Fractalia

What is Fractalia?

2009-03-03T21:21:00.000-08:00

Imagine an adventure story where unsolved puzzles spread chaos throughout the land and a clever solution to an unsolved puzzle can release enough energy to undo its chaos.

Imagine a puzzle where there are 30 known answers and more out there waiting to be discovered.

Imagine an interactive book where cunning readers can come up with answers that are better than the ones given in the book and then submit their answers online for all to see.

Imagine a world in which almost everything has the shape of a fractal.

This is Fractalia!

Get the book at either www.booklocker.com or www.amazon.com.

2007-09-03T07:07:00.001-07:00

This wonderful picture of a two-to-four was drawn by Rose, age 11.

A two-to-four stands about 7 feet tall. When this kreature wants to sit down, it leans back and two small legs drop down from behind its large legs so it can sit in place to graze with its long snout. It goes from having two legs to four legs. The extra legs are hidden in the fur behind its large legs.

Because it looks like it is sitting on a chair while it is grazing, it is also called a "chair-grazer."

2007-09-03T06:45:00.001-07:00

This picture of Brandelmoat was drawn by Rose, age 11.

Brandelmoat is a Talian scientist and mathematician. She has fractal ear lobes and fractal hair. Her hair is straight until her waist and then gets wavy in a fractal pattern.

She invented fractalvision goggles that allow you to see the chaotic puzzles that are normally invisible and she monitors the spread of chaotic energy using advanced equipment deep below the surface in Core Cavern.

She loves all the math behind fractals and chaos theory.

2007-08-27T06:52:00.001-07:00

This incredible picture of Honig was drawn by Rose, age 11.

Honig was a Talian that was caught by Kayoz and mutated into a kreature. Honig now helps spread Kayoz's chaotic puzzles and tries to send other Talians into brainlock so they can be caught and mutated into kreatures.

A mutated Talian is zombie-like and so is called a Zalian.

2007-08-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

A root-tail is one of the kreatures of Fractalia. This awesome picture was drawn by Rose, age 11.

A root-tail can use its mouth to eat but it can also force its muscular tail into the ground and take up nutrition like a plant does. It will sit there for days sleeping while its tail takes in nutrition from the soil.

You don't want to wake up a root-tail when its tail is in the ground. It gets very angry, rips its tail from the ground, and chases after you. It leaves a huge hole in the ground so be careful not to fall in.

2007-08-26T17:00:00.001-07:00

This is a wonderful picture of Wudlig created by Rose, age 11.

Wudlig is the wisest and oldest resident of Fractalia. He has a fractal beard and teaches the Talians how to solve the puzzles so they can battle the kreatures. He teaches them how to make sense out of any nonsense.

As Wudlig always says, "There is no such thing as nonsense for those who have eyes to see."

Outtie #24

2006-09-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

What does this look like?

Send in your answer.

Outtie #23 (as difficult as...)

2006-09-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

Complete the phrase "as difficult as..."

Examples:
"as difficult as herding cats"
"as difficult as catching your own shadow"

Outtie #22 (Headlines)

2006-09-03T06:45:00.000-07:00

Create a headline for the following news story.

"A fast food restaurant burns to the ground overnight."

Go ahead, put in a pun.

Examples:
"Burger King Gets Flame-Broiled"
"Where There's Smoke, There's Fries"

Outtie #21

2006-08-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

What does this look like?

Send in your answer.

Outtie #20

2006-08-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

What does this look like?

Send in your answer.

Outtie #19 (Out of Place)

2006-08-09T18:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some common phrases for saying something is extremely out of place.

"He's a fish out of water."
"She's a square peg in a round hole."

Create new phrases for being extremely out of place. You may phrase your answer as a simile, as follows.

Example:"He's as out of place as a Red Sox fan in an all-Yankee section."

Outtie #18 (Strange Sentences)

2006-08-04T17:08:00.000-07:00

"The stars have ears."

Here is a strange sentence. Suppose you walked by a group of people and heard one of them say this sentence. What was the group talking about? Create a situation in which it would make perfect sense to say this sentence.

Example:
There are so many satellites in the sky watching and listening. It is as if the stars have ears.

Outtie #17

2006-07-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

What does this look like?

Send in your answer.

Outtie #16

2006-07-20T07:13:00.000-07:00

What does this look like?

Send in your answer.

Outtie #15

2006-07-15T03:57:00.000-07:00

What does this look like?

Send in your answer.

Outtie #14

2006-07-10T17:58:00.000-07:00

What does this look like?

Send in your answer.

Outtie #13

2006-07-07T04:59:00.000-07:00

On page 160 of Fractalia, the youth rescue one of the Talians who is brainlocked. To be brainlocked means to be frozen in mind and body because a puzzle, an outtie, has stumped you.

Solving the puzzle will unfreeze the brainlocked Talian and send out an energy ripple that will freeze all the kreatures in the area for a while so you can escape. The better your solution the bigger the energy ripple will be and the longer the kreatures will remain frozen.

Can you solve the outtie?

Remember, outties have many, many answers. Maybe your answer is better than the ones given in the book. Send in your answer!

If you have the book, you can play along with this outtie. If you need to get the book, you can get one from either http://www.booklocker.com/ or http://www.amazon.com/.

Outtie #12

2006-06-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

What does this look like?

Send in your answers!

Outtie #11

2006-05-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

"knee box"

This phrase could mean many things.

What do you think it means?

Outtie #10

2006-05-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

A new glyph outtie.

What does it look like?

Send in your answer.

Outtie #9

2006-04-29T02:23:00.000-07:00

What does this look like?

Send in your answer!

(David, age 14, also created this one.)

