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From: Russell L. Bryan <rbryan@Mail.trincoll.edu>
Subject: Re: Bubblyhotrock (was Sense of Wonder)
Message-ID: <1992Nov17.033712.7646@starbase.trincoll.edu>
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Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 03:37:12 GMT
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In article <41085@sdcc12.ucsd.edu> Darin Johnson, djohnson@cs.ucsd.edu
writes:
>Yikes!  Wouldn't have thought of the cutting the rope part unless
>there was some sort of (you are x feet across).  And you won't swing
>into the cave gently, probably shoot a few rooms further in.  More
>description on carriage.  I would have thought it was hanging from the
>rope (like a funicular), making it very difficult for it to tip over
>by climbing on top.

Nope -- inside the carriage is a ton of useless trinkets and junk, all of
which is hanging from the ceiling.  This provides for a VERY high center
of gravity which is only balanced when someone is actually inside the
carriage.  The principle is similar to a squirrel-proof birdfeeder I once
saw.

>Personally, I would have thought that the carriage was mechanical and
>that pulling the lever might do something.  Maybe find another rope
>somewhere, crawl across, tie rope to carriage, crawl back, then pull
>carriage across.  Then perhaps if there are no controls inside
>carriage, can cross over to opening normally without carriage in the
>way.

Actually, the carriage WAS mechanical once, but as I said, a lot of
things are not operating (at least, not when you find them).  The
carriage itself contains a pulley system, and can be drawn across from
within by pulling on the rope.

However, I may have to seriously rethink the puzzle for another reason. 
I have to give the carriage a door.  It struck me that a carriage is
pretty useless if it only had one entrance on one side.  Well, back to
the drawing board.

-- Russ
