 |
“I urge everyone to go find the book The Quest for the Golden Hare by Bamber Gascoigne. It is an excellent book that chronicles the hunt for the solution to Masquerade. There are many funny parts relating to people finding solutions that are incredibly complex, backed by confirmations, internally consistent and logical, and WRONG,” says Hawkins. Quotes from the book include “the human mind has an equal capacity for pattern-making and self-deception” and “by manipulating number patterns, anagrams, and word associations… almost anything is possible.” See Pareidolia. Some folks, after scrutinizing every page and photo of David’s book, graduated to picking apart every word and image on my website, and others, I’m afraid, went Just Blaine Crazy. |
| Wordplay
at the OK Correl The Perfect Anagram Tommy Says No Down Under Church Key |
Tattoo
Map |
Before I go into our proposed solution, I wanted to tell you how much we’ve enjoyed discovering your work. We’ve lost sleep, we’ve scoured New York, and we’ve loved every minute of it. We also thoroughly enjoyed the book with or without the challenge. The Clue: “If my tattoo is fearless, then climb ten weeks to find the route.” The Solution: Tattoo = Cupid (source page 123) cupid is also known as Eros, for the purpose of this solution Cupid will be known simply as “Angel“ Fearless = Archangel, sometimes Archangel refers to Gabriel, at other times the Archangel refers to The Devil. For the purposes of this solution the “fearless tattoo” will be known as “The Devil“ Climb ten weeks = Eros is sometimes used to represent “The Lovers” in the tarot. “The Lovers card is the sixth card of the tarot major arcana. Using the intrinsic values of playing cards that David Blaine discusses (page 44) every card is equal to one week of a year. Climb ten weeks = Climb 10 cards which brings us to the sixteenth card of the tarot: The Tower Route = The Devil Tower Using a simple web search, our revealed route is The Devil’s Tower Wyoming. Declared the US’s first national monument by Theodore Roosevelt (pictured with Houdini on page 145) It is also a popular destination for “climbers“ Solution = If my Tattoo (Angel/ Eros) is fearless ( Angel + Fearless = Devil ), Then Climb Ten Weeks ( Eros 6th card Tarot + 10 = 16 The Tower 16th card of Tarot ) to find the route ( The Devil’s Tower Wyoming ) Confirmers (Some more subjective than others): An Eight Year Old From Harlem Col. Richard I. Dodge is often given credit for naming the natural wonder Col. Dodge only interests us for his surname, “Dodge“ Clue: “I hope an eight year old boy from Harlem finds it” This clue is fruitless and ambiguous with this spelling, however when we spell Harlem according to it’s root origin we spell it Haarlem. And our eight year old “Hero of Harlem” becomes young “Hans Brinker”. The boy who kept his finger in the dyke until sunrise. Hans is only of interest to us for the name of his creator “Mary Mapes Dodge”. The creators: Dodge+Dodge Ascent so severe it’s sheer presence glares. My fourth phrase casts shy glimpses near
shadow. (We’re getting more subjective here :-) The map on page 116 bears a reasonable resemblance to an area map of devils tower. http://www.nps.gov/deto/area_map.htm The inference of “In A Stone” (Page 62, First letters of caption excluding the proper name P.T.Barnum), is a bit of an understatement. The Devil’s Tower is a goliath of stone and rock. The visual sight of The Devil’s Tower is stunning, however it also brings to mind imagery that David Blaine describes in his passages about San Simeon and his own pillar experience. Once you begin to believe in your theory, the perceived confirmations are limitless. We have persued theories with far less logic than this, and found even more “cofirmations”. If this solution leads to the fame and accolades that only those certified “Blaine Crazy” I would be honored. I would also be glad to have time freed up to persue other methods. However if this solution is correct, I would appreciate some sort of acknowledgement. We have seriously searched areas in New York on several locations. We aren’t afraid to get our hands dirty, but The Devil’s Tower is a little out of the way :-) Thanks for all of your inspiration and your challenges. ANON To complete this solution, I guess I should be more specific. This map shows the area, (Page 116) with Belle Fourch creating the border.
But for the needed specificity, this map shows the location of the orb, (Page 114) with Port Au-Prince corresponding to the Visitors Center.
