How is a raven like a writing desk?

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― n/a (Nick A.), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:08 (twenty years ago)

*shrug*

― jel -- (jel), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:10 (twenty years ago)

Nevermore.

― Alce Tea-Skirt (kate), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:10 (twenty years ago)

Real answer, if you give a shit: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_266.html.

― n/a (Nick A.), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:13 (twenty years ago)

But it spoils the fun.

― n/a (Nick A.), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:14 (twenty years ago)

I like Aldous Huxley's answer.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:19 (twenty years ago)

I don't get Aldous Huxley's answer.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:24 (twenty years ago)

Oh wait, now I do.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:25 (twenty years ago)

:dry chuckle:

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:25 (twenty years ago)

I still don't get...oooooooooh.

― n/a (Nick A.), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:26 (twenty years ago)

I seriously did figure it out as I was typing that.

― n/a (Nick A.), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:26 (twenty years ago)

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

― Casuistry (Chris P), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:27 (twenty years ago)

I also love the idea of Aldous Huxley saying "because there is a B in both, and an N in neither. GEDDIT? Man, I KILL me!"

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:27 (twenty years ago)

Haha, the Huxley answer is kinda funny! It took me a while to get it too!

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:29 (twenty years ago)

That was Huxley's answer to every joke, though.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:36 (twenty years ago)

Child: Why did the chicken cross the road?
Aldous Huxley: Because there's a B in Both and an N in Neither, now piss off, child!

― Casuistry (Chris P), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:37 (twenty years ago)

dammit, i can't find a screengrab of Krusty with the ventriloquist's doll

― kingfish completely hatstand (Kingfish), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:52 (twenty years ago)

U.P: up.

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:56 (twenty years ago)

Knock Knock
Who's there?
B
B who?
Because there's a B in Both and an N in Neither.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:59 (twenty years ago)

No soap, radio.

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 12 August 2005 16:01 (twenty years ago)

The Huxley one is weird: I didn't get it, then I "got" something that seemed not much advanced over not-getting it. So now I'm pretty sure I get it and it's more just elegant and complex than actually clever, though in the back of my mind I'm afraid I'm only half-getting it and there's something else waiting to snap into place. (I can also think of three different layers of "getting it.")

― nabisco (nabisco), Friday, 12 August 2005 16:02 (twenty years ago)

wow, in that case i definitely DON'T get it. anyone care to explain?

― matlewis (matlewis), Friday, 12 August 2005 17:27 (twenty years ago)

there's also a t in them, if that helps.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Friday, 12 August 2005 18:04 (twenty years ago)

Read it as "There's a B in 'both' and an N in 'neither.'"

― n/a (Nick A.), Friday, 12 August 2005 18:09 (twenty years ago)

One possible interpretation: there's no letter "B" in either "raven" or "writing desk", hence Huxley is implying that the two things aren't alike. There is, however, a letter "N" in both "raven" and "writing desk", hence Huxley is implying that the two things are alike in some way. And by implying those two contradictory things in the same sentence, he's in effect implying that they may or may not be alike, ie he's keeping us guessing (assuming an answer exists and that he knows it).

― RR (restandrec), Friday, 12 August 2005 18:09 (twenty years ago)

I got the Huxley one immediately! PHEAR MY UNCANNY PATTERN RECOGNITION SKILLZ

― The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Friday, 12 August 2005 18:10 (twenty years ago)

― RJG (RJG), Friday, 12 August 2005 18:12 (twenty years ago)

how is a masonic pyramid like a team?

there's an i in either.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Friday, 12 August 2005 18:13 (twenty years ago)

How is a raveb like a writibg desk?

― Pangolino 2, Friday, 12 August 2005 21:10 (twenty years ago)

I bet Huxley was thinking "woah man, that's trippy" when he came up with that.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Friday, 12 August 2005 21:18 (twenty years ago)

Postscript: In 1976 Carroll admirer Denis Crutch pointed out that in the 1896 preface quoted above, the author had originally written: "It is nevar put with the wrong end in front." Nevar of course is raven spelled backward.

NEVAR FORGET!!
http://www.fmaalumni.org/_9-11-2001.jpg

― 7, Friday, 12 August 2005 21:24 (twenty years ago)

The Beatles have one, but the Rolling Stones don't. Abba likes them, but not A-ha. You can find one in Nebraska, but not in South Dakota.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Friday, 12 August 2005 21:25 (twenty years ago)

the letter B.

What do you have left at the end of everything?

― derrick (derrick), Friday, 12 August 2005 22:09 (twenty years ago)

A hollow feeling in the pit of your stomach.

What has four wheels and flies?

― Pangolino 2, Friday, 12 August 2005 22:12 (twenty years ago)

the cock crew
the sky was blue
The bells in heaven
Were striking eleven.
'Tis time for this poor soul
To go to heaven

― jed_ (jed), Friday, 12 August 2005 22:20 (twenty years ago)

It's Rupert Murdoch burying some motherfucker under a henge.

― Zazas Zazas Nasatanada Katzenellenbogen by the Sea (noodle vague), Friday, 12 August 2005 22:23 (twenty years ago)

an ilxor burying his mother under holly valance.

― jed_ (jed), Friday, 12 August 2005 22:59 (twenty years ago)

the grooves in the desk remind me of the separate glossy feathers.

― youn, Friday, 12 August 2005 23:32 (twenty years ago)

I gave my love a cherry, a cherry that had no stone.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 13 August 2005 05:51 (twenty years ago)

Oh for crying out loud, I don't get Huxley's answer. Anyone got a spoon?

― Øystein (Øystein), Sunday, 14 August 2005 11:13 (twenty years ago)

There is a b in both and an n in neither.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Sunday, 14 August 2005 11:55 (twenty years ago)

Is that what you mean, Mr. Huxley?

Huh? Oh yeah, sure kid, whatever.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Sunday, 14 August 2005 13:20 (twenty years ago)

That's what's weird about the Huxley one -- it's just a pattern, there's no real "trick" to it. There's a B in the word both, and there's an N in the word neither. However, in the words "raven" and "writing desk," it's the other way around -- there an N in both and a B in neither.

― nabiscothingy, Sunday, 14 August 2005 17:14 (twenty years ago)

Are you sure that's all there is to it? I assumed there had to be something more than just that, otherwise, uhm, it's not very interesting.
Then again, it did frustrate me for some minutes last night, trying to bun up permutations of raveb (Brave!) and writibg desk (uhm, Kit Digs Brew) so maybe it was!
On the plus side, it made me die inside just like the original riddle probably was meant to.

― Øystein (Øystein), Sunday, 14 August 2005 18:54 (twenty years ago)

How is a rave like a mixing desk?

― k/l (Ken L), Sunday, 14 August 2005 19:04 (twenty years ago)

It's probably best not to look for secret Huxley-meanings beyond the obvious ones, or else you've replaced the original riddle with a new one! Still, yeah, that's why I'm freaked that I said there were three different levels to it the other day -- I think I had convinced myself of some new layer having to do with musical notes (per pre-Huxley answers). I was, however, clearly totally trippin, since I can't currently reconstruct anything of the sort.

― nabiscothingy, Sunday, 14 August 2005 23:13 (twenty years ago)

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