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To be, or not to be? is the opening phrase of a soliloquy from Prince Hamlet of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet and also one of the most famous passages in English literature. However, this is not the only question left unanswered both in Shakespeare’s play and in real life. In reality, there are more questions left unanswered than there are answers.
Although it may seem that the older we get, the more answers we gain, the truth is that we only grow to understand how much we still don't know and how many hard questions remain unanswered—and possibly never will be.
While many hard-to-answer questions can be scientifically explained and answered, there are many confusing and hypothetical questions that even science can't provide a solution to.
Despite humans being the only (yet discovered) most intelligent species, some facts are so challenging to uncover that they escape the grasp of human logic. Not everything can be explained at this stage in our lives, and the many unanswered questions stem from this.
For now, the only option is to refer to those questions with no answers as philosophical and hope that perhaps we will find the explanations to all seemingly unanswerable questions in the future.
Below, we’ve compiled some very impossibly hard questions to answer that go beyond the human brain’s abilities. So if you are looking for an easy way to make your brain hurt, the many questions below will do the trick. Do you know of any more confusing questions to ask? Let us know!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Assassination’s Weird Flex
How important do you have to be to be considered assassinated and not just murdered?
CalicoKitty 3 years ago
IMO, it's not about how important you are overall. It's about how your death frees up the path for an overarching goal. Jimmy Who Hates Your Sort and Jane Who Runs A Competing Taco Truck murder you. Johnson Who Finds Your Taco Truck Obstructive To The Taco Mafia assassinates you, and then everyone calls it murder because nobody wants to legitimise the Taco Mafia.
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#2
Wait, So Do We Even Agree on Colors?
How do you know that you see colors the same way that another person sees them? For instance, what if what’s red to you is blue to them, but they still call it red?
#3
This Is Literally Me Every Day
If life is so short, why do we do things that we don’t like and like so many things that we don’t do?
#4
The Most Patient Letter Ever
Isn’t the word ‘queue’ just the letter Q followed by four silent letters?
#5
Golf’s Sneaky Minimalism
Why is the objective of golf to play the least amount of golf?
Weed in the Garden 3 years ago
You need to hear Robin Williams explanation of golf to really understand the game. The Scots invented it - you knock a ball into a gopher hole....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9fXG2v0bS8
#6
Curious Territory: Forehead or Beyond?
How far up do bald people go when they wash their face?
#7
Undead Drama: Who Wins Here?
If a vampire bites a zombie, does the zombie become a vampire or does the vampire become a zombie?
Ash 3 years ago
Neither. Technically, both are undead. The difference between a "vampire" and a "zombie" is the divine spark of consciousness; one eats the thing necessary for life, the other eats what remains after life is gone. Regardless of the source of lore, vampires feed on the *vital essence*, and zombies don't have any *vital essence* left, so there's no nourishment for a vamp. Zombies, typically, are created via a virus, and since vampires are already undead, they can't be infected by a virus.
#8
Wait, am I the glitch or the game?
How do you know you’re not crazy and just hallucinating your whole life?
#9
Time traveler vibes, low-key genius
How did the person who invented the calendar know what day it was?
#10
Plot twist: Nose knows best
What would happen if Pinocchio said ‘My nose will grow now’?
Alias Delfs 3 years ago
The world would blip out of existence from the resulting paradox thanks a lot Pinocchio
#11
Time well wasted, no regrets
If you had fun while you were wasting time, can you still say that you wasted time?
#12
Blind faith, or just winging it?
Do caterpillars know that they’re going to be butterflies or do they build the cocoon not knowing what will happen?
BeardedVulture 3 years ago
Remember: if a caterpillar has to become literal goo in order to become a butterfly, that means it’s only natural for you to fall apart a bit before you can put yourself back together.
Eliza Osenbaugh-Stewart 3 years ago
I doubt they are capable of thought. They operate on instinct.
The Kitten Overlord 2 years ago
I would think they can at least feel scared, right?
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Frank Miller 3 years ago
Don't know, but what I do know is that they don't just get skinnier bodies, grow longer legs and wings, but they go through an entire metamorphosis, in which they changed into a sack of mucus. And when they come out of it they still have the memories they had from when they were caterpillars. At least that's what scientists claim. Not really sure how they prove that...
