YAY!  It’s time for another bonus riddle.  This time around, the prize will be First Contact:  Scientific Breakthroughs In The Hunt For Life Beyond The Earth by Marc Kaufman.  Tom just did a review of this book, and you can look it over here.  Published by Simon & Schuster, the 224-page hardback hit bookstores April 5th, 2011.

Simon & Schuster front book cover, "First Contact" by Marc Kaufman

Remember, the rules for a bonus riddle are different than the rules for the weekly riddle.  Take a moment to review them, and let me know if you have any questions:

• Tom and I will post the bonus riddle at noon CDT, May 2nd.  That’s Monday. You still have two more chances to solve a riddle to become eligible to participate (on Saturday, 04/23 and 04/30).
• Guesses on the bonus riddle will be by email to Tom or Marian.
• You will have 24 hours to submit your guesses; from noon CDT Monday May 2nd, until noon CDT Tuesday May 3rd.
• You get three guesses.
• Comments will be closed on the bonus riddle until after the submission deadline.
• The winner will be the first person to submit the correct answer.  If nobody solves the riddle by noon CDT May 3rd, it will be opened for everybody to give it a shot.
• Tom will have the final say in any controversy.

From noon Monday until noon Tuesday, only the people who have solved a weekly riddle during this cycle can participate.  You know who you are, but we’ll post your name anyway.  If you don’t see your name on the list, and think it should be, email me and let me double check.  On Tuesday we’ll update the riddle to either open it for guesses from everybody or to announce the winner.  To stress a few other points:

• We DO validate your submissions by comparison to previous comments or emails to us.
• We DO NOT give any feedback from your email guesses other than that they were received.
• Don’t wait to submit your first guess until you have three guesses ready; as soon as you’re ready with a guess, email it.

If you have any questions, now is the time to ask!

As of April 16th, the people eligible to submit guesses by email that first 24 hours are:  Roger, Bill, Jerry, Sean, Lee V, George, Suzanne, Rob, Dwight, John, Patrick, and Jeff.  There are only two more riddles until the next bonus riddle, so if your name is already on the list please wait and give someone else a chance to solve these next two riddles.  If you just want to play for your own entertainment and practice, you can email your guesses to me.  I’ll email back and give you hints and pick on you (the same way I usually do in the comments), then give you kudos for having solved it by letting everybody know in the comments, but the riddle will remain open and unsolved.

For those who haven’t done the time conversions yet, the riddle publishes on Central Daylight Time (CDT), which is currently UTC-6.

One last thing:  Nobody (and I do mean nobody) knows the answer to any of these riddles prior to publication except for Tom and me.  Not the weekly riddles; not the bonus riddles.