Christmas in February

[JHostler]

I have one test print each of Tyche's Fiddle and Sleightly Hopped taking up space on a sofa table. In the spirit of Jack Shalom, I’m going to mail each of these to an interested party – at my expense if you’re in the United States, at yours if in saner territories.

I have a number between 1 and 500 in mind. This number is more or less the answer to a riddle – and in fact revealed by this very post(!!!) So, here’s how it works:

Email me at hostlerj [att] gmail [dott] com with your preference (Fiddle vs. Hopped) and your best shot at the number. Do this by midnight on Saturday, February 3, 2024 (Central Standard Time). Whoever comes closest without going over [for each of the two giveaways] gets the goods.

Descriptions of Tyche's Fiddle and Sleightly Hopped are on the gnomes’ new site (http://www.gnominal.com).

I’ll unleash the secret of the secret number on Sunday.

Cheers,

John

[JHostler]

A very good question just in: In the event of a tie, the early bird gets da worm.

[JHostler]

It being 1:29am 2/4/24, I can now reveal the riddle's answer. The "secret number" was 159 - simply the number of words (per Microsoft Word) in my original post. Omitting numerals and URL components (technically not "words") reduced this number to 150, but did not change the winners. Apologies for not making this more complicated; much thought was apparently invested in some of the responses!

- Most common response: 225 (3).
- Most interesting responses: 27.3 and 626
- Preferences: 62% Sleightly Hopped, 38% Tyche's Fiddle
- Best Guesses: 111 for Sleightly Hopped; just 51 (!!) for Tyche's Fiddle.

I'll be following up directly with #111 and #51, who are of course free to divulge their identities.

Thanks for the fun!

John