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While Bob was walking down the street one day, he met a wonderful woman that was attractive and smart and a great conversationalist.

After they had been chatting for a while the woman looked at her watch and quickly got up and scribbled something down while saying "I have to go, I'm running very late. Here's my phone number, if you know my name you can call me, otherwise don't bother."

This is what she wrote on the paper:

1.4- 2-2.2- 1.4- 2.3- 2-2.2- 1.4- 1-4. 2-2.2- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4-
4-1. 2-2.2- 1.4- 4.1- 2-2.2- 4.1- 2-2.2- 4-1. 2-2.2- 1.4-
2.3- 5- 2-2.2- 1.4- 2-2.2- 1.4- 4.1- 2-2.2- 2-3. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5.
1.4- 4-1. 2-2.2- 4-1. 2-2.2- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4-
4-1. 2-2.2- 1.4- 4.1- 2-2.2- 4.1- 2-2.2- 4-1. 2-2.2- 1.4-
2.3- 4.1- 2-2.2- 1.4- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 2-2.2- 2.3- 5.
1.4- 4-1. 2-2.2- 4-1. 2-2.2- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4-
5. 2-2.2- 3.2- 2-2.2- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5.
2.3- 2.3- 2-2.2- 4-1. 2-2.2- 3.2- 2-2.2- 2.3- 5- 2-2.2- 1.4- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 3-2.
5. 2-2.2- 3.2- 2-2.2- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5.
1.4- 4.1- 2-2.2- 1.4- 5. 2-2.2- 2.3- 2.3- 2-2.2- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 3.2- 2-2.2- 2.3- 2-2.2- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 3-2.
1-4. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5. 2-2.2- 2.3- 4.1- 2-2.2- 2.3- 5- 2-2.2- 1.4- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5. 2-2.2- 2.3- 5-
4-1. 2-2.2- 1.4- 4.1- 2-2.2- 4.1- 2-2.2- 4-1. 2-2.2- 1.4-
1-4. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5. 2-2.2- 2.3- 4.1- 2-2.2- 2.3- 5- 2-2.2- 1.4- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5. 2-2.2- 2.3- 5-
5. 2-2.2- 3.2- 2-2.2- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5.
2.3- 5- 2-2.2- 1.4- 2-2.2- 1.4- 4.1- 2-2.2- 2-3. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5.
1.4- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 3.2- 2-2.2- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5.
5. 2-2.2- 3.2- 2-2.2- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5.
5. 2-2.2- 3.2- 2-2.2- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5.
2.3- 1-4. 2-2.2- 2.3- 1.4- 2-2.2- 1.4- 2.3- 2-2.2- 2.3- 1.4-
5. 2-2.2- 3.2- 2-2.2- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5.
5. 2-2.2- 3.2- 2-2.2- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5.
1.4- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 3.2- 2-2.2- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5.
1.4- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 4-1. 2-2.2- 3.2- 2-2.2- 1.4- 2-2.2- 1.4- 3-2.
1.4- 4.1- 2-2.2- 1.4- 5. 2-2.2- 2.3- 2.3- 2-2.2- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 3.2- 2-2.2- 2.3- 2-2.2- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 3-2.
4-1. 2-2.2- 1.4- 4.1- 2-2.2- 4.1- 2-2.2- 4-1. 2-2.2- 1.4-
1.4- 4.1- 2-2.2- 1.4- 5. 2-2.2- 2.3- 2.3- 2-2.2- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 3.2- 2-2.2- 2.3- 2-2.2- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 3-2.
5. 2-2.2- 3.2- 2-2.2- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5.
1.4- 3-2. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 3.2- 2-2.2- 5. 2-2.2- 1.4- 5.

For obvious reasons, Bob was rather confused for a while. He realized that in their entire conversation she had never said her name.

All the same, he began trying to figure out the message she had written him. He was beginning to despair but then as he finished working out what she had written him, he immediately knew her name and called her number the first chance he got.

What was her name?