Either Blaine Crazy or Blaine Proud and nonplussed either way, ANON Attached is a map of Devil’s Tower with DB’s page 114 map overlayed with 50% or so opacity. It is also rotated. Either I’m crazy, or I’m right. But isn’t life always that way? This solution is fairly complete, I keep building it and backsolving, but the foundation is there. If I’m wrong I will probably make the Blaine crazy hall of shame. But If I’m right, I think this solve deserves a thumbs up so that I can make arrangements to retrieve the orb. I know that everyone believes in their solves equally, but they didn’t send illustrative proof...lol (just kidding). I understand that once you reply everyone will want you too, but Wyoming’s a long way from NY...and if I need to travel, I think this solve deserves a thumbs up or down.
|
My path is true AMERICANA. The next step is locating the city.... The town: Next Photo of David ... Ready for a
DRAW (straight stare) wyatt murder Boothill Memorial Cemetary ANON If the “Potato Head” wanted to ‘hide’ the treasure even more he would have put it a little ways underneath the boards near the only bright light in the MINESHAFT. The two dim antique lights shed very little illumination. Seems new plywood has been nailed onto the underside of the right board walk (where the sand is). It is impossible and inaccessible to get under neath that area. I left some calling cards on the railing to show I was there and searching for two hours. There was a camera upper left rafter rercording my comings and goings. There was a man, a young version of Don Zimmer, in a camper detailing my moving via walkie talkie. I have his AZ License plate number... its ends with BAA. I will give you the riddle and the DUAL deduction you need top get to that exact spot. What does SOBALL stand for? I have my ideas. PLEASE pass this along to whomever can end this. I did as you asked, I went there. ANON Just so you have my conclusions on your complete puzzle. same thing I have in sealed envelops. Twenty-one word riddle: SEVERE THE BETTER CASTS HORRIBLE COSTUME
FOULEST SUNLIGHT SHY IT MURDER VENOMS Regional deduction: gets you to the town. See where the bettor casts; Hoars, belles cost you, me. (Reno/Las Vegas) Follow East sunlight. (Travel east from above) Wyatt murders, the names of outlaws. Rose Imp Bird (Phoenix) A straight line on a map goes from Las Vegas, through Phoenix, through Tombstone, Arizona... site of OK Carrol incident. Subhuman Minors That Routes BE At Route South (B=2) times (E=5) South Route 10. Local Deduction: pick up town map from the Chamber of Commerce building (clues lead you to a map) Walks you down Allen street... See where the better casts are: belles (Wild Bunch and Hell’s Belles) 4th and Allen Cuss Tomb (Original name of Tombstone) Follow east sunlight (east down Allen street) Wyatt murder (Old tombstone tours) 4th-5th and Allen The names on arches worn 5th and Allen (Photo studio with period clothing) Rose Imp Bird Bird Cage Theater Museum, 6th and Allen Subhuman that routes be Mine at street south (B=2) + (e=5) South 7 The only list attraction at allen and seventh is the Buzzard’s Breathe Mineshaft. IN front, a large sign that said “Swap and Meet” with a large arrow pointing in the mouth of the entrance. Above the entrance, is a sign with two arrows surrounding “Mine Entrance“ That is the conclusions I reached with your puzzle and the map. ANON Seems as tight as I can see it. Fake rock at a fake business. Perhaps someone has picked it up, but then WHY would security still be there?? He was there before I came and there after I left. A car with no visible lights on a closed street and all of his windows tin foiled over... I heard him talking into his walkie talkie... but only AFTER I went back to my car for my flashlight... If it was outside the locked door, I picked it up and shook it. Maybe you’ll see me from the camera if they record that sort of thing. ANON Have you seen any one correctly submit your twenty-one word riddle and its deduced answer?? I can use your words as confirmers... “don’t forget the text“ Banish those which seen the same and ALL IN BE tween. ALL IN BE --> Allen and 7th. Cliff, I have YOUR answers. ANON I just posted the following message to David’s official MSN board: If you wanted some kid from the middle
of nowhere (Harlem) to ‘just figure
it out’; how did Not everyone can drop out for 44 days and then come back with still a job and a family. Please look into doing the right thing. Thanks. ANON The location is fenced in and secure,
and is opened from nine am to five pm
It is currently seven thirty here
at an internet cafe - guess you can now
guess the time zone. For those who don’t know from Find
a Grave, purported to be a hoax: Under
Houdini’s grave,”Page 215 holds
the key to the amulet. db - 11/2002”
ANON |
