Dr Watson mentions throughout the Canon numerous of the clergy. Remembering how well you did with Dr, Mr, MD, and their resultant lists, what is the census of the wearers of the tippit and the tunicle? Who are they and how are they identified?
Only 12 More Days Until the Treasure Hunt!
Buttons is working away at the final questions for the Treasure Hunt. Just to give you an idea of the difficulty, Buttons had to discard 30 questions in the string because he could not remember the answers!! He is now writing them down! He’s up over 60 questions, all inter-related, and is in high hopes of having the other 40 finished by the end of the weekend.
Don’t miss this if you like quizzes and puzzles! Great prizes, too! Tell students!
The Deep Background, Please
Dr Watson uses the word “honeydew.” Full particulars please; not just the Google gloss.
Care to Venture?
Who does what on Saturday forenoon?
Referential Question
Who is the young imp that cannot be found? What was the story?
Okay! Let’s Get Tough in Preparation for the Treasure Hunt coming in 16 Days!
Here is an example of what you will have to research in the Treasure Hunt (except there will be 100 of these and they will not be as easy as this one).
- Find “main-truck” and count forward 37 words. What is the word?
- In the preceding story, name the other Canonical story referred to by Holmes.
- In that referred to story, find the “glint” and proceed to the 32nd paragraph following. What is the object there?
For Your Weekend
A bit of research and explication of an abbreviation and several words (source, meaning, background, etc.):
- A.D.P.
- peltries
- snow-clad lawn
- breaker
Rack & Riddle
Buttons has been “racking & riddling” (to use the méthode champenoise term) to come up with a question that will generate new research and scholarship. After several pies and several more pints, he stumbled across something:
Who can complete a compendium from the Sacred Canon of all things that burn?
For example, the lighthouse would have a kerosene lamp and that would create a flame; the lamplight would require a gas flame to throw off light into the foggy evening.
When you begin to go through the Canon with an eye to the absolute necessity of flame in 1895, you begin to find a huge new body of inquiry. And, when you add those things that are outside of normal Victorian life, such as the flaming radix pedis diaboli, we have even more to consider. This is a topic worthy of a significant scholarly paper for The Watsonian.
We’ll give you a few days for this one. Now, back to the bacon and tomato sandwich.
A One Word Quiz
Please elaborate: Marengo
Memories
Does anyone have fond memories of the modern-day the 221B Sherlock Holmes Museum in London and, particularly, the delightful street-level restaurant there named Mrs. Hudson’s Restaurant? Buttons first dined there in 1986 and again several times in later years. The decor was period Victorian and quite nice; the food was classic Victorian and fairly good, brought up from kitchens in the basement; the staff was entirely dressed in period clothing; and, with a four-course meal, each diner was given a free ticket to “The Rooms” above (the museum). It was quite a pleasant little restaurant and in business at least a decade. The space is now occupied by the museum store. Anyone know who was the “Mrs. Hudson” of the restaurant?
Obscure Question…
Buttons was reading again last night … what is a “wideawake?”
Gunpowder, Fireworks, Explosions, Bombs and other Militaristics…
Buttons was half-finished with a pork pasty and a pint or two when a thought occurred:
Are there any explosions, bombs, fireworks, or gunpowder references in the Canon… explicit, implicit, implied or in passing… ?
Dr Watson’s “ship’s”
Dr Watson states, “I always smoke ‘ship’s’ myself” Anyone care to define ‘ship’s’ which later becomes Ship’s without quotes and a capital “S”? Over a half-century ago, a Sherlockian with the first name of Sherry ploughed this ground, but the definitive answer remains elusive. Are you up to the challenge?
The Pleasures of Research and The Game
If you wish to read about the pleasures of research and the love of data in our mutual enthusiasm, please look at the numerous entries on the Quiz Page in response to the question of M.D., Dr, Mr, FRCS, etc.
You will find superb replies and fully-informed research on the topic, and you can almost hear the fun in their voices as the respondents feverishly enter their comments.
This is what makes it enjoyable. This is what makes it a Society alive!
Thank you one and all for your contributions, and thank you to those who read them and appreciate the depth of the interaction.
And, please remember that the Big One — the First Annual John H Watson Society Treasure Hunt is only 31 days away!
Scroll Down and Look at the Responses to the MD, Mr, Dr, FRCS question!
This quiz question has brought about the largest number of responses ever. And here is a perfect example of collaboration, original work, and the enthusiasm that makes our mutual interest fun and rewarding.
You too can participate. You too can create a question. Either post it as a reply or send it to Buttons and he will get down off his stool and chalk it on the board.
