with historical interests and his chemical education.  I tried 'naphtha' for the 2-syllables and because it's mentioned in the wiki article; petroleum hydrocarbons in Canada are broken down into four carbon-number ranges for the purpose of environmental legislation (F1 - F4) and it's entirely possible that a similar system is in use in other countries. There are other ways of breaking down the composition of crude oil (naphtha in ancient usage meant petroleum in general) which could divide it into four parts.

Next was adobe/mudbrick or a building made thereof (four parts - hence the dung question) - mostly from the cheap and nasty clue - mudbrick made with dung could be perceived as nasty and it's certainly a cheap building material (and there was that concrete clue - buildings can be made of either, but the strength of concrete is needed for truly immense structures). 

I was thrown off initially by the 'four parts' which suggested that the final object was not a solid piece, but when it was revealed that it could be cast in one piece, I started looking at needles. Ran out of parts, though....  eye, shaft, point, ?? - also, there doesn't seem to be much point assembling needles from small bits, which was indicated as the preferred method of manufacture. 

I think I got the proper lead by meditating on 'cheap and nasty', especially when it was revealed that the smaller version was made of metal. Dung making the object more nasty suggested puncture wounds - better to cause infection - so therefore I was looking for a weapon. But with the presumed historical context (Plato, Persians), metal weaponry was not generally cheap (although could be quite nasty), so it had to be something small and potentially crude. Also, there are precious few weapons that would be scaled up in concrete.

I don't honestly remember whether I clued into the concrete or metal version first...


Note that my clues will generally consist of some wordplay, a few obscure references, and a follow-the-wandering-path troll through wikipedia (i.e. I will clue to an article that could lead you onto the LPWB word through links, rather than to a direct hit - similar to the Czech Hedgehog clue).  I sometimes check my own clues for 'googleability' to see whether the correct result could be turned up within the first 5-10 results of a search for selected clue words - the trick to solving my puzzles is often to look for odd turns of phrase and garbled spellings to grab the clue words, and zoom in gradually on the general area of interest before identifying the specific word.  I'm also a fan of using conceptual clues (i.e. 'butcher's storage area' for 'meatspace'), which can be harder to crack slowly but vulnerable to flashes of insight.


Last _{Swato, OTOH, seems to like to have the clues pulled out of him 20-questions style}  Post


Hmm.... do some of our newer members know what this game is all about?  Might warrant an announcement to get some recruits.   It's more fun with a large group, even if a few are only doing hit-and-run guesses.

[Swatopluk]

OK, here the LPWB rules again for newbies
LPWB = Last Post Word Bingo
1. The goal is to guess the current LPWB word
2. The winner of one round sends a new word to an admin (e.g. Griffin), who puts it into the filter
3. That person will also give clues, so players may guess the word
4. If someone uses the word in his or her post*, the filter will replace it in the text with !!! LAST POST WORD BINGO WINNER !! automatically
5. The person in whose post in the Last Post thread it first appears, wins the round.
6. Repeat cycle

*anywhere on the forum btw. For that reason better choose a word that has not been used in the forum yet (test by search function), so that it might not be found accidentally.

Last Post

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

I just sent the new word to Griffin. Think of a bridge over solid ground... metaphorically speaking.

Last _{I'll clue obliquely for now} Post

[Aggie]

Sounds redundant to me.


Last _{or does it have something to do with one's side muscles?} Post

[Swatopluk]

Overpass?

Here's something funny
Al Gonzo's senate hearing ("I don't recall!") has been set to music. Classical music (Baroque style I'd say)
http://www.gonzalescantata.com/

Last  Post

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

or does it have something to do with one's side muscles?

Your muscles would be in moderate stress...

Overpass?

Not a literal bridge by any means, it can be used as one though.

Here's something funny
Al Gonzo's senate hearing ("I don't recall!") has been set to music. Classical music (Baroque style I'd say)

Baroque influence (I imagine she took Bach cantatas and oratorios from the period as a template) but quite contemporary, and interesting I must say, not a bad composer.

Last _{its musical} Post

[Swatopluk]

An overpass can be metaphorical.
Handshake?

Last _{How many syllables?} Post

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Three, and no handshakes during one.

Last _{they're busy, can't you see?} Post

[Swatopluk]

Anything sexual about it?

Last Post

[Griffin NoName]

I am surprised Swaot missed the opportunity to display this picture relating to earthbound pets:



Last Post LPWB is IN.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

No sex but it can be at the climax.

Last _{that may be a giveaway} Post

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

*Frolics past* Laaaaaaaaaast Poooooost!

[Swatopluk]

So, something spasmodic?

Last _pinnacle Post

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Not really spasmodic but frequently loud, although it must be said that it can be anticlimactic at times.

Last _{can't dance in one} Post

[Swatopluk]

Currently no idea. Maybe to-morrow
Last Post

But let's not forget that this is the year of moose and camel

http://naturescrusaders.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/white_moose.jpg