The X-Ray Fish Puzzle

[@FLEBpuzzles]

According to one of the puzzle designers, "The main reason the puzzle is called "X-Ray Fish" is that it needs to start with "X" to clue a part of the third meta-puzzle (the ordering of the letters)! For this reason, it's somewhat intentionally conspicuous!"

[@Tankerrex3]

When you need to make a puzzle, but you are high on LSD

[@Stickycomix]

I thought it was Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time, especially with the noises, but then I remembered it *sampled* Rock Lobster.

[@AgentArcadia]

Holy shit dude, SAME

[@Angelica-so3nb]

Elijahlux SAME OMFG

[@Angelica-so3nb]

Elijahlux it's a hell of a feeling though

[@Cerise4697]

🎶All right, all right, it's a hell of a feeling though...

[@donnathelightningbug]

When did you decide to switch from topology and quantum field theory to puzzles?

[@FLEBpuzzles]

Those are topics that I've tried to learn in my free time. I have an electrical engineering/math background. I got through the Topology book, but the QFT book was too difficult! It's always fun to try, but sometimes it's just too hard!

[@donnathelightningbug]

Thanks for the reply, FLEB! I do the same thing; my background is in philosophy, but I'm currently working through a book on mathematical logic. It's nice to keep busy and learn about interesting things on your own.

[@gcewing]

FLEB, you should check out a series of videos by Leonard Susskind called The Theoretical Minimum. I've also made attempts to teach myself about QM and QFT. I didn't have a lot of success from reading books, but Susskind's videos made it all start to click. He's an extremely good teacher and a pleasure to watch.

[@chris6494]

This is the best, most relaxing, and most wholesome youtube channel ever. Thank you so much for posting such wonderful videos :)

[@ThatKrazyTimGuy]

Been watching your newer videos out of order because I haven't watched in a while. Glad to see you getting in front of the camera. It's great for the audience to connect with you and your videos instead of a disembodied voice lol. I also know that can be nerve-wracking, so props! Keep up the great videos.

[@cosmicjenny4508]

I'm pretty sure you'll find that the English phrase is: "WHAAAAAAAT?"

[@IguitarVreakI]

While a lot of the puzzles you cover can be considered art. I love how deeply this puzzle connects with different forms of art. You have Music, Image(video) and poetry, all combined to make a fairly compact puzzle that starts out as confusing gibberish but fits together perfectly and makes sense once you figure it out. And there you have proof that Logic and Artistry are not dissonant with each other! :)

[@FLEBpuzzles]

That is cool!

[@allardboumans4428]

What a creative puzzle! Very clever of you and your team to solve this.

[@sungahn7386]

This was definitely an interesting puzzle. Thanks for introducing it to us, Fleb!

[@FLEBpuzzles]

Thank you for watching Sung Ahn! Always great to see you in the comments!

[@gayandorky]

I'm so glad you're doing puzzle hunt puzzles. Those are my favorite videos :D

[@FLEBpuzzles]

I think this is going to be a weekly series!

[@pokeflora]

I love the puzzlehunt puzzles! They're so fun, and the path to the solution is always entertaining :-0

[@FLEBpuzzles]

I'm hoping to make this a weekly series, on every Thursday!

[@bijuliuscaesar]

I'm curious, who else heard the "sweet bassline" as the opening to Don't Threaten me with a Good Time, the first time they heard it?

[@MH-sp7te]

This reminds me quite a bit of the "logic games" section of the LSAT. Fleb, if you've never checked them out, you really should. I think you'd definitely enjoy solving the different games!

[@tylercunningham8266]

Solid Video as always! I'd be interested in seeing you solve one of these puzzle hunt puzzles blind, and seeing the steps that go into it.

[@wrasslingchampion2846]

Fleb cute af

[@eraserdusting1840]

Wrassling Champion he really IS cute!

[@Stickycomix]

He's awkward and we love him.

[@brrrrharrr]

FLEB's smile tho.

