I am a total nerd for Internet riddles and multimedia narratives. (Longtime fans of this blog will remember that before I ever made videoblogs of my own, I fell down the lonelygirl15 rabbit hole).
So I have been watching the development of the quirky and seemingly-up-to-more-than-we-realize development of thisisnottom.com, a web site featuring insanely hard riddles. These riddles have apparently been written by someone (Tom? Not Tom?) who has something important to tell us, and I'm interested to see where it goes.
(I have made it to the current "end," although the current "end" would seem to be altogether beginningy. And if you're wondering how to get started, there's an i missing in the sentence beneath the guy who is not Tom. and then if you move the mouse around his eyes long enough, you get a link, and then you're off...)
I thought you finished it, John? I wonder where it's going, though. I'm determined to see how far I can get with minimal help. But what is Tom (or Not Tom) trying to say...
ReplyDeleteI don't get this website at alll.
ReplyDeleteI noticed something. This is the first time I've gone to the site. Is it different every day? Is there a way to see riddles from past days?
ReplyDeleteI suppose I should try this, everyone seems to be talking only of this ....
ReplyDelete-Julian
it took me forever to figure out how to start, but once i did, i got addicted. Tom/not Tom, is very tricky. Can't wait to see where it goes :-)
ReplyDeletei couldn't even figure out the first one! *wail*
ReplyDeleteNotTom is one of the greatest things ever, if not THE greatest.
ReplyDeleteAccording to DomainTools, the website is registered to an Alexander Basalyga, a Penn State affiliate from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania (which is incidentally not too far from here).
ReplyDeleteSo, my vote is not Tom.
I finished it, but I needed a little bit of help with some of it. 'Twas confusing, but the very end. That was the hard one. NotTom intrigues me immensely.
ReplyDeleteCan I tell you what a relief it is to hear I'm not the only person who fell into LonleyGirl15? I managed to break away when Bree exited, but before that I literally spent FIVE HOURS watching the backlog of LG videos I'd missed. Five hours...
ReplyDeleteAfter your live show yesterday day some of us stayed in the chat room and found out a few things about thisisnottom. We found out who registered the site, and that the guy is a nerdfighter. Somebody who has already left a comment on this page knows him.
ReplyDeleteNow I've gotten sucked in and I'm stuck on the Zed/Zelma riddle. I've spent at least the past hour trying to figure it out when I should've been doing other things, d'oh!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, I too am also at the current end. Although I did spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out if I only thought it was the current end until thisisnottom posted "Soon." on his twitter, which implies that the current end is indeed currently the end.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, the entire experience has so far been basically made of awesome, and I can't wait to see what happens next. :)
I feel like a loser, I can't get past the second one. I know the picture is of the Beastie boys, but it's not taking the answer.
ReplyDeleteI've gotten quite far on it, but I'm starting to have slight suspicion that you and/or your brother might have something to do with it..
ReplyDeleteI don't understand it :(
ReplyDeleteI'm stuck on this stupid math one, and I've been up for like six hours trying to figure it out. GAH I'm going crazy.
ReplyDeleteI dont get the Youtube one xF
ReplyDeleteFind final fear?
woooot?? XD
Oh my goodness--that Zed/Zelma one was impossible for me, so I cheated. I would never have figured that one out. It's a brilliant scavenger hunt.
ReplyDeleteNotTom has pretty much consumed my soul. And I love it.
ReplyDeleteAlmost last year, one of the big trends amongst us in the staff at Leaky was weffriddles (www.weffriddles.com), which this kind of reminds me of. NotTom is cooler though - it's harder and current and Nerdfightastic.
I can't find the link. Do you have to fix the sentence somehow? This sounds so cool, and I really want to get in!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't even figure out the first one. I'm a loser. :(
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to do thisisnottom, but feel like I'm missing something. If the answer to the second one isn't The Beastie Boys, then what the heck is it?
ReplyDeleteThis is So fun!!! But hard too - I am stuck and I barely have begun. Dang, I'm laughing and frustrated.
ReplyDeleteThe Zed/Zelma one took me a good hour to figure out. And now... I'm stuck on Washington.
ReplyDeleteThis is insanely addicting. The ning forums have some helpful hints though.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/index.asp?layout=talkbackCommentsFull&talk_back_header_id=6587454&articleid=CA6640156#130921
ReplyDeleteCongrats John!
THISISNOTTOM HAS CONSUMED MY SOUL.
ReplyDeleteTom...not Tom? You have taken over my internet life with your riddles. I'm addicted.
ReplyDeleteI just don't get it. The second one is obviously a picture of the Beastie Boys but that's not the answer...
ReplyDeleteI'm stuck on the third one. This is incredibly fun though.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Speaking of riddles, how many people noticed that in "Looking for Alaska" Dr. Hyde's password was "Jekyll and Hyde"? This has probably been discussed to death on many a NerdFighter forum, but since I just read the book yesterday (in about an hour; it was excellent) I haven't been to any of the sites.
P.P.S. You like Neutral Milk Hotel?! Must you be so...married?
You know, on National Public Radio there is a program that originates out Chicago called 'Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me'. Well, I've listened to the show for all of about five minutes and came to the conclusion the title should really be 'Wait, Wait You're Not Funny'. So it goes with this website and its author.
ReplyDeletecan anyone tell me what I am supposed to be looking for when I put in the coordinates?
ReplyDeletehow do i solve the zed/zelma one? please help
ReplyDeletehow do you get the first one? it hurts my brain...
ReplyDeleteI only stumbled upon this recently and got through it...eventually x)
ReplyDeleteBut what do you do with the youtube riddles? I got some of the answers, but...what do you actually do with them?
I'm a huge tint fan, but to be honest, the ending beginningy ending saddens me, maybe because I jumped on the bandwaggon too late, but... it doesn't feel... I don't know what to say. Right (?) Good (?) Existing (?). Three terrible words, because none fit, because it's right and good and it exists but...
ReplyDeleteI feel hangin'... Could you do us a favor and explain some parts when you got a spare sec in the next decade (hee hee)? Know you're buzy, but ... T__T What happens next?