Ok here goes. The clue is, “IF MY TATTOO IS FEARLESS, THEN CLIMB TEN WEEKS TO FIND THE ROUTE” and “ALSO DROP THE MOST COMMON DICE NUMBER THROWN IN CRAPS.” It hit me after a few hours of playing with the numbers. Then I just did the math: GIVEN ITEMS
STEP ONE: 174517 drop 7’s STEP TWO: This gives us 1451 STEP THREE: ‘Climb’ 10 weeks (10 weeks = 70 days) STEP FOUR: multiply 1451 X 70 STEP FIVE: This gives you 101570 STEP SIX: Drop the seven to get 10150 ANSWER: The “ROUTE” will take you ‘there’ and is a zip code of 10150 which is... E 54th and 3rd ave. NY CITY. Also, the primary clue david gave was ‘IN A STONT’ not, ‘in a stone’. ‘INASTONT’ is a perfect ANAGRAM for STATION with an N left over. FDR STATION (FDR Post Office) is at zipcode ZIP 10150, right on 54th and 3rd avenue. NOTE: After thinking about this for hours, it is very RARE that a number multiplied by 70 would give a number that would be exactly 6 tenths of a mile from the book publisher’s address after dropping a lone seven which was in the clue to begin with. Also, by thinking like David and ‘knowing him’, he would want to stay close to the treasure and have it monitored on a day by day basis, in case of accidental retreival or disposal (trash men, landscapers, janitors, etc). By thinking like Cliff to get ‘you there’, would have to involve backwards engineering a zip code to fit David’s ‘tattoo’ mathematically and then put it in a one sentence clue for people like me to figure out. Oh and for fun... the quote THE RADIO DRAMA COUNTS DOWN EVERY SIX AND TWO PIERS. The zipcode 10150 is .62 miles from ‘channel 4 book publisher’ (according to mapquest) ANON |
I started off on my trip with only a few ideas about where the orb would be. Nothing concrete or solid. Just a couple of words and a gut feeling. From the tattoo clue I took “If my tattoo is fearless and got IF MY TATTOO IS FOUR LESS. 174517-4=174513. 1745 Broadway 13th floor? The 7 (most common craps number) would be ‘dropped’ in this case. I know others had been to the Villard building before, but I thought I’d try anyway. It would make sense to put a gold orb somewhere nearby where you could keep an eye on it. I saw the 13th floor comment on one of your daily rivulets and it got me thinking even more. So would the 13th floor really be 14? Or am I supposed to climb 10 floors to the 23rd floor? (The Villard building DOES have a 13th floor btw) That’s all I really had. Hardly enough to drive to New York for, but I did it. After being awake for the first 24 hours
straight, things seemed to become clearer,
haha. Nothing like a drive through the
mountains of Pennsylvania after total
exhaustion to get your brain working ;)
Makes me wonder what DB went through in
the glass box for 44 days. I came up with
IF MY TATTOO IS FOUR LESS (174513), CLIMB
TEN. SEEK W TO FIND THE ROUTE (ROOT).
So I thought perhaps once I got to the
23rd floor I’d see a big ol’
W. Or better yet, a potted plant which
had branches that formed a W. I would
have to dig in the pot to find the ROOT.
Outside waiting was a guy named Tommy.
We looked inside the building, scared
to go in (it was pretty late) and Tommy
said, “Go ahead in, take a look
around” We looked around a bit,
found the Mysterious Stranger book on
the shelf behind the glass case and sat
down defeated when we realized we couldn’t
get past the lobby. My husband thought
that maybe Tommy was a plant there to
help us. “Ummmm, I don’t think
so honey” , I said. There was security
there and I wasn’t about to try
to sneak in. (intelligent choice, I thought)
We watched as some maintenance men worked
on some sort of table thing in the center
of the lobby. It was all ripped apart
because they had to redo the whole lobby.
I guess the lights shining on all of the
books on the shelves were ruining them,
so they had to install fans. Bummer. After a bit, I figured I had nothing to lose and told Tommy what was going on. I told him about Mysterious Stranger and the Treasure Hunt (he knew about the book, as a matter of fact the guy new EVERYTHING about the books there at Villard) I told him we had come from WI to search for an orb hidden by David Blaine, but hadn’t thought to call ahead to see if the building was publicly accessable. (I’ll chalk that up to being a midwestern. Everything is public around here.) I told him that I thought that perhaps the orb was hidden in a fake stone on the 23rd floor. He seemed surprised and said well that’s where his publisher is. I don’t know what that means, but sounded good to me. Of course, he couldn’t let me up there at that hour, but offered to go upstairs and take a look around to see if it would be worth my return the next day. He was gone for about 15 or 20 minutes and returned with no good news. Figuring again, that I had nothing to
lose I told him my interpretation of the
whole clue - IF MY TATTOO IS FOUR LESS
(174513), CLIMB TEN. SEEK W TO FIND THE
ROUTE (ROOT). He had a couple of ideas.
