What is It? Game 51

By Alex in What Is It on Jan 24, 2008 at 2:55 am

All right, here’s an easy one for this week’s collaboration with What Is It? Blog: can you guess what this myserious ball with etched hieroglyphs on its surface? Place your guess in the comment section – no prize this week, you’re playing for bragging rights and fun only!

Be sure to check out What Is It? Blog for more guessing game fun!

Update 1/28/08 – I told you it was easy, here’s the answer:

An Isis puzzle, the makers claim that it’s the most difficult puzzle ever, to open it you must first solve some clues that come with the instructions, these can be seen online in the product manual here.
There is possibly a spoiler in my next link, someone sent me a page that shows an xray of this puzzle, it doesn’t explain exactly how it’s opened but does show some of the inner workings. However, the page with the xrays is part of a much larger discussion on the puzzle, I haven’t read any further so I don’t know how much is revealed about the solution.

Congratulations to grungyparadigm who got it right, just 5 minutes after the game was posted.


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  1. James
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 3:00 am

    An ancient egyptian soccer ball!

    ;)

  2. grungyparadigm
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 3:00 am

    That is ISIS- ‘The World’s Most Difficult Puzzle.’

    “Each ISIS is unique, with just one solution. The puzzle is a gleaming orb, handcrafted in England of a premier alloy of aluminum and constructed of precisely engineered, movable bands. Each band is etched with hieroglyphics and the challenge is to position those bands in the right combination to unlock the ISIS. Each individual ISIS is etched with two unique 10-digit numbers, one visible on the outside, the other hidden on the inside, only uncovered when you solve the globe puzzle.”

  3. marwood
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 3:00 am

    It’s an ISIS puzzle.

  4. BeX
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 3:02 am

    Didn’t they have one of those in the Simpsons? lol :D

  5. JD
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 3:21 am

    Darth Vader’s interrogation droid.

  6. Claire
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 3:50 am

    It is an Isis puzzle.

  7. Peter
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 4:15 am

    Its obviously a songbox.
    You put pressur eon the top and bottom, then it splits in twain and the music comes out.
    For practical demonstration, see Simpsons

  8. clairmonde
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 4:58 am

    Urn. If not, it SHOULD be an urn.

  9. Frankie Biscuit
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 6:18 am

    Have none of you guys seen Mysterious Cities of Gold?! It’s obviously a robot from an ancient and advanced civilisation that mysteriously went into ruin.

  10. Lasse
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 6:20 am

    It is a box for Hugo Boss´ deodorant if the egyptians had won.

  11. cygnus86
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 7:28 am

    It’s an egyptian criptex !

  12. rexmons
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 8:05 am

    this one’s easy, “egyption death star”

  13. dbsmall
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 8:24 am

    Haven’t seen the movie, yet, but this looks like what I imagine the altheiometer from Pullman’s “The Golden Compass” might look like.

  14. Greg
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 8:34 am

    This is the ISIS. It’s a unique ball puzzle that is supposed to be challenging. I saw it at the Sharper Image.

  15. Randall
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 8:51 am

    Yes, it is the Isis puzzle BUT, the original was found in the empty sarcophagus of Muttakamenic choatus Rhagi, the infamous court wizard to King Tutankhamun who was put to death for casting wayward glances at Nefreti. The ‘Death Orb’ was placed in his body and he was buried alive. The purpose was to imprison his soul for all time, but because every prison has to have a door, it was to have a lock. Whomever was so foolish to unlock the door would be immediately possessed by the released soul. It is also rumored that the original Death Orb has dissappeared from the Cairo museum and there is some speculation that it was placed among the replicas by a cult follower so that some unsuspecting puzzle solver would open the prison and be possessed, thus returning an ancient evil to the world of man.

    I got one for Christmas and throew it away.

  16. anon
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 9:06 am

    Sure it’s a soul-stealing Egyptian puzzle orb…

    But I bet it could carry ice too

  17. Jonn
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 9:13 am

    As a side note, the puzzle has been said to be really easy. Don’t waste 200 US dollars on it.

  18. Tim
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 9:21 am

    It’s a soccer ball designed by Art Lebedev Studios.

    It will only cost you $13,450 US. Hurry now as only 700 are being made!

  19. lDAVE
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 9:58 am

    How did the STARGATE fold in on itself?

  20. kangcore
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 10:13 am

    c’mon guys, its a prototype thermal detonator ;)

  21. Mike C
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 10:35 am

    Unfortunately, you’re all wrong.

    This is a very sad picture of an orphan Gorbleflax from the planet Doo-Lamay. This sad creature was caught sticking its tail out the window of their spaceship as it passed our solar system, and was unforunately caught up in Earth’s gravitational pull.

    Found in a rice paddy in Shenzhen province, China, and raised to age six by the farm family who found her, she eventually outgrew the farm life and pursued a law degree at Oxford.

