# Petals around the rose **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 29, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678 "2004-02-29T00:12:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/1 "2004-02-29T00:12:05Z")
Apologies if this has been posted before. [http://member.melbpc.org.au/~lborrett/computing/petals-bg.htm](http://member.melbpc.org.au/~lborrett/computing/petals-bg.htm) Some people can work this out in second, while it takes others ages. It becomes annoying after a while when you cannot work it out. When you work it out, don’t post how you did it. ---
**Author:** ![AvariceAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/958977/32.png) [@AvariceAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AvariceAngel)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/2 "2004-02-29T01:27:22Z")
What a fun puzzle! I got it in a minute or two. I won’t post the answer, but I will say not to overanalyze. It’s not as hard as you think. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/3 "2004-02-29T01:43:20Z")
I’m impressed with myself. I don’t usually get puzzles very quickly. Well, this one did take me about 4 minutes, but that’s quick for me. now to look for more victims, err, I mean players. ---
**Author:** ![Etherman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@Etherman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Etherman)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/4 "2004-02-29T02:15:55Z")
Took me about 10 minutes, which is good for me. Usually I just get frustrated because it always seems the author just picked some random set of rules. However, I can’t _not_ know the answer either so generally things like this just drive me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Ex\_Machina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/5 "2004-02-29T03:15:05Z")
This may sound strange but I figured it out from the name of the game, \*then \* I verified it by observation. (After the first understandable disappointment) Ain’t that a pip? ---
**Author:** ![c\_carol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@c\_carol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_carol)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/6 "2004-02-29T03:22:13Z")
I spent maybe ten minutes or so on it – but what an awful ten minutes! Then the answer jumps out of nowhere, and you wonder how you didn’t see it nine minutes ago. Great puzzle. ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/7 "2004-02-29T03:36:12Z")
All right, I just plain don’t get it. Could somone post the answer in spoilers? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/8 "2004-02-29T04:06:15Z")
she loves me, she loves me not… Just a hint, not the solution. (only read it after you spend some time on it, tho) ---
**Author:** ![ReuvenB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@ReuvenB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReuvenB)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/9 "2004-02-29T04:13:35Z")
does it have to do with fibonacci numbers? ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/10 "2004-02-29T04:24:56Z")
This isn’t meant as a hint to the puzzle so much as a clarification of something in the article, but I’ll spoiler it anyway: In the referenced article, the FRONT side of the dice are “what you rolled.” I got stuck for ages because I thought the TOP was the “rolled” number. That pesky real world intruding again, apparently those pictures are looking from the top down. ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/11 "2004-02-29T04:33:58Z")
Ah, I’m such a sucker for spoilers. I was on the right track, but I had to read NoClue’s spoiler. Oh well, neat trick! Timewinder - me too. That had me for about 10 minutes… ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/12 "2004-02-29T04:38:18Z")
And, as an added bonus, here’s a similar puzzle (with solution) I encountered in my youth, suitable for kids/teenagers. This time the name isn’t significant. I’ll spoiler the whole things so that it doesn’t ruin the main puzzle by proxy. This works well in a group, using the same rules as the petals puzzle: let people who figure it out prove it by prediction rather than telling the answer. As the “presenter” of the puzzle: Take seven forks, arrange them in a geometric pattern on a table, then withdraw your hands to the edge of the table a few inches away, and announce a number. Repeat with different patterns and numbers. To make it harder, seem to make subtle distinctions (tines up/down, reverse fork direction, make trivial “straightening” adjustment that changes the number, etc. Actual answer: the number of fingers (0-10) you have resting on the edge of the table after the adjustment. Note: as with the classic magician’s redirections, you don’t have to move your hands very far away–it will take some time before people start looking around. Also, once you’re down to the last few folks who haven’t “gotten it,” try having the answer change WITHOUT TOUCHING THE FORKS as a hint. As with the petals puzzle, people rarely feel cheated when they get it, usually there’s a great sense of accomplishment. ---
**Author:** ![ReuvenB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@ReuvenB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReuvenB)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/13 "2004-02-29T04:49:20Z")
Never mind, I got it. God, that’s frustrating. ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/14 "2004-02-29T05:00:38Z")
I wound up going to Google and spoiling myself, in the interest of getting some sleep in the next week or so. This is a stupid fucking puzzle. If you’ve played the original Silent Hill, this is similar to the zodiac puzzle near the end of the game. ---
**Author:** ![sciguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@sciguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciguy)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/15 "2004-02-29T05:09:05Z")
One of Spider Robinson’s books had a description of coming up with an answer to a hard problem. That moment of realization is like getting hit right between the eyes with a very heavy sledgehammer, just before the pain registers. Now I know what that means! I had half of it, but kept getting it wrong, and almost gave it up as a wrong track, until the “click” happened, then I scrolled down the page, keeping the answer just below the bottom margin, gave my answer, checked it, and started getting them all right. Very nice, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/16 "2004-02-29T14:13:15Z")
Spent 15 or 20 minutes on it last night with no luck. Got it instantly this morning. I guess sleeping on it really does work. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/17 "2004-02-29T17:32:26Z")
> [@BuckleberryFerry](#): > > All right, I just plain don’t get it. Could somone post the answer in spoilers? Yar! My Captain! If’n you still be stuck, e-mails me, an’ I’ll… _enlighten_ you. A dedicated web search will also work, don’t ye know. ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/18 "2004-02-29T20:36:49Z")
After spending inordinate amounts of time on this, I showed it to a friend who got it in under a minute, and then told me the secret. I’ve never felt this stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/19 "2004-02-29T20:44:21Z")
This turned into a two-part puzzle for me: Figuring out the answer, and then figuring out what the hell it had to do with roses. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678/20 "2004-02-29T20:52:47Z")
I saw it almost instantly, and I’m generally very bad at this sort of thing. I’ve got a 100% accuracy rate, but I feel my mental algorithm is fairly stupid – and so is the game, by extension. Would somebody who knows the answer comment in spoilers on this half-answer? Only two dice “count,” and they’re both odd numbers. The solution is based on a simple attribute of the two dice which count. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petals-around-the-rose/231678.md?page=2)