A Head For Trivia 2
Last time I went to India I was a clean-livered teen, bypassing alcohol for the local orangeade called Tums Up. Next time, now that alcohol is a welcome anaesthesia, I’d be more tempted by Seagull, Sandpiper, Rosy Pelican and the rest of India’s beer flock.
The brands are bizarre. Among the brewing labels are Flying Horse, Cobra, Gymkhana and Guru. I drooled with a puzzle-maker’s delight, scanning the list.
Not to drink, you understand, but to encode. Part of my puzzle portfolio is a weekly list called Radar Trap, a letter-substitution challenge, encrypting such things as Novelty Songs, Ex-Librarians and Pez Dispensers.
Ideally, each category has a high curiosity factor. And/or humour - the other puzzling carrot. For example, if I said we’re looking for eight Celebrity Ice-Creams (giving you Britney Spearmint as your starting point), solvers will slaver to lick the whole list, including Coffee Annan, Eric Banana and Cherry Blair.
So that’s why I went Wow when lucking on Indian beers. Who woulda thought the list would be so eccentric, full of kooky brands with a rich blend of alphabet – another consideration?
Owing to a prize attached to the real deal every Friday in the The Sydney Morning Herald’s Metro section, I won’t talk too much more about up-coming categories, nor the Gods of Serendipity who help me find the curlier examples. In fact, due to the sub-judice nature of Radar solutions, I’d be wise to put my Golden Eagles and Taj Mahals on ice for a while.
But I can say beware of Corny Coffee Shops, Underground Zines and Claustrophobes. Even the who’s who of Professional Dart-Throwers. Or possibly Edible Geography.
August 18th, 2008 at 10:45 am
An interesting post and from the Radar Traps I’ve seen they’re brainbending stuff.
In the 1990s there was a Magnum limited edition that included 1960s characters such as John Lemon, Cherry Garcia and, my favourite, Jami Hendrix. From icon to ice-cream - why didn’t that take off.
August 18th, 2008 at 10:59 am
To that list of famous flavours you can add: Rocky Road Laver, Macadamia Leith, Desmond Tutti and Vanilla Furtado.
(Don’t know what’s more painful - the puns, or the electric pang on your fillings.)