He said that there was a book on one of
the “big guys” coffee tables
with a big ‘W’ on it, but
going into his office would be like sneaking
into the White House and taking a book
off of the President’s table. He
also explained that each floor had two
mini flights of stairs so perhaps it was
on the 18th? I told him that we had originally
thought it would be on the 17th floor.
We had given up and were set to leave,
defeated. So we toured the city on foot. Stopped
by Bryant Park to see where Vertigo happened.
(The only fake stones there were ones
with rat poison in them, in case you were
wondering) We had a lot of fun (and looked
at the ground alot for stones) ANON |
Were we supposed to make a Leap of Faith like DB did in Vertigo? When we can no longer take it then Jump into the boxes. How many letters are in the final clues and the 41? Dump ‘em into an ordinary box they can’t bear standing out there in the open any more... I took a leap of Faith and Traveled to a site without even reading the book. I just went off the Tattoo clue and Cliffs picture cartoon clues. Were we not supposed to use those I got kinda confused. I saw info from “The Gold Bug” which was posted on Cliff’s site. There were some really Strong hits there. In my doing so I came up with new info. If one phrase in the 41 was supposed to Jolt something about the First Phase of finding a Clue then lets just say I got there. So now I have new info that may Pertain to the second part of the puzzle where it seems now we are at an impasse. There may be clues that you can backsolve out of what I know too. Now I see the Imbrolio problem and the info I have fits right into xxx.xxx.xxx which may be the key to Ferreting out the new clues. I can match the Dots, I have seen 6 and 2 piers after dropping the 7th, I know what the Bird in a Window means, I know what the Butterfly means, I know what the Swap to the Right means, I may know where the Arches are. There’s a ton more stuff too. I would rather have the JEP team make a team effort and get there. Would be a pity to let the next clue come out and be real easy after how far you have all come. ANON My Delusions are not mere delusions, but solutions dilluted in the gyrating hemisphere of thought, they are not a gnarled tooth finger twitching pogo-eyed man wandering frantically aimless through a quiet forest dispersed with trees and wild roaming meadows that no one ever knows. The solution to delusion is often thought of as solidity, but it’s not, because solidity isn’t free, my delusions are free. But not free like that man, see him walk with his hand brought up to his head and then back down in a straight line with his fingers stretched out like his hand is leading him. He wears a nice suit but he walks with a stuttered step limp mouth moving to a whimpering clinch. I strain to hear if his words are slurred but it is mid-day with traffic combustion. I wonder if he knows where he’s going. Probably somewhere I have never been, but close to it, yet still as far off in an excursion as the most untouched acreage. Only watching him I found an even more desolate place, frighteningly it was my own mistake as I veer into the mythical lake of pondering. There I go for a swim came back went again... Feared lovingly that I would stay, but I can’t stay... yet I can say, I know that Acreage. Now if I were a clever Fool I would put a Fake CLue out to make it seem that the Location is not at a Bogus Cartoon spot. Everyone who had figured that out would no longer look there for the answer. Now from what I know of the Fool he is very clever so I can clearly expect this from the Fool and the Orb could be in this Bogus spot. But the Fool is from Australia which is full of criminals so the Fool is used to not being trusted and he knows that I am clever also so I can clearly rule out the spot that was Bogus. But being that he knows I wouldn’t trust him he would put the Orb in the Bogus spot so clearly I should look there. What you ask Am I Finished Yet? Not even Remotely. Knowing that I am smart, the Fool would have forseen this and put the Orb as far from the Bogus spot as possible. What you ask? Am I trying to get you to give something away? HA! You have given everything away I know exactly where the Orb is. ANON If my Tattoo is FOURless then 10 find 6 weeks to climb the route. 5 days in a work week no one has tryed that let’s see.. 6x5 is 30 days and tattoo=174517 drop 7’s 1451x30 43530 Zip Code for Jewell Ohio Right next to DEFIANCE the most FEARLESS city in the USA and has a city with the same grammatical error as the AYES have it AYERSVILLE Right off of route 66 there is a Place called Florida to the east of Jewell and I saw page 182 that had a display of SEMINOLES on it which the SEMINOLE Indians were forced to leave Florida. You have to look real close but you can see THIS WEEK to the left of the seminoles. OhiO looks like 2 Fearless Eyes too from a distance. Ok back to my JFK conspiracy theory... ANON |
ANY SINGLES RESOUNDING HERE WILL BE OUSTED Not Union County, street or even a university. BANISH THOSE WHICH SEEM THE SAME AND ALL IN BETWEEN Took forever until I thought like a kid.
