# 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:** 7
**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 22, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/121 "2007-10-22T02:11:54Z")
Nobody has warned you about this yet…I strongly suggest you check for any inscription that says _“Lament Configuration”_. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/122 "2007-10-22T02:33:04Z")
[QUOTE=ShibbOleth] I know the first part is correct, I get emails from her all of the time. Sometimes I get them from her cousins in other countries. Even today I got one from a man in Hong Kong. [/QUOTE] But… I haven’t emailed you in awhile! 😉 I’ll bet it’s precious jewels. And those jewels have a curse upon them. 'Ware, **Balance** , you take your life in your hands when you open that box… ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/123 "2007-10-22T03:37:42Z")
{raises hand furiously} I know! I know! The tiles are a puzzle and the puzzle the key to opening the box! What do I win? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/124 "2007-10-22T03:59:46Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] …And Nazi’s. It ain’t an adventure story unless Nazi’s are involved. [/QUOTE] Not the dreaded _ **Illinois Nazis** _, I hope. I hate Illinois Nazis. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/125 "2007-10-22T04:18:35Z")
A story like this coming from a person who has live-action role-playing listed as an interest - I am dubious. But eager to hear more of it, nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/126 "2007-10-22T04:38:09Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] I’ll bet it’s precious jewels. And those jewels have a curse upon them. 'Ware, **Balance** , you take your life in your hands when you open that box… [/QUOTE] Anyone knows the whereabouts of the Hope diamond? ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/127 "2007-10-22T04:42:15Z")
It’s in the Smithsonian. > **[Hope Diamond](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_Diamond)** > > The Hope Diamond is a 45.52 carats (9.104 g; 0.3211 oz) diamond extracted in the 17th century from the Kollur Mine in Guntur, India. It is blue in color due to trace amounts of boron. Its exceptional size has revealed new information about the formation of diamonds. > The stone is one of the Golconda diamonds. The earliest records of the diamond show that French gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier purchased it in 1666 as the Tavernier Blue. The stone was cut and renamed the French Blue (Le bleu... ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/128 "2007-10-22T04:50:51Z")
IT’S BEAUTIFUL!!! _face melts off skull_ ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/129 "2007-10-22T04:58:06Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] It’s in the Smithsonian. > **[Hope Diamond](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_Diamond)** > > The Hope Diamond is a 45.52-carat (9.104 g; 0.3211 oz) blue diamond that has been famed for its great size and blue-violet color since the 17th century. It was extracted in the 17th century from the Kollur Mine in Andhra Pradesh, India. The gemstone's exceptional size has revealed new information about the formation of diamonds. The Hope Diamond's recorded history begins in 1666, when the French gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier purchased the raw Golconda stone in India. After cutting the g... [/QUOTE] **Duck Duck Goose** , you are not fun at all. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![shamrock227](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@shamrock227](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamrock227)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/130 "2007-10-22T13:10:54Z")
There’s a map in the box, I just know it. If I bring extra Diet Coke to share, can I mooch some popcorn off someone? ---
**Author:** ![MissRancher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@MissRancher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissRancher)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/131 "2007-10-22T13:15:12Z")
I think you need to post some pictures of this box so we can get a better idea of how it might be opened… ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/132 "2007-10-22T13:24:03Z")
[QUOTE=MissRancher] I think you need to post some pictures of this box so we can get a better idea of how it might be opened… [/QUOTE] **Balance** said the tiles could be depressed; obviously they must be depressed in a certain order to gain entrance into the container. Wonder how many tiles there are? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/133 "2007-10-22T13:30:32Z")
All this buildup for an ancient Egyptian Rubik’s cube. Feh. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/134 "2007-10-22T13:32:44Z")
[QUOTE=shamrock227] There’s a map in the box, I just know it. If I bring extra Diet Coke to share, can I mooch some popcorn off someone? [/QUOTE] You can keep your Diet Coke, but I’ll share my cookies with you. A map! That’s perfect! A map and one lone dessicated finger… Then, as Balance is thinking about these clues, a hand clamps down on his shoulder… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/135 "2007-10-22T13:44:12Z")
Psh. Surely it’s a cooler storage device. For there was evil in a cooler once. As those how have dwelt here long must know. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/136 "2007-10-22T14:39:41Z")
[QUOTE=Ale] **Duck Duck Goose** , you are not fun at all. 😉 [/QUOTE] Everyone knows that the diamond there is just a paste replica. The real diamond was stolen years ago. But I don’t think it ended up in Cairo. **Balance** please describe/show us the tiles. We love a good mystery. And have you contacted Interpol about your missing friend Digger? Maybe there is a smart Belgian on the force who could track him (or, heaven forbid, his killers) down. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/137 "2007-10-22T14:52:37Z")
[QUOTE=SnakesCatLady] **Balance** said the tiles could be depressed; obviously they must be depressed in a certain order to gain entrance into the container. Wonder how many tiles there are? [/QUOTE] You know, I’m so thinking [Cenobites](http://www.hellraiserthemovie.com/cenobites.html) right about now… ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/138 "2007-10-22T14:55:23Z")
[QUOTE=MissRancher] I think you need to post some pictures of this box so we can get a better idea of how it might be opened… [/QUOTE] pretty please ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/139 "2007-10-22T15:03:16Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] I got a brand new mystery stong box, you got a brand new key. [/QUOTE] If I have that goddamned song in my head for the rest of the day, I will personally hunt you down and kill you. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309/140 "2007-10-22T15:03:49Z")
[QUOTE=Balance] The “artifact” he sent seems to be a smallish box of extraordinary design. The entire outer surface consists of rounded, overlapping tiles. Each tile can be pressed inward slightly, as if supported by a spring. It is roughly a foot in all dimensions at its widest point, tapering to perhaps six inches wide and four high at the opposite end. The whole is composed of dark—almost black—wood, with a slick, waxy feel to it. I suppose it will come as no surprise that there is no obvious way to open it. [/QUOTE] That may not be such a bad thing… “What’s your pleasure, Mr. Balance?” “The box.” “Take it, it’s yours. It always was.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-curious-parcel-arrived-last-night/423309.md?page=8)