1
$\begingroup$

Everyone knows the J Family. It is the family where the names of the three sons and three daughters of Mr and Mrs Jameson each start with the letter J.

Three Boys:

  • Jordan;

  • Jasper; and

  • Jeremy.

Three Girls:

  • Jasmine;

  • Jocelyn; and

  • Juliet.

Mr Jameson was looking at the Sunday Newspaper Crossword, thinking of ideas of other boy and girl names starting with the letter J. "Hmmm, maybe Joyce and Joseph?" he said to himself.

The three boys and the three girls were at home, having been supervised by Mr Jameson as Mrs Jameson left for a doctor's appointment — imagine bringing six kids along to the doctor!

But lucky the kids stayed home, because they were able to combine their brain power and make a plan: a plan that would make Mr and Mrs Jameson very deep in thought; a plan that would keep their minds thinking all night; a plan that would make them find the pattern of their favourite letters.

The three girls walked up to Mr Jameson first.

Jasmine: Hey Dad, do you want to know what my favourite letter is?
Mr Jameson: Sure, why not? (Places the newspaper down on the coffee table.) Let me guess — is it the letter J?
Jasmine: Wrong, it is K!

Jocelyn: Hey dad, how about me? Can you try guessing my favourite letter, too?
Mr Jameson: Okay. Is it M? Please tell me it is the letter J. (Shows a look of confusion as to why the girls are acting like this.)
Jocelyn: No, it's L.

Juliet: Hey Dad, do you want to know what my favourite letter is?
Mr Jameson: Alright, but it has to be J. (Shows a look of concern.)
Juliet: Nope, it is the letter M!

Then the boys ran up to Mr Jameson.

Jordan: Hey Dad, guess what my favourite letter is!
Mr Jameson: Hmm, maybe N? I heard K, L and M... so N, right?
Jordan: Nup, it's Jasmine's; the letter K.

Jasper: Dad! Dad! Dad, I have a favourite letter as well! Can you guess what it is?
Mr Jameson: That's it — it's L. There's a pattern going on, isn't there?
Jasper: Hey! That's not fair... (Jasper runs to his room.)

Mr Jameson is glad that he got the answer, but is sad how none of the kids have a favourite letter J... until he noticed something.

Mr Jameson: Hey, Jeremy, have you got a favourite letter you want me to guess?
Jeremy: Mmmm... (Being shy, Jeremy says nothing. Except, he nods his head.)
Mr Jameson: Okay, well, I think it is the letter M.
Jeremy: (Nods his head again.)

Mr Jameson: Aha! I have found the pattern! It is K, L, M, K, L, M, ... and so on! The first three letters after J!

Then, all the kids except Jasper who was still in his room, shouted one word. Even Jeremy shouted.

All the kids except Jasper: NO!
Mr Jameson: (Thought for a couple of seconds.) Soo... what is the pattern?
Jeremy: (Steps forward.) That is the last thing you would have to guess.

Mr Jameson was still stuck in thought when Mrs Jameson walked through the door after the kids went upstairs to make Jasper feel better.

Can you help them figure out the pattern? What would Joyce and Joseph's favourite letter be? (The pattern is not what you first think.)

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
9
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Hmm.. are the dialogue edits supposed to be a hint? $\endgroup$
    – Josh
    Aug 7, 2018 at 23:22
  • $\begingroup$ @Josh yes, but I stuffed them up and matched the dialogue with the wrong kids... but the puzzle seems pretty broad. I found a number sequence that also matches the pattern but does not relate to the puzzle. And Lawrence's and L.D.'s answer below is pretty good, too. $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Aug 7, 2018 at 23:49
  • $\begingroup$ @Lawrence I did that before. Check the edit history, it should be there. $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Aug 8, 2018 at 11:47
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Even if you think the submitted answers are good alternatives, it would be nice to know what you were trying to get at. I'm clueless. $\endgroup$
    – Josh
    Aug 8, 2018 at 14:15
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @Lawrence hah, thank you. My brother calls the stack exchange site "for nerds", yet I meet some of the nicest people here :D $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Aug 9, 2018 at 6:03

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
4
$\begingroup$

Well ... after reading the title, I thought it would be something other than the obvious alphabetical order. If that counts as "what you first think", then inverting that would give ... the alphabetical order!

The shouted word NO represents

the next two letters of the sequence J K L M N O.

So Joyce's and Joseph's favourite letter would be

N.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
7
  • $\begingroup$ This is a very good answer. It was not the intended one, but it definitely fits. I might have to award you a $25$ rep bounty. Also, I meant Joyce and Joseph's favourite letter each, but I am sure you can edit your answer to make that Rot13(Wblpr = A naq Wbfrcu = B.) :D $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Aug 5, 2018 at 22:02
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Thanks @user477343! Though changing the answer in the way you suggest would break the symmetry established by the siblings. :) $\endgroup$
    – Lawrence
    Aug 5, 2018 at 23:16
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @user477343 Yup, I'm sure. This was a cheeky answer, and besides, you're still pretty new - so welcome to the community! I'm interested to see the expected answer, though - hope someone guesses / finds it soon. $\endgroup$
    – Lawrence
    Aug 6, 2018 at 6:08
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Well, this answer is pretty good. Congratulations! $\color{green}{\checkmark}$ (I had a different answer in mind, but that's ok. You can find it in ROT13 in one of my comments to @Josh above. $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Aug 9, 2018 at 5:20
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @user477343 Wow, thank you. I hadn’t expected the green tick! Thanks also for posting the intended answer. $\endgroup$
    – Lawrence
    Aug 9, 2018 at 5:53
1
$\begingroup$

This answer is probably wrong, but the pattern is

The keys that comes after the J on the french / AZERTY keyboard
wikipedia image
It does fit the pattern, and may work greatly on Mr and Ms Jamerson if they never used Azerty keyboards

Thus, Joyce and Joseph favorite letter would be

ù or %. % is not a letter, but to obtain J, K, L, you must press on the letter key+ the maj key, thus producing %

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
6
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Alternatively, (rot13) lbh pbhyq hfr gur djregl xrlobneq naq sbyybj gur yrggref 'nebhaq gur oraq' gb trg WXYZAOI.... $\endgroup$
    – Lawrence
    Aug 7, 2018 at 14:21
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Well (rot13 also) V thrff gurer ner n ybg bs qvssrerag cbffvoyr nafjref jvgu xrlobneqf, pbafvqrevat gur ahzoref bs qvssrerag fpurzrf naq cnggrea lbh pbhyq hfr gb qrgrezvar gur arkg yrggre... V qrpvqrq gung gur xvqf jrag jvgu gur gevpxvrfg ebhgr, orpnhfr creprag vf qrsvavgryl gur xvaq bs nafjre gung pbhyq zrff jvgu gurve cneragf. At least, my answer can give a method to obtain a fitting pattern. $\endgroup$
    – L.D.
    Aug 7, 2018 at 14:30
  • $\begingroup$ Haha! That would sort the OCD from the fun-loving ones. $\endgroup$
    – Lawrence
    Aug 7, 2018 at 14:32
  • $\begingroup$ This is a great answer. The ú kind of looks like a U, so that fits! I feel this question is too broad as there seem to be many answers, and good ones too. $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Aug 7, 2018 at 23:52
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ ú is actually a u, but with a diacritic - kinda like the é in café $\endgroup$
    – L.D.
    Aug 8, 2018 at 7:44

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.