I now take BRAGGART BARTENDERS AVOID TANGLED TIN ICE Titanic? Therefore eliminate Atlantic County. EVERYONE IN ATTENDANCE ADORES THE IMP THE LEAST Church or cemetery since the imp represents mortality. FIVE NOMADS FLED AND TUMBLED OAF SO OAF Ringling Brothers, railroad and even Little Falls has 5 council members. HER ORGAN PLAYS TO SAINTLY ONES THEIR LAST RITE A church reference again. ITS URN THAT IT ADORNED WITH LEAF ENGRAVING SHATTERED A shattered urn is representative of someone old in a cemetery, but since “It” is the pronoun used it may mean an old church, cemetery or tombstone. JESTERS AXE JOKES WITH ANY RESEMBLANCE TO CLICHES I see a reference to Hackensack thus eliminating Bergen County and a reference to Hamlet. MY FOURTH PHRASE CASTS SHY GLIMPSES NEAR SHADOW Psalm 23:4 which is where I can also
associate the date of 23 April and Passaic
is even Lenape for NAYSAYERS SHUN AND AGITATE A DROWNED LOATHING Hudson and Hamlet reference. OUR COAL CHUTE PROVED THE BETTER SOURCE OF FOOD A railroad, but whose? RUBIES INCITE THE FOULEST FEAR IN BLUE BLOODSTONE Definitely March/Mars and War of the Worlds. THAT KING OF SPADES MIGHT BE A MAN OF BRIGHT SENSE King David, David, Psalms and possibly another Hamlet reference as the King of Spades is also known as the gambler’s gravedigger. TWENTY WHO ARE MUDDLED MUST MOCK THEIR MATE Reference to the clues by saying that 20/41 are confusion? Also, indicates New Jersey with 21 counties, but only one will be the correct county to search in. Those are some of my favorites whether
my interpretation is incorrect or not.
I still lean towards St. George Antiochian
Orthodox church (237 Long Hill rd., Little
Falls, NJ) as I can derive that ANON |
We take Blaine’s tattoo, 174517. We drop the 7’s because of the craps hint. That leaves us with 1451. Now, we want 1451 to be FOUR LESS (read: fearless) Thats 1447. Again, we drop the 7, leaving us with 144. Now then, we add ten (climb 10) Now, we have 154. And we just seach for “Route 154“ And thats a sceneic route in California. I dont know what I did wrong, but my original solve gave me 145... and heres what was so... odd about Route 145. A simple Google search produces a page for a Atlanta Transit Route: Route 145 Now I know you’re probably skeptical, so here’s the killer — it runs along CLIFton road.
Ok, ok. Route 154 looks promising, too. “This scenic highway passes cattle ranches, vineyards and orchards, then climbs over San Marcos Pass in the Santa Inez Mountains. From the summit, travelers can see the Pacific Ocean.” Actually, 154 wouldnt be much travelling,
maybe its at the summit of route 154? |
IF MY TATTOO IS FEARLESS THEN CLIMB TEN WEEKS TO FIND THE ROUTE.
The last piece of our metariddle is Santa Fe West. How do we know this is correct? Because the Santa Fe trail is a ‘route’
THE OSBOURNES LION MIDDLE KANSAS SANTA FE WEST and, a leftover CLIM. On the surface, these appear to be completely disjointed clues. The second of the great misdirections now takes place, and I fell for this one as well. We expect these clues to lead to a single location. They don’t. These five clues lead to TWO. Horridly wicked, actually. I began to use Google to attempt to find any connection between these terms. I hit a brick wall. Until I pulled up the names of the counties for Kansas. Approximately halfway down the list, I was mildly surprised to find the existence of a LYON county in eastern Kansas. No big deal. Probably entirely coincidental. Then, I scrolled down some more. There’s an OSBORNE county as well. It’s located in northern Kansas, several hundred miles apart from LYON county. I became more interested..... Doing a search for LYON county turned up the SANTA FE trail running east-west through it. I became a lot more interested. Doing a search for OSBORNE county turned up a town of OSBORNE inside OSBORNE county.
‘Lion’ & ‘Santa Fe West’ pinpoint the intersection of the Santa Fe trail, which is now US 56, and the western Lyon county line. No landmark, just the intersection. Draw a line between these two points on your map and see what it crosses towards the middle. The location that I found that the line crosses, the thing that has put me on a plane on this Monday night: ROCK CITY. It’s a public park just outside Minneapolis, KS, consisting of approximately 200 huge sandstone boulders. What better place to hide a rock in plain view?
