I'm needed by a doctor to travel through time,
Or a player looking for their keys.
When on the plane where the great answer resides,
I'm part of the whole Strategy.I can be found in a dead man's hand.
Yet still, I cannot be touched.
In China, I may say farewell.
In Japan, I mean so much.I have been known to have colourful wings,
I am about which the cool kids sing.
What am I?
Please explain each line in your answer.
Adding to Mudit's answer.
The answer is:
88
I'm needed by a doctor to travel through time:
Doc Brown needs to reach 88 mph to travel through time in Back to the Future
Or a player looking for their keys:
Piano keyboards frequently feature 88 keys and thus a piano player would look for their keys.
When on the plane where the great answer resides, I'm part of the whole Strategy:
Refers to "88", a song on the album Strategy from the band Level 42. This ties in with the 'great answer' as a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference in which 42 is the 'Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything'.
I can be found in a dead man's hand:
The card hand called the 'dead man's hand' typically contains two 8s.
Yet still, I cannot be touched:
88 is an untouchable number
In China, I may say farewell:
In Chinese, 8 is pronounced bā. In text speak, this is used as a farewell due to its similarity to the English bye. Thus 88 = bā bā = bye bye.
In Japan, I mean so much:
88 in Japanese often means "a great many" or "countless".
I have been known to have colourful wings:
The number 88 looks like a butterfly with spread wings and certain species of butterfly, Diaethria Anna have a distinct 88 on their wings.
I am about which the cool kids sing:
The band, 'The Cool Kids', have a song called '88+'
Thanks for the puzzle @hexomino!
Answer is 88
Doctor DeLorean requires a speed of 88mph in his time machine
A keyboard player requires 88 keys keyboard to play
Dead man's hand has 88
In Chinese 8 is ba. Hence 88 is baba which means bye bye.
In Japanese 88 refers to a great many or countless
88 butterfly is colourful
88+ is a song by the Cool kids
Is the answer:
Space
My reasoning:
"I'm needed by a doctor to travel through time,"
Doctor Who's TARDIS has a higher volume of space on the inside than on the outside.
"Or a player looking for their keys."
When items such as keys are lost, clearing space by removing furniture often exposes their location.
"When on the plane where the great answers reside, I'm part of the whole Strategy."
The great answers could lie in the stars, the universe, which is mostly empty space.
"I can be found in a dead man's hand."
A dead hand can still enclose an area of space.
"Yet still, I cannot be touched."
Space cannot really be touched, as it is the absence of matter.
"In China, I may say farewell."
China is the most populous country in the world, cramped with little space.
"In Japan, I mean so much."
Japan is notorious for having high housing prices near the cities, living space could be an expensive thing for most people in Japan.
Is the answer:
Lines?
I'm needed by a doctor to travel through time,
Dr. Who travels on timelines
Or a player looking for their keys.
A musician looks at lines of the music notation to find the notes.
When on the plane where the great answer resides, I'm part of the whole Strategy.
Great answers reside in books, which have plotlines
I can be found in a dead man's hand.
A hand has fate lines in it. Not sure why dead man's hand is specified. Perhaps because he has met his fate.
Yet still, I cannot be touched.
Certain red lines indicate danger and/or things that should not be touched.
In China, I may say farewell.
My guess is that this refers to the lines of a Chinese writing symbol.
In Japan, I mean so much.
Probably referring to a cultural prohibition of cutting in lines or queues.
I have been known to have colourful wings,
Airlines have planes with wings, and some airlines have colorful paint schemes.
I am about which the cool kids sing.
Blurred lines was a somewhat popular song
My Guess is:
Memories
I'm needed by a doctor to travel through time, Or a player looking for their keys.
Remembering the past / traveling through time in your mind
When on the plane where the great answers reside, I'm part of the whole Strategy.
The plane where all the answers reside is the brain. Our answers come mostly from memories and experience which makes them part of the whole strategy.
I can be found in a dead man's hand. Yet still, I cannot be touched.
Hands show what someone has done all their life (fragile hands or weals from doing hard work with your hands). You can see those memories but you can't touch those memories themselves.
In China, I may say farewell. In Japan, I mean so much.
I don't know enough about those languages/cultures so it's up to someone else to find this
I'm thinking the answer is:
hole(s) (or possibly box)
I'm needed by a doctor to travel through time,
worm holes (although maybe phone box?)
Or a player looking for their keys.
keyholes (unless this is a reference to playing a musical instrument either in a key, or one that has keys - like a piano)
When on the plane where the great answers reside,
Blackholes ? (Black box?)
I'm part of the whole Strategy.
the w[hole s]trategy
I can be found in a dead man's hand.
Jesus's Stigmata
Yet still, I cannot be touched.
you can't touch a hole as it's absent of an object
In China, I may say farewell.
In Japan, I mean so much.
not sure about these two - I guess there's a hole in the a of China - at the end, and there's a hole in apa in Japan and it might mean a lot ? ? ?
Is the answer a:
A Phone
I'm needed by a doctor to travel through time,
Dr Who travels in a Tardis which is also a phone box
Or a player looking for their keys.
You may call a friend if you have lost your keys
When on the plane where the great answers reside, I'm part of the whole Strategy.
We are asked to turn your phones off during a flight.
I can be found in a dead man's hand.
We are so addicted to our phones that even in death we don’t part
Yet still, I cannot be touched.
You cant access someone elses phone without the code
In China, I may say farewell. In Japan, I mean so much.
Not sure about this bit
insights, but no answers:
I'm needed by a doctor to travel through time,
obvious Dr Who reference.
Or a player looking for their keys.
seems like another reference. I don't know to what. might be referring to a piano player. If not, it's something fictional.
When on the plane where the great answers reside, I'm part of the whole Strategy.
pretty clearly another reference, to some work of fiction or philosophy. I have no idea what plane they're referring to, though, or what fiction. Strategy here is capitalized, which seems pretty significant.
I can be found in a dead man's hand.
Dead man's hand is Two pair, aces and eights, of clubs and spades. Alternately, it's a fictional reference.
Yet still, I cannot be touched. In China, I may say farewell. In Japan, I mean so much.
no clue past the obvious. My guess is that the China thing refers to a Chinese custom of some sort.
edit:
I have been known to have colourful wings,
I'd be inclined to take this one reasonably straight - either it's a thing with colorful wings, it's a thing with colorful protrusions that could be winglike if you squint, or it's a nonphysical concept that's described as having wings in one or more sayings.
I am about which the cool kids sing.
my guess is that this is in reference to some popular song by a popular group.
The answer is:
cat
I'm needed by a doctor to travel through time,
cat scan
Or a player looking for their keys.
"cat .ssh/authorized_keys" or possibly "Condensed Air Technology" (clean the keyboard)
When on the plane where the great answer resides, I'm part of the whole Strategy.
Computer-Assisted Translation
I can be found in a dead man's hand. Yet still, I cannot be touched.
Schrödinger's cat
In China, I may say farewell.
Maneki-neko
In Japan, I mean so much.
Nekomata
I have been known to have colourful wings,
winged bast
I am about which the cool kids sing.
cools kats, daddio
