My favorite weekly German newspaper, Die Zeit, has a very fun riddle section. This includes one of the best crosswords, Time-style, some logic questions, and the island riddle by Rafi Reiser. I love the island riddle. So much so, that I decided to bring the island riddle to the English speaking part of the world -- well, at least to the part that reads our blog. If you guys like it, I'll make it a regular contribution.
The following is a cryptic description of an island somewhere on this lovely planet. The clues will provide you with the right answer, and there is also a map of the island which might help you a bit.
Die Zeit comes out on Thursdays and this riddle came out last week. Tomorrow, the new edition will supply the answer. I think I got the right solution, but who knows? Anyway, guess away and have fun:
(Caveat: The English sounds strange because I stuck as closely to the German original as possible, which also has a strange ring to it. It's part of the riddle, so to speak.)
The island we are looking for today is part of a former crater rim, 8 km long and up to 2 km wide, and rises up to 284 meters in the southern parts.
The island and its archepelago are hardly known. One would rather think of many other islands - big and small - were one to talk about this country which we think we know so well. [This clue is for Germans --- which country do Germans know so well or think they know so well?]
Maybe it's because the islands of the archipelago have served as a place for political prisoners for two thousand years? Or because the citizens of the main land would rather not talk about the existence of those islands, ever since tourism has replaced fishing and wine making as main source of income for the 4,000 inhabitants?
After all, from one harbour which lies 60 km south of the country's capital, it's only 70 minutes by boat to this island. Should really all tourists be allowed to know that?
A map of the island can be found here.
Posted by claudia at June 16, 2004 08:02 AMSolving the ZEIT-crossword puzzle uses still is a family event whenever I drop by for a visit. Great stuff.
Posted by: novala at June 16, 2004 02:30 PMIsn't this competing with Pop Quiz Friday? :o
Posted by: Carlos at June 16, 2004 05:32 PMThe island of Ponza, looks like.
Once you tie two thousand years of use as a political prison (Imperial Roman administrations loved to use Med. islands as places of exile for the politically problematic; most other civilizations either tossed in actual jails, blinded, monkified, or murdered their political problems), with a major port 60 km (Naples) south of the country's political capital (Rome), and a cluster of volcanic islands close by, and it's something in the Tyrrhenian Sea. I guessed Capri at first, but the maps didn't match up. Just had to go looking between Sardinia and Naples for a likely splotch, and there it was.
Posted by: Mitch H. at June 16, 2004 07:32 PMWe ended up with Ponza, too. Seems like a winner and we'll know tomorrow.
claudia - not wanting to compete with Quiz Friday, since it actually is not requiring any effort on my part. Just sharing a favorite game, is all.
Yup, Ponza it was. :-)
Next island riddle coming up Wednesday. It's a toughie.
Claudia
Posted by: claudia at June 17, 2004 08:17 PM