June 6, 2003

Well, first off, let me thank Yonatan Zunger, who sent me a helpful e-mail answering the magnet question for me. I had been making a hidden assumption that the magnetic fields involved would stay constant. What actually happens is this: The electro-magnet creates a magnetic field going out in all directions. It has momentum, but has no effect on the magnet because it's vectored in all directions so as to make 0 effect on the magnet. That field gets to the iron, which polarizes and makes its own field. That new field gets back to the magnet and pulls on it. As the two get closer, the iron's field gets stronger. It will ultimately end up with the magnet and iron meeting at their center of mass and cancelling each other's velocities when they collide.

Now, on to the riddles:
First off, each frame is a seperate riddle. There is no overall theme, and the riddles don't relate to each other.I tried to give enough information to lead you to the answer in each case, but after making the comic I realize I may have left some things out. So read the following hints:
FIRST PANEL: The girl did not lose her ear before the kidnapping. The father was not relieved just because he had proof that his daughter was still alive. He had a better reason to be happy.
SECOND PANEL: The doctor was not in a box, plane, cab, or anything else that would impede his vision. The usage of the word "horizon" is not a trick. He isn't in a plane looking at an artificial horizon or anything.
THIRD PANEL: You're on your own, bub. You've got enough information to solve it from the text of the question.

Enjoy!

Oh, and feel free to email me or post on the board your opinions of the "Diabolical Riddle Day" concept. If you like it, I'll do it more often. If you're rather just have a gag-a-day all the time, I can do that too.

-ATW