Outtie #8

2006-04-23T10:09:00.000-07:00

Another glyph outtie.

David, age 14, created this one also.

What does it look like?

Send in your answer!

Outtie #7 (Two-Holed Donut)

2006-04-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

Create a clever name for a two-holed donut so people will want to buy it. Send in your answers.

Imagine a two-holed donut. Here's a sketch of its basic shape.

You can add things to the donut if it helps you come up with a good name. Please describe what you added when you send in your answer.

What is a fractal?

2006-04-17T07:37:00.000-07:00

Send in examples of fractals from Earth or from Fractalia.

What is a fractal?

Almost all things in Fractalia are fractal. Many things on Earth are also.

A fractal is a pattern that repeats itself as you go smaller and smaller. Let's make a simple fractal. Start with a straight line (as in the top of the picture). To make the second line from the first one, just put a pointy bump in the middle of the line. Now let's make the third line from the second line. Everywhere there is a straight line replace it with one that has a pointy bump in the middle.

The line keeps getting bumpier and bumpier. This is an example of a fractal because the same pattern repeats itself as you go smaller and smaller.

Trees are fractals because they start out as a trunk that splits off into many branches. Each branch splits off into smaller branches again and again until you reach the twigs. The same pattern repeats itself as you go smaller, so it is a fractal.

Send in other things from Earth or from Fractalia that are fractals.

Outtie #6 (The Pumpkin Challenge)

2006-04-14T01:45:00.000-07:00

On page 75 of Fractalia, the youth (Darren, Sandra, Neelon, and Maria) are trapped in a deep pit with no way out. They haven't had water in two days! They have to figure out how to use the things around them in an unusual way so they can stay alive.

Just like the characters in the book, I want you to practice using normal things in unusual ways.

For this outtie, you will have to use a pumpkin in an unusual way. What unusual thing can you make with a pumpkin? Or, what new thing can you do with a pumpkin?

In your "invention," you can use anything else you want to with your pumpkin. Also, you can use more than one pumpkin.

I will start you off with two examples. So, the first two comments are from me.

Outtie #5

2006-04-09T04:53:00.000-07:00

Another glyph outtie.

This one was created by David, age 14.

What does it look like?

Send in your answer!

Outtie (Puzzle) #4

2006-04-08T05:04:00.000-07:00

On page 92 of Fractalia, one of the youth gets caught in a kreatureless trap, which is a powerful energy field that the evil Kayoz sets up around Fractalia. The only way to escape the trap is to solve the outtie at the center of the trap.

Solving the outtie will blow the trap apart in a wild explosion. The better your solution the bigger the explosion will be.

Can you solve the outtie? (This is the first word outtie in the book.)

Remember, outties have many, many answers. Maybe your answer is better than the one given in the book. Send in your answer!

If you have the book, you can play along with this outtie. If you need to get the book, you can get one from either http://www.booklocker.com/ or http://www.amazon.com/.

Outtie (Puzzle) #3

2006-04-03T04:47:00.000-07:00

Here's another glyph outtie.

What does it look like?

Send in your answer!

Talians have fractal ear lobes.

2006-04-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

Talians have fractal ear lobes. Each Talian's ear lobe pattern is unique. Here is a sketch of Bonzi's right ear made when he was born.

Here also is the first paragraph of the book.

"The Fractalians, Talians for short, were a folk who were known by their ears. Their ear lobes were fractal, as was just about everything else in their world. What is a fractal, you ask? Well, for now, let us say it is a pattern that repeats itself as you go smaller and smaller. When a Talian was born the unique pattern on his ear lobes was recorded. You could tell what family a Talian was from by his ears. Talians did not look deep into another’s face or eyes to tell that. They just looked at the ears."

Outtie (Puzzle) #2

2006-03-31T06:12:00.000-08:00

Here is an outtie that is not used in the book. I will also post outties that are not in the book so everyone can play. This outtie uses a picture called a glyph. So, the outtie is called a glyph outtie. (There are also word outties, connection outties, etc.)

Look at the glyph on the left. What does it look like?

It could be a tree. It could be a golf ball on a tee. It could be a bowling ball falling upon and crushing a soda can. There are many, many things it could be. What do you think it is? Send in your answer!

Outtie (Puzzle) #1

2006-03-27T16:29:00.000-08:00

On page 77 of Fractalia, the youth (Darren, Sandra, Neelon, and Maria) have to solve their first puzzle.

The youth are trapped in a deep pit. There is no way out. There are four simple pictures carved into the pit wall. These pictures are like doodles, but they are called glyphs. What do the glyphs mean? That is the puzzle. Can you decode the glyphs? There is an illustration of the glyphs on page 69.

Remember, this puzzle is an outtie so it has many answers. Maybe your answer is better than the one created by the youth in the book. Send in your answer!

If you have the book, you can play along with this outtie. If you need to get the book, you can get one from either www.booklocker.com or www.amazon.com.

Welcome to Fractalia!

2006-03-27T05:52:00.000-08:00

This is Fractalia, an exciting new adventure series with strange shapes (fractals), bizarre puzzles (outties), and a fierce battle against Kayoz and his mutant kreatures.

In upcoming posts, you will be able to send in your answers to the outties because your answers might be better than the answers given in the book!

What are outties, you ask? Like bellybuttons, there are two types of puzzles: innies and outties. Most puzzles created today are innies that converge inward to only one right answer. Outties open out to an unlimited number of answers.

Outties are the next great frontier in puzzles and you can play along by sending in your answers to the outties.

If you have the book, you can play along with the puzzles. If you need to get the book, you can get one at either www.booklocker.com or www.amazon.com.