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Dec-8-2004 01:45

Hello all.
I'm fairly new to Sleuth and I thought I might share a little hobby of mine with you all. Here's something for that sad moment when the mysteries of the day are all done.

Thousands lay up gold within this house,
but no man made it.
Spears past counting guard this house,
but no man wards it.
What is it?

Jan-29-2005 02:09

Sila: A seamount?

Saxon: The helmets were poisoning the soldiers when the metal soaked into the men's skin/bloodstream?

Jan-30-2005 10:27

Saxon: Two possibilities. One, steel helmets provide very poor protection vs bullets unless they are so thick that the helmet is too heavy to wear. This is why soldiers stopped wearing armour when muskets became reliable.
Two, Steel helmets will permit sound waves to echo so the sound of a shell exploding close buy was transmitted through the helmet and burst their eardrums.

Jan-30-2005 10:47

I think:
Saxon-- my guess:
1) Light reflected off the helmets so they were more visible -- therefore the Brits were shot at more by the enemy
2) The soldiers painted/decorated their helmets to promote patriotism and the helmets became an easy target to be seen

Jan-30-2005 13:35

Did somebody get the man on bridge? I think that gold is measured in troy weight scale which has 12 ounces per pound instead of the regular (avoirdupois?) scale of 16 oz per pound. (forgive me if its been done and I missed it...)

Jan-30-2005 15:40

Well ... nobody got the Brit's helmet one, despite some very inventive suggestions. I'll give you a clue: when the Home Office was told of the situation, they were delighted and ordered a new batch of helmets to be sent to the front line. Any last guesses?

Jan-30-2005 18:53

Saxon: The helmets were effective. The number of wounded increased because the helmets were helping soldiers survive otherwise fatal injuries. The facts given don't mention what the helmets did to the numbers of combat fatalities.
Just a guess.

Jan-31-2005 01:27

Hoorah for John Hale! Spot on. Field hospitals were overwhelmed because the number of fatalities went down, but the injuries went up. Well done.

Jan-31-2005 05:10

Andy, not a seamount...anyone else?

Jan-31-2005 13:02

Sila is it the Sun?
The Sun is part of what causes Thunder as it heats the rain in the clouds which causes Thunder and Lightening. You can see the light of the sun through the clouds and it's rays warm the Earth and dry the rain.

Feb-1-2005 02:40

good try marylou...but am afraid not!