Crybabyartist 2 years ago
Monarch butterflies, migrate from north America, from a milkweed where they were born and a caterpillar..become a butterfly, fly to Mexico and then back to if not the very same plant where they were caterpillars to one within a few feet... they have been very precisely studies and tracked and marked. You can always do a search and actually spend some time learning on your own too..
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CosmikPowa 313 2 years ago
The mind of a caterpillars is very primitive. They probably cannot form an 'expectation' and be 'surprised' when what they 'expected' didn't happen.
Frank Miller 2 years ago
A recent study claims that butterflies have memories from when they were caterpillars.
Aisling (she/they) 3 years ago
This also might mean caterpillars might not realise they're the same species as butterflies.
#13
The feline conspiracy deepens
Why isn’t there mouse-flavored cat food?
Red Hair Blue Soul 3 years ago
Why don't they just make it butt flavored? They are always licking theirs anyway?
#14
Lost and Found in Brain Fog
Where does a thought go when it’s forgotten?
#15
Questioning the \"New and Improved\" Paradox
When they say that something is ‘new and improved’, how can it be improved if it’s new? What is it improving on?
Weed in the Garden 3 years ago (edited)
Currently, it means the package is smaller with fewer contents while more expensive.
#16
Makes zero sense but here we are
Why do people say that they ‘slept like a baby’ if they slept through the night when babies are known for not sleeping?
#17
Because calendar drama is real
Why did we decide to give February just 28 days when lots of other months have 31 days? Couldn’t we have just taken some of the 31st days from other months and added them to February?
Laura Ketteridge 3 years ago
TED-Ed has a video all about this. :o) https://ed.ted.com/best_of_web/MXwQDDs8
#18
The Ultimate Genre Debate
Where do they put the bible in libraries – fiction or non-fiction section?
#19
When “Cold” Means Nothing Cold
Why do they say that you have a cold when your temperature goes up?
Dennis Rowe 3 years ago
Our brains make us feel cold to help implement several physiologic measures to produce a fever.
#21
Same species, wildly different job titles
Why is Goofy considered a person and Pluto considered a pet when they’re both dogs anyway?
#22
Mind-Bending Dream Logic
If you had a dream that none of your dreams would come true, and you woke up and had none of your real-life dreams come true, would that be a dream come true?
kitten levels tokyo 3 years ago
I feel like these are all just the same question worded 153 different ways.
#23
Wait, so being told to lead is just following?
If you told someone to ‘be a leader and not a follower’, wouldn’t they become a follower by following your advice?
#24
Words that refuse to update
Why are they called buildings if they’re already built?
kitten levels tokyo 3 years ago
For some reason the word “erection” fell out of use in the construction industry.
#25
Wait, dogs are the taste testers now?
How do we know that a new dogfood has an “improved taste”?
#26
Mind-Bending Strength Test
If you punch yourself and it hurts, are you weak or are you strong?
#27
Mind-Blowing Food Logic
If tomatoes are a fruit, is ketchup considered a smoothie?
#28
Wait, Do Deaf People Even Hear Thoughts?
What do people who are born deaf hear when they think?
#29
Worms vs. Patience: The Real Playbook
If the early bird gets the worm, why do good things come to those who wait?
#30
Mind-Bending Brain Teaser
Is the opposite of opposite the same or opposite?
Laura Ketteridge 3 years ago
'Left' is the opposite of 'right'. 'Right' is the opposite of 'wrong'. 'Left' and 'wrong' are not the same, but neither are they opposites. :o)
#31
Objectivity? Lol, good luck with that
Is it really possible to experience anything objectively?
Weed in the Garden 3 years ago
Disappointingly, the answer is no. People cannot experience anything objectively. Although we can do scientific tests and use our collective human minds to figure out how the universe works, we will always be experiencing reality from our own perspective. Therefore, very little in life is actually objective.
#33
Instant Applause Energy Boost
Why do we hit our hands together (clapping) when we like something?
#34
Mind-Bending Success Paradox
If you’re trying to fail and you succeed, did you fail or did you succeed?