[@Blananas2]

So, if you can get an English word or phrase out of a SIX SECOND video you can get an English word or phrase out of anything...

[@arthur1739]

This video's English word for instance was "cute".

[@ethan6223]

Ivan?

[@jennyl9175]

I never do any puzzles or anything to do with puzzles at all but you're my favorite person on KZbin I'm such a huge fan please keep up the good work ❤️❤️❤️

[@OhDannyBoy512]

This puzzle is insane... I love it!!! :D Your team did amazingly to decipher that!

[@FLEBpuzzles]

Thank you! I thought the designers did an amazing job!

[@donnypassary5798]

Oh boy! Been waiting for you to cover puzzles from puzzlehunts. Love the silliness of it, lol. Still wonder what X-Ray in the name stands for.

[@FLEBpuzzles]

The title has a convoluted explanation. A "rock lobster" is a crayfish, which is also known as an ecrevisse, which if you say it out loud, sounds like X-ray fish. I didn't figure this out, it was mentioned in the written solution of the puzzle! I don't think you were supposed to figure it out while solving the puzzle!

[@donnypassary5798]

...well, that was quite a lot of stretch for the name. At least I thought the name could give us some hint to start of, but anyway. Extra point for Munkres though. Nice book for elementary topology :)

[@4473021]

DUDE PLUG YOUR KICKSTARTER MORE, ONLU 18 DAYS LEFT TO GOOOOOO

[@RevDood]

You look like you are getting a LOT more confident in showing yourself in the videos. Enjoyed it as always thought!

[@FLEBpuzzles]

Thank you!

[@XUntameableX48]

You have the patience of a freaking tiger I swear I would never be able to sit down and finish these things..

[@Robertlavigne1]

Thats a tricky one! I thought I was getting better at puzzle hunts after I was able to complete Dash-9, but this was just a few logical leaps beyond what I was capable of. How were you able to advance to this level? Did it just come naturally, did you have some friends who were able to show you the ropes and help fill in the gaps you had, or did you just fail enough times to learn lots of the patterns and tricks? Don't forget to hype that kick-starter, we'll be so sad if it doesn't go through!

[@imogenmason-evans2133]

fleb ur so cute :( thank u for making these videos they’re so calming and actually pretty interesting - makes me want to get into puzzles irl!

[@random_emo4893]

I thought the song was “don’t threaten me with a good time”-P!atd

[@veganovus]

I'm really loving the facetime with you. Keep it up ^^

[@FLEBpuzzles]

Thanks!

[@tylerbird7669]

THE MUSIC SOUNDS LIKE DONT THREAT ME WITH A GOOD TIME BY P!ATD

[@DukeJohnsonTheDuke]

Great to see you in front of the camera more!

[@ChrisWeedPiano]

This is really cool because I was on the team that placed third!!!

[@FLEBpuzzles]

Nicely done!

[@madeline315]

A puzzle that features the B-52's? Awesome...

[@enochzenithimyuen575]

Puzzle Hunt Puzzles are my favourites!

[@CaptainMeleon]

VOTE FOR FLEB FOR A WORLD WITH MORE PUZZLE HUNT PUZZLES

[@frogbear02]

you say "puzzle" more times in just one of most of your videos than i have said puzzle in my entire life i bet XD

[@d.m.badger2155]

I really loved this puzzle! Are there more puzzles with these types of videos?

[@FLEBpuzzles]

As in, more puzzlehunt puzzles that rely on videos? Yes, there are a lot of them! I'll cover another one next week!

[@d.m.badger2155]

Awesome!

[@babalon7778]

I love this crazy puzzle! What if you don't know you're not cool enough to know the B 52s though?

[@rory-hughes]

what a great guy.

[@ResidentOfTheAbyss]

You are such an awesome guy Fleb!!

[@FLEBpuzzles]

Thanks!

[@VerlorenFormaat]

Hi fleb , great to see the boardgames in the background. Looks like a solid collection. What's your current favorite?

[@FLEBpuzzles]

I've been enjoying Dimension a lot! I've been prepping for the National Dimension Championships at GenCon this year!

