Posted by Bob Hale on October 27, 19101 at 09:32:32:

In Reply to: why ius a raven like a writing desk posted by cloudesley on March 26, 19101 at 18:18:05:

There's a longish discussion of this in Martin Gardner's Annotated Alice. In addition to the answers already given (and the 'few notes tho they are very flat' answer was provided by Carroll in a new preface for the 1896 edition) it quotes Sam Lloyd (cyclopedia of Puzzles, 1914) as suggesting 'because the notes for which they are noted are not noted for being musical notes' and 'bills and tales are among their characteristics' and 'they both stand on their legs, conceal their steels (steals) and ought to be made to shut up.

The 'because there's a B in both was orriginally ped on by Graham Edwards of Penguin books from a letter he received from a Dr. Tieu.

Cyril Pearson's answer inThe TwentiethCentury Standard Puzzle Book was 'because it slopes with a flap'.

All of the above is taken from the Annotated Alice.

Peter Heath's The Philosopher's Alice quoting from Warren Shibbles' 'A Philosophical Commentary on ALice's Adventures in Wonderland' says
'Shibles compares this to the unanswerable questions allegedly asked by Philosophers. But the real objection to it is that it has too many answers, namely all the innumerable negative properties that ravens share with writing desks (by which I suppose he means logical negatives like 'neither of them have a chimney'). If these do not count then neither does the property of unanswerability which the Hatter's riddle is supposed to share with the questions of Philosophers.'

Personally I thinkShibles and Heath are spouting pompous gibberish but then I'm an Alice in Wonderland obsessive which is how I know all this stuff.

Follow Ups:

• Re: why ius a raven like a writing desk Reno 23:39:52 10/19/102 (1)
  • Reno, i know why Jessica 01:46:39 4/24/103 (0)

Post a Followup