And, please note that the First Annual John H Watson Society Treasure Hunt is only 31 days away!
Today’s quiz question is:
Do you accept Martha as being the housekeeper in “His Last Bow,” as well as the housekeeper at the Sussex Downs cottage, and is she also Mrs Hudson?
Thirty-Two Days to the Treasure Hunt! Here’s a Teaser.
Who lives on Brook Street?
Conveyances in the Canon
The Canon spans a time of change in travel. How many types of conveyances are there in the body of writing? We are looking for a list of specific names, i.e., “dog cart.”
Question: June 25, 2013
During a recent “Consultation,” six Founding Members met at the China Palace restaurant in Novato, California, where the following question was raised:
What is the only restaurant to produce a truly GREAT Szechuan beef dish?
The answer is: ?
Are there any references to non-English cuisines in the Canon?
38 Days to The Treasure Hunt! Here’s Something for Today, the 24th inst.
What is the meaning of the date abbreviations often found in letters and telegrams in the Canon and throughout the writing of 19th Century Britain?
Examples: “On Sunday night, the 18th inst.” or “The ship left Liverpool on the 8th ult.” or “The inquest will be held on the 25th prox.”
Also, what is the meaning and difference between “Sennight” and “Fortnight.”
Extraordinary! Exciting News! Mark Calendars! Alert Friends! Send Emails! Inform the Watsonian World!
The Society is pleased to announce the debut of the First Annual John H Watson Society Canonical Treasure Hunt.
The First Annual John H Watson Canonical Treasure Hunt will involve a lengthy search through the Canon and scholarly material requiring Watsonian Seekers of Truth to sort through a large body of data in order to arrive at the point where the Canonical Treasure is to be found and identified.
Our treasure hunt will involve encryption, obscure references, geographic and biologic inferences, people, objects, dates, and all manner of Watsonian and Holmesian/Sherlockian knowledge.
Be cautioned! It will not be simple. The First Annual John H Watson Canonical Treasure Hunt may well take you weeks to sort out the answer . . . perhaps months. This will make the Musgrave Ritual look like child’s play. You will be required to hunt through the literature, both the Sacred Canon and the related scholarship of the past seventy years.
And there will be prizes! The first Society Charter member to email the correct answer will receive a fine first British edition of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes donated to the Society by an anonymous member. Other categories of winners will also receive handsome donated prizes.
And now for the Rules:
1. The Annual John H Watson Canonical Treasure Hunt will be posted on the Society’s website at the Quiz Page at exactly 12:00 Noon (Pacific) on Thursday, 1 August 2013. All participants will have an equal opportunity relative to time and access. The Canonical Treasure Hunt will end upon submission of the first correct answer or on Monday, September 2, 2013 at 12 Noon (Pacific).
2. The Annual John H Watson Canonical Treasure Hunt shall have four categories: Charter Members, Non-Members, Founding Members and Students. One winner from the Charter Members shall be determined and one winner from Non-Members shall also be determined. A winning Founding Member will be determined, as well. Founding Members may not compete in the Charter Member category. The Student winner may be a member or non-member, but must be enrolled in a high school, college or university of higher learning. The Charter Member winner will receive a first British edition of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes ( a $1,000 value). The Non-Member winner will receive a six-year membership to the Society (a $120 value). The Student winner will receive an Honorarium of $250. The Founding Member (Directors) winner shall have the satisfaction of knowing the answer submitted was correct.
3. The winners will be determined by two criteria: 1) Correctness of the final answer; and 2) Time of receipt of the correct answer by the Society via email at info@johnhwatsonsociety.com . Winners in all categories will be posted on the Society website. NOTE: The final answer will consist of identifying the ultimate Treasure, but will also require answering correctly all questions leading up to the final answer.
4. All matters concerning the Canonical Treasure Hunt, the contest, the answers, and the determination of the winning answer will be the sole decision of the John H Watson Society Directors. The only purpose of the Annual John H Watson Society Canonical Treasure Hunt is to encourage scholarship and a deeper understanding of the writings of John H Watson, M.D. All prizes have been donated to the Society by anonymous members.
The Society encourages its members to inform as many people of this First Annual John H Watson Society Canonical Treasure Hunt as possible. We also encourage other scion clubs and organisations to let their members know of this unique and exciting event. And, we would hope the Sherlockian, Holmesian and Watsonian media worldwide find it a worthy effort for featuring prominently in their reportage.
And so, we announce the First Annual John H Watson Society Canonical Treasure Hunt and ask you to spread the word and return promptly at noon (Pacific) on Thursday 1 August 2013 for the revealing of the mystery! The game IS afoot!