Tomorrow morning, I’ll arise and go search amongst these boulders for our hollow rock. I have no idea if this is correct or not, but it convinced me enough to take a trip. The Osbournes have tattoos, a lion ‘is fearless’, the Santa Fe trail is a ‘route’ and Rock City is in ‘middle Kansas’. I’m not certain how I’m supposed to find the prize in a park the size of two football fields, but on my way to the airport, I had an idea that I hope works out: I think it will be the largest rock in the park. Great big monstrosity of a boulder. This hunt’s version of the giant ‘W’. According to the website, many of the boulders are named. What name for a boulder would let a hunter know that he has absolutely found the answer? What would you name the largest boulder in the park? I hope it’s ‘Goliath’. Because that would imply that there’s a much smaller rock nearby, one that’s hollowed and containing a precious treasure, one that we could call ‘David’. And, I hope Goliath would weigh approximately 151,000 pounds, or 151,000 tons, or be approximately 151,000 years old--something that would tie in CLIM. Don’t know. I’ll definitely let you know one way or the other in the morning if I’ve made a wild goose chase. Good morning, again, from my hotel room in Salina, Kansas. Lots of rocks in Rock City, but not the one we’re looking for. The park IS open year-round, but the gift shop is open only from May to September. I have great faith in Cliff’s puzzle-creation skills, much more than my puzzle-solving skills, and the fact that the answer didn’t jump out at me pretty much told me I was looking in the wrong place. Eleven of the boulders are named; none of them really stood out. Ergo, I’m in the wrong spot. Time for some critical thinking: What am I doing wrong? Obvious answer: Climb ten weeks. I haven’t used CLIM-- I assumed I would understand it when I arrived on-site. Apparently, wrong assumption. I need CLIM to GET to the spot. I don’t think everything I’ve done is incorrect, but I’m looking at it a bit closer. Three of the four pieces are self-confirming: The Osbournes have tattoos, a lion is fearless, and the Santa Fe trail is a route. That leaves a glaring hole for CLIMB TEN WEEKS. I still think the spacing for the puzzle is correct: CLIM Raw data: ‘Between’ and ‘Kansas’ are correct. My interpretation of ‘between’ might not be. I’ll be in chat while researching all of this....as well as logged onto this bulletin board. My time is short.... Doc PS--I LOVE this. Damn it to the seventh levels of hell! I’m an idiot. CLIM = ROMANS = RANSOM The correct definition for ‘between’ is ‘within’. The metariddle should be as follows: THE OSBOURNES The puzzle isn’t defining two locations, it defines THREE! 1. The Osbournes = town of Osborne in
Osborne county How does one find the middle of a triangle, pray tell? Doc PS--I’m running out of time, but I think I’m very close to it. PPS--Having a blast! |
Pure genius to use misdirection in
a puzzle for David Blaine. The one clever
trick is you only us two words to get
the complete answer. Now I have my SOLID confirmer! |
I sent you my amulet theory on Saturday.
Since I have not received a response,
I can only assume that you did not get
my last e-mail. ANON |
This is a fairly detailed description of how I think the puzzle is put together. Most of the clues are
just anagrammed instructions to eliminate
certain words. Once the elimination steps
are carried out as outlined by Jep, 18
words remain. Three more are needed. I’m
not sure about this part, but here is
where I get them: Villard is a stretch.
But it does provide a V to be eliminated
when we REMOVE SEVENS. “Horrible” may
be a suggestion to rearrange letters.
If so, HORRIBLE COSTUME may translate
to CUT SOME (eliminate the letters S O
M E). I think I
might be close. It also kind of sounds like a reference to the “HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT” so don’t go buy your tickets to St. Louis quite yet. Another step that seems
to move things in the right direction:
I think the stone is under
the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. To be honest, I’m not
all that confident about my answer. In
several instances, I found myself working
my way back from the answer I wanted,
which is always a very bad sign. But it
did kind of come together at the end,
and I think it’s worth checking out. Another
possibility is that the general vicinity
is correct, but that more puzzling is
required to pinpoint the orb. Such a solution
might reflect CJ’s admiration of the solution
to Masquerade. As I’ve said earlier,
the elimination step allows a little bit
of latitude if you don’t have to eliminate
every one of the “t”s for example.
