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Urban Smurf posted:That may be true or the puzzles are too good. Hopefully we will know better after xie or someone recovers a pisspot.
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Mar 17, 2015 17:22
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Urban Smurf posted:That may be true or the puzzles are too good. Hopefully we will know better after xie or someone recovers a pisspot. I don't think too good is the answer. I think when Priess wrote the secret he was a very inexpert puzzle maker, even if it's only because he expected them to be quickly solved. He made a really interesting game, maybe even more interesting because the puzzles are bad. I'd love it if Priess just really didn't know his right from his left and he's loving with us from beyond the grave.
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Mar 17, 2015 17:46
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I still think a number of the casques will have been buried in finite areas such as the Cleveland flower bed.
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Mar 17, 2015 17:55
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The puzzles need more "anchors" to let you know that you're on the right trail. I think something that not everyone is familiar with is how the Cleveland puzzle got solved. It was not solved in the way that I'm trying to solve Boston (which if I'm right would probably be the only "full" solution, as I believe I can trace it from Start->Finish with no gaps). It was solved because after the usual years and years of bickering over its location, Q4T user 'johann' posted a picture of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens with the wall (the one Urban Smurf referenced last page) clearly and sharply defined. On the same page? A picture of the columns from the Greek Cultural Gardens. The original webpage is still up with the same pictures. That's how Cleveland was solved. The article about the dig romanticizes it and makes it sound like Egbert decided to crack one, sat down, put all of his resources into Cleveland, and dug. It wasn't like that. At the time of Johann cracking it open the prevailing theory was that Cleveland was actually Philadephila (due to Congress, Liberty Bell, etc. clues in the verse and painting). If someone had come in a week before johann posted the pic and said "it's in Cleveland and here's why" it would have been shouted off the boards. Literally only one of these puzzles has ever been solved, despite two casques being dug up. They require basically a brilliant stroke of luck to discover the matches, which is why I'm so confident about Boston. The puzzles are so bad and stupid that when you find the match you know it, and that's really the only way to solve these. They're bad, but if the verses were less obtuse and applicable to literally anywhere, OR if there were a few more large image anchors to at least confirm the loving area, the visual clues aren't that bad. They all seem to be solvable if you can find the impossible to find clues that tell you you're in the right place.
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Mar 17, 2015 18:07
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xie posted:
I was always under the impression that Cleveland was originally unlocked via a Google search for "Socrates, Pindar, Apelles", (from verse 4) which hit on the website for the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, and it sort of unfolded from there. E: What does "congress" have to do with cleveland? Merlot Brougham fucked around with this message at 19:32 on Mar 17, 2015 |
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Mar 17, 2015 19:29
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Sorry, confusing Chicago and Cleveland riddles. However the webpage was dug up, the case was cracked when the webpage turned up, not by solving any piece of the puzzles. You can go back and look and find johann's original post with the photos. It was not solved in any way Preiss meant it to be solved, by natives observing clues in the surrounding areas. You basically have to stumble on something really loving good/lucky to make any "progress." xie fucked around with this message at 19:44 on Mar 17, 2015 |
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Mar 17, 2015 19:42
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Viruswithshoes posted:I still think a number of the casques will have been buried in finite areas such as the Cleveland flower bed. Didn't he specifically say there weren't any casques in flower beds? Then the second casque is found in a planter Preiss being poo poo at puzzle-making is what I believe. But let's take a minute and acknowledge JJP kinda ruled at the art. It's the art that has kept this going for 30 years while so many other hunts have sunk into the earth. Oh, PS, I'm up for a job making puzzles for Syfy network. i'm in the final round of interviews, basically if they decide to go forward with puzzles, I'm the guy. Wish me luck! Drunk Nerds fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Mar 17, 2015 |
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Mar 17, 2015 23:11
