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Warren Brown received a very peculiar visitor two weeks ago in his car-repair shop, the visitor seemed to be a male by judging from his voice, he was wearing a black jacket, a white mask, leather gloves and brown boots. The visitor inquired "Do you remember?" in a very stirred tone - Warren was greatly confused and replied, "Remember what?".

Warren is a 62 year old car repairer with two sons and two daughters; All of them are adults. Warren is a rather busy man, with free time almost impossible to acquire even on the weekends. His children love him more than anything else, and he does love them too by an equal amount.

On that day however, Warren was not very busy. He went to the shop directly from home and sat around the office with nothing to do except play darts. Warren at first had a very stimulating thought which made him expect something astonishing but he later forgot about it.

Anyways, on that conversation with the visitor; The visitor displayed a visible grin and remarked, "Here, take this. Open it 30 minutes after your clock reaches 11:30pm" and handed him a red box, which felt heavy and the visitor left the shop.

After Warren did what the visitor asked, he was surprised and got very happy.

What was in the box and who was this strange visitor?

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    $\begingroup$ A million pounds were in the box. The visitor was his twin brother; they'd been separated at birth. $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Apr 5, 2015 at 13:00
  • $\begingroup$ pounds huh? haha $\endgroup$
    – JLee
    Apr 5, 2015 at 15:20
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    $\begingroup$ You mentioned that the visitor displayed a visible grin yet he was wearing a Mask. I am wondering how could this be possible. Is this deliberate or accidental error in your post. $\endgroup$
    – Abhijit
    Apr 5, 2015 at 18:19
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    $\begingroup$ He's retiring at 62! $\endgroup$
    – Jiminion
    Apr 7, 2015 at 19:06
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    $\begingroup$ @Alagaros Maybe, I can't remember (haha how ironic). If I remember correctly though, the red box is actually his own tool box and there's a reason that he "went to the shop directly from home and sat around the office with nothing to do except play darts". $\endgroup$
    – Allan
    Apr 7, 2015 at 22:41

5 Answers 5

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I am sharing some of my thought and I will add an answer when I figured it out.
Here's my interpretation of some of the hints:

First paragraph

This suggest that Warren's shop might locate somewhere desert-like, or cold, judging by the visitor's clothing. Also it is obvious that the visitor remember his/her reason to be here while Warren did not.

Second paragraph

Warren works around the clock. His children love him as much as he loves them. His children are all adult. His wife was never mentioned. This might suggest Warren is living alone / is a single father (divorced / wife is dead)

Third paragraph

Warren was busy even on weekends, why is it not busy on this day? Also, playing darts might remind him of something all of a sudden.

Fourth paragraph

The visitor displayed a visible grin + was wearing a white mask – some suggest it is Guy Fawkes mask, or it could just be a mask that does not cover the mouth. Also Warren stays in his shop until 11:30pm at night, which is unusual? However there's no indication on the time the visitor came. Also Warren had not figure out who was it at the end. Chances are it's someone he doesn't know, or there's no reason to hide himself/herself from Warren. What makes Warren happy was the gift, not who was the visitor.

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  • $\begingroup$ Can't even come up with a silly answer, guess I'll wait for some hints $\endgroup$
    – Alex
    Apr 7, 2015 at 21:07
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My guess are

1) Gifts for Children or 2) Keys to an antique car or 3) extremely rare spare part for a vehicle or 4) Corrective Lenses

My Interpretation:

Warren Brown received a very peculiar visitor two weeks ago in his car-repair shop, the visitor seemed to be a male by judging from his voice, he was wearing a black jacket, a white mask, leather gloves and brown boots.

Could be a customer or an old friend. Costume can be a red herring or implies winter/rainy weather. ** Warren could be color-blind and need corrective lenses to not recognize Santa Claus.**

The visitor inquired "Do you remember?" in a very stirred tone - Warren was greatly confused and replied, "Remember what?".

Warren could have a split personality syndrome to not recollect something he is supposed to recollect. Also "Do you remember tomorrow it is Christmas? Did you buy gifts for your children?" Being Old and occupied with work Warren forgot it was Christmas eve.

Warren is a 62 year old car repairer with two sons and two daughters; All of them are adults.

Passion for Cars and a family man

Warren is a rather busy man, with free time almost impossible to acquire even on the weekends. His children love him more than anything else, and he does love them too by an equal amount.

One way he can give equal time to his children if they work with him.

On that day however, Warren was not very busy.

Could imply a holiday or a weekend.

He went to the shop directly from home and sat around the office with nothing to do except play darts.

All his children are home.

Warren at first had a very stimulating thought which made him expect something astonishing but he later forgot about it.

An Idea to fix a favorite car.

