# A curious parcel arrived last night **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 19, 2007, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309 "2007-10-19T16:42:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/181 "2007-10-24T00:38:55Z")
Madame DeFarge, yes, but I had a more benign image of you, Ms. Rigby. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/182 "2007-10-24T01:20:37Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] Who’re you–Tom Sawyer? Seems like a sucker move to me. \ [/quote] Nope! Just a way to teach! > [@](#): > > 😃 😃 > [@](#): > > I have no idea how to get onto the needles, how to stop knitting etc. I took one class 2 years ago, but had to stop. I WILL learn this, soon. Your afghan looks pretty–is it a gift for someone? What’s that? Oh, **Balance** is back with the Box? Ok, sssshhh, everyone! (honestly, these people who talk over other people-how obnoxious is that?) There’s some nifty sites online with free videos to show you! Godsend for me.. This one? No, this is for me. I have other things on the needles for Christmas presents (yes already, I’d go mad if I started any later!) [QUOTE=Tapiotar] The knitting talk is interesting, and knitting is a way to pass the time while we wait for the next installment – I’m working on a camisole made of a lovely, gently shimmering blue bamboo yarn – but isn’t it so cozy and friendly it takes away from the nicely building atmosphere of menace? [/QUOTE] I like cozy and friendly to counteract the menace sending chills down my spine personally. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/183 "2007-10-24T01:40:50Z")
[QUOTE=Hal Briston] (Psst…Post #5! 😛 ) [/QUOTE] Sorry, I didn’t click on your link. :smack: The only thing I remember from the movie was the box! ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/184 "2007-10-24T01:58:52Z")
[QUOTE=Tapiotar] Madame DeFarge, yes, but I had a more benign image of you, Ms. Rigby. [/QUOTE] Well, actually I pictured YOU as the dear Madame… I can’t quite knit, yet. I’m a wee concerned about this box. Why not Og smash? (I’m impatient) ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/185 "2007-10-24T11:31:18Z")
[QUOTE=Tapiotar] I’m starting to worry about this fish obsession. What would Freud say? **Balance** , what you need is not another person to help you press the tiles, but a tentacled being. [/QUOTE] Paging **Tentacle Monster** … The fish obsession worries me as well, **Tapitoar**. However, perhaps **Bosdi** is correct and the box must be opened with a fish. 🙂 Either way, one of the most damned interesting threads I’ve ever read, complete with intermissions of slapstick and high comedy. ---
**Author:** ![TommyTutone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/186 "2007-10-24T12:33:08Z")
Balance, seriously, don’t waste your time with this thing. Just give it to Peter Lorre and let him and his boss find out that the falcon inside is a fake. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/187 "2007-10-24T13:20:01Z")
[QUOTE=Agent Foxtrot] The fish obsession worries me as well, **Tapitoar**. However, perhaps **Bosdi** is correct and the box must be opened with a fish. 🙂 . [/QUOTE] Maybe you are right. I keep thinking of Hamlet. You know, the scene where Ophelia keeps pestering Hamlet to go fishing, because she has a craving for some smokin’ trout, and he isn’t up for it so he tells her “Get thee to a fishery.” ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/188 "2007-10-24T13:29:23Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] I’m a wee concerned about this box. Why not Og smash? (I’m impatient) [/QUOTE] If it’s anything like the ones in the link that **Ghanima** provided, it would be desecrating a work of art. As well as destroying the contents. And maybe **Balance** , if their is an explosive inside. Speaking of which, where is **Balance**? It’s time to hear what happens next! ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/189 "2007-10-24T14:37:53Z")
OK somehow I just stumbled upon this thread this morning and impatiently wait for a new installment. Pass me the knitting and the popcorn. No fish. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/190 "2007-10-24T15:35:33Z")
Success! I salvaged pieces from some clockwork insects and a few other small projects I had been tinkering with. It took a while to get it working, but rigging the legs together provided me with an armature that pressed each of the tiles evenly. I was rewarded with a faint click, and the upper part of the box shifted slightly, leaving a visible gap across the narrow end of the box. I used one of my picks to tug gently at the lid. It rose smoothly, revealing the latch mechanism—two long, tapering prongs that had been folded into the bottom of the case near the center. The nagging familiarity about the artifact’s design abruptly resolved itself. The tiles are scales, and the latch resembles fangs; the box was made in the shape of a stylized viper’s head. I marveled at the design for a moment, but found myself strangely reluctant to reach into the maw of a serpent—even one made of wood. Rather than waste time reasoning with myself, I wrapped a wrench in a bit of cloth and used it to prop the box open near its hinges. Only