[@ArtemGlue]

was there any relevance of the title, "x-ray fish"?

[@JakTheGuardian]

Artem Glue Just a random guess, but maybe it's because there's no stringray? so X (no) ray?

[@FLEBpuzzles]

Yes, but it's pretty obscure and not intended to be found during the solve, I think. A "rock lobster" is a crayfish, which is also known as an ecrevisse, which if you say it out loud, sounds like X-ray fish. I didn't figure this out, it was mentioned in the written solution of the puzzle!

[@Gelfling66]

Fleb, you're awesome dude

[@CameraMan9258]

Is "Galactic Trendsetters" (the name of the puzzle team) a Race for the Galaxy reference? I see you have a lot of board games on your shelf so maybe you know.

[@zinzof]

That wall of board games behind you tho!!

[@danaondrackova3431]

That is really nice one and interesting! I like this types of puzzles:-) I was thinking about the creator. How the hell did he get the idea to take an actual song and turn it into a puzzle and also what the hell is the creator listening to :D

[@metroidman7592]

can you recommend a good puzzle box for a new person?

[@jamiefakename4070]

Anybody else saw the Doge?

[@thepinkbunnyempire1027]

We all did.

[@supahstarclod]

I'm not sure if I get what indexing is and how you're able to come up with the answer by indexing

[@FLEBpuzzles]

If you look at the spreadsheet, if the number is X, I'm taking the Xth letter of the word. So for example, DOGFISH has the number 2, so we take the second letter, which is O. BIKINI WHALE has the number 3, so we take the third letter, or K. This is something that's used a lot in puzzlehunt puzzles!

[@j0w0seph18]

Why do you go by the name of fleb? I'm just curious of why.

[@FLEBpuzzles]

It's a mis-pronunciation of a nickname I had in college!

[@gingerr8015]

This seems like such a fun puzzle

[@FLEBpuzzles]

It's super fun!

[@dmcdouga07]

Hey Fleb, have you heard of the Tim Tang Test?

[@PlayTheMind]

Nice to see you! 👍🏻

[@FLEBpuzzles]

Nice to see you too!

[@JewelKnightJess]

It would be really cool if a KZbin puzzle utilised the comments section even more to find the solution. Have a few of the comments contain hidden clues even if they look like they're from regular commenters. I don't know how easy that would be to set up though, since the important ones could get lost in KZbin's algorithms.

[@zack1085]

theres this sweet baseline: alright alright its a helluva feeling tho

[@kjellgunnartrimbo-forthun6052]

What was your initial reaction the first time you 'experienced' this puzzle?

[@FLEBpuzzles]

I thought it was great! I think if I had written it, I wouldn't have put the extra creatures in, which I don't think the puzzle needs, but it was definitely fun! It was a hard puzzle at the competition, though, with 46 out of the 278 teams that submitted at least one correct answer getting the puzzle!

[@nelm4n]

Nice video, FLEB!

[@FLEBpuzzles]

Thanks!

[@joesyuh]

Fleb is a board gamer!

[@abramespinoza9884]

I love that song

[@nishgirl5]

How did you get from the numbers to the letters OKCORRAL?

[@FLEBpuzzles]

If you look at the spreadsheet, I'm indexing the numbers into the names of the creatures. So for example, DOGFISH has the number 2, so we take the second letter, which is O. BIKINI WHALE has the number 3, so we take the third letter, or K. This is something that's used a lot in puzzlehunt puzzles!

[@zane_sadauskis]

that was a very neat puzzle

[@FLEBpuzzles]

It was one of my favorites from this year's competitions so far!

[@Faithra]

Is it generally accepted to use google to help you get closer to the answer on puzzles like this? I imagine if someone didn't know the song, they'd have a hard time getting anywhere near the answer here

[@pulkitkhattar5104]

totally unique puzzle

[@seanflanagan5674]

crum! I'm not even smart enough to be on your rail - I struggled to grasp the indexing into the name to get the letter. Despite that, I enjoyed the video... crazy!

