I'm tall, yet my arms are short.
I move above the water, and it is based on a theory.
I benefit from it, while others don't.
I was made, along with brothers, kept as a secret.
When I was found, people nicknamed me with fear.
What am I?
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$\begingroup$ You are obviously a tall psychic person with short arms. $\endgroup$– greenturtle3141Commented Sep 11, 2016 at 5:56
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$\begingroup$ Well, nice try. However, what I have in mind is far away from that. I usually make the solution describe itself as "human being." Maybe a bit more clue can make it more reasonable. $\endgroup$– Shane HsuCommented Sep 11, 2016 at 6:12
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$\begingroup$ Riddle edited. I admit that inital one is not good enough. Happy puzzling! $\endgroup$– Shane HsuCommented Sep 11, 2016 at 6:28
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$\begingroup$ Ok, the edit rules out my half-written answer "submarine". $\endgroup$– Peter TaylorCommented Sep 11, 2016 at 6:31
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$\begingroup$ Is the "thing" floating on water or above water (in air)? $\endgroup$– Laschet JainCommented Sep 11, 2016 at 9:36
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2 Answers
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I think you are
The Caspian Sea Monster a ground effect vehicle (ekranoplan) which is a craft that flies, but stays close to the surface.
I'm tall, yet my arms are short.
It's height about 21.8 m and wingspan 37.6 m
I move above the water, and it is based on a theory. I benefit from it, while others don't.
Flying only at an altitude of 5-10 m usually above water (needs a flat surface below) it benefited from the ground effect which is not experienced at higher altitudes.
I was made, with brothers, kept as a secret. When I was found, people nicknamed me with fear.
It was spotted flying above the Caspian sea by photographs from satellites which showed a strange aircraft carrying letters "KM" on its fuselage. CIA disambiguated it as "Kaspian Monster", while it actually meant "Korabl maket" – "prototype ship" in Russian. It flew from 1966 until it crashed in 1980.
In recent years a large number of different GEV types have been developed for both civilian and military use. However, these craft have yet to enter widespread use - ground effect vehicles
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$\begingroup$ That's it! I thought it would be closed again. Well, there is another fact for the third line: the Russian ekranoplan was build for different purpose, like military transport or anti-ship attack mission. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 12, 2016 at 15:11
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$\begingroup$ Nice puzzle - I saw a documentary on it once - and yes I see others not benefiting from the military side now! These are educational and interesting!! $\endgroup$– TomCommented Sep 12, 2016 at 15:18
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$\begingroup$ Thanks a lot! A fun fact behind the puzzle: I had a presentation for this 3 days ago, and I had been collected the reference for the past 3 weeks. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 12, 2016 at 15:32
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Maybe it could be:
the "Fat Man", a nuke bomb delivered in Japan in a plane over the Pacific Ocean (a lot of water below him!).
It was based on the atomic theorym and it has at least 2 brothers (2 other nukes) all known with code names (nicknames!) "Little Boy" and "The Gadget".
These nukes were named with fear and had 3 meters length.
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$\begingroup$ Well, I admit that is a nice try! It is reasonable for most line of the riddle, yet the second line said the "thing" is based on a theory to move, rather than explode. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 11, 2016 at 11:14