then did I reach for the tantalizing sheaf of papers lying within. My instincts were wiser than my thoughts. As I began gently gathering the papers, I felt the bottom of the box give slightly. There was another faint click, and the lid jerked downward, only to be stopped by my improvised prop. My eyes were drawn irresistibly to the “fangs”, on the points of which tiny droplets of liquid had gathered. It was clear then that the box was no ancient artifact. No such mechanism could remain functional for long without careful tending. What did Digger stumble into? The papers surely hold the answer. They are not as fragile as I had feared. They are old, certainly, but not as old as I had expected—I would guess that they are no more than a century old, and in good condition for their age. Like the box itself, they have been well-preserved by someone. It took me a moment to recognize the language. I have not studied Aramaic since my university days, and I was no expert even then. The only thing I have been able to pick out so far is a word that means “god”, I think—it might mean “fear”. It is repeated many times throughout the pages, most often in connection with another word I don’t know. Maybe this is some sort of religious text. I will have to dig out my old references and do some research before I can tell more. ---
**Author:** ![Shryn\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Shryn\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shryn_King)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/191 "2007-10-24T15:57:57Z")
:: sits down far away from **shamrock227** so that I don’t get hit with the fish shaped pillow:: :: Looks around at the gathering crowd:: Does anyone have chocolate?? ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/192 "2007-10-24T16:02:16Z")
Not just a puzzle box… a _deadly_ puzzle box! Oh my… what do the papers say? I want to know! ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/193 "2007-10-24T16:26:18Z")
🙂🙂🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/194 "2007-10-24T16:31:13Z")
[QUOTE=Balance] The papers surely hold the answer. They are not as fragile as I had feared. They are old, certainly, but not as old as I had expected—I would guess that they are no more than a century old, and in good condition for their age. Like the box itself, they have been well-preserved by someone. It took me a moment to recognize the language. I have not studied Aramaic since my university days, and I was no expert even then. The only thing I have been able to pick out so far is a word that means “god”, I think—it might mean “fear”. It is repeated many times throughout the pages, most often in connection with another word I don’t know. Maybe this is some sort of religious text. I will have to dig out my old references and do some research before I can tell more. [/QUOTE] ::Pulls up a chair:: As a Hebrew speaker, I can likely help you with the Aramaic… can you post some of it here? I’m intrigued… what word is it that you think may mean either “God” of “fear”? Also, why would a relatively recent document be written in Aramaic? Perhaps, despite their looks, the box and the papers are far older than they seem? ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/195 "2007-10-24T16:32:57Z")
What, no map? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/196 "2007-10-24T16:33:37Z")
[QUOTE=Shryn King] :: Looks around at the gathering crowd:: Does anyone have chocolate?? [/QUOTE] Yes. Yes I do. It’s hidden cleverly somewhere in this room. Be wise in your search for it, for if you falter, your reward may be death. ---
**Author:** ![Most\_Creative\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Most\_Creative\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Most_Creative_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/197 "2007-10-24T16:34:24Z")
_passes out chocolate_ This is so interesting. I can’t wait for the next part of the story. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/198 "2007-10-24T16:35:18Z")
[QUOTE=Most Creative User Name Ever] _passes out chocolate_ This is so interesting. I can’t wait for the next part of the story. [/QUOTE] I am sure this didn’t come out as expected. assing out chocolate sounds a bit over the top for this thread. ETA: Darn it! too slow. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/199 "2007-10-24T17:34:38Z")
Ooh…did you manage to collect some of the liquid, to have a friend analyze it for poison? Eek. How many papers? Why in Aramaic (who speaks Aramaic anymore?). Is there a map? How big is this box (is it bigger than a breadbox or is it more the size of an iPhone?). Where are you keeping it when you’re not around? Is it secret? Is it safe? And no dog? No boy? I’m disappointed, but still riveted. ---
**Author:** ![Canadiangirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Canadiangirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadiangirl)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/200 "2007-10-24T18:04:49Z")
I brought Baileys and hot chocolate…can I join? I can’t knit but I can crochet! Is it like the puzzle in The DaVinci Code? Do you have a sledgehammer? The fire needs more wood. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309.md?page=11)