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Can the Elves do magic?
It's mentioned many times throughout Tolkien's work that the Elves (High Elves mostly) are in some way more powerful than Men. We hear many times, for example, that Rivendell and Lórien are mostly safe places from Sauron's attacks.
The only example…
Javier
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How could Ron possibly believe that "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow..." is a real spell?
In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, George convinces Ron that the following nonsensical poem is a spell:
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
But Ron has grown up in a wizarding home, and has presumably heard…
Luke
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What age group did Tolkien write The Hobbit for?
Tolkien wrote The Hobbit as a story for children. However, I've never seen a specific age mentioned. Did Tolkien intend the story for young children or for teens?
What reading level should a child be at to understand and enjoy The Hobbit?
Memnoch
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How did Dumbledore know that Slughorn was an armchair?
In Chapter 4 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, do we know why Dumbledore immediately knew that Horace was the armchair?
Please, I am looking for a different answer than "Dumbledore is brilliant." It takes a bit more than mere brilliance to…
Mermish Essence
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Can the Valar or Maiar die?
In The Lord of the Rings and the The Silmarillion some Maiar (Sauron, several Balrogs, Saruman) are defeated. But did these Maiar actually die and if they did, do they go to Halls of Mandos or what happens to them? Since Morgoth was not actually…
Philipp
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Are there any real-world basis to the traps in the Indiana Jones series?
Lucas was clearly drawing on the earlier era of movie serials for the Indiana Jones movies, in particular, the mechanical wood and stone traps in all of the movies. But these things do not generally come from nowhere...there' usually SOME real-world…
Chris B. Behrens
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Why aren't the Valar considered gods?
As an avid Tolkien fan and an increasingly active member of this site, I cannot count the number of times I've seen people refer to the Valar or Maiar as gods, only to be corrected by other members (often of high reputation) that they are more like…
Nerrolken
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Why did Darth Vader torture Han Solo in Cloud City?
After the rebels are captured in Cloud City, there is a scene where it is clear the Darth Vader tortures Han Solo. Later after the fact, Han makes it clear that it wasn't an interrogation because he tells Chewbacca that they didn't ask him any…
DQdlM
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Why didn't the Trace work in Goblet of Fire?
During Goblet of Fire, Voldemort lured Harry away from Hogwarts and into a Muggle cemetery. This was done during the Triwizard tournament to make Harry’s death look like an accident.
Harry was supposed to have a Trace on him, so why couldn’t the…
user31512
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What was the original intended order of the episodes of Firefly?
I know the Firefly episodes were originally aired out of the order that Joss Whedon intended, and that many fans think this contributed to the show's early cancellation. Looking at Firefly on Netflix, I don't see an original air date for any of the…
Bill the Lizard
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How was Smaug's treasure actually divided?
If I recall correctly:
The agreement was that each dwarf would receive 1/14 of the treasure.
Bilbo takes the Arkenstone, and though unspoken, is willing to give up his share for it.
Bard demanded 1/12 of the treasure.
Bilbo gives the Arkenstone to…
please delete me
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What exactly is worse than death?
Voldemort: "You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore? Above such brutality, are you?"
Dumbledore: "We both know there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom. Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I admit."
Voldemort: "There is nothing worse…
Palpatine
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Why doesn't the lightsaber cut the guardrail in Episode 6?
In Star Wars Episode VI, why doesn't Luke's lightsaber cut through the guardrail when he's fighting Darth Vader?
But here, shortly thereafter, when Luke cuts off Vader's hand, the rail gets cut:
(Around 1hr 53m)
Does the Jedi convey some intent…
Matt
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Why do Sauron's servants sometimes use the name "Sauron"?
Why do some of the Dark Lord's servants refer to him as "Sauron", such as his emissar, The Mouth of Sauron, and some of his agents sent to the dwarves:
"'As a small token only of your friendship Sauron asks this,' he said: 'that you should find…
Andres F.
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Which episode of Star Trek: TNG is the image on the chat servers' error pages taken from?
On the three Stack Overflow chat servers, the chat room not available page displays the following image:
Is it from an actual episode, or is it a 'shop?
Bill the Lizard
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