0) The item is entirely animal.
1) Is it alive? Yes!
2) Is it a cat? No, it is not a cat.
3) Does it fit in a breadbox? Yes
4) Does it have more than 4 limbs? Yes!
5) A big, hairy, scary spider? No
6) Does it normally live in water? No

Rather than leave the ambiguous answer I put before, no, it is not a spider of any kind.

Is it a ladybird?

<wonders whether the definition of "limb" implies vertebration>
<wonders whether a systematic approach counts as fair play>

Is it vertebrate?

0) The item is entirely animal.
1) Is it alive? Yes!
2) Is it a cat? No, it is not a cat.
3) Does it fit in a breadbox? Yes
4) Does it have more than 4 limbs? Yes!
5) A big, hairy, scary spider? No
6) Does it normally live in water? No
7) Is it a ladybird? No
8) Is it vertebrate? No (how many vertebrates do you know that have more than four limbs???)

Has it an exoskeleton?

<some specimens do have five, e.g. of frogs>

<and does a tail count as a limb?>

<wondering if a tree can fit in a breadbox... no, a tree isn't an animal.>

hmmm

I wanted to say "octopus" but they live in water, so... darn it.

hmmmmm.

Is it something that can be kept as a pet? (And since there are crazy people who keep dangerous things as pets, such as bears and lions and crocodiles, I'd like to qualify that with "by relatively non-crazy people.")

) The item is entirely animal.
1) Is it alive? Yes!
2) Is it a cat? No, it is not a cat.
3) Does it fit in a breadbox? Yes
4) Does it have more than 4 limbs? Yes!
5) A big, hairy, scary spider? No
6) Does it normally live in water? No
7) Is it a ladybird? No
8) Is it vertebrate? No
9) Has it an exoskeleton? Yes
10) Is it something that can be kept as a pet? (by non-crazy people) Yes (Just to be clear, while I agree that lions and tigers and bears are quite dangerous and should not be kept as pets, I have no problem with people keeping, say, tarantulas as pets.)

Comments: Good point about the tail/other things maybe counting as limbs. I take back the question!
A tree can fit into a breadbox if it's a bonsai tree.
May I submit the Pacific Tree Octopus as a (sadly fictional) example of a non-aquatic octopus?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2010 04:29PM by MuseSusan.

Don't be so hard on yourself MS!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2010 10:31AM by SkidMarks.

Would it fit in a breadbox if the breadbox were the size of a matchbox?

0) The item is entirely animal.
1) Is it alive? Yes!
2) Is it a cat? No, it is not a cat.
3) Does it fit in a breadbox? Yes
4) Does it have more than 4 limbs? Yes!
5) A big, hairy, scary spider? No
6) Does it normally live in water? No
7) Is it a ladybird? No
8) Is it vertebrate? No
9) Has it an exoskeleton? Yes
10) Is it something that can be kept as a pet? (by non-crazy people) Yes
11) Would it fit in a breadbox if the breadbox were the size of a matchbox? Yes, if you don't mind making it very angry and possibly hurting it.

Is it dead yet - not number 12 - I just want to know if its safe to come back yet or not.

Well, although the hypothetical example in my mind is alive, I think all the physical examples in my area (New York) are dead by this time of year. Plus, they're really quite engaging little creatures, not scary at all!

<I would like to point out that here in Australia, spiders are not generally benign...>

Yes, but EVERYTHING in Australia is out to kill you, isn't it?

Here in the States you're pretty much safe as long as you don't try to pet the black widows or rattlesnakes.

Quote:

... all the physical examples in my area (New York) are dead by this time of year.

That just has to be a clue so large that only the feeble-minded could miss identifying the unknown item.

Umm..

Nope, I still haven't a clue.

12: is it a cockroach (and does it write poetry)?

---

Part time Quantum Elephant hollower

0) The item is entirely animal.
1) Is it alive? Yes!
2) Is it a cat? No, it is not a cat.
3) Does it fit in a breadbox? Yes
4) Does it have more than 4 limbs? Yes!
5) A big, hairy, scary spider? No
6) Does it normally live in water? No
7) Is it a ladybird? No
8) Is it vertebrate? No
9) Has it an exoskeleton? Yes
10) Is it something that can be kept as a pet? (by non-crazy people) Yes
11) Would it fit in a breadbox if the breadbox were the size of a matchbox? Yes, if you don't mind making it very angry and possibly hurting it.
12) is it a cockroach (and does it write poetry)? no and no, sadly. though i think my laptop keyboard might be a little easier to use than a typewriter, if one wants to try

I felt I wasn't giving anything away with the comment about them all being dead this time of year, since you already know it's a non-aquatic invertebrate. With the exception of some species that go into hibernation at some point of their life-cycle, nearly all the adults die by the time we get a few frosts.

This is fun; I get to show off my amateur bug-nerdiness!

sorry geg, run back away, MS isn't certain they are all dead. yet.

13) If the darling little cute bug-thing was of a mind to bite or sting a human, does it have venom that is either poisonous, or at least irritating enough to raise a bump on the skin?

for instance, a mosquito will leave a mark (a rather large, itchy, red, and annoying mark) on me, but a ladybug would not.

and was that matchbox of the 1 or 2 inch long variety, or the much longer "safety" length, that I think are about 8 or 10 inches long? (this is a clarification, please, not a new question.) (if we've been good and are allowed that!)

0) The item is entirely animal.
1) Is it alive? Yes!
2) Is it a cat? No, it is not a cat.
3) Does it fit in a breadbox? Yes
4) Does it have more than 4 limbs? Yes!
5) A big, hairy, scary spider? No
6) Does it normally live in water? No
7) Is it a ladybird? No
8) Is it vertebrate? No
9) Has it an exoskeleton? Yes
10) Is it something that can be kept as a pet? (by non-crazy people) Yes
11) Would it fit in a breadbox if the breadbox were the size of a matchbox? Yes, if you don't mind making it very angry and possibly hurting it.
12) is it a cockroach (and does it write poetry)? no and no, sadly. though i think my laptop keyboard might be a little easier to use than a typewriter, if one wants to try
13) If the darling little cute bug-thing was of a mind to bite or sting a human, does it have venom that is either poisonous, or at least irritating enough to raise a bump on the skin? Nope! (no venom at all)

I was imagining a larger matchbox of maybe 4 to 6 inches, and it would fit lengthwise, but it might object to having all its limbs folded up.