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Image 4, Verse 4, Cleveland - Solvedxie posted:Sorry, confusing Chicago and Cleveland riddles. I'm not disagreeing with you at all. I think that point only adds to what you were saying. I've read through most of the content on Q4T over the last year and a half, so I'm familiar with what you're talking about and agree with your point wholeheartedly. I know you're familiar with some/most/all of this Xie, it but for the people not scouring Q4T on a daily basis, it was the quote from Verse 4.that led the Q4T forum to the Cleveland Cultural Gardens. At that point, they only knew that the names "Socrates, Pindar, Apelles" appeared on the walls of the gardens, the same as in Verse 4: Beneath two countries As the road curves In a rectangular plot Beneath the tenth stone From right to left Beneath the ninth row from the top Of the wall including small bricks Seven steps up you can hop From the bottom level Socrates, Pindar, Apelles Free speech, couplet, birch To find casque's destination Seek the columns For the search Before the Cleveland Solve, it didn't seem like the consensus at Q4T had figured out that the numbers were latitude and longitude. I'm pretty sure the map of Ohio wasn't pointed out until after the cask was actually dug up. So I agree that a lot of the clues were discovered exactly in reverse order of intention. They discovered the names on the wall of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens first. The Terminal building and the map, and even the numbers being coordinates all came after. And no disrespect to Egbert, but I too have the impression that he was merely the first person to drive out there and dig it up after it was laid out by Johann for all to see. He's had some good additions too, so I'm not trying to completely throw Egbert under the bus, but Egbert's opinions about the undiscovered casks should hold the same as anyone else of sound mind who has put in a basic effort to understanding the hunt. One disappointing thing about the previous point and Q4T. If you read the Cask 12 thread, there is some early speculation about Ellis Island. Siskel and Egbert went there and wrote the whole place off. They were never even aware of the bird sculptures on the ferry building. I'm not sure if this was the result of limited tourist access, poor recon, or both but they only saw the one eagle statue at the main building, said it wasn't a match (true, and an honest mistake), and nobody on Q4T gave a thought to Ellis Island for a long time after that. That's not Egbert's fault, but maybe his reputation played a part in a lot of people overlooking one of the clearest matches found to date. People keep taking for gospel that the bird was a Chrysler building gargoyle and not giving any additional scrutiny. In fact, the Chrysler Gargoyle is still floated on the wiki when there's clearly a match for the bird, on the Ellis Island Ferry Building. I do agree, somewhat with what you said about people getting laughed off the board a week prior to Johann's post about Cleveland. People are very reluctant to let go of their pet theories, even when new evidence presents itself. Face it, if you spent 100 hours of wrist-shattering treasure hunting to learn the ins and outs of every St. Louis golf course, you too would be disappointed to learn that Cask 9 is buried in Montreal.
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Mar 17, 2015 23:40
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That owns, good luck! JJP's art is fantastic. Every time I see an actual visual match I'm impressed at how it was hidden/worked in. I'm not sure some of the paintings have any elements that aren't clues, we just haven't/can't find all of them. The recent discovery of the centaurs hat in CLE and the large shape assumed to be the Grant Park fountain was recently matched to a building fixture in Chicago.
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Mar 17, 2015 23:41
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This treasure hunt mostly makes me nostalgic for Kit Williams, who seems to have been better at art, puzzle construction, and prizes. Not to poo poo on Preiss too badly, I mostly just wish good ol Kit would come out with something as awesome as Masquerade and the bee book again. He was apparently just too shell shocked by the attention and controversy surrounding his first puzzle, which scared him away from public work.  I mean the motherfucker did some kickass marquetry too. And what a goony goon:  I'm sure he's old news to the experienced treasure hunters in here but his art and story are really worth checking out if you're not already familiar with it. This was some big deal stuff when I was a little kid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEIFm0UHtoo Somebody fucked around with this message at 15:14 on Mar 19, 2015 |
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Mar 17, 2015 23:50
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Drunk Nerds posted:Didn't he specifically say there weren't any casques in flower beds? Yes. He also said the same for cemeteries. I always assumed the planters in Cleveland housed shrubbery and not flowers, but yes, yes it was. xie posted:That owns, good luck! I strongly disagree with the Chicago building fixture idea. That "match" is baloney.
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Mar 17, 2015 23:50
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http://i.imgur.com/wi7F46N.jpg http://i.imgur.com/cEwEPF3.png That one? I dunno, I like it well enough. Probably more than I like it as an overhead of the fountain in grant park.
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Mar 18, 2015 01:30
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xie posted:http://i.imgur.com/wi7F46N.jpg In my opinion, that is a perfect match. Look at the spaces at the angles, they are accounted for.
