Today's Quiz

[Rogie]

There must be a good chance these contraptions were photographed in Paris as Christian lives near there, and yes, Paris is noted for its style of urinals, so I'll go for that too. I've always referred to them as pissoirs but it seems there are other names for them too. So, if two gentlemen can take a leak at the same time, is peeking possible?

[ChristianPFC]

You are so quick! Bummer, now I can't use this line I had prepared as a hint in case nobody finds the solution: "It's LMTU's home turf." It's indeed a public pissoir (I think they call it urinoir), I took the picture a few days ago in Paris. And indeed, there is need for it, you can smell piss under bridges, on walls and in many other places and often even see the wet trace on the floor. They even filled corners with concrete to prevent people from pissing there (the piss would splash back onto your trousers and run to your shoes). But would you want to piss in public on one of these? Three people can piss at the same time, but I would be hesitant to use them.

 

Picture from the internet:

 

[Bob]

I'm not sure what it is about the "sophisticated" French but the public urinals were installed to try to keep the masses from pissing on all their monuments. Originally, they chained off the areas around the monuments to keep the pissers away but that apparently didn't work out too well.

[kokopelli]

I've always referred to them as pissoirs but it seems there are other names for them too.

 

Indeed there are other names. One name is a "vespasienne" named after the Roman Emperor Vespasian who put a tax on urine, for whatever reason! There is only one remaining in Paris. I came across this bit of trivia when I saw an article regarding a statue of Pope John Paul II in Rome where some wags referred to it as a "vespasienne".

[Guest fountainhall]

(Don't look up the website on the sticker, that's cheating!)

 

I thought PSV s the soccer team from Eindhoven! What does PSV in those pics stand for?

 

You'd think the makers could have used a little more imagination. I like these. I just hope there's no special spring which activates to bring the teeth snapping down.

 

[Rogie]

I know a certain Frenchman whose teeeeeth would be chattering with excitement as he sought relief in one of those candy-coloured oscular cavities. . .

 

Le bonheur est dans le pré is written just below the PSV.

 

Happiness Is in the Field (French: Le bonheur est dans le pré) is a French comedy directed by Étienne Chatiliez in 1995

Francis Bergeade, owner of a toilet seats and brushes' factory in Dole, has just turned 65 and his life is a misery. Tax services are harassing him, his snobby wife Nicole despises him, and his daughter whimsically wants to have an expensive wedding. Francis knows only moments of relief while having lunches or dinners in fancy restaurants with his best friend, car dealer Gérard. Stress become too overwhelming and while on a lunch, he suffers a fainting spell.

 

During his convalescence, his family watch a reality TV show about long-lost relationships and disappearances called "Où es-tu?" ("Where are you?"). Amongst all cases, a Spanish-born woman, Dolorès Thivart, and her daughters, "Zig" and "Puce", producers of duck foie gras from Condom, are looking for their husband and father, Michel, who vanished 27 years ago. The thing is Michel Thivart happens to be Francis's exact look-a-like.

 

For Francis, it means more problems to come. Or is it the start of a brand new life?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness_Is_in_the_Field

[kokopelli]

A new quiz will be published tomorrow. Get ready to chip in your answers.

[kokopelli]

Rather than lying around all weekend, put your thinking caps on and see if you can answer the question.

 

Can anyone tell who used this device "off label" and for what purpose?

 

More visual clues forthcoming if necessary.

[Rogie]

Off label? Does that mean it was used for something other than it's intended use?

 

So the first thing is to decide what its intended use is and try and think what alternatives there could be, and then come up with the person who did it.

 

Following that line of reasoning, I haven't even got to first base yet

[Bob]

Hmmm. I know what the "device" is and what it does to something when it's used.

 

I sure as hell hope it was never used for removing unwanted skin.....

[Guest fountainhall]

Is it for slitting open envelopes?

[Guest thaiworthy]

It looks like a pencil sharpener to me. I used one like that when I was in school. It had a crank on one side and a dial on the other for different pencil shapes. Maybe Einstein used it to write his equations? That would require a very heavy-duty pencil sharpener and maybe a lot of erasers, too. If not him, then perhaps a famous writer. That could be practically anybody.

[Rogie]

That was my first thought when I saw it, as I remember using a pencil sharpener in one of the schools I attended, however looking closely I couldn't honestly say that is what is is. If it was a pencil sharpener, and if we are looking for a person who put it to a different use, what use might that be? Clearly if there are holes of varying size, anything that fits one of the holes could be inserted.