[@gilbertserrano485]

FLEB great video as always. May i ask for another new blind solve for us fans? thanks :)

[@nutzbruh4705]

Hey FLEB, nice video

[@marikaefer]

So I guess the potatoes were red herrings too, huh? Anyone else realize they're from the Neopets game where you have to count the flying potatoes? ^^

[@milmil5350]

lol this was an actual song?! 😆

[@jello9849]

mil mil yep. It’s actually really good, I suggest you listen to it

[@brandontaylor8762]

So smiley!

[@davesstuff1599]

You are getting fancy!

[@FLEBpuzzles]

I'm trying to improve the quality of my videos!

[@yul2033]

i didn't understand why the 2 it's equal to the letter o, and the 3 it's equal to the letter k, but the number 5 it's o too, english isn't my first lenguaje so i didn't undestand that part.

[@emmh.9549]

Julio Cesar Guillermo Gongora The numbers aren't referring to what order they appear in the alphabet, they refer to the order in which they appear in the word. For instance, O is both 2 and 5 because it is the 2nd place in DOg-fish and 5th place in Sea RObin.

[@yul2033]

ooooook, now it has sense, thanks Emm H.

[@duels]

Cool!

[@katiekawaii]

Love that

[@KevinMilligan]

I feel those cuts at the start are part of another puzzle... Hmmmm

[@FLEBpuzzles]

Nope! I had to replace the second cut, because I had some really awkward phrasing!

[@MultiMikiwiki]

Oh Fleb! You'r cute ))))

[@Tokiokioki]

For me the answer's FISH PARTAY 4:16 DARNIT COMIC SANS

[@sabata2]

Puzzle hunt puzzles are just too much for me.

[@karlkastor]

I thought the fished would trace out the words.

[@FLEBpuzzles]

That's a good idea (in fact, I tried that during the competition), but it just isn't how this puzzle happens to work.

[@gcwrestling888]

FLEB!!!

[@salvagebar]

Damn FLEB - you look like you're 12 years old!

[@tigeryoung5622]

yoooooooo fleb with the face reveal

[@jaylimoig]

I just found it out at 1:29 Its Rock Lobster by The B52's the phrase is "Rock Lobster"

[@RusinMM]

Is Fleb really your name?

[@russgordon9972]

when i heard the video i freaked out

[@dylanbarco952]

Did anyone notice the doge fish lol

[@ozzie2.040]

Chaos the puzzle

[@mluna1237]

It's a Neopets potato counter potato!

[@FLEBpuzzles]

That's awesome that you recognized that! The authors mentioned that it was one in the official solution, but it went right over my head!

[@SailorSerenitySaturn]

The song is creepy af

[@IglooCrafter1]

hella cute

[@SenshiSunPower]

O is not the first letter in "dog".

[@SoulSukkur]

but what of the potato?? what of the xray??

[@FLEBpuzzles]

The potato was extra. In the written solution from the authors, they mention that it's a reference to something from Neopets, but I didn't understand what they were referring to. The "X-Ray Fish" title has a convoluted explanation. A "rock lobster" is a crayfish, which is also known as an ecrevisse, which if you say it out loud, sounds like X-ray fish. I didn't figure this out, it was mentioned in the written solution of the puzzle! I don't think you were supposed to figure it out while solving the puzzle!

[@jaylimoig]

Oh i was wrong

[@Jin-th5gz]

Who saw the dodge fish

[@TamEdwardzz]

I saw a doge fish

[@eraserdusting1840]

Holy FLEB you are goddamn cute~♥️

[@AK-eu1gz]

XD

[@non-pe8xn]

And I'm here trying to figure out how old you are ?

[@FLEBpuzzles]

Under 30!

[@midwestskiesinnyc]

yes a potato

[@FLEBpuzzles]

FINALLY

[@midwestskiesinnyc]

Were you waiting?

[@onometre]

You're a little out of focus at the beginning

[@aclonymous]

ultimatebman nope, that's just his face.

