sportsandcupcakes:

blakehenderson:

After my mammoth success with solving the Die Hard 3 water jug puzzle and the Little Big League open-ended word problem, I took some well deserved time off.

When I came back to the game, I thought, hey, why not tackle one of the big visual tricks in movie cinema and really cement my place as…

The Horton Plaza parking structure in downtown San Diego is like this. There are two sets of stairs. One set takes you to the even-numbered floors and the other takes you to the odd-numbered floors.  My friend and I were going down the even-numbered stairs when we realized we were parked on the fifth floor, so we pulled a Marty McFly and jumped to the other set of stairs.

Mystery… SOLVED!

After my mammoth success with solving the Die Hard 3 water jug puzzle and the Little Big League open-ended word problem, I took some well deserved time off.

When I came back to the game, I thought, hey, why not tackle one of the big visual tricks in movie cinema and really cement my place as the internets go-to movie fixer.  

But I flew too close to the sun, because Back to the Future: Part 2 burnt off my wings and Stumped the Blazer:

When Marty’s in Biff’s Alternate Future Casino, he hops ONE set of stairs, into ANOTHER set of stairs, and avoids Biff’s Alternate Future Goons from grabbing him.  Huh?

I’ve been on a lot of stairs, chief, and I’ve even been chased up and down a few.  Never had a set of stairs to leap over to and run back to Doc Brown so I could reset the past to fix the future (present, I guess, in this case).  

How’d they do it?  CGI in another set of stairs?  Trick of the eye?  Build another set of stairs specifically for the shot?  I’m stumped.  Anyone who can help me on this one, my hat’s off to ya.

I am on ROLL, first I figure out the Die Hard 3 water jug puzzle, then this afternoon I’m in the men’s room and mid-piss I figured out another movie puzzle that’s been bothering me for years.

This one was hard because they never GIVE YOU the answer in the movie; they left it open, like the ending of Cast Away or that sandwich I made with the last piece of bread.  It was before the internet, too, so it’s not like the answer was on Ask Geeves when I got back from the theater.

Little Big League.  A spin-off of Rookie of the Year, Billy’s Grandpa passes away and leaves him the Minnesota Twins.  He takes over the team, hilarity ensues, and they all learn that being a kid is like being a baseball player.

But, of course, the riddle is what’s haunted me more than any performances or story points.  The riddle- “Cowboy rides into town on Friday, stays 3 days, and leaves on Friday.  How’d he do it?”

So I’m pissing, it’s quiet, and I think, “Pissing on Monday.  Good thing it’s the day, and not Jillian’s cat of the same name…” BINGO BANGO.  THE HORSE’S NAME WAS FRIDAY.

The horses’ name was Friday.  Or the saddle.  SOMETHING WAS NAMED FRIDAY.  

Oh, and SPOILER, I guess, if you haven’t seen the movie yet.  You should, when he tips his cap to the stadium at the end, it’s a real heart warmer.  Spoiler.

Gonna see what other movie puzzles I can solve while I’m on this hot streak… 

andersholmvik:

blakehenderson:

Right after I hit the snooze button for the 2nd time this morning, I was in that half-sleep, half-mind place where things come to you and you figure stuff out, depending on how hard you have to pee.

Didn’t have to pee that hard, so I ended up thinking about that gnarly water bottle riddle from…

Great job, Blake.  See where you can get when you just apply yourself?  How about you start in on some sales now, start with one, then try to beat that record?

YOU’RE NOT MY DAD, DERS!

Right after I hit the snooze button for the 2nd time this morning, I was in that half-sleep, half-mind place where things come to you and you figure stuff out, depending on how hard you have to pee.

Didn’t have to pee that hard, so I ended up thinking about that gnarly water bottle riddle from Die Hard 3.  You know, he and Sam Jackson have to figure out how to get exactly 4 gallons of water on the bomb scale with only a 3 gallon jug, and a 5 gallon jug.    Like so—

They talk about the fix so fast, I’ve always been 1 step behind them as far as knowing what to do should I find myself in a similar life threatening bind.  But now I got it—

You fill the 3 gallon, dump it in the 5, fill the 3 again, dump that in the 5, that leaves you with 1 GALLON in the 3 gallon.  You empty the 5, dump the 1 gallon from the 3 in the 5, then fill the 3 again, dump that in the 5 ON TOP OF the 1 you already have, and BLAMMMMO!  4 Gallons!!!!  Eat that, Hans Gruber’s brother!