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Mar 18, 2015 02:14
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Nocheez posted:In my opinion, that is a perfect match. Look at the spaces at the angles, they are accounted for. Yeah, there's no doubt that's the exact same pattern.
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Mar 18, 2015 02:43
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xie posted:http://i.imgur.com/wi7F46N.jpg No. I thought you were talking about the last one posted in the "The Chicago Treasure" thread which is BS, as you can see here:  E: Apparently both of the sets of pictures are of Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building, so I stand corrected, in a way. Merlot Brougham fucked around with this message at 03:27 on Mar 18, 2015 |
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Mar 18, 2015 03:14
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Okay, so Syfy approved me making puzzles, but they say "they'll need some time to figure out how to implement them." This isn't quite the same as a yes when you're used to writing for TV station('s websites). So It'll probably take some push. I'd like to share my puzzles, here, as they were JJP- inspired: From each of these sets of images can be derived a popular comic-book character: http://imgur.com/a/iIHsY (please don't share these, as I'd like to use a few for my initial puzzle) Drunk Nerds fucked around with this message at 02:22 on Mar 19, 2015 |
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Mar 19, 2015 02:19
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I think I've used that toilet.
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Mar 19, 2015 07:25
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Drunk Nerds posted:Okay, so Syfy approved me making puzzles, but they say "they'll need some time to figure out how to implement them." No offense meant, but a TV network saw those and said they wanted to give you a job? One of them is just a magic eye with the batman logo. How is that even a puzzle? Edit; maybe it's a joke? I can't tell. Sorry if it's not a joke. BigFactory fucked around with this message at 07:38 on Mar 19, 2015 |
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Mar 19, 2015 07:28
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Drunk Nerds posted:http://imgur.com/a/iIHsY What? It's not a treasure map? That's bullshit. CrashCat fucked around with this message at 09:08 on Mar 19, 2015 |
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Mar 19, 2015 09:06
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12 divided by 3 gives quarters A prism may be made of quartz and the next album in my prize collection of vinyl records after Pink Floyd is Quarterflash, therefore the secret answer is the Flash.
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Mar 19, 2015 14:55
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Park Lego Velociraptor Obi-Wan Park is a common "Korean surname" --> KS Lego is basically "physical minecraft" -> PMC Velociraptors are "clever girls" --> CG Obi-Wan Kenobi is "my only hope" --> MOH KSPMCCGMOH We then do a simple ROT13: XFCZPPTZBU Here is our first indication we're dealing with an X-Man (or possibly someone from X-Factor)... However, this is clearly not the name. We remove the X and are left with: FCZPPTZBU Interesting. Let's take a look back at the image. We note that the velociraptor is actually a Tyrannosaurus Rex, aka "Tyrant King." At first, I assumed we were looking for a character that is perceived as "King" of the X-Men, but in a tyrannical, overbearing way. But then I got to thinking about the context of the clues... Let's not forget the popularity of Game of Thrones right now. It is daft to assume that Tyrant King isn't a dual reference to Tyrion Lannister and Joffrey, the boy king. Pride is considered one of the most terrible of Joffrey's personality traits. Not coincidentally, X-Man Shadow Cat's real name is Kitty Pryde. Let us also recall she is of rather diminutive stature, much like a certain noseless dwarf. This confirms we're on the right track. Lastly, we mustn't forget Kitty's ever-present companion, Lockheed, a dragon. Dragons are essentially Dinosaurs, so once again, the direct connection to the T-Rex is reinforced. Lockheed, coincidentally, is most recognizable as a name as half of the defense contractor Lockheed-Martin - which was a merger between Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company and Martin Marietta (itself a merger between Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation). Note that LOUGHEAD anagrams to A LEGO... DUH. In addition, it should come as no surprise that the L in Glenn L. Martin stands for Luther - i.e., Luther Martin. This is our clue that we must REVERSE part of our answer (Luther Martin --> Martin Luther). My initial thought is Obi Wan should then be interpreted as Wan Obi. The W isn't actually a W at all here, but the Cyrillic "Sha" meaning it would be pronounced, effectively, as "Shan Obi" --> "Shanobi" --> "Shinobi," the infamous shadow-art ninja of Genesis fame. Shadow Art.. Shadow Cat. All signs point to Shadow Cat as the hero here. However, I'm still trying to find an exact polaroid match, so goon help is appreciated before I'm willing to "dig!" .random fucked around with this message at 15:24 on Mar 19, 2015 |
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Mar 19, 2015 15:03
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I spoke with the DCR today, we're soft-targetting some time in April. They want to be there (understandable) and during the academic calendar my schedule is hell (50+ hr weeks, unscheduled OT) so I'll keep ya'll posted. But this is happening.
