# Got questions about the One Ring of Sauron? Get your answers here! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** middle-earth\ **Created:** [December 19, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921 "2008-12-19T16:36:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/41 "2008-12-19T19:04:26Z")
‘And even in a mythical Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally).’ The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, No 144, dated 1954 The power of the Ring over all concerned, even the Wizards or Emissaries, is not a delusion - but it is not the whole picture, even of the then state and content of that part of the Universe.’ The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, No 153, dated 1954 So Bombadil in general and his immunity to the ring specifically are meant as reminders that there’s more to this world than meets the eye or is explained in history and legend. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/42 "2008-12-19T19:21:18Z")
How much does it cost in USD and can I pay extra to remove all the bad things that go with the One Ring? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/43 "2008-12-19T19:23:29Z")
Hypothetically, can the ring adjust its size to other… er appendages? Would it confer great power to said appendage? Would there be a possibility that it might present a choking hazard? ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/44 "2008-12-19T19:25:24Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > How much does it cost in USD and can I pay extra to remove all the bad things that go with the One Ring? [$19.95](http://www.weaponmasters.com/shopping/Return-of-the-King-One-Ring-p-16338.html), including light-up swirling lava base. “Bad things” are what it’s all about. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/45 "2008-12-19T19:27:51Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Hypothetically, can the ring adjust its size to other… er appendages? Would it confer great power to said appendage? > > Would there be a possibility that it might present a choking hazard? Choke on what? Said appendage is rendered invisible, right? So I’m standing there using two hands to hold… what appears to be nuthin. Does that sound romantic to you? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/46 "2008-12-19T19:33:00Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Choke on what? Said appendage is rendered invisible, right? > > So I’m standing there using two hands to hold… what appears to be nuthin. Does that sound romantic to you? To paraphrase Ben Franklin, all cats are black in the dark. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/47 "2008-12-19T19:36:02Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Hypothetically, can the ring adjust its size to other… er appendages? Would it confer great power to said appendage? > > Would there be a possibility that it might present a choking hazard? That would be rather… climactic…:eek: ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/48 "2008-12-19T19:40:23Z")
Yeah, but which would you rather be: Rahm Emanuel or John Wayne Bobbit? ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/49 "2008-12-19T20:04:27Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > As I began this post I thought that was an odd ability for Sauron to give the Ring, but in fact it makes sense. He forged the Ring before the Downfall of Numenor, which was when he lost the ability to assume a fair shape. I can easily imagine him assuming a large form for some purposes and a smaller one for others; when he was trading under the name “Annatar,” for instance, he was probably about the average height of an Noldo, whereas when forced to battle he might have decided “You know, being 12 feet tall would be an asset right about now.” From Sauron’s perspective, the fact that others would be able to wear the ring might be considered an advantage as well. Frodo, for instance, did not have the native power to usurp him, but by putting on the Ring revealed himself to Sauron and his lieutenants. Those who _might_ have been able to become Dark Lords/Ladies themselves were good/wise enough not to take the Ring (except for Saruman, whom Sauron played like a fiddle). And by changing size, the Ring, which contained much of Sauron’s malevolent will, could betray its wearer by slipping off a finger at a key moment (as implied in the book and made explicit in the “Fellowship of the Rings” movie). ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/50 "2008-12-19T20:33:33Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > “He went to Celebrimbor’s!” Win. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/51 "2008-12-19T22:18:01Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Do you really think Sauron would wear a tie? A bow tie with matching argyle socks. He kept the Magic Dingus on his watch chain. He was from New Jersey. That, Sir, is canon from _Bored of the Rings._ If not, it should be. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/52 "2008-12-19T22:18:50Z")
Got nuthin’ to add, but some posts did remind me of that Easter egg on the extended edition of “Fellowship”, wherein Jack Black does indeed hide the One Ring in(on?) an unusual place. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/53 "2008-12-19T22:23:09Z")
