Science related plothole for TMI2

edited August 2009 in Tales of Monkey Island
Guybrush has to melt down the pyrite parrot in order to fit it into the turtle mold. I always thought that pyrite doesn't melt under high temperatures. Instead it smolders and fills the air with a strong sulfur smell. In fact that's one of the ways to tell it from real gold.

Comments

  • edited August 2009
    Maybe it's a magical... ancient... barbeque... thingy...
  • edited August 2009
    Maybe it's fool's pyrite!
  • edited August 2009
    I see.
  • edited August 2009
    Kolgax wrote: »
    Maybe it's fool's pyrite!

    I lol'd, and stand firmly with this explanation!
  • edited August 2009
    Well, the pyrite came from a Voodoo lady's shop. Who knows what properties it has.
  • edited August 2009
    I sincerely hope you made this thread just for the sake of argument, and not as a serious plothole...
  • edited August 2009
    I'm positive this was intended.. Monkey Island humor don't you think? Melting something that doesn't melt?
  • edited August 2009
    Kiko wrote: »
    I'm positive this was intended.. Monkey Island humor don't you think? Melting something that doesn't melt?
    Actually, making the item you're supposed to melt a mineral that doesn't melt is kind of a bad solution to a puzzle.

    Apparently when Pyrite is burned, it just turns into pyrrhotite and gives off sulfur gas
  • edited August 2009
    TofuHead wrote: »
    Actually, making the item you're supposed to melt a mineral that doesn't melt is kind of a bad solution to a puzzle.

    Apparently when Pyrite is burned, it just turns into pyrrhotite and gives off sulfur gas

    Have you tried that on MAGICAL pyrite? 0_0
  • edited August 2009
    i already wondered about it here...and i am pretty sure you can't smelt down pyrite like in the game. in fact it would probably be quite difficult to shape it like a parrot as well. so, it's got to be magic...or maybe because it's fool's gold, only a fool can handle it like real gold.
  • edited August 2009
    i like how we're debating if we can melt down pyrite on a barbecue built by mermaids.
  • edited August 2009
    Well suspension of disbelief has to be maintained realistically. For example in the recent movie District 9

    (minor spoilers follow, be warned - but it's not a great movie)

    the main character starts turning into an alien because he gets splashed by....alien petrol. Sure. Aliens I can buy. A guy turning into an alien.....maybe - if it was some kind of biological weapon, or the aliens are actually creatures who use other organisms as hosts and transform their bodies....but alien petrol? Nope.

    That's why melting pyrite is also an irritating stretch.
  • edited August 2009
    I think Monkey Island games overall can be described as a science related plothole.
  • edited August 2009
    But you're fine with it being
    perfectly reformed into a parrot at the end of the episode?
    . Besides which, it's called a pyrite parrot, but that doesn't mean it's actually made from pyrite. It's actually made of a super-light gold alloy. The Voodoo Lady was just saying that to throw all those pirates off the scent!
  • edited August 2009
    Also, who can hold their breath underwater for 10 min? It's scientifically impossible!!! I can only do 9, tops.
  • edited August 2009
    I thought you were you going to complain about the
    rubber tree
    .

    Shame on you! :-P
  • [TTG] Yare[TTG] Yare Telltale Alumni
    edited August 2009
    PariahKing wrote: »
    i like how we're debating if we can melt down pyrite on a barbecue built by mermaids.

    This says it all.
  • edited August 2009
    The puzzle confused me for a second, not because I thought that fool's gold wouldn't melt, but because I didn't remember that Pyrite is another word for Fool's Gold. Yes, I learned it at some point, but I had completely forgotten about it. Also, the parrot seemed like such a nice companion that I just couldn't imagine melting him down ... at least for all of five minutes.
  • edited August 2009
    hehe, actually that was the first thing i tried...putting the parrot on the furnace/barbecue even before i had the coal to fire it up. guybrush seemed to be annoyed by the parrot over time and i got the impression that he liked the idea. so parrot and barbecue sounded tempting to me from the start..ragardless from what material the parrot is made and how it might behave when heated..:D
  • edited August 2009
    haha I have a degree in chemistry and I didn't even think about that.. well spotted. that just makes the whole thing cooler I reckon :) really liked that puzzle!
  • edited August 2009
    wisp wrote: »
    hehe, actually that was the first thing i tried...putting the parrot on the furnace/barbecue even before i had the coal to fire it up.
    I detect sadistic tendencies here. You should play FPS games instead to make the politicians happy ;)
  • edited August 2009
    This thread is still going on? Geez, and gamers wonder why people think they are nerds.

    All that needed to be said for this thread was this: It's a game. End of. Finito. Omega.
  • edited August 2009
    It's still going on, but the science stuff is pretty much over. Now it's just YATTIOTN (Yet Another Thread That Is Off-Topic Now)
  • edited August 2009
    How can Ghost Pirate LeChuck exist, let alone PUNCH Guybrush into the sky? >_>
  • edited August 2009
    This thread is still going on? Geez, and gamers wonder why people think they are nerds.

    All that needed to be said for this thread was this: It's a game. End of. Finito. Omega.

    I don't think gamers are nerds at all. Maybe geeks, and even then it depends on the genre. It's not hard to be surprised by how many dumb gamers there are, and I hardly think nerds fall within the definition of dumb.

    And really, are gamers surprised people think they're geeks? Are they really?
  • edited August 2009
    Jerec84 wrote: »
    How can Ghost Pirate LeChuck exist, let alone PUNCH Guybrush into the sky? >_>

    Just because it's sci fi doesn't mean there can't be some ground rules. I mean for gods sake, Guybrush can hold his breath for 10 minutes. Everything has a reason to it. The only reason I can imagine they would make pyrite meltable is because it was manipulated by the voodoo lady--and that's it.
  • edited August 2009
    In real life, can't you place pyrite in a vacuum and pull it out before it boils? Voila - molten pyrite!

    I did notice it was sulphur yellow but didn't think anything more of it, considering I've played Indy2 recently (where you had to drop molten lava into an ancient machine to get a precious metal back).

    I was more upset I was being forced to kill off a character I've grown very fond of. So I was very relieved at the end to see the merleader resurrect it.

    If we really need an explanation as to why we were able to melt pyrite on an ancient open air grill (which we don't), I don't think we need to look further than the Voodoo Lady. She foresaw our need and used her voodoo powers such to manipulate science. I thought it was quite funny to see a flat yellow turtle squawking "It's me, Guybrush Threepwood: Mighty Pirate!"
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