#35
Wait, the dictionary might be lying?
If a word is misspelled in the dictionary, will we ever know it?
CalicoKitty 3 years ago
Switch the US and UK dictionaries and you can survey the academics to find out >:)
#36
Forever young, forever confused
If the fountain of youth can make you live forever, can you drown in it and still die?
CalicoKitty 3 years ago
It makes you young, so I expect it performs some wacky DNA-repair-telomere-extension alongside all that Magic Physical Morphing. Last I checked, this doesn't make you a fish, so I expect you'd still die. But at least you'd be a youthful corpse...?
#37
Plot twist: shoes don’t play fair
If Cinderella’s shoe fit her perfectly, then why did it fall off?
#38
Freezer’s Dark Secret Revealed
Why is there a fridge light but no freezer light?
#39
Blink or wink? The cyclops dilemma
If a cyclops were to close its eye, is it winking or blinking?
#40
English Is Confusing, But We Roll With It
Why do we cook bacon and bake cookies?
#41
Self-Hating Haters Club?
If you hate haters, does that make you a hater and will you hate yourself?
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
I don't hate haters, though. I don't tolerate their behavior, and I find it disturbing that someone taught them to hate, but I don't hate them. I pity them. They're unnecessarily impoverishing their lives by automatically excluding people based on things that don't matter, like skin color or gender.
#42
Mystery of the Number 2 Pencil
If the number 2 pencil is the most popular, why is it number 2?
#43
Bold move for breakfast goals
What was the first man to milk a cow trying to do?
Laura Ketteridge 3 years ago
Humans have been making milk for their babies since long before we had language. People would understand the similarities between mammals feeding their young. The first person to milk a cow would undoubtedly be trying to milk a cow!
#44
Plot twist: Revenge is dessert
If revenge is a dish that’s best served cold, and revenge is sweet, then is revenge ice cream?
Phoebe Stein 3 years ago
*sigh* NO IT'S A MILKSHAKE! (made with your enemy's blood of course!)
#45
Ghosting forever, huh?
How long will you be remembered after the day that you die?
#46
Mind-Bending Brain Teaser
If you expect the unexpected, doesn’t that make the unexpected expected?
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
You can't expect the unexpected. Doing so changes the event from "unexpected" to "expected."
#47
Forever stuck in your awkward phase?
When you get to heaven, do you look as you do at the age that you die?
Duesvolent90 3 years ago
That'd be cool. "What age shall you present yourself henceforth?" uhhh let's do 18 NO 22!
#48
Plot twist: Nature’s sugar hack
How do you grow a seedless fruit?
Alias Delfs 3 years ago
Most of the time the plant is the hybrid offspring of two fertile species
#49
Mind-Bender Alert: Halfway From Where?
If you are halfway from your destination, is it from the beginning or the end?
#50
English is wild, but okay
Why does “slim chance” and “fat chance” have the same meaning?
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
They don't. "Slim chance" means there's a possibility, however minute. "Fat chance" means "no way in Hell, dude."
#52
When Cats Break the Dog Pile Rules
If a bunch of cats jump on top of each other, is it still called a dog pile?
#53
Plot Twist: Spoiler, No One Knows
Is there life after death?
Weed in the Garden 3 years ago
If I could find the answer to this question on BP, I could finally justify the hours I spend here.
#54
The Paradox You Didn’t See Coming
If you describe something as indescribable, haven’t you already described it?
#55
Sheep Problems We Didn’t Know Existed
Do sheep get static cling when they rub against one another?
#56
Good vs. Evil: Still No Receipt
Is it possible to know what is truly good and what is evil?
#57
Mind Games or Free Will?
Do you ever really do anything out of your own conscious choice, or are we always controlled by some external stimulation or motive?
#58
The Ship That Wasn’t
If you took a ship and replaced all of its parts until none of the original parts are intact anymore, is it the same ship or a completely different ship?
#59
Debt: Global Oops, We Did It Again
How is it possible that the world is in debt?
#60
Alphabetical Anarchy, Honestly
Why is the alphabetical order that way? Who said that that’s the order that it had to be?
