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I reveal hidden secrets, where nanoscale put me there.
I exist in a honker -- Maybe a carapace too.
What am I?

Hint:

Maybe I'm not quite an animal.

Hint 2:

Bourne Again Carapace

Hint 3:

A honker is an animal that is known for honking -- NOT a nose.

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  • $\begingroup$ Somewhere in between, then? $\endgroup$
    – Athena
    Jun 9, 2016 at 8:46
  • $\begingroup$ Alright, I think it may have been a bit difficult. I've added another hint and a few tags. $\endgroup$
    – john01dav
    Jun 9, 2016 at 16:50
  • $\begingroup$ If no-one answers this by tomorrow, I think that would be a good time for me to post my intended answer (June 10th). $\endgroup$
    – john01dav
    Jun 10, 2016 at 4:46

10 Answers 10

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Is it a

DNA?

I reveal hidden secrets

DNA provides genetic information

where nanoscale put me there

The diameter of a DNA molecule is about 2 nanometers

I exist in a honker -- Maybe a carapace too.

DNA forms everything, from honkers to carapaces

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  • $\begingroup$ What's a honker? $\endgroup$
    – Athena
    Jun 9, 2016 at 6:20
  • $\begingroup$ @RipTide I think it's a nose. $\endgroup$
    – Brent Hackers
    Jun 9, 2016 at 8:34
  • $\begingroup$ Nope. This isn't it. I think it's a good answer though. Please see the hint and tags I have added to the question. $\endgroup$
    – john01dav
    Jun 9, 2016 at 16:54
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Going laterally here...

A snail!

I reveal hidden secrets

The snail gene is crucial for the embryonic stage.
And those genes have potentially the information of the whole cellular structure of the person? (I am not a scientist... :-))

where nanoscale put me there

need a nanoscale to measure the gene...

I exist in a honker -- Maybe a carapace too.

Referring to snot and a snail.
EXPLANATION:
A nose is called a 'honker' - for readily apparent reasons.
And a snail lives in a caparace, a 'shell'. (To put it non-delicately: snot and the slug part of the snail look pretty much the same...)

On the hint:

People don't look at slugs (the slimy part of the snail) as an animal per se. Because they seemingly grow out of nothing when it rains...

Oh, I don't know!!! Went way too far on this I think... :oP

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  • $\begingroup$ Nope. This isn't it. I think it's a good answer though. Please see the hint and tags I have added to the question. $\endgroup$
    – john01dav
    Jun 9, 2016 at 16:51
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What am I?

Root

I exist in a honker -- Maybe a carapace too.

honker=goose (hint 3), carapace=Bash (hint 2). Geese probably eat roots, and in Bash you can become root.

I reveal hidden secrets, where nanoscale put me there.

Root can access all files and run anything, and it's a software construct so it can't be seen unless you look at some tiny nanometers of the hard drive.

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  • $\begingroup$ This is a bit closer, good job, but it isn't quite it. The answer is a bit more of an animal than a root is. $\endgroup$
    – john01dav
    Jun 9, 2016 at 18:36
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Is it

A bug

I reveal hidden secrets, where nanoscale put me there.

a bug in a computer program can reveal hidden secrets about the code sometimes maybe? a bug is small/nano creature?

I exist in a honker -- Maybe a carapace too.

A bug could be eaten by a goose and there are bugs in Bash? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellshock_(software_bug)

Hint: Maybe I'm not quite an animal.

a bug can be an animal but it can also be an unwanted feature in software?

Hint 2: Bourne Again Carapace

Bourne Again Shell (Bash)?

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  • $\begingroup$ Unfortunatley, no this isn't what I was going for. Perhaps I made this a bit difficult. $\endgroup$
    – john01dav
    Jun 10, 2016 at 8:17
  • $\begingroup$ You certainly did but you won't here me complaining. $\endgroup$
    – Brent Hackers
    Jun 10, 2016 at 8:25
  • $\begingroup$ I was gonna post this, after I posted my latest answer, but it seemed too similar/close to mine, and someone would have posted it anyway and it would have still been wrong. $\endgroup$
    – snetch
    Jun 10, 2016 at 19:17
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Are you

Fish (Friendly Interactive Shell)

I reveal hidden secrets, where nanoscale put me there.

FISH will show helpful hints as you type the commands

I exist in a honker -- Maybe a carapace too.

Geese eat fish, and the shell part should be self-explanitority

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  • $\begingroup$ Nope, not quite. I think I made this too difficult and left too much room for alternative valid answers. $\endgroup$
    – john01dav
    Jun 10, 2016 at 23:03
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Alright, it's probably time I post the actual answer to this. I would like to note though that many of the answers that other people posted seem just as valid as this one:

What am I?

A cat, as in the bash command to print the contents of a file. Meow

I reveal hidden secrets,

The cat command can reveal what is in a file.

Where nanoscale put me there.

"nanoscale" is a play on words from the command "nano," which can be used to create text files.

I exist in a honker

A honker can be a penguin, which is the Linux mascot. The cat command can be used on Linux.

-- Maybe a carapace too.

Carapace means shell, and the cat command can be implemented directly in a shell rather than a separate executable.

Hint 1:

Maybe I'm not quite an animal.
The answer is a shell command -- not a literal animal.

Hint 2:

Bourne Again Carapace -> Bourne Again Shell -> Bash

Hint 3:

A honker is an animal that is known for honking -- NOT a nose.
A penguin isn't a nose, and it is known for honking.

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  • $\begingroup$ Oh man, I went with the first honker animal I found and never thought to check for other versions, even though (or maybe because) I had trouble googling it in the first place. $\endgroup$
    – snetch
    Jun 11, 2016 at 3:11
  • $\begingroup$ Also, instead of half of the hints being about animals and half about computers, it was all about computers. $\endgroup$
    – snetch
    Jun 11, 2016 at 3:11
  • $\begingroup$ @snetch the large number of animal hints is a bit of a red herring, but, the "computer-puzzle" tag does fairly clearly state that it is computer related. $\endgroup$
    – john01dav
    Jun 11, 2016 at 3:49
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I'm not sure but the hint gave me a clue Are you

A virus

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  • $\begingroup$ Nope. It is something both much closer and much further from being an actual, literal animal. I'm being a bit metaphorical -- it isn't close to an animal in the scientific sense, but rather in a metaphorical sense. $\endgroup$
    – john01dav
    Jun 9, 2016 at 1:36
  • $\begingroup$ I read nanoscale and The hint. I'm more science... $\endgroup$
    – John Meow
    Jun 9, 2016 at 1:37
  • $\begingroup$ This very nonscientific. Also, I did leave a tag out that would be relevant but I thought would make it too easy. I guess I could also mention that there is a bit of technology relevant as well. $\endgroup$
    – john01dav
    Jun 9, 2016 at 1:41
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Is it a

nanobot? They can make up all kind of things from nanobots, including carapaces and potentially things you can honk with.

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  • $\begingroup$ Nope. I think it's a reasonable answer though. Please see the hint and tags I have added to the question. $\endgroup$
    – john01dav
    Jun 9, 2016 at 16:53
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I think the answer for this is:

Genes

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  • $\begingroup$ This isn't it. I can't give any assistance though because you didn't include how you got to it. I can say though that you're thinking a bit literally. $\endgroup$
    – john01dav
    Jun 9, 2016 at 16:53
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Is it possible to be:

A mushroom?

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