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Mar 19, 2015 15:07
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xie posted:I spoke with the DCR today, we're soft-targetting some time in April. They want to be there (understandable) and during the academic calendar my schedule is hell (50+ hr weeks, unscheduled OT) so I'll keep ya'll posted. But this is happening. Toot toot!!
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Mar 19, 2015 23:09
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Rondette posted:Toot toot!!
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Mar 20, 2015 05:15
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So this summer i will find myself in roanoke and i want actually dig. How did you go about contacting the parks folks? I will also have to convice the elizibethan gardens people I think
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Mar 20, 2015 16:33
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They probably won't let you dig, but they are very familiar with this hunt and have given tours to groups before. I'd just e-mail them. I thought the DCR would be dicks, and they've been very nice. I reached out to Roanoke festival park and they never replied. *shrug* If you go to Roanoke can you please, please, please check out the little park with the cross by the lighthouse? It's near Roanoke festival park.
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Mar 20, 2015 16:42
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AcidRonin posted:So this summer i will find myself in roanoke and i want actually dig. How did you go about contacting the parks folks? I will also have to convice the elizibethan gardens people I think Have you actually already gone to where you believe the casque is located? If not, try doing that first and seeing how confident you feel. Then worry about digging.
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Mar 20, 2015 20:42
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Megaman's Jockstrap posted:Have you actually already gone to where you believe the casque is located? I live in the DC area. I will be in roanoke for a obx trip and am going to make a detour to try and get some digging in. The goal is to be good to go to a few places that weekend.
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Mar 24, 2015 17:38
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xie posted:I thought the DCR would be dicks, and they've been very nice. I reached out to Roanoke festival park and they never replied. *shrug* That's really good to hear. I would assume they'd be dicks too. But I guess they're like, "whatever brings interest to the park," maybe.
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Mar 24, 2015 23:08
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BigFactory posted:No offense meant, but a TV network saw those and said they wanted to give you a job? I had to throw an easy one in there. The goal was to make most of them so convoluted, that one of the 1,000,000 readers wouldn't just solve them right away and post the answers in the comments. But, at the same time, I don't want most readers to be like "these are too convoluted, I give up." So I wanted to put a super-easy one in there to keep interest, and encourage readers to work together in the comments to try to solve the others. The thought process is that the average reader will say, "hey, I got one. Maybe I can be useful in solving the others."
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Mar 24, 2015 23:10
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AcidRonin posted:I live in the DC area. I will be in roanoke for a obx trip and am going to make a detour to try and get some digging in. The goal is to be good to go to a few places that weekend. Just digging up one of these boxes is likely to take 6+ hours of hard labor, on a piece of land that it is (most likely) a felony to dig on without permission - which takes months to get and will probably be denied. You're not being realistic. Remember that there are dozens of people, just as smart as you or smarter, and just as committed, who have gone to Roanoke looking for the casque and have not found anything. Unless you're going with something hot and new and radical, you're going to be assed out (for example, you're not going to find it in the Elizabethan Gardens unless you've got a completely original "solve")
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Mar 25, 2015 19:34
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I've given up on the search for the Roanoke area cask, but I've found some really interesting historic connections. A lot of people have been insistent that the line "ride the man of oz" has everything to do with Baum. I'm in slight disagreement, since it's true that Frank Baum identifies with the use of the word "oz" and Baum is actually an old family name in Roanoke. A significant amount of land granted to the Baums was passed on to the Meekins family. Theodore S. Meekins married Rosa Midgett and those families grew to prominence. I looked over a list of 120 historic sites and homes in the Manteo area and at least 24 of them were directly owned by someone in the Midgett family. I think it's possible that the reference to oz extends to both Baum and Midgett, since the word 'midget' may connect to the Munchkins of Oz. The name John White comes up often as he was the grandfather of Virginia Dare, and he drew many of the first maps of the area. Interestingly, Theodore Meekins built one of the largest historic homes in Roanoke which became a Bed and Breakfast known as the White Doe Inn. The White Doe is a local legend about Virginia Dare having escaped to Croatoan island where she grew into a beautiful young woman and when she refused to marry an Indian sorcerer of the dark arts named Chico, he turned her into a white-tailed deer. Maybe this info will help someone else work out that new and original solve. Urban Smurf fucked around with this message at 22:14 on Mar 25, 2015 |
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Mar 25, 2015 21:34
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Image 12, NYC A small update from James Renner over on Q4T. He's the guy filming the documentary about the Secret. Or he supposedly wrapped filming now? I don't know. He has a long post with some travel updates and personal theories, but at the end he offers a couple pieces of new evidence, if you can call it that. I do realize that "some guy thinks it's on an island" is pretty useless, but I figured I'd pass it along. "Byron's friend told me he thinks the key 'is buried on an island'. His daughter told me you can see everything in the painting from the treasure site."