Dennis Rowe 3 years ago
Ask the Romans and Greeks. Then ask the crazy people who invented English.
#61
Mind-Boggling Night Visions
Can blind people dream?
Laura Ketteridge 3 years ago
Yes, blind people dream. Blind does not mean they are totally blind. Most blind people still have some sight. However, even totally blind people might be able to dream in pictures. If they have had sight, then the chances are high they will dream with pictures, but that can fade over the years. If a person has never seen, then their dream worlds are created from other sensory information (smell, touch, taste, vibrations, heat, etc).
#62
Mind blown: silent letters exist?
In the word ‘scent’, which letter is silent? S or C?
#63
Wait, so it’s just infinite empty?
What would a room made of mirrors look like if there was nothing inside that room to create a reflection?
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
Pitch black. If there was nothing inside the room to create a reflection, then there could not be a light source inside the room, as the source would reflect. Without light, there can be no reflection, therefore the room would be dark.
#64
Existence’s OG mystery
Was there ever a time when nothing existed or has something always been in existence?
#65
The Great Armrest Debate
Which arm rest is yours in the movie theater?
#66
Indecisive About Being Indecisive?
If you decide to be indecisive, which are you?
#67
When you’re both in the struggle club
Is it okay for an endangered animal to eat an endangered plant?
#68
Plot twist: yes, they actually do
Do prison buses have emergency exits?
#69
Wait, Do Fortune Cookies Expire?
Is there a time limit on fortune cookie predictions?
Dennis Rowe 3 years ago
Only if qualified in the message, or death will usually render it meaningless.
#70
Mind Games or Cosmic Script?
Do we have free will or is everything predestined?
CalicoKitty 3 years ago
Define "free will". Define "will", and "free" too, while you're at it. Wait - define "predestined" as well, and "random", and "imaginary", and "reality", and - oh no brain hurty :(
#71
Colors throwing shade at fruits since forever
Which orange came first – the fruit or the color?
Alias Delfs 3 years ago
The fruit, orange(the color was called red, bonus almost all of history blue was called black)
#72
Existence Called Out
What is freedom and does it really exist?
#73
Existential Belly Button Debate
If God created Adam and Eve, did they have belly buttons?
#74
Weather’s indecisive mood swings
When does it stop being partly sunny and start to become partly cloudy?
#75
Waiting so long you become the staff
Isn’t it that when you wait for the waiter to come back with your order, you become the waiter in the process?
#76
Mistakes: Why We’re Low-Key Scared of Growth
If we learn and improve from our mistakes, why are we so afraid to make mistakes?
#77
Winning the Longevity Game, Slightly Slower
Isn’t good health just a slower rate at which to die?
#78
Time just couldn’t wait, huh?
If a baby’s bum pops out of its mother at 11:59 PM, and the head comes out at 12:01 AM, what day will the baby be declared to be born on?
Benita Valdez 3 years ago
Birth- the emergence of a baby or other young from the body of its mother; the start of life as a physically separate being. That being said, once the baby is fully out then time is declaired.
#79
Science’s sneaky little secret
Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
#80
Plot twist: It’s always no, right?
Is your answer to this question ‘no’?
#81
Color? More Like a Mind Bender
What is the color of a mirror?
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
All colors. Mirrors reflect light, and light is the combination of all colors in the spectrum.
#82
Guess the ocean’s reaction to us all diving in
What would happen to the world’s oceans if every person on Earth jumped into the water at the same time?
#83
Brain Freeze Meets Color Confusion
Why is vanilla ice cream color white when vanilla itself is color brown?
CalicoKitty 3 years ago
Real vanilla is expensive and vanilla extracts/essences are awful in significantly colouring qualities.
#85
Brain Teaser or Mind Twister?
If nothing is impossible, then would it be possible for something to be impossible?
#86
Brain’s way of trolling us again
Why do noses run but feet smell?
#87
Living in Perpetual Tomorrowland
Will tomorrow ever come?
#88
Time’s awkward pause button question
Would time continue if everything in the world was frozen?
Joseph Grimmett 3 years ago
Times flow has nothing to do with our planet. Our planet could completely be destroyed, and eventually will be, and time would still keep going.
