BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Things we will never know but are curious about

**Posted by Davina** March 7, 2012 11:22 am

Damn! That's me being dumb!

Y

**Posted by kazza474** March 7, 2012 11:28 am

Davina wrote:
Damn! That's me being dumb!

Y

Nah, I had to look twice at one stage. But then I read how sales for the tea set went nutso afterwards so I knew it was a complete set.

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** March 7, 2012 12:13 pm

I would love that tea set!

By the way, I'm also pretty sure that Sherlock already knows that Moriarty is left handed. He would have picked up on something like that in their past dealings, so probably gave him the cup the wrong way round on purpose!

**Posted by kazza474** March 7, 2012 12:16 pm

Isn't that what I posted?
*goes to look again*

I didn't make that clear, yeah that's what I meant.
"You wanna sit in the wrong chair, I'll give you the cup the wrong way around then".

Last edited by kazza474 (March 7, 2012 12:18 pm)

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** March 7, 2012 12:36 pm

Right yeah, they're just playing games with each other.

**Posted by tobeornot221b** April 17, 2012 9:25 pm

Mrs Hudson is shouting upwards: "Boys - you've got another one!"
Where are the boys supposed to be? Cleaning the stairs? Playing cards in John's room? Inspecting the rooftop?
Any idea?

**Posted by DrSherlock** April 17, 2012 10:33 pm

I just got back from work, and here I am, Sherlocking again!
I was thinking, you know how SH sometimes has to prove how clever he is? I imagine Young Sherlock Holmes in particular could tell the difference between a heiroglyph and a heiratic, probably even before it's been written down. Elementary!
And SH's eyes are so keen that he could spot clues on the head of a jackalantern in the middle of a valley. Lol! So let's be fair--oh, he's amazing. If the clues are there, he will find them.
Sherlock is such a brilliant show, but surely they didn't put all the clues in, else we would've seen the answer by now. That is, unless someone figured it out and were just nice enough not to plaster it all over the internet and spoil it for everyone else. Come to think of it, that wouldn't be much fun for anyone, would it?
I had my feelings hurt a bit earlier today, but I'll probably get over it. Goodness knows, John had his feelings hurt worse by Sherlock!

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** April 17, 2012 11:21 pm

tobeornot221b wrote:
Mrs Hudson is shouting upwards: "Boys - you've got another one!"
Where are the boys supposed to be? Cleaning the stairs? Playing cards in John's room? Inspecting the rooftop?
Any idea?

Oh right, yeah. Never thought about that before!

**Posted by kazza474** April 18, 2012 10:36 am

DrSherlock wrote:
......
Sherlock is such a brilliant show, but surely they didn't put all the clues in, else we would've seen the answer by now. That is, unless someone figured it out and were just nice enough not to plaster it all over the internet and spoil it for everyone else. Come to think of it, that wouldn't be much fun for anyone, would it?

Read some of the original stories. All the clues ARE usually laid out for the reader & still readers for generations have marvelled when the solution is revealed.
It's the very basis of all Sherlock Holmes stories really; a collection of clues that individually are rather plain/common & easy to notice is laid out for all to see. Now people won't think " oh there is a clue" because they don't realise it IS a clue.
And then someone possibly in a Great Coat with high cheekbones comes along & arranges those 'things/clues' into some kind of order & suddenly a solution is obvious.

When you look at final deductions, all the clues that add together are, on their own quite 'ordinary'. To the average person, they mean nothing. But like any good recipe, add the ordinary together & you can come up with something spectacular.

The shows are all full of 'ordinary' things. The trick is to weed out what is REALLY ordinary & of little consequence & what you have left will be a handful of things that, when joined together are ' brilliant'.

Rest assured, if they have said all the clues are there; then all the clues ARE there.

And as for someone putting it online, who knows? No-one knows until the new series airs. The creators certainly won't be telling; there's far too much free publicity to be had by letting everyone guess/theorise/discuss online in the meantime.
;)

**Posted by Rosey** April 18, 2012 6:34 pm

Back to the tea set for a moment, is that the same one Stephen Fry has in the Stay at home or holiday in Britain thing ad? You know the one with Rupert Grint and Julie Walters?