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Mar 25, 2015 23:17
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I don't think every single puzzle works exactly the same (this isn't new coming from me) but in Image 4, Cleveland, and Image 5, Chicago there are nearby elements as well. But generally speaking I think that's right, they're all going to be pretty drat close to the spot.
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Mar 25, 2015 23:46
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I want to point out how unusual that clock is: So it reads as stone to me, first of all, from which I infer that it's carved directly onto a building. Second, the hands are very unique. But third, and I find this strangest, is that all of the numerals are right-side up. Usually on clocks with Roman numerals, the notations are angled around the face. Also of note to me is the absence of all the numerals not in the cardinal directions. It seems likely to me that at least one of these details is altered from the real clock it's representing - perhaps the real thing rotates the numerals, OR has only four but they're all upright - because that seems in line with how other things have been represented. I wish there were a New York clock database or Tumblr or something, there's got to be some crazy savant who obsesses over clockfaces somewhere.
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Mar 26, 2015 00:26
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CK07 posted:I want to point out how unusual that clock is: OH poo poo you're right. The VI should be upside down, etc. Good catch
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Mar 26, 2015 00:57
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Merlot Brougham posted:Image 12, NYC Okay so let's match images: The bird is the bird on ellis island The spires are from EI The gid itself resembles several curved windows on EI: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/timeline_photos/1892_lrg_fullsize.jpg The Red window and the beige window resemble the color scheme of the building on EI The red rectangle resembles the docking area on EI That just leaves the three patterns of circles and the clock. What the hell are the circles? Drunk Nerds fucked around with this message at 01:36 on Mar 26, 2015 |
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Mar 26, 2015 01:29
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Image 12, NYCDrunk Nerds posted:Okay so let's match images:  The clock isn't necessarily significant for finding the actual treasure. The 11 o'clock time is the month indicator linking this image with November, the Topaz Birthstone, and the Chrysanthemum. This pattern holds true for every Image, in which many of the clocks are representing the month. However, if this is indeed linked with Verse 10, it does double duty, since it is necessary to decipher the clue: In the shadow Of the grey giant Find the arm that Extends over the slender path In summer You'll often hear a whirring sound Cars abound Although the sign Nearby Speaks of Indies native The natives still speak Of him of Hard word in 3 Vols. Take twice as many east steps as the hour Or more From the middle of one branch Of the v Look down And see simple roots In rhapsodic man's soil Or gaze north Toward the isle of B. Presumably, you would walk 22 steps east (or more), based upon the clock showing 11. I've also liked the simple nod to NYC, interpreting the clock as a "Times Square" pun.
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Mar 26, 2015 01:45
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Merlot Brougham posted:Image 12, NYC ..:. Right. Rest assured I understand the basic principles behind this treasure hunt that we've been working on for two years. I was trying to use the new information: perhaps everything in the picture is visible from the dig site, with ck07's observation that the Roman numerals are oriented incorrectly. Compare the clock in the New Orleans picture: jjp oriented the Ronan numerals correctly in that one, so there might be something to this.
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Mar 26, 2015 04:37
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CK07 posted:I want to point out how unusual that clock is:
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Mar 26, 2015 04:46
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