I knew it was a misdirection riddle from the get-go, and can’t believe it took two weeks for the solution to pop into my head at four in the morning.
I salute Biotop, even as I also hope he loses all his fingers and then gets a bowling ball for Christmas.
(Or she.)
… why is Novocaine a number…?
It makes you numb.
And Biotop gave us a little hint by telling us the origin of the riddle was the dentist’s office.
With the benefit of forehead-slapping hindsight I think it was a pretty big hint, very cleverly disguised as conversational stage setting.
By the way, notice that the riddle only works in print. Nice touch.
Alcohol?
A Google search for “14 knots of Gordias” only displays this thread and the one on the Giraffe boards for results, so I’m not buying this answer. Also, the “Gordian knot” was famously only one knot, not 14 of them.