**Posted by Tantalus** May 25, 2012 6:10 pm

Sorry to change directions, but I'd like to know why (apparently) the only substances found on Moriarty's shoe sole are related to the factory where the children were hidden. If there are other substances present, how does Sherlock know that they are innocuous?

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** May 25, 2012 6:41 pm

Good question! Although it probably wasn't Moriarty that did the actual kidnapping. He doesn't like to get his hands dirty remember...he's above all that...

**Posted by Molly Hooper** May 26, 2012 6:42 am

I think they did it on purpose and replaced their shoes just before going into the school. It was all part of a plan, remember...

**Posted by Smoggy_London_Air** May 28, 2012 2:00 am

Sorry, I'm returning to the subject of tea. Just to offer my experience. As an American tea obviously isn't as large a part of our culture as it is in any part of Britain (or, apparently, Germany). Usually people will offer individual mugs that are much bigger than those cute little teacups. Coffee mugs and tea mugs are usually interchangeable. We do have tea houses where you can get an authentic formal afternoon tea experience but normally when you offer someone tea in your house you make individual mugs to their preference (and you'll ask if they want sugar or cream or half-and-half). No teapot involved. I do, however, get teapot envy all the time.

Now, back on subject. Talking about the clues; in the canon, one reason that we don't see what Sherlock sees is that Watson's observations are biased and limited. Unlike in the series, where we see what everyone sees, when reading the stories we only read what Watson saw. For example in Hound, a person might think of the Man on the Tor, "Hang on, that resembles Holmes quite a bit..." but because we only see it through Watson's eyes we can't see the resemblance.

**Posted by kazza474** May 28, 2012 3:52 am

Tantalus wrote:
Sorry to change directions, but I'd like to know why (apparently) the only substances found on Moriarty's shoe sole are related to the factory where the children were hidden. If there are other substances present, how does Sherlock know that they are innocuous?

As Sherlock said up there^^^ they wouldn't have been Moriarty's shoes.
Anyway, first & foremost to answer your question, when they are testing something like that there will be the usual things eg, carpet fibres from the car, grass from the lawn, dirt from the pavement. At the initial stage they would be looking for unexpected substances. Brick dust/chalk isn't all that common in a school environment for example. Nor would you expect to find the glycerol molecule ( later to be known as chocolate) on a well looked after floor in a boarding school. So really, he selected the 5 unusual finds & developed a theory using those. Had the theory not formed he may have had to go back & retest all other element found.

**Posted by Davina** May 28, 2012 6:01 am

On the subject of tea here. Normally, to be perfectly honest, most of us will make tea in a mug with a tea bag. Some of us may use a teapot but relatively few. For special occasions e.g. People visiting who don't normally visit then we would make tea in a teapot and use the 'best china' i.e. cups and saucers. I would think that most people would still use tea bags rather than loose tea and a strainer. In pubs, restaurants and 'proper' cafes it is usual to have tea served in a pot with cups and saucers. So, to summarise mugs for informal occasions, teapot with cups and saucers for formal occasions.

**Posted by Wholocked** May 28, 2012 6:07 am

Well just to be difficult, I regularly make tea with loose leaves in a pot. I have one on my desk at work right now

But I do often just go for a tea bag as well if I want just one cup.

**Posted by Davina** May 28, 2012 6:56 am

UK tea drinking 'ceremonies' at this end I'm afraid.

**Posted by m0r1arty** May 28, 2012 4:26 pm

They've a weird concept here in Argentina were you all share a cup.

Between that and the kissing as a greeting I'm surprised herpes simplex isn't abound here.

-m0r

**Posted by Davina** May 28, 2012 5:14 pm

Eww! Bit unhygienic! Must say the kissing as a greeting has really become established here over the last few years too, very Continental!