My inner part is filled with helium
Rubber comprises my epithelium
If you tie me 'bout your hand
Then I'll stay closer to the ground
Else I'll go up to the sky
I am not a balloon, what am I?
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
15
asked Jan 5, 2016 at 9:36
-
3$\begingroup$ @H.Modh I think the answer is more 'out of the box'. $\endgroup$– Trevi AwaterCommented Jan 5, 2016 at 9:48
-
3$\begingroup$ To improve the rhyme, you could change the third line to "If I to your hand am bound". :-) $\endgroup$– HellionCommented Jan 5, 2016 at 15:54
-
6$\begingroup$ is anyone else sick of all these "oh, just kidding, I was lying" riddles? $\endgroup$– dfperryCommented Jan 6, 2016 at 13:04
-
9$\begingroup$ What, really? REALLY? Man I thought about this all yesterday and wasted hours on research and brainstorming. And now my upvote is locked when I really just want to downvote this. I guess I've learned my lesson about upvoting questions here before I know the answer. I'm pretty sure I got here from the Hot Network Questions list, it has 1K views and it's not even a real riddle! What's next, "What have I got in my pocket?" $\endgroup$– Todd WilcoxCommented Jan 6, 2016 at 16:39
-
6$\begingroup$ @BigBlackBox While dmg's answer is likely to be the best one possible, it does not satisfy what to me is the core purpose of a riddle, which is that it's something that seems so obvious once you actually know the answer. dmg's answer doesn't really seem right. Only the helium and rubber parts of it work very well. As frustrating as this "riddle" is, "A balloon that lies" is a better answer than dmg's based on my criteria. $\endgroup$– Todd WilcoxCommented Jan 6, 2016 at 17:16
|
Show 10 more comments
3 Answers
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
8
Is it a
Portable hard drive
My inner part is filled with helium
Some hard drives are filled with helium to reduce internal friction
Rubber comprises my epithelium
Rubberized to prevent damage if it falls
If you tie me 'bout your hand
Then I'll stay closer to the ground
If you connect it to your PC it will be relatively close to the ground and at the tip of your fingers. Alternatively "grounding" the hard drive (credits to Adam Davis) or wearing a grounding wristband (credits to Dane Andersen).
Else I'll go up to the sky
Alternatively you can store all your data in the "cloud"
I am not a balloon, what am I?
A hard drive
-
1
-
9$\begingroup$ "Closer to the ground" might have more to do with electrically grounding the hard drive when connected to the computer than being physically close to ground. $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 5, 2016 at 13:58
-
1$\begingroup$ Some people use a grounding strap that you literally tie around your hand (wrist) to keep you grounded while working with electronics. $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 5, 2016 at 16:04
-
3$\begingroup$ I don't know about this seems like a bit of a stretch, "else I'll go up to the sky" the cloud has little to do with a personal hard drive, and I know you say it's an alternative but there are plenty of alternatives to the cloud for your data. And the hard drive itself isn't going to the sky anyway the data is. $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 5, 2016 at 16:49
-
1$\begingroup$ Yes, I also don't like that "Else I'll go up to the sky" => [Alternatively you can store all your data in the "cloud"]- in this case, 'you' is being 'user' where it should be 'hard drive' according to your answer. Hard drive can't go up to the sky. $\endgroup$– NaiCommented Jan 13, 2016 at 11:06
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
I think it is a
laser barcode scanner.
My inner part is filled with helium
Laser barcode scanners contain helium-neon lasers.
Rubber comprises my epithelium
The scanners have an external enclosure made of rubber.
If you tie me 'bout your hand
Then I'll stay closer to the ground
When one holds the scanner in their hand, it is aimed at the items in the checkout counter (closer to the ground)
Else I'll go up to the sky
When the scanner is left on the rack, the beam will point upwards towards the sky.
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
6
I think the answer is
Lightweight aircraft
My inner part is filled with helium
Helium is used as a fuel (Reference)
Rubber comprises my epithelium
We have rubber band powered airplanes.(Reference)
If you tie me 'bout your hand Then I'll stay closer to the ground
If you have it in hand. It won't go up.
Else I'll go up to the sky
Possible reference to leave it after adding potential energy in it.
-
10$\begingroup$ Helium is almost completely inert, and cannot be used as a fuel. It won't take part in any chemical reactions. The site you linked to is simply wrong -- they may have been confused by a proposal to use helium to reduce the weight of light aircraft and reduce fuel use. $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 5, 2016 at 13:34
-
1$\begingroup$ @MikeScott +1, but If you stretch the "fuel" idea to the limit, it can be plausibly used as a fusion fuel in the triple alpha chain. $\endgroup$– March HoCommented Jan 5, 2016 at 14:20
-
5$\begingroup$ @MarchHo Got any examples of light aircraft powered by triple-alpha fusion? $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 5, 2016 at 14:50
-
3$\begingroup$ @MikeScott I might have forgotten to end it with /sarcasm. $\endgroup$– March HoCommented Jan 5, 2016 at 14:52
-
2$\begingroup$ @MikeScott They seem to confuse hydrogen and helium several times. $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 5, 2016 at 16:05