 

It definitely looks like a heavy-duty something or other!

 

Ah! I've just re-read Bob's post #35 and what he says clicks now. He says he knows what it is, and his final comment echoes something that crossed my mind but was too 'drastic' to contemplate. I think we are on the same wavelength now. I too hope it isn't the right answer to the quiz.

[kokopelli]

I don't want to lie and mislead you but I can say that this device was used by a well known literary character to put the finishing touch on his most important and creative body of work. No, not Einstein, this person was not a theoretician but a more applied person in his métier.

[Guest thaiworthy]

Well Koko, before you made your last post, I was going to guess a trade by which someone would need to sharpen pencils a lot. So I was going to guess a pencil sketch artist or even a composer. But you said well-known literary character, so that rules them out.

 

Did the author I'm thinking of use cedar pencils? I cheated and looked it up, so I shouldn't say who I think it might be-- although I could possibly be wrong. Is the first initial of his first name J? (I hope I haven't spoiled it for anyone!) I just want to know if I am right so I can disqualify myself. But you need to give us more clues!

[Rogie]

I think TW did well as he raised the possibility of a famous writer, and Koko went on to say it was used by a well-known literary character.

 

So is the 'character' in question the author, or is he a fictional person such as we might come across in a novel or play?

 

How about if the 'character' was a school teacher? That's my guess and I have good reason for thinking I may be right, but it's a long shot and I haven't used a search engine so could easily be barking up the wrong tree. Like TW I will say no more for the time being.

[kokopelli]

No, Kuhn Worthy, his name does not begin with a J. Ok, another clue. Who is this man? An astronomer, artist, actor, artisan, biologist, butcher, baker, candlestick maker, chemist, engineer, Dr.Frankenstein, Dr. Livingston, obstetrician, poet, Mr. Chips, magician, mechanic, miracle worker, surgeon, writer, etc,.

 

And not a teacher.

[Rogie]

Looks like I was barking up the wrong tree - maybe it was a cedar!

 

That guy's no schoolmaster

 

I will have a think and add to this post if I come up with anymore ideas . . .

 

later / no idea who he is but if I had to guess I'd say based on appearances alone I'd say he was the 'mad doctor' type, although his 'uniform' reminds me of the sort dentists wear and I suspect there is something sinister about him.

 

As to actual people rather than fictional he looks a bit like Einstein (already discounted), Albert Schweister (spelling) or even Dr Livingstone the explorer.

[kokopelli]

For Rogie for being a good sport, the man is Italian.

And he has appeared in print, in plays and in movies. He has a son who is even more well known than the father.

Now I will remain quiet for a while and give our friends in Thailand a chance to comment.

[KhorTose]

Hmmmm, I immediately thought Galileo, and the device could be a lens polisher. However, Galileo taught. Are all your clues correct---candlestick maker?

[Bob]

It's getting more confusing. I originally thought the "device" was exactly what Khun Thaiworthy mentioned....sure as hell looks like the mechanism found in every classroom I was in back in the 50's. And, as Khun Thaiworthy noted, the "wheel" allowed different size pencils, crayons, or whatever to be sharpened.

 

My "geez, I hope it's never been used for that" comment related to the bizarre notion (fostered by a recent thread here and/or elsewhere) that some idiot used it to circumcize some unfortunate boy(s). Hoping that notion is dead (skin) wrong, it's used to sharpen or shred whatever you stick in the appropriate hole while you're cranking the handle. Beyond that, I have no idea what somebody stuck in there to sharpen/shred.

[kokopelli]

Hmmmm, I immediately thought Galileo, and the device could be a lens polisher. However, Galileo taught. Are all your clues correct---candlestick maker?

 

Not a candlestick maker but one of those occupations is correct. Not Galileo but man's name does start with G.

[kokopelli]

. Beyond that, I have no idea what somebody stuck in there to sharpen/shred.

 

When you see the answer it will become clear why G used this device. Like I mentioned previously it was used to put the finishing touch on his most creative body of work.

 

Hope no one is taking me to seriously? I am kind of joking around a bit and did take liberties with the original book/movie.

[Guest fountainhall]

I was going to suggest Grimaldi, the clown, who was also an artist and whose son was equally famous. But they both died in the early 19th century - so too early for movies! But that device could, I suppose, have been used to grind the chalk to whiten their faces

[Bob]

Hope no one is taking me to seriously? I am kind of joking around a bit and did take liberties with the original book/movie.

 

Too seriously? Nah. But puzzling nonetheless. Torture device by Brando as the Godfather? (wild guess)