#89
Mind-Bending Without the Sky
What would the water look like if the sky didn’t exist?
#90
Homework, but make it complicated
Can a homeless kid ever be given homework?
#91
Plot twist: save the heart, short-circuit death?
If a guy that was about to die in the electric chair had a heart attack should they save him?
#92
Plot twist: Clown meat’s a vibe
Do cannibals think clowns taste funny?
#93
Time’s got jokes, right?
When did time begin?
#95
Existential Crisis? Same Here
What is the goal of humanity?
#96
Deep Thoughts, No Cap
What is ‘god’?
BoredPip 3 years ago
1. (in Christianity and other monotheistic religions) the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the supreme being. 2. (in certain other religions) a superhuman being or spirit worshipped as having power over nature or human fortunes; a deity. can't give anything more than that I'm afraid XD
#97
Kinda feels both, right?
Did you arrive at this point in your life because you willed it or because you were destined to be here?
#98
Wait, my eyes have a shape now?
What shape is your field of vision?
Phoebe Stein 3 years ago
Sideways oval I believe; because you don't have a sqaure shaped set of eyes, and your eyes themselves are such shape.
#100
Mind over matter, literally?
Is a body transplant just the same as a brain transplant?
#101
Mind-Bending Geography Moment
How far east do you have to go before you start going west?
#102
Plot twist: They’re the only allowed fans
Are children who act in R-rated movies allowed to watch the film when it’s done?
#103
Wait, Are Brows Hair or What?
Do you consider eyebrows facial hair?
#104
Brace Yourself for the Afterlife
Do they bury people with their braces still on or do they remove them?
Amy Adams 3 years ago (edited)
If the family requests them to be removed for whatever reason, it will be honored by the mortician. However, in most cases, the removal of braces would be completely unnecessary as they sew the jaw and mouth shut. They also will cover the teeth with cotton before sewing shut to give the mouth a "fuller" appearance.
#105
When everyone agrees, is that the real tea?
If everyone says that life is unfair, doesn’t that mean that life is fair?
CalicoKitty 3 years ago
Fairness doesn't necessarily equate to equal treatment. A systematically unfair system isn't fairer, it just sucks universally.
#106
Mind-Blown Soap Dilemma
If you drop your soap on the floor, does the floor become clean or does the soap become dirty?
Ellie Vanille 3 years ago (edited)
The soap becomes dirty... and the floor becomes slippery. (If all it took for the floor to be clean was a soap to land on it, I would be throwing soaps around my flat for quick and fun cleaning.)
#107
Caregiver vs. Caretaker, Who Knows?
Why are caregivers and caretakers the same thing?
#109
Not the mood, literally every time
Why do people have to die?
#110
So... killing bad guys is okay?
If killing people is wrong, then why do we kill people that kill people?
#111
Time’s just a weird human flex
Why do we base our age off of the number of times we went around a burning ball of gas?
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
Because it's human nature to impose order on perceived chaos. We like things tidy.
#112
Falling, floating, or physics trolling you?
If you were to dig a hole that went through the center of the Earth and you jumped through, would you be falling or floating upwards?
#113
Philosophy’s Ultimate Mic Drop
What happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force?
#114
License to Dye
What hair color do they put in bald people’s driver’s licenses?
Rod McCabe 3 years ago
My license uses my original wonderful hair color (brown) (which is now gray).
#116
Wait, who put that there?
Why did they put the word ‘dictionary’ in the dictionary?
#117
Grounded comedian energy
What do you call a fly without its wings?
#118
Bless you, deity?
If God sneezed, what would you say?
#119
Talk Less, Do More—Seriously
When all is said and done, would you have said more than you have done?
#120
Time Travel: Group Chat Pending
Will you exist in the future if you can’t ever go there?
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
You ARE going there. Constantly. At the rate of one second per second.
#121
Wait, Did the Rock Just Blink?
If, in an instant, a moving object looks the same as an unmoving object, is movement possible?
CalicoKitty 3 years ago
Motion describes the property of appearing in different points in space over time, relative to a given point. It's not an innate property, but rather a concept used to stop the physicists going insane and turning the LHC into a death ray ;)
#122
Brain Movies or Secret Messages?
