That was the toughest puzzle in Monkey Island 3 for me, I remember being stuck on it as a kid for a long time, weeks maybe, until we read the solution somewhere, either a website or a game magazine. And it was the one puzzle keeping us from progressing to the next CD I believe. My father, not understanding english, was one to try every item with everything, brute forcing his way around, even he couldn't crack it. I think on easy mode this puzzle doesn't require all the steps. The other tough one was the dueling banjos, I think I had to write down the sequences on a piece of paper. It's still my favorite game ever, left such a big impact on me, from the intro music, humorous cut scenes, drawing style, the sense of wonder and excitement, everything was just perfect.