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7
  • 108
    $\begingroup$ I love that she was running very late, and yet had time to write THAT on a piece of paper. $\endgroup$
    – Dan Russell
    Jul 28, 2016 at 18:33
  • 22
    $\begingroup$ @DanRussell Bob told me she writes super fast. $\endgroup$
    – dcfyj
    Jul 28, 2016 at 18:34
  • 13
    $\begingroup$ Maybe she keeps a few copies of this always with her to find out intelligent guys. $\endgroup$
    – ViVi
    Jul 29, 2016 at 6:59
  • 30
    $\begingroup$ This girl sounds difficult. Throw the piece of paper away. $\endgroup$
    – tic
    Jul 29, 2016 at 17:14
  • 15
    $\begingroup$ Is this a new way of playing hard to get? $\endgroup$
    – kirkpatt
    Jul 29, 2016 at 17:32

4 Answers 4

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Her name is

Jenny

Her phone number is

867-5309

Because

The message is in morse code, the numbers represent the number of .s and -s should be in that place. E.g. 1.4- = .----

The translated message is:

.---- --..-- .---- ..--- --..-- .---- -.... --..-- ---.. --..-- .---- --..-- ----. --..-- .---- ....- --..-- ....- --..-- ----. --..-- .---- --..-- ..--- ----- --..-- .---- --..-- .---- ....- --..-- --... --..-- .---- ..... --..-- .---- ----. --..-- ----. --..-- ..... --..-- .---- ---.. --..-- .---- ---.. --..-- .---- --..-- ----. --..-- .---- ....- --..-- ....- --..-- ----. --..-- .---- --..-- ..--- ....- --..-- .---- ---.. --..-- .---- --..-- ..--- ..... --..-- .---- ----. --..-- ----. --..-- ..... --..-- .---- ---.. --..-- .---- ---.. --..-- .---- --..-- ..... --..-- ...-- --..-- ---.. --..-- .---- ..... --..-- ..--- ..--- --..-- ----. --..-- ...-- --..-- ..--- ----- --..-- .---- ..... --..-- .---- ---.. --..-- ..... --..-- ...-- --..-- ---.. --..-- .---- ..... --..-- .---- ....- --..-- .---- ..... --..-- ..--- ..--- --..-- ..... --..-- .---- ...-- --..-- ..--- --..-- ..... --..-- .---- ---.. --..-- -.... --..-- .---- ..... --..-- ..--- ....- --..-- ..--- ----- --..-- .---- ---.. --..-- .---- ..... --..-- ..--- ----- --..-- ----. --..-- .---- ....- --..-- ....- --..-- ----. --..-- .---- --..-- -.... --..-- .---- ..... --..-- ..--- ....- --..-- ..--- ----- --..-- .---- ---.. --..-- .---- ..... --..-- ..--- ----- --..-- ..... --..-- ...-- --..-- ---.. --..-- .---- ..... --..-- ..--- ----- --..-- .---- --..-- .---- ....- --..-- --... --..-- .---- ..... --..-- .---- ---.. --..-- .---- ..... --..-- .---- ...-- --..-- ..... --..-- .---- ..... --..-- ..... --..-- ...-- --..-- ---.. --..-- .---- ..... --..-- ..... --..-- ...-- --..-- ---.. --..-- .---- ..... --..-- ..--- -.... --..-- ..--- .---- --..-- .---- ..--- --..-- ..--- .---- --..-- ..... --..-- ...-- --..-- ---.. --..-- .---- ..... --..-- ..... --..-- ...-- --..-- ---.. --..-- .---- ..... --..-- .---- ---.. --..-- .---- ..... --..-- .---- ...-- --..-- ..... --..-- .---- ..... --..-- .---- ..... --..-- .---- ----. --..-- ...-- --..-- .---- --..-- .---- ---.. --..-- .---- ....- --..-- .---- ..... --..-- ..--- ..--- --..-- ..... --..-- .---- ...-- --..-- ..--- --..-- ..... --..-- .---- ---.. --..-- ----. --..-- .---- ....- --..-- ....- --..-- ----. --..-- .---- --..-- .---- ....- --..-- .---- ..... --..-- ..--- ..--- --..-- ..... --..-- .---- ...-- --..-- ..--- --..-- ..... --..-- .---- ---.. --..-- ..... --..-- ...-- --..-- ---.. --..-- .---- ..... --..-- .---- ---.. --..-- .---- ..... --..-- .---- ...-- --..-- ..... --..-- .---- .....