_“filthy hobbitses, with their bathtub rings”_ ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/54 "2008-12-19T22:25:26Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > Got nuthin’ to add, but some posts did remind me of that Easter egg on the extended edition of “Fellowship”, wherein Jack Black does indeed hide the One Ring in(on?) an unusual place. :: checks calendar :: It’s an odd-numbered day, so my official position is that No Such Movie Was Ever Made. But I’m going to ignore that rule because I also notice that it’s 7 years to the day since the _Fellowship_ was released, and I’d never have read the book if it weren’t for being dragged to that movie by my friends. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/55 "2008-12-19T22:49:07Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > Maybe a more specific question. Gandalf says he wouldn’t want the rign because he’d be tempted to use it for good, but that the power would overwhelm him. What would he have used the ring for and how would it have helped. Just rallying people to him, or is there something more? As I recall reading from [one of the links](http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.tolkien/msg/324eda9176e604e7) in the FAQ, Tolkien said that he would have because as bad as Sauron or worse; a well meaning tyrant. [QUOTE=JRR Tolkien] Gandalf as Ring-Lord would have been far worse than Sauron. He would have remained ‘righteous’, but self-righteous. He would have continued to rule and order things for ‘good’, and the benefit of his subjects according to his wisdom (which was and would have remained great). [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/56 "2008-12-19T22:58:44Z")
Well of course the One had more “oomph” than the Nine, being the Master Ring. I just wonder if it’s not a plothole, basically, that in putting the bearer into the Unseen World, it thereby renders the wearer invisible to mortals and most Elves (but for the faint shadow cast in direct sunlight), _including his clothes and gear_. When you get right down to it, it’s for the same literary reason that the Invisible Girl in the Fantastic Four has to have her clothes disappear with her (except for the very noble and praiseworthy purpose of seeing Jessica Alba nekkid for a few scenes before the mechanism to do that is figured out in the story). Otherwise, it’s not a very invisible invisibility feature to have in the storyline, is it? That said, you can still make arguments and fanscuses about how it all works. For example, when Frodo wears the Ring on Weathertop and thereby sees the Ringwraith’s forms and faces, doesn’t he see a crown on the helm of their Captain? It’s not explicitly written that he _hadn’t_ seen the crown until putting on the Ring, but it is mentioned right after he notices their pale faces and keen eyes, that he had not seen without the Ring. (This is in contrast to the crown he wears when proposing to enter the gates of Minas Tirith, which everyone could see glittering upon no visible head after he throws back his hood.) ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/57 "2008-12-19T23:05:34Z")
Oh, and the point I was leading up to: maybe it’s that when you go all ringy-wraithy into the Unseen World the stuff you wear goes with you due to contact, and in the case of the Ringwraiths it’s what they were wearing at the moment of their enwraithing that Frodo sees? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/58 "2008-12-19T23:11:38Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > Oh, and the point I was leading up to: maybe it’s that when you go all ringy-wraithy into the Unseen World the stuff you wear goes with you due to contact, and in the case of the Ringwraiths it’s what they were wearing at the moment of their enwraithing that Frodo sees? The Nazgul were rendered permanently invisible by wearing their rings for so long. Their robes are visible because during the RingWar, Sauron held their rings, and they put on additional vestments to make it possible for them to interact with persons in the physical world. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/59 "2008-12-20T00:44:42Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > The Nazgul … to make it possible for them to interact with persons in the physical world. Which consisted of what, a Darth Vader Choke Hold on some poor guy of whom you asked, _Where are the Hobbits?_ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921/60 "2008-12-20T03:08:02Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Thank you. I’d forgotten Elrond had one. Wonder if there was a dwarf ring in Smaug’s hoard. One bling to rule them all… Not likely. That would have been the Ring of Thrór, Thorin Oakenshield’s grandfather, but it was taken by Sauron (as “The Necromancer”) from his (Thrór’s) son, Thráin, while he was captive in Dol Guldur. I’ve always thought it odd, though, that Sauron didn’t take the map of the Lonely Mountain from Thráin before tossing him in his dungeons to rot. He didn’t think it to be of much importance, I guess. Still, that little omission arguably set in motion the chain of events that led to his downfall. Truly, even the very wise cannot see all ends. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-questions-about-the-one-ring-of-sauron-get-your-answers-here/477921.md?page=4)