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For Christmas, my 18 yr old daughter asked us to add data to her phone plan (she's not had it). We will do that. I'm looking for a clever way to make it a gift she can unwrap. I thought I'd put a bunch of numbers in a box. And wanted to have a riddle she had to solve whose answer is data. Much more fun that just telling her we've expanded her plan.

I'd love suggestions!

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  • $\begingroup$ Perhaps puzzle-creation is an applicable tag for this riddle. $\endgroup$
    – Mea Culpa Nay
    Commented Nov 27, 2017 at 18:23
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    $\begingroup$ Are there types of puzzles she already likes? What level of math has she finished (and does she like math based problems)? How difficult should it be? $\endgroup$
    – DqwertyC
    Commented Nov 27, 2017 at 18:26
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    $\begingroup$ How about a Brent Spiner action figure? $\endgroup$
    – B540Glenn
    Commented Nov 27, 2017 at 21:24

2 Answers 2

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Here is a nice little steganographic riddle: (you could write on the box for instance)

Digits and binary are an example of me
A tad backward, but all part of a plan
Tada! Unscramble to discover with glee
A present I hide, from your old man

In the box you could then have the numbers 4 1 20 1 - which is data and also the number of the letters position in the alphabet for the word DATA.

Explanation:

The first letters say DATA (if thats a bi obvious you could have last letters, bold letters, italics etc.)

Digits and binary are an example of me

Digits and binary are examples of 'data'

A tad backward, but all part of a plan

'A tad' backward spells 'data', which is part of a mobile phone plan

Tada! Unscramble to discover with glee

'Tada' is an anagram (unscramble) of 'data'

A present I hide, from your old man

This is a gift from her father - the OP (using the expression 'old man' as a term for father, not because I am saying the OP is old :P )

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    $\begingroup$ Plot twist. The OP's daughter is already in Puzzling and has seen this answer. Surprise gone wasted... :P $\endgroup$
    – Sid
    Commented Nov 27, 2017 at 18:41
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    $\begingroup$ Plot twist twist. Beastly Gerbil is the OP's daughter! $\endgroup$
    – Rubio ♦
    Commented Nov 27, 2017 at 19:50
  • $\begingroup$ Holy cow! How do you come up with something like this? Incredibly clever! $\endgroup$
    – KMM
    Commented Nov 27, 2017 at 22:59
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    $\begingroup$ @KMM thanks! :) Mostly just experience. Once I saw ‘data’ said ‘a tad’ backwards, it just fell into place from there $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Commented Nov 28, 2017 at 7:07
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If you are only specifically looking for riddles, then @BeastlyGerbil's answer is definitely going to be better than anything I can think of. However, if you want to explore other options...

A fairly beginner-friendly puzzle would be a crossword - the words which make up the puzzle could all be mobile-related (thus hinting at the final solution), or family-related (e.g. name of Uncle Peter's first dog) just to give it that personal touch. Depending on your daughter's familiarity with puzzles, it might be sufficient to simply highlight certain cells which, when put together, spell out "DATA", or you may need something more sophisticated if your daughter is a veteran puzzle-solver.

In any case, I am sure she will appreciate the effort put into both the gift and its presentation. Kudos to you for being a great parent and I hope you have a very merry Xmas!

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  • $\begingroup$ I can't figure out how to see everyone's comments on the website, but I do see them in the email I got. What a great community! You guys are great. To answer one question between her and her brother, their math is pretty advanced, calc and advanced trig. I think it will be fun for the two of them to think this through (not that the riddle has much to do with math as above). Just love that you all are making me a cooler parent in the presentation of the gift. Thank you! $\endgroup$
    – KMM
    Commented Nov 28, 2017 at 20:03

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