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What am I?

I was 10 times as big in Athens as in Rome
I'm just myself in London and New York
I traditionally count in San Francisco
I will make you lean in Geneva

Hint 1

Lines C and D require computer knowledge

Hint 2

Line A needs historical knowledge

Hint 3

lean in line D is the verb not the adjective

Hint 4

bigger is not regarded to address size, height, or volume but amount

Hint 5 (big hint!!!)

The solution is imaginary

Hint 6 (big hint!!!)

For the solution you have to read the riddle literally

Edit 1

I changed 'higher' to 'bigger' in line A. This is more accurate and less misleading. 'Higher' was not wrong from my perspective, though.

Edit 2

I changed 'I'm' to 'I was' in line A as this is a historical fact and not relevant in the present.

Edit 3

I rephrased the comparison a bit in line A to avoid misinterpretations. A is X times bigger as B could be interpreted as A = B + 10 * B = 11* B, if you are really nitpicky. But here you should read X in Athens = 10 * X in Rome (* is the multiplication operator)

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3 Answers 3

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10
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I am

I

I was 10 times as big in Athens as in Rome

In Greek numerals, iota (Greek letter I) has value 10. In Roman numerals 'I' has value 1.

I'm just myself in London and New York

In English 'I' is the personal pronoun.

I traditionally count in San Francisco

'i' is commonly used for an int counter (Silicon Valley is in the southern SF Bay Area).

I will make you lean in Geneva

<i> is the italic element makes you lean in HTML, which was invented in CERN, Geneva.
(Thanks to OP for above, original was 'I' standing for italic will make Geneva (a specific typeface) lean.)

Helpful hints:

H1) Lines C and D require computer knowledge: int counter and typeface.
H2) Line A needs historical knowledge: Greek and Roman number systems.
H3) Lean in line D is the verb not the adjective: italic type leans.
H4) bigger as in amount: $10 = 10\cdot1$
H5) The solution is imaginary: the imaginary number $i$
H6) For the solution you have to read the riddle literally: What am I?

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3
  • $\begingroup$ Trarin vf va snpg n ersrerapr gb gur PREA, jurer Gvz Orearef-Yrr vairagrq ugzy $\endgroup$
    – yunzen
    Commented Jan 20, 2019 at 19:24
  • $\begingroup$ Weil done. Did you enjoy this riddle? Did you use all the hints before you could solve it? Did I add too many hints? Our did I add them too early? $\endgroup$
    – yunzen
    Commented Jan 20, 2019 at 19:25
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    $\begingroup$ @HerrSerker - I've so far enjoyed all your riddles. I was originally on the wrong tack on line one (thinking of M). Perhaps H5 was strong. H1 and H3 were helpful! The edits are honorable, though hardly even needed. Usually on PSE hints are daily or longer. Thank you for this and would appreciate more of your creations. $\endgroup$
    – Tom
    Commented Jan 20, 2019 at 19:41
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We can decode this to give

A clock

I'm 10 times higher in Athens than in Rome

Athens has a higher elevation than Rome

I'm just myself in London and New York

Big Ben and the clock on Wall Street

I traditionally count in San Francisco

The San Francisco Ferry Building Clock

I will make you lean in Geneva

The flower clock

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2
  • $\begingroup$ A good answer but is weak on Athens and Rome, both cities being at sea level. I suggest fhaqvny - gurer vf bar pneirq va gur pyvss bs gur Npebcbyvf, juvpu zhfg or ng n zhpu terngre ryringvba guna bar va Ebzr. $\endgroup$
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Jan 18, 2019 at 20:47
  • $\begingroup$ You have to take this literally $\endgroup$
    – yunzen
    Commented Jan 18, 2019 at 23:53
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Quick guess, not all the clues worked out yet:

Is this the

Colosseum?

Athens -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stegeman_Coliseum

Rome -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum

London -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Coliseum

New York -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Coliseum_(1928) (among other coliseum-named places in New York.)

'Frisco -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland%E2%80%93Alameda_County_Coliseum

Geneva -

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/daisy/section5/page/2/

It could also just be

Landmark, or something similar

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9
  • $\begingroup$ Could the downvoter explain the downvote? $\endgroup$
    – Brandon_J
    Commented Jan 19, 2019 at 17:05
  • $\begingroup$ Have you worked out any of the clues? $\endgroup$
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Jan 19, 2019 at 17:18
  • $\begingroup$ Didn't I work out all of them? I put the links just to show that I was thinking of actual places. $\endgroup$
    – Brandon_J
    Commented Jan 19, 2019 at 17:18
  • $\begingroup$ Geneva is a little weak, I must admit. $\endgroup$
    – Brandon_J
    Commented Jan 19, 2019 at 17:19
  • $\begingroup$ I thought of this almost immediately but it didn't seem worth an answer, as there is no back-up. How does the 10x height work? $\endgroup$
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Jan 19, 2019 at 17:21

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