Which, converted to plain text is:

1,12,16,8,1,9,14,4,9,1,20,1,14,7,15,19,9,5,18,18,1,9,14,4,9,1,24,18,1,25,19,9,5,18,18,1,5,3,8,15,22,9,3,20,15,18,5,3,8,15,14,15,22,5,13,2,5,18,6,15,24,20,18,15,20,9,14,4,9,1,6,15,24,20,18,15,20,5,3,8,15,20,1,14,7,15,18,15,13,5,15,5,3,8,15,5,3,8,15,26,21,12,21,5,3,8,15,5,3,8,15,18,15,13,5,15,15,19,3,1,18,14,15,22,5,13,2,5,18,9,14,4,9,1,14,15,22,5,13,2,5,18,5,3,8,15,18,15,13,5,15

The result above

is the letter number in the English alphabet. (e.g.: 1 = A, 2 = B, etc.)

Translating this, we get:

ALPHA INDIA TANGO SIERRA INDIA XRAY SIERRA ECHO VICTOR ECHO NOVEMBER FOXTROT INDIA FOXTROT ECHO TANGO ROMEO ECHO ECHO ZULU ECHO ECHO ROMEO OSCAR NOVEMBER INDIA NOVEMBER ECHO ROMEO

These are the

Phonetic spellings of the English alphabet.

Which spells out the following:

AIT SIX SEVEN FIFE TREE ZEERO NINER

Which are the

Phonetic spellings of the numbers.

Giving us her phone number:

867-5309

Which, pop-culture tells us belongs to:

Jenny

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9
  • $\begingroup$ Not sure where you got the ..... on the first line as I have no 5s until the 3rd... $\endgroup$
    – dcfyj
    Jul 28, 2016 at 19:48
  • $\begingroup$ I think I may have screwed something up in my copy/pasting efforts. $\endgroup$
    – Siyual
    Jul 28, 2016 at 19:52
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Can you explain why pop culture says that ? I didn't get it. $\endgroup$
    – Saikat
    Jul 29, 2016 at 4:03
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ @user230452 It's a song by Tommy Tutone of the same name. $\endgroup$
    – Siyual
    Jul 29, 2016 at 4:22
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Must be a different girl than the one from the song, she didn't write it on the wall! $\endgroup$
    – liebs19
    Jul 29, 2016 at 16:48
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Alternative solution:

Her name is

Alice

Bob quickly realized this because

The message is clearly encrypted somehow, and Alice and Bob are the two names very commonly used in cryptography examples: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_and_Bob

As for her phone number,

Bob simply solved the 19 math equations as written, for example: 1.4 - 2 - 2.2 - 1.4 - 2.3 - 2 - 2.2 - 1.4 - 1 - 4.2 - 2.2 - 3 - 2.2 - 2.2 - 1.4 - 4 - 1.2 - 2.2 - 1.4 - 4.1 - 2 - 2.2 - 4.1 - 2 - 2.2 - 4 - 1.2 - 2.2 - 1.4 - 2.3 - 5 - 2 - 2.2 - 1.4 - 2 - 2.2 - 1.4 - 4.1 - 2 - 2.2 - 2 - 3.2 - 2.2 - 1.4 - 5. = -103.1

Yielding the values:

-103.1
-106.3
-68.4
-46.2
-18.2
-61
-187.2
-36
-37.4
-18.2
-18.2
-53.2
-18.2
-37.4
-34.2
-61
-90
-18.2
-37.4

Solving that as written yields:

