So I saw some of Harry Eng's amazing bottled knots (http://puzzlemuseum.com/puzzles/amb/eng_botts/harry-eng.htm). His goal was to make people think. That tends to be one of our goals.
So I tied a knot in a bottle.
(http://onebit.us/x/i/e829d9f1.jpg)
The neck of the bottle is 18mm in diameter, the rope is 15.88mm (5/8 in) solid braid polypropylene from home depot (way too soft for this sort of work). The bottle is a Knappogue Castle whiskey bottle, with the whiskey safely drunk and the label removed.
Sadly, my phone's camera has no manual focus and can't focus on the figure-8 stopper knot behind the glass. I'll try to get a better picture soon.
The apparent impossibility of the knot in the bottle causes people to think. Then I tell them I don't have any long-handled tweezers, pliers, or forceps, and that of course the bottle has not been damaged or cut.
Tie it loose, stuff it in, pull up so it hangs on the shoulders at the neck of the bottle, pull it tight?
That is pretty nifty. The idea looks like an entertaining self-made puzzle that even I might be able to put together.
ETA: Added the rest of the damn reply.
That's what i thought, seing Yatto's bottle, Anna.
but check out the bottles in the link.
pretty impressive.
Quote from: Iptuous on April 13, 2012, 02:40:23 AM
That's what i thought, seing Yatto's bottle, Anna.
but check out the bottles in the link.
pretty impressive.
Holy FUCK.
This is kind of blowing my mind.
Also I love his logo:
(http://puzzlemuseum.com/puzzles/amb/eng_botts/images/eng-bot04.jpg)
You could probably roll an empty card box and get it in, then do the same with the cards, putting them in the box one by one with some kind of long tweezers. It would take forever, though.
I have no idea about the other stuff.
there is one on that page that gives a description of the assembly process.
Quote from: Anna Mae Bollocks on April 13, 2012, 02:11:19 AM
Tie it loose, stuff it in, pull up so it hangs on the shoulders at the neck of the bottle, pull it tight?
Not even close.
Note that the rope pretty much entirely fills the neck of the bottle. 15.9mm rope in an 18mm neck. The knot is 4 rope thicknesses at the thickest point. So it would need a 60mm wide neck to do that.
Steps:
Get bottle of whiskey.
Drink whiskey.
Scrape label off with razor blade.
Remove residue with acetone.
Cut rope to appropriate length.
Heat-seal ends to prevent unraveling.
Put one end inside bottle.
Tie figure-8 knot inside bottle.
Tie turk's head knot around neck with the other end.
Take photograph.
so, did you do the knot tying with long tweezers?
These are cool as fuck.
Yeah, very impressive.
I think I know the 'trick'. I'll PM you.
Quote from: Telarus on April 15, 2012, 07:37:25 AM
Yeah, very impressive.
I think I know the 'trick'. I'll PM you.
Oooh!
Quote from: Telarus on April 15, 2012, 07:37:25 AM
Yeah, very impressive.
I think I know the 'trick'. I'll PM you.
I'd like to know your thoughts as well.
Ok, I'll spill as it was revealed not to be the trick.
My idea was to have a leather cord or line tied to the end of the rope inserted, so you can "start" the knot in the smaller rope with tweezers and then "push" it back onto the longer rope.
Fuck it. Cut the bottom of the bottle off where it's inconspicuous and put the stuff in, then fuse or invisibly glue it back together.
Alexandrian Solution FTW. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordian_Knot)
Peregrine is yatto?
Quote from: Nephew Twiddleton on April 17, 2012, 10:18:54 PM
Peregrine is yatto?
Yeah, from the way it looks. :horrormirth:
But the op was intelligible!
Yeah. It could still be somebody else.
Bf could stand for brian fnord.
Quote from: Iptuous on April 13, 2012, 02:40:23 AM
That's what i thought, seing Yatto's bottle, Anna.
but check out the bottles in the link.
pretty impressive.
plus
Quote from: Nephew Twiddleton on April 17, 2012, 10:37:34 PM
Bf could stand for brian fnord.
equals Yatto. :x
Huh. I dont know how i feel about yatto making sense.
It's the exception that proves the rule, I guess.
:lol: i checked out the bottles earlier that stuff is pretty cool. How the hell did he do it though?
Quote from: Nephew Twiddleton on April 17, 2012, 10:45:21 PM
:lol: i checked out the bottles earlier that stuff is pretty cool. How the hell did he do it though?
Do what? Make sense? :lol:
Quote from: Anna Mae Bollocks on April 17, 2012, 10:46:56 PM
Quote from: Nephew Twiddleton on April 17, 2012, 10:45:21 PM
:lol: i checked out the bottles earlier that stuff is pretty cool. How the hell did he do it though?
Do what? Make sense? :lol:
IT IS ONE OF THE GREAT MYSTERIES!
Yatto really is a nice guy, though. I know he's ruffled some feathers here, and for good reason, but I am convinced that there is miscommunication and not malice at the heart of it.
I agree he strikes me as a decent enough fellow. Just not very comprehensible and lacking the charm hirley has to get away with it.
Also i meant how did eng do that stuff like put a wooden plaque in a jug.
When hirley's cryptic, it's different. Kind of Joycean, like he's doing it on purpose.
Yatto, OTOH... :lol:
I'm fairly sure PeregrineBF is not Yatto. The "BF" stands for "BrainFuck" which is an esoteric programming language noted for its extreme minimalism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainfuck), there's still a piece of BF code in his personal title, but he also used to have a longer bit in his signature line. Usually if you run them (there's online interpreters for it, probably linked in the WP article) they output a string of text. I doubt the one in his title does that though (too short). I don't think Yatto would be fascinated by such things, also I'm fairly sure PBF and him were posting at the same times, and PBF's account might even predate Yatto's but I didn't check.
Also the link in the OP talks about using magnets for at least one of the puzzles, which is a good trick too.
eh. i thought i had seen that was him. :oops:
sorry, PBF.
magnets, you say? how do they work?!
I don't care who he is.
I want to know how to get a chunk of wood and a padlock in a wine jug.
^ That!
Quote from: Telarus on April 15, 2012, 07:37:25 AM
Yeah, very impressive.
I think I know the 'trick'. I'll PM you.
You put baby-sized objects inside, and then feed them until they are too large to escape?
Quote from: Anna Mae Bollocks on May 19, 2012, 11:02:56 AM
I don't care who he is.
I want to know how to get a chunk of wood and a padlock in a wine jug.
The bottle with the explanation on it says that the padlock was put in piecemeal and assembled in the bottle.
The wood was obviously put in by several pieces, also. i would presume he broke the wood along the grain so that, when adhered together, there isn't any sign of discontinuity.
i imagine he had to use long tools to assemble the lock and apply glue/position the wood. and to tie the knot...
Quote from: Cain on May 19, 2012, 04:19:37 PM
Quote from: Telarus on April 15, 2012, 07:37:25 AM
Yeah, very impressive.
I think I know the 'trick'. I'll PM you.
You put baby-sized objects inside, and then feed them until they are too large to escape?
:spittake:
it's easy! first you put in a bonsai, and then umm