Gåtan har ingen (kanonisk) lösning.
Författaren, efter att ha blivit upprepade gånger ifrågasatt om ämnet i nästan två år efter det att det ursprungliga arbetet publicerades, kom till slut med ett svar för den uppdaterade upplagan som de inkluderade i förordet, reproducerad nedan från 150-årsjubileumsutgåvan. Observera att det inte finns något svar, bara en som författaren tänkte efter facto
PREFACE TO THE EIGHTY-SIXTH THOUSAND
Enquiries have been so often addressed to me, as to whether any answer
to the Hatter's Riddle (see p. 59) can be imagined, that I may as well
put on record here what seems to me to be a fairly appropriate answer,
viz., "Because it can produce a few notes, though they are VERY flat;
and it is nevar put with the wrong end in front!" This, however, is
merely an after-thought: the Riddle, as originally invented, had no
answer at all.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass: 150th Anniversary Edition
Olika andra wits har noterat bristen på ett sant svar och erbjöd sina egna åsikter.
LEWIS CARROLL himself proposed an answer in the 1897 final revision of
Alice's Adventures. "Because it can produce a few notes, though they
are very flat; and it is never put with the wrong end in front!" The
early issues of the revision spell "never" as "nevar", ie "raven" with
the wrong end in front.
Martin Gardner, in More Annotated Alice (1990)
gave two possible answers, sent in by readers: "both have quills
dipped in ink" and "because it slopes with a flap". In 1991, The
Spectator held a competition for new answers, among the prize winners
were: "because one has flapping fits and the other fitting flaps";
"because one is good for writing books and the other better for biting
rooks"; and "because a writing desk is a rest for pens and a raven is
a pest for wrens".
(Dr) Selwyn Goodacre, Editor, Journal of the Lewis Carroll Society,
Swadlincote, Derbyshire.
Any possible solutions to the Mad Hatter's conundrum: Why is a raven like a writing-desk?
Den samma "Guardian Newspaper - Notes and Queries" -sidan innehåller ett utökat citat från John Fishers The Magic of Lewis Carroll .
JOHN FISHER, in his book "The Magic of Lewis Carroll" (Thomas Nelson
1973, Penguin 1975), quotes Carroll's own answer, supplied in a
preface to the 1896 edition of "Alice in Wonderland": "Enquiries have
been so often addressed to me, as to whether any answer to the
Hatter's riddle can be imagined, that I may as well put on record here
what seems to be a fairly appropriate answer, viz: 'Because it can
produce few notes, tho [sic] they are very flat; and it is never put
with the wrong end in front!' This, however, is merely an
afterthought; the Riddle, as originally invented, had no answer at
all." Fisher also quotes Sam Loyd's solution, in his posthumous
"Cyclopedia of Puzzles", published in 1914: "The notes for which they
are noted are not noted for being musical notes." Fisher continues:
"Loyd also reminded the world that 'Poe wrote on both' and that 'bills
and tales are among their characteristics.'"
Any possible solutions to the Mad Hatter's conundrum: Why is a raven like a writing-desk?