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Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

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Re: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

#101

Y for yellow, given that's the color of the handle and that you need something to be representative of the color. Even having a yellow square could confuse it with S for square, or having a banana can confuse it with B for banana. Similar problems exist with S for Sun, C for (a yellow) crayon etc. Also the handle is what has been drawn superimposed over the letter. Still, confusion with A for axe isnt any better than…

"Yellow handled axe" is the kind of answer that has seen me banned from playing Scattegories with certain people. ("Poo-Brown" as Colour starting with 'P' was the actual instigator)

I'm going to have to concur with the ban, sorry.

Re: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

#102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A bucket of yellow paint would be a likely choice if that were the case.

A bucket of yellow paint would be "B"

By that logic, it might as well be "A."

Re: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

#103
post #79
post #66

A wonderful example of the human propensity to "hallucinate" meaning starting from a random connection (there's an undoin uncommon specific word for that - also noticeable in children and psych). There is a smoking gun in one of the later comments: https://i.stack.imgur.com/bDRX5m.jpg

What about that image is a smoking gun?

If the axe head is a gun, then the yellow handle is smoke. Just turn the image sideways and squint. Trust me, after a while you will see it.

Re: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

#105

It's not a really really badly drawn ax with a weird wavy yellow handle, it's yellow paint coming out of a paint pot. The reason the "ax" looks nothing at all like an ax is that it isn't supposed to be an ax.

There’s another answer suggesting this if you scroll down on the source link. I personally disagree though.

Re: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

#106
post #12

First comment on the answer: > This is quite the most extraordinary stack exchange answer that I've ever seen. And I couldn't agree more. Well worth perusing if you (like me) usually only check the comments on HN.

In a way it is disappointing... Almost certainly, the person who drew this axe is still alive today. There are ~8 billion people alive today, so it is a simple matter of figuring out who to ask. Yet, while everyone might be only 6 handshakes away from everyone else (on average), we do not have sufficient human connectivity to locate this person, even with hundreds of people putting at least a little thought/effort in…

I'd pay good money to watch a cinema verité documentary capturing the moment when the graphic artist encounters the StackExchange page and reads each comment in turn, while the camera slowly zooms in closer and closer on their eyebrows as they alternately furrow and rise up in surprise.

Re: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

#107

It's not a really really badly drawn ax with a weird wavy yellow handle, it's yellow paint coming out of a paint pot. The reason the "ax" looks nothing at all like an ax is that it isn't supposed to be an ax.

Weirdest damn paint pot I've seen.

Re: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

#108
post #12

First comment on the answer: > This is quite the most extraordinary stack exchange answer that I've ever seen. And I couldn't agree more. Well worth perusing if you (like me) usually only check the comments on HN.

Here's another question with an answer that blew my mind just the other day; not nearly as long though: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/283546/does-hagrid...

Did you notice in the comments that someone found the newspaper from the background?

https://i.imgur.com/gAHYUW7.jpg

Re: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

#109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Yellow handled axe" is the kind of answer that has seen me banned from playing Scattegories with certain people. ("Poo-Brown" as Colour starting with 'P' was the actual instigator)

I'm going to have to concur with the ban, sorry.

And I don't hold that against you in any way.

As my long-suffering better half said about me recently (to her psych no less): sometimes he just says and does things to see what kind of reaction it gets from people; to work them out, to understand their limits and motivations, to find their boundaries.

...and maybe even more accurately: just to entertain himself.

Certainly. The limits, the boundaries, are where there be dragons; excitement; life!

Re: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

#110
post #12

First comment on the answer: > This is quite the most extraordinary stack exchange answer that I've ever seen. And I couldn't agree more. Well worth perusing if you (like me) usually only check the comments on HN.

Trying to force a research/speculation on a mistake hardly deserves the most extraordinary answer.

A better approach: the ball, likely, can be traced to the company producing it. The toys for very young kids tend to be regulated, hence expensive. Contacting the company would be a direct approach, significantly improving the yield to provide a correct answer.

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