-1049.8

And then multiplying that

by the square of the number of equations, 19, yields:
-3789778

A perfect 7 digits:

378-9778

Finally,

The Jenny / 867-5309 "solution" was clearly an ingenious red herring. What are the odds of the woman being named Jenny and actually having that number? :-)

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  • 8
    $\begingroup$ This was not the answer the OP was looking for, but it's still very well done. +1 $\endgroup$
    – grooveplex
    Jul 29, 2016 at 8:11
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Sounds like a bit of a stretch to me :P $\endgroup$
    – dcfyj
    Jul 29, 2016 at 11:09
  • $\begingroup$ @dcfyk: Oh, absolutely it's a stretch. :-) This was intended to be a silly answer, not a serious one! $\endgroup$
    – Jon Schneider
    Jul 29, 2016 at 13:14
  • 5
    $\begingroup$ Meh. I still think this is the correct answer. :P $\endgroup$
    – pipe
    Jul 29, 2016 at 14:45
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I know Jon, I wasn't being serious either haha. $\endgroup$
    – dcfyj
    Jul 29, 2016 at 14:56
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Her name is

Jenny

Because

It's morse code. The number precedes each dot or dash, delimited by commas. The lines spell out the phonetic alphabet by providing the number for each letter (1=A, 2=B etc.). The actual message is "AIT SIX SEVEN..." and at that point I extrapolated the rest. Jenny, I got your number :-)

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6
  • $\begingroup$ Correct. I was hoping it would withstand scrutiny a little longer but clearly the minds of the SE are far too strong for my puzzles haha. $\endgroup$
    – dcfyj
    Jul 28, 2016 at 18:53
  • $\begingroup$ Keep em coming! Had a lot of fun working on it. $\endgroup$
    – Charlok
    Jul 28, 2016 at 19:01
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @Siyual showed much better detail in their answer. $\endgroup$
    – Charlok
    Jul 28, 2016 at 21:20
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ If you would like me to I can change the selected answer to his. Personally I'm choosing the one that posted first. $\endgroup$
    – dcfyj
    Jul 29, 2016 at 0:55
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ That is up to you. I probably only posted first because I wasn't as detailed. It's a good puzzle, and should have the best answer chosen (which in my opinion is @Siyual's)! $\endgroup$
    – Charlok
    Jul 29, 2016 at 2:11
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The short way

Jenny

  1. To publish a telephone number invites crank calls, so many movies/stories use a fictitious telephone numbers prefix 555.
  2. None of lines replicate three in a row, suggesting that the number does not contain 555. Posting a phone # on this site likely against site rules unless the number is very public.
  3. OP @dcfyj lives in USA.
  4. The problem implies the name is not explicit.
  5. A popular U.S. the 1981 song that meets the above that names the woman.

The harder way:

After seeing the pattern 2-2.2- every 2nd/3rd pattern, I assumed it was a

space/separator.

Then 10 remaining patterns 1.4-, 1-4., 2.3-, 2-2.2-, 2-3., 3.2-, 3-2., 4.1-, 4-1., 5-, 5. were

likely digits.

The only paired digits began with 1.4-, 2.3- and 2.3- had fewer combinations leading to

1.4-, 2.3- are 1 and 2

Extending that to the other patterns lead to

3.2- is 3, 4.1- is 4, 5- is 5, 1-4. is 6 ....

Converting that letter code to A-Z

1 12 16 8 1 ALPHA
9 14 4 9 1 INDIGO
20 1 14 7 15 TANGO
...

and applying this

AITSIXSEVENFIFETREEZEERONINER

or

867-5309

which leads above mentioned song.

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  • 1
    $\begingroup$ i like that you don't know/didn't apply morse and still worked it out $\endgroup$
    – RozzA
    Aug 1, 2016 at 3:45
  • $\begingroup$ @RozzA Somewhat red-faced as I am familiar with Morse code and did not see that code's pattern until after solving the puzzle. $\endgroup$
    – chux - Reinstate Monica
    Aug 1, 2016 at 13:25

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