Anyways, on that conversation with the visitor; The visitor displayed a visible grin and remarked, "Here, take this. Open it 30 minutes after your clock reaches 11:30pm" and handed him a red box, which felt heavy and the visitor left the shop.

Could the visitor be Santa Claus.

After Warren did what the visitor asked, he was surprised and got very happy.

What was in the box and who was this strange visitor?

Considering the age of Warren, he would be happy with Glasses or anything to make the children happy.

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    $\begingroup$ If it was Christmas, Warren guessing he would've been EXTRA busy trying to repairs damaged cars before Christmas. $\endgroup$
    – Prince North Læraðr
    Mar 8, 2018 at 19:49
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Let's analyze the hints:

wearing a white mask

implies that Warren cannot recognize him immediately.

seemed to be a male by judging from his voice

It's a male. Don't forget that sometimes masks may modify the voice.

Warren is 62 year old

Memory isn't very reactive for 62 years old people, no offence.

Two sons. All of them are adults.

He has adult male offspring.

free time almost impossible to acquire even on the weekends

Suggests that his social life is pretty limited.

On that day however, Warren was not very busy. He went to the shop directly from home and sat around the office with nothing to do except play darts.

Again, he prefers spending his free-time in the shop rather than socializing.

Warren at first had a very stimulating thought which made him expect something astonishing but he later forgot about it.

Probably he remembered of some anniversary or stuff like that.

The visitor displayed a visible grin

The visitor is a friend, not a enemy.

Open it 30 minutes after your clock reaches 11:30pm

A new day begins at midnight.

handed him a red box, which felt heavy and the visitor left the shop A gift!

After Warren did what the visitor asked, he was surprised and got very happy.

Indeed, it was a gift!

Finally, what can we deduce? Warren doesn't seem to have friends, just his relatives, so the visitor is most likely his son. He made a surprise gift to the old father. What kind of present? We can't know it, but considering the psychological aspect of Warren, a new model of wrench would be a very appreciated gift!

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  • $\begingroup$ To the casual downvoters : it's not a good habit to downvote without providing a valid reason in the comments. $\endgroup$
    – leoll2
    Apr 6, 2015 at 6:56
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    $\begingroup$ no idea why the downvotes, usually it should be related to violation of rules $\endgroup$
    – Alex
    Apr 7, 2015 at 19:09
  • $\begingroup$ I really like your hint/observation about the visitor possibly being female. Perhaps the visitor was his wife? Weird how the riddle never mentions anything about his wife, eh? $\endgroup$
    – Allan
    Apr 7, 2015 at 22:56
  • $\begingroup$ The downvotes are likely due to the fact that this "answer" doesn't even try to respond to the riddle. It just reprises facts given in the original text and then throws its hands up at the end saying "we can't know". There is no logic, no deduction, no effort. $\endgroup$
    – Dan Bron
    Apr 10, 2015 at 20:12
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Its a guess, and if it is wrong then please be easy on me.

It's his birthday.

The stranger comes in the shop creating a mysterious atmosphere. "He" says "Do you remember?"...

...The description of the costume must be a red herring, except the mask, which may change the voice of the person. The question may refer to him remembering his birthday, since he is an old man.

A description of the background of Warren reveals that...

...He is a family person and loves his work. His family loves him equally more, which may point out that they may wish to surprise him on his 62th birthday.

A reason that he may not be busy that day is...

... It may be his retirement day, since his shop doesn't attract much customers anymore or due to his old age, etc.

He was happy to get the "gift" because...

... The "open 30 minutes after 11:30 PM " meant that the stranger indirectly said him to open the box the next day, which may point towards the next day being his birthday. And as for a gift, the stranger got him a (insert anything you want to believe).

And to sum to all up,

The stranger was one of his sons, changing his voice by the mask and all covered up so that he won't recognize him, who gave him a nice birthday present.

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Similar to other Answers my guess is it could be:

New years celebration, or a payment from his lawyer (for selling his shop)

he was wearing a black jacket, a white mask, leather gloves and brown boots

Suggesting it might be winter time (January weather). OR maybe his lawyer is Saul Goodman and doesn't want to be recognized.

On that day however, Warren was not very busy

New years eve can be a day off, so no customers come in. OR if it was his lawyer, his shop is closed/closing.

Open it 30 minutes after your clock reaches 11:30pm.

30 minutes after 11:30pm would be midnight, or the new year. OR the official day when his shop is considered sold.

What was in the box?

A New years gift (something from his family). OR Money from the lawyer for selling his shop (So he can retire)

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  • $\begingroup$ Why would a lawyer have a white mask? $\endgroup$
    – Prince North Læraðr
    Mar 8, 2018 at 21:17

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