What are dreams?
#123
Deep Thoughts, Shallow Deadlines
What is the purpose of setting goals if we all die anyway?
Dav Carro-Ripalda 3 years ago
Goals are set to be achieved before you die. It is way to keep you moving while you are alive instead of waiting for your death on your sofa.
#124
When Does Old Age Officially Start?
What age should a person be considered old enough to die of old age?
#125
Plot twist or totally unscripted?
To what degree have you been able to control the course that your life has taken?
#126
Deep Thoughts at 2 AM
Why are you here at this very moment in your life?
#127
Rules with a side of “except when”
If we need to follow rules at all costs, then why do we make exceptions to these rules?
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
Because every ethical situation includes nuance. Is it wrong to kill someone? Yes. What if that someone attacked you with the intent to kill you, and you killed him in self-defense? Still wrong? Not so much.
#128
And here we are, still wondering
Why does anything exist?
#129
Time’s just messing with us, right?
What is the purpose and meaning of time?
#130
Just a blip in cosmic history?
Do our human accomplishments have a long-term, universal significance, or when the world ends, do we all end with it, including what we’ve achieved?
Rod McCabe 3 years ago
It may be disquieting to some but the Earth is so damn tiny & insignificant that losing it (or the entire galaxy) won't even be a blip on the cosmic radar.
#131
Evolution’s awkward family reunion
If we evolved from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?
Gates Ortt 3 years ago (edited)
We didn't evolved from monkeys. Humans and apes had a common ancestor from which we both evolved. Dogs came from wolves and we still have wolves
#133
Wait, You Can Yawn in Your Sleep?
Can you yawn when you are asleep?
Benita Valdez 3 years ago
Though why we yawn is still up for debate, Dr. Matthew Ebben has reported in the New York times that it can happen but is very rare (google)
#134
Travel or just skywalking?
If we could fly, would we still say we are traveling somewhere?
#135
Plot twist: Fish have feelings too
Can a fish get seasick?
Rod McCabe 3 years ago
Like when they're doing sea-weed? Pods of dolphins are known to pass around pufferfish. To get a buzz?
#136
The Classic Brain Teaser, Still Unsolved
Which came first – the chicken or the egg?
Doctor Strange 3 years ago
The egg. Eggs existed long before chickens. If you are specifically referencing the chicken egg, it is still the egg, laid by whatever species would ultimately evolve into the chicken.
#137
Love’s greatest myth busted
Are soul mates a real thing?
#138
Local slang hits different
What do they call french kissing in France?
Ellie Vanille 3 years ago
Un baiser amoureux (a love kiss). But I don't know anyone who uses that expression. Usually we use slang : "Se rouler une pelle".
#139
Dentists: DIY or Doctor’s Visit?
Do dentists go to other dentists or do they treat their own dental care problems?
Angelo Attoni 3 years ago
Apparently they cannot do everything on their own, just try to imagine if you were trying to look into your mouth...by holding a small mirror in one hand and another tool on the other it wouldn't be the most convenient way to do your teeth, to put it mildly.
#140
Height Doesn’t Equal Shade
If you were shorter than someone, would it be possible to talk down to them?
#141
Meta mystery: origin edition
When you buy something that’s made in China while you’re in China, does it still have the made in China tag?
Rod McCabe 3 years ago
Well. We have made in America tags on things (good or bad). So I imagine many Chinese folks are proud of what they produce. So, yes, they're labeled as being from China.
#142
Philosophy or just forest noise?
If a tree fell in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?
#143
Debate That’s Older Than Dirt
Which came first: the Sun or the Earth?
#144
Nighttime mind wanderings?
Can you have a daydream at night-time?
#145
When your arm’s the only VIP at the wake
If a person dies at sea and only their arm is recovered, how would he be displayed in a casket? Does it need to be a full sized casket?
Dav Carro-Ripalda 3 years ago (edited)
How do you know who does it belong to? Who would pay for the casket? Would all the families in the world who lost somebody at sea and not recovered the body, attend the funeral?
What do you think ?
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