Use it or lose it.

Here’s a little brain teaser for all you smart and literate people out there. (I know the answer because I cheated.)
Last year, a man went on vacation to Key West. He spent most of his time either sport fishing on the high seas or carousing on Duval Street. A friend of his prefered a very different kind of vacation. He liked hiking and camping and using stone-age toilet facilities. So he spent most of his vacation in the woods in California and the Pacific Northwest.
When both men returned from their trips, they compared notes. The first man explained that on his vacation he saw something that, when written down, has all five vowels, and the vowels make up five of the seven letters in the word. ( A-E-I-O-and-U were all in the same word) In fact, he saw not just one, but a few of these things.
His friend replied: “When I got to Key West, I also saw something that when written down has all five vowels in its seven letters. In fact, I saw quite a few of these as well.”
Each man wrote down his seven-letter word, and then they exchanged papers. Both men had written down the same word. But what they saw were very different things.
What did each man see?

4 thoughts on “Use it or lose it.

  1. Hi Elaine,
    The only 7 letter word I know having all 5 vowels is Aerious. Aerious means “of Earth and Sky”.
    Does this have anything to do with your question?

  2. Thanks for taking a shot at it, Stu, but that word’s a little too airy to be the answer. The answer is a lot more tangible — actual things found in each place. I’m hoping some others will try, so I’m not giving the answer away — yet.
    But I like that word. Aerious. Great name for a weblog! And I noticed that “aerious” has all the vowels in the usual order. The word that’s the answer doesn’t.

  3. Hmmm…sequoia? One saw the real thing, one saw the trendy Toyota version?
    They’re not in order, though…did you say in order?
    Wonderful site. I found you through Ronni’s “Time Goes By” blog.
    šŸ™‚

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