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The people of country X are quite eccentric. Here are some of their more interesting rules and customs.

The children love candy, but no one is a fan of sugary drinks.

There are no sushi restaurants in town.

It is legal to set off fireworks anytime and anywhere--however, those aren't very popular.

The residents love to read and prefer electronic tablets to paper books.

There are no speed restrictions on the highways.

You are hired by Roomba to scope whether country X has a potential market for cute, robotic vacuum cleaners. After performing some financial analysis, you recommend the company attempt to establish a market, albeit with one crucial modification to their product. What is the modification and why?

Edit: The reason for the modification should be derived from and be consistent with all of the rules/customs. I will try to release a new rule/custom every day until someone gets it.

After spending more time observing the locals you notice the following:

Only the tallest buildings have elevators.

Edit:
An excerpt from A Financial Report On Roomba Markets in Country X

...The people of country X care deeply about maintaining the cleanliness of their homes and offices. However, the Roomba (as sold today) is physically incompatible with country X. We recommend that...

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  • $\begingroup$ The logical-deduction tag doesn't seem to describe this puzzle very well; maybe enigmatic-puzzle or pattern would fit better? $\endgroup$
    – Bass
    Commented Nov 19, 2018 at 7:56
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks for bringing that up; it does seem like the 'pattern' tag is a better fit than 'logical-deduction'. $\endgroup$
    – 1848
    Commented Nov 19, 2018 at 8:12

5 Answers 5

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We recommend that

a waterproof Roomba is developed

because country X is

an underwater kingdom.

The children love candy, but no one is a fan of sugary drinks.

Children everywhere love candy. However, opening a can of cola underwater just makes it mix with the surrounding water which is no fun at all.

There are no sushi restaurants in town.

Ever try sushi soaked in saltwater? It would probably taste like carp.

It is legal to set off fireworks anytime and anywhere--however, those aren't very popular.

No need for laws regulating fireworks when you're underwater.

The residents love to read and prefer electronic tablets to paper books.

Paper books get bad really fast underwater. However, there are waterproof electronic tablets available.

There are no speed restrictions on the highways.

Water resistance does a good job in limiting traffic speeds naturally, and there isn't much traffic underwater anyway.

Only the tallest buildings have elevators.

Moving up and down in water is pretty effortless and no elevators are needed. Except of course for buildings which are tall enough to rise above sea level. In country X these are called surface-scrapers, I believe.

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  • $\begingroup$ You beat me to it. Somewhat different reasoning though! $\endgroup$
    – WAF
    Commented Nov 19, 2018 at 8:21
  • $\begingroup$ Was about to post a really bizarre theory, but this makes much more sense... Regarding the highways, maybe it's simply because (gurer'f ab fcrrq yvzvg haqrejngre\ng bcra frn, NSNVX?) $\endgroup$
    – Walt
    Commented Nov 19, 2018 at 8:53
  • $\begingroup$ Essentially correct! $\endgroup$
    – 1848
    Commented Nov 19, 2018 at 18:26
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Maybe they're

merpeople.

After all,

Drinks of any kind wouldn't really work under water.
Eating fish could be frowned upon if fish are pets/colleagues.
Fireworks, though allowed, might be very difficult to get off the ground.
Books would get soggy.
Unclear what highways are or how their regulations would work.
Just swim up, unless the height of the ascent exceeds that of the water's surface.

And therefore, you should recommend

Insulating the electronic robot from its surroundings so it doesn't electrocute its users or others, and getting it to adhere to surfaces so it doesn't float away. There could be other constraints associated with underwater use. . .

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  • $\begingroup$ Wow. Less than a minute apart! $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Nov 19, 2018 at 8:24
  • $\begingroup$ @jafe I wonder what it was that caused us to converge. $\endgroup$
    – WAF
    Commented Nov 19, 2018 at 8:26
  • $\begingroup$ Very similar to jafe's solution, but it seems like jafe answered first, so I will have to accept that solution! $\endgroup$
    – 1848
    Commented Nov 19, 2018 at 18:27
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Maybe, as the people there don't like:

sugary drinks
sushi
fireworks that go boom
paper books
[something to do with speeding?]
[Hint] [something to do with elevators?]

they have an aversion to

the u sound.

Therefore they company should

rename their product, because vacuum cleaners won't sell there. They also shouldn't put the name Roomba on it.

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    $\begingroup$ rot13(naq gur sverjbexf tb "obbz") $\endgroup$
    – Destructible Lemon
    Commented Nov 18, 2018 at 23:23
  • $\begingroup$ Interesting observation; however, the partial trend you pointed out is completely unintentional on my part. $\endgroup$
    – 1848
    Commented Nov 19, 2018 at 2:06
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    $\begingroup$ rot13(naq pnef tb iebbz) $\endgroup$
    – kepe
    Commented Nov 19, 2018 at 10:12
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Not a complete answer, but I think

It might have something to do with them not liking circles, circles that have things in them. The top of a soda can. The concentric circles of a maki roll. Speed limit signs (circles with numbers in them). Elevator buttons (same). So they might prefer a boxier Roomba.

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    $\begingroup$ I was thinking along these lines even though some of the evidence doesn't seem to match - like customs #1 and #4. But I keep mentally coming back to it in case there's something there. . . $\endgroup$
    – WAF
    Commented Nov 19, 2018 at 8:13
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    $\begingroup$ This was my answer, but your explanation is better $\endgroup$
    – kepe
    Commented Nov 19, 2018 at 10:09
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A bit of a stretch, but is it:

To make them not circular?

Because:

Otherwise children would mistake it for candy

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