It scans a little better
if it is rearranged to read: Fire up Mapquest. I am now working with:
I can get the last step
to work. This is just for fun,
but has some possibilities. It is based
on some earlier suggestions about relating
letters to numbers using the Periodic
Chart. I’ve been struggling with
10/28/07 Like an itch never scratched, the DB solve always eluded me. (My idea about the golden arrow designs in the book was never very satisfying.) I've been preparing in recent days to put this whole experience behind me forever, hopefully very soon, and I've been visiting old haunts on CLiFF's website for one last time. So I happened upon Joe Cassavaugh's segment in the Just Blaine Crazy archives and was reminded again about Primo Levi's book. He had been responsible for feeding SEW SEVER E and ENVY = SW NV to the BB, and also called attention to gold and nitrogen in the listing of Levi's chapters (along with argon, later to be important, and iron). I thought back to my musings about an alternative approach to the Tattoo clue and then it hit me like the hot kiss at the end of a wet fist: Use Levi's chapter numbers, not the actual atomic weights. The word "then" still plays it's original role. We need: 10---------AU then------Arrow 16---------N 20---------V But how? Add up all the letters from the clue and subtract the 4 from "then"- one gets 47, one over 10+16+20 = 46. Here I have to cheat a bit: lose one eye (i) and we are down to 46. Divide up 46 into the three magic numbers, 10, 16, and 20, and voila- something that actually generates the answer: Golden Arrow, Nevada. A nice feature of this solve — it provides homage to Levi, the inspiration for the tattoo on DB's arm. Anyway, I'm not sure if this solve is right, but I sure like it better than the first try. I offer it up as what I sincerely hope will be my very last effort to deal with The Challenge as a puzzle to be solved. The key is to lose the correct I. If one drops the I in FIND one is left with: IF MY TATTOO IS FEARLESS (20 letters) THEN (ARROW) CLIMB TEN WEEKS TO F (16 letters) (now the break is not arbitrary) ND THE ROUTE (10 letters) Relate to Levi's chapters to generate: VANADIUM or V rearrange to obtain: Golden Arrow, Nevada This works much better than before. At the risk of being repetitive, it is also quite beautiful. FINIS |
| I am writing to tell you that I believe I have solved the puzzle.. The tattoo map used a pointer on the rose text.. It indicated to ring the number on the Stone in the ‘orb’ beneath the eye.. and it was in your hand all along.. It’s brilliant. I dont want to be too specific... But I’m hoping you know what I mean.. anyway.. the upshot is that I cant get through to the number..It may be that I’m calling from the UK.. and I’m trying the USA code. Please.. If my solution is correct, is it possible to confirm I am right? I will send more If you need it.... If i’m wrong, well... that’s up to you.. I’ll send you a possible Blaine Crazy.. I’m confident it’ll be the best one there. ANON Here’s how it works.. IF MY TATTOO IS FEARLESS THEN CLIMB TEN WEEKS TO FIND THE ROUTE translates to.. IF MY TATTOO IS F.A.LSE (remove S.E.R) THEN SEE (c) LIMB (on page) 10 (ten) 7 (weeks) TO FIND THE .TRUE (remove O) take the removed letters and you get ROSE. Look at page 107 and you find a picture of David with a false tattoo on his limb. on the opposing page you get the following quote.. ‘I thought that the appearance of the word ‘ROSE at that precise moment was too fortunate to be a coincidence lets leave that for a moment
By turning the picture of DB on it’s side you get this...It quite clearly says MAP and has a pointer on his forearm.. By lining up this pointer with every ROSE coloured piece of text you get the following words pg 18 take a stiff DOLLAR BILL
there is what I took to be a confirmer on pg 59... On the marlon Brando pic, the crate has the same symbol as the pyramid/eye... both Images have numbers (dates) reading 1789 on the treasury and 1776 on the pyramid..in roman numerals. I took this (17891776) to be the phone number to call or (17761789) I tried variations of this, and tried to include the THREE HUNDRED from the ROSE words However... I get a ‘number not recognised’ answer.. Anyway.... If this isn’t the solution.. It should have been because I think its fantastic that the phone number would have been in everyone’s pockets all along.. I still can’t believe it’s not right.. especially after typing it out... I haven’t ‘forced’ any of it... ANON I now think that I AM right after all... The imbroglio numbers (the sets of 3 added together) confirm that I have the right numbers... I just cant seem get them in the right order.... But I have the Map and the Treasure, so surely I have won havent I? Surely... Oh Please... I think it may be because I’m calling from the Uk or it’s to do with the ‘Drop seven’ clue... Which one though?? there’s 3 of them ANON I’m starting to embarrass myself, but I can’t let this go till I know I’m wrong for sure.. I’m not looking in the book anymore, that was just for confirmation. I’m looking at a dollar bill.. My interpretation of the Hollow stone is the pyramid, and the Orb is either the treasury stamp, or the great seal.. or one of the other circular images on the dollar.. But the Treasury stamp has a number on itI’ve run out of ideas regarding the phone number.. I’ve tried everything including typing in the roman numerals as letters on the keypad ANON I tried putting an Olive on the end.. or at least a ‘0’ I got through to an answering machine and left my name and cell phone number... I dont know if it was right.. I tried 3178917760 didn’t sound much like David.. you must be laughing your head off if I’m wrong... ANON Why does everything you say on your website look like you’re giving me a clue??? Take a number? the tenth number is 0? Just please... shut me up and tell me I’m wrong if I’m wrong.. that’s all I ask.. I get the clue... 3 1789 1776 0 ....... the ‘ring’ being ‘O’ ? olive? or the other way.. ie 3 1776 1789 0 but both ways don’t work......
