...and the Winner of our first Pop Quiz - a Draw!

Gang, I would like to announce the winner of last week's Pop Quiz and give you the visual answer to my question. The contest was heated, with many of you sending in correct guesses, which means the prize will go to he or she who replies first. Problem - the first two correct guesses were sent in at the exact same time.

Here is a breakdown of guesses and (Beijing) date/time they were received:

Mama - June 29 1:50am: "evacuation rope" (great idea Mom, I'll be sure to try it sometime)
Mama - June 29 1:53am: "support rope for window cleaning people's platform"
Lissa - June 29 1:53am: "I am pretty sure it's for men who clean the windows, right? I mean, it's not like 23rd floor is really high, but if its an office building, they probably have lots of those long windows that you can't really clean with your hand sticking from inside out." (Analytic, isn't she?)
Vitia M - June 29 4:53am "rope is a coaxial cable transporting tv signal" (winner of Smartest-Answer-to-my-Dumb-Question award)
Carl - June 30 11:08am: "Window cleaning?"
Angela's Mom - July 3 12:27pm: "the rope outside your window is attached to a hook and harness which is buckled on to a window cleaner" (all technicalities considered, probably the most correct guess)

The answer:




Okay, okay, I see you out there, you're dubious, you will attempt to use your superior logic and argue with me that only Lissa should get the award - after all, the cleaning people did not use a "platform" per se, so Mom shouldn't be considered a winner. Well, naysayer, since Mom did not sufficiently clarify the precise definition of the term "platform", we can call the harness around the window-washer's body a platform - a "platform" to which a support rope is attached, with combination of the above intended to be used as a device providing safety to individuals cleaning windows in high-rise office buildings.

Pop Quiz Winners: Mom, Lissa. Winners will receive unique gifts (TBD) from China.
Honorary Winner: Vitia M, for providing a great guess as to the nature of the rope. Vitia will receive a Chinese-designed, Chinese-built TV set circa 1955 (rope antennae standard) for his troubles. Just kidding, but Vitia will get a cool gift nonetheless - so send me interesting answers next time around.

Stay tuned for more quizzes!