[@FLEBpuzzles]

+ultimatebman So I am! I can't believe I didn't catch that in editing!

[@datboimcd2669]

First!

[@samus88]

Sorry but I don't consider these puzzles. You had to wildly guess things that aren't logical in the slightest. "ok corral", really? I would have guessed Stingray was the answer since it's the one thing from the song that's missing. That's logical. Correlating the sounds to the creatures apperances and using those numbers for the letters of each name it's fucking ridiculous. Makes no sense whatsoever. No disrespect, I'm just saying that I would never play a game like this because to me you have to guess, not logically get to things.

[@edderiofer]

Indeed, this is not a beginner puzzlehunt puzzle. But indexing and matching are standard mechanics used in many puzzlehunt puzzles. Further, there is a principle at play that you shouldn't be given any red-herring information that isn't obviously a red herring; if the solution were really to take the one missing fish from the song, they wouldn't have gone to the trouble of adding the background noises.

[@Castodas]

That is why it is called a puzzle *hunt* puzzle. You are supposed to find the puzzles and find the right way to solve them. Personally, I prefer the more mechanically driven puzzles (not sure the right term for them). But I'm also in your shoes, I think I personally get less enjoyment from this type of puzzle- but then again I'm pretty casual with logical games. I did think this was a very interesting puzzle though; I did expect there to be some sound adjustments needed or even a reversal of the track; but nope, just counting fish and finding the right order of things and a bit of web searching apparently.

[@GlockenspielHero]

Yeah, there are some conventions take some getting used to (and new clever variations are always being made!) However, there's so much about this seemingly arbitrary process that's common to all puzzles: 1) Every puzzle has at least one "extraction" step - several are common, and indexing numbers into words is one of the most basic. 2) It's really not about reading the puzzle creator's mind. Your solution of "Stingray" seems like mindreading to me, since there's a few dozen ways you could pick the "most special" animal... There is, for instance, a unique one with the most instances, a clear biggest one, one that obviously travels the furthest on the screen... Why is "stingray" better than these? OTOH, when you extract individual letters and get an english word or phrase like "OK CORRAL" (rather than nonsense), you know you got it right even before you use the answer checker. 4) The solution is "arbitrary" because it has to be: it's the input to the meta puzzle! In the meta puzzle, you take your solutions as inputs and use them to solve the next puzzle. The metas are usually created first, so "OK CORRAL" was likely the predetermined solution before this puzzle was designed. OTOH, a thematic answer like "stingray" allows people make wild "guesses" at solutions before the puzzle is truly solved! 5) This puzzle is pretty carefully created not to lead you down bad roads. The number of fish is really obvious, as is the order of the sounds. But other signals, like the timing of fish entering and leaving, or the positions and directions on the screen, are deliberately impossible to order, which is a good indication that those are bad roads to go down. (I have a lingering suspicion that FLEB's table might have had quite a few more columns than he's letting on... but most of them would be filled with question marks that indicate the strategy is bogus). 5) I promise anyone that solved it had fun - the "aha" moments must have been really satisfying to hit: Figuring out everything came from the lyrics, then that every sound came from the song itself, then that the numbers and names yielded the right phrase... great stuff. 6) The fact that most people look at this shit and go "What the hell?" "How?" and "Oh come on!"... is also part of the fun!

[@nbbear55]

Kevin O'Toole 1, 2, 4, 5, 5, 6. You making a puzzle comment mate? Seriously though, he and I'm sure others at first glance would guess Stingray because it's the only animal missing. But as you said, these puzzle hunt puzzles ALWAYS require you to find hidden numbers, multiply and divide and combine those numbers, to get more numbers, to change into letters to make a word. I don't personally enjoy them but I like when Fleb solves them for us.

[@Castodas]

I don't think I'd quit at Stingray; but then, I don't think I'd be doing this puzzle unless I was an avid puzzler- in that case I'd probably know that Stingray wasn't quite the right answer. Besides which, this was a tournament, there is no way the answer could be that easy.