either I’m doing something completely
wrong or my phone exchange is screwey..or
something By the way.. how can it be Blaine’s
cell phone number.. I’m sure he
didn’t ANON Ps.. I am sorry for pestering you.. I truly am.. I am a puzzle maker too and I know what I’ts like to be pestered. (although I actually like it, but I guess I’m not working on the same scale you are) All I really want is a ‘no you’re completely wrong’ so I can get back on with my puzzle instead of thinking about whether there’s a chance I could be on the right track with this one.. I presume, that, if it’s in Blaine Crazy.. it’s wrong. ANON |
I believe after pondering over this book, the 41 clues (+1 on the Larry King Show), the various false leads covered by other emailers to you, and even various MENSA-ite newsgroups, I believe i have come up with the solution after approximately 4 hours of thinking, and I didn’t even purchase the book yet. First a bit of a review. 1 year has passed since the book made its debut upon international book shelves, and in all those 365+ days, the real item has yet to be found, despite many searches by many people. Also, with the 41 clues leading to 21 words to find the orb, I realised that a lot of paring down would need to be done. The easiest way to pare down as much as possible? Why, go straight to the answer. And therein lies my success! You see, while a measured IQ of 130 plus is fine for crosswords, this entire puzzle had me at a semi loss. And I know it took a practical White House staff to help you work out the kinks, so I came upon a solution that not only will gain me a golden orb and a phone number, and you could gain a reward for all your hard work. Since you know all the clues, you must know the answer. And knowledge is power, but only if that knowledge can be put to use! As of today, your knowledge has done nothing but put more strain and work upon your shoulders, and most likely added a wee bit of a hassle to your life. “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” — John 8:32 :: King James Version Simply put, tell me the answer. Now, this may seem a little one sided at the beginning, but an explanation is necessary. Simply give me a steady walkthrough of how to solve the clues, and the final answer. I will then easily be able to travel at my expense to the location and make the phone call. And here is the best part, of the $100,000, half is yours! You heard me right. Call it “creative reimbursement” or a “consulting fee” , but right off the top, $50,000 will be yours over a period of time. After cashing the funds, a few press junkets, and maybe even promoting your website and upcoming games as “items that got me into the art of solving enigmas in the first place,” you will be able to receive 1000 payments of $50 in the form of international money order. By purchasing them at different locations, and with the money amounts kept small, you will be able to stay below the radar as it were. “The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” — Albert Einstein Now, obviously, if you wish to go through on this little plan, it must be kept on the down low. Any emails must be done through fake accounts after this one, using fake names, perhaps even anagrams or something like that. I would even suggest using internet cafe computers to be sure. “Trust, but look for the exits.” — Mason Cooley All messages are permanently deleted afterwards, and no information such as names or the like is to be transcribed on any writen or electronic document. To ensure that I will be loyal to you in this pact, I am willing to offer a fail safe in our deal. If at any time, you feel I am not, or will not, meet the standards set forth of this deal, you may choose to present this email to the police or proper authorities and turn me in. But I don’t think it shall come to that. “What men call friendship is no more than a partnership, a mutual care of interests, an exchange of favors—in a word, it is a sort of traffic, in which self-love ever proposes to be the gainer.” — François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld So, think it over, and respond to this email no matter you answer. Who knows, by this time next week, the golden orb could be in my hand, and $50,000 could be in your wallet. “It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish.” — Aeschylus |