    Ridiculed by the other students, she took to tattooing herself with cryptic symbols she happened to find interesting after drinking too much cider on weekends off.

    Finally, on a cold but clear day in winter ’99, she felt a strange pulsing inside her. Although never told what it was, she knew it was a homing signal. She spent an all-too-brief week saying her goodbyes to all her friends (but NOT to that two-timing loser Phillip), and vanished into the ether just after dinner on March 3, 1999.

    She will be missed.

  22. Ali S.
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 12:56 pm

    Oh, I know! It’s the little puzzle that when you open it begins to play music…like in the Simpsons episode where Homer sneaks Lisa into the museum after it closes. ;)

  23. Ian
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 1:00 pm

    Saw the inventors begging for investment on Dragons Den…

  24. Alasdair
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 1:15 pm

    For those of you who know what movie I’m talking about, it’s the “Star Map” from the movie “Treasure Planet”. Why someone would make one yet, since we can barely get to the closest planet to our, let alone the far reaches of the universe, is unknown to me.

  25. Rion
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 2:32 pm

    It’s the Isis puzzle.

  26. JHLD
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 2:41 pm

    It’s an ice bucket

  27. rawbert
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 3:13 pm

    I think everyone here saw the Simpson’s episode and clearly knows its the Orb of Isis.

    Not the best choice for “What is It?” But just for kicks, I’ll say its the most ancient Killer
    Egyptian Orb, daddy of all those small metal orbs from the movie “The Phantasm.”

  28. Colin
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 3:13 pm

    as you all know by the previous post, this is the ISIS, it was for sale in a Sharper Image Magazine a few months back

  29. Christophe
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 3:44 pm

    It’s a sock.

    NO?! Darn.

  30. JTH
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 4:30 pm

    Due to the fact that digital media formats are unreadable in some decades, people tried to invent a non-destructable device where knowledge / information is stored inside in very tiny letters readable with simple DIY optical devices.

  31. pridesax
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 4:31 pm

    yep, it’s an Isis

  32. kansasgirl
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 5:29 pm

    It’s an ice bucket.

  33. PJ
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 6:02 pm

    MY LAB HAS BEEN BREACHED!!! HOW CAME YOU TO BE THE POSSESSOR OF THE GOD’S EYE!!!

  34. Shelby
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 6:31 pm

    It’s a cryptex.

  35. rdubs
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 8:58 pm

    The Isis Adventure: Puzzles & Logic Games.
    As seen on BBC2′s DRAGONS’ DEN Welcome to the ISIS Adventure, possibly the most difficult puzzle in existence, (well according to its creators). Now its your turn to put their theory to the test. The ISIS Ball is an alloy orb constructed in layers and covered in cryptic hieroglyphics. All you have to do is open it by cracking the combination. Youve heard of the riddle of the sphinx, well this is bound to rival any ancient conundrum!Once youve cracked the combination and opened the orb, a special key will be revealed which has a unique serial number stamped on it. This key will open one of the ISIS golden pyramids which are hidden in secret locations throughout the UK. Each golden pyramid contains thousands of pounds – a gold coin worth 500 and a number of silver coins worth 20 each. The designers are so confident that the code cannot be cracked that they have put up money for anyone who can do it! Sounds irresistible? It is! The ISIS is the result of years of research and development and is completely original. There are literally millions of combinations and the game promises to challenge the most astute and intellectual of minds. Once you pick one of these things up, it becomes a real obsession and you just can’t put it down until you crack the code….but that may never happen!”" Andrew Reeves (creator)And Every ISIS is unique, and handmade in England by precision engineers. It also looks and feels beautiful, and comes in a solid wooden box with high polish! So, let your Isis Adventure begin! Did you know that “”Isis”" was the Egyptian Goddess of Magic and Giver of Life ? Who knows, she might even be the giver of loadsamoney too! Isis: Approximately 6.5cm diamet

  36. Brian
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 9:06 pm

    I thought it was a bed knob :(

  37. Veronica
    Jan 24th, 2008 at 9:41 pm

    I thought it was a petanque boul, silly me :/

  38. MadMolecule
    Jan 25th, 2008 at 12:49 am

    Obviously, it’s the Orgasmatron from Sleeper.

  39. ted
    Jan 25th, 2008 at 9:03 am

    Since all my answers were taken, I’ll say it’s one of those flying balls the Jedis train with, thus proving the ancient connections between Jedis and early mankind.

  40. Mr L A Leaf
    Oct 25th, 2009 at 4:18 pm

    Hi
    I am getting ISIS 1 puzzle for Xmas. and next year I Will be getting RAMISIS. and ISIS 3 and 4 and 5 when they come out.
    But can anyone please tell me if all the ISIS 1 puzzles have the same egyptian hieroglyphic letters on them. and if not what letters are on yours.
    thank you for your help
    Mr L A Leaf


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