Let's solve a 40 year old unsolved treasure hunt!

The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > Let's solve a 40 year old unsolved treasure hunt!

TipsyMc: Sep 5, 2004; I visited BYOB and all I got was this lousy avatar

Here is the article about the Boston find complete with picture of the gem:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...vLJLO2BWlZ5xh9A

# ? Oct 25, 2019 18:29

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# ? Jun 3, 2024 10:35

mind the walrus: Sep 22, 2006

Paywall

# ? Oct 25, 2019 18:50

Piggy Smalls: Jun 21, 2015; BOSS MAKES A DOLLAR,
YOU MAKE A DIME,
I'LL LICK HIS BOOT TILL THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS SHINE.

mind the walrus posted:

Paywall

Sucks

# ? Oct 25, 2019 18:53

FelchTragedy: Jul 2, 2002; FelchTragedy.
Internet, I call forth your power!
Let's T_Roll.

Boston Globe posted:

One afternoon this summer, Jason Krupat went for a run after work. He left his office downtown and, as usual, chose a route that took him along the waterfront in the North End.

He was trying to lose some weight, yes, but those daily runs were also an opportunity for him to clear his head and ponder a puzzle that had remained unsolved since 1982. When unlocked, it would lead to a treasure buried somewhere in North America.

And Krupat and his family had come to believe the clues led to Langone Park in the North End, a sprawling green space with three ball fields, bocce courts, a pool, and a playground. More specifically, they believed the treasure was buried underneath home plate on the softball field.

But as Krupat was jogging along the waterfront that July day, wondering how they might ever convince the city to let them dig up home plate, he saw something happening at Langone Park that sent a panic through his body. The entire park was circled by construction fencing, and crews were tearing the place up for a major renovation.

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�I got up the courage to walk onto the site and find the foreman, and I said, �You�re going to think this is crazy, but I think there�s buried treasure in this park,� � Krupat recalled. �And I was right � he thought I was crazy.�

Josh Gates, host of �Expedition Unknown� at the site with Jason Krupat.
Josh Gates, host of �Expedition Unknown� at the site with Jason Krupat. DAVID L. RYAN/GLOBE STAFF/GLOBE STAFF
Some explaining was in order. The treasure Krupat sought was the work of a New York publisher named Byron Preiss, who in 1982 released a book titled �The Secret� (no relation to the popular self-help book with the same title).

Preiss�s book contained 12 puzzles, each consisting of a cryptic verse that had to be paired with a cryptic painting. If solved correctly, each puzzle would lead to a park in a different North American city � Preiss never said which cities � to a spot where he had buried an ornate ceramic �casque� inside a plexiglass box. Inside each �casque� -- the word Preiss used to descibe the ceramic container he buried -- was a key that could be exchanged for a jewel valued at about $1,000.

The year after the book was published, three teenagers in Chicago followed Preiss�S clues to a box buried in Grant Park in Chicago.

JOHN TLUMACKI/GLOBE STAFF/GLOBE STAFF
It was another 21 years before the next box was discovered, by two buddies in the Greek Cultural Garden in Cleveland.

The following year, in 2005, Preiss, the only person who knew the exact whereabouts of the treasures, died in a car accident.

No other boxes were ever found. Interest in �The Secret� faded, and the book went out of print.

Then early last year, �Expedition Unknown,� a television show on the Discovery Channel, did a special on �The Secret� that set off a new frenzy of treasure hunters.

�I�ve been making travel adventure shows for 10 years, and I�ve never seen anything like the reaction to that show,� said Josh Gates, the show�s host, who is a Tufts grad and a native of Manchester-by-the-Sea. �So many people contacted me, and a lot of them were from the Boston area because it�s long been believed that one of them was hidden there.�

The Krupat children, 12-year-old Molly and 10-year-old Jack, saw the episode and called their parents into the room, knowing this would be right up their father�s alley. Jason Krupat makes his living as a puzzle and game designer. Soon, the family began making weekend trips into the city to work on what had come to be known as �the Boston verse.�

If Thucydides is/North of Xenophon/Take five steps/In the area of his direction/A green tower of lights/In the middle section/Near those/Who pass the coliseum/With metal walls/Face the water/Your back to the stairs/Feel at home/All the letters/Are here to see/Eighteenth day/Twelfth hour/Lit by lamplight/In truth be free.

Jack Krupat, 10, pointed to lines from �The Secret.�
Jack Krupat, 10, pointed to lines from �The Secret.� JOHN TLUMACKI/GLOBE STAFF/GLOBE STAFF
The names Thucydides and Xenophon are engraved on the facade of the main branch of the Boston Public Library in Copley Square, so it has long been assumed that the solution to this verse began there. Where it went after that has been the source of wild speculation over the years, with most theories focusing in the area around Fenway Park, believing it fit the �coliseum,� �green tower of lights� in �the middle section� of the city.

The Krupats chased that hypothesis, as well as others � there�s a very active Internet message board devoted to theories about �The Secret� � but ultimately began to believe that the clues pointed to the North End.

The �eighteenth day,� �twelfth hour,� �lit by lamplight� seemed to refer to Paul Revere�s famous �midnight ride� on April 18, 1775, which began when he rowed from his home in the North End to Charlestown to borrow a horse. Many historians believe he shoved off near what is now Langone Park.

The Krupats, with host Josh Gates, at the North End site.
The Krupats, with host Josh Gates, at the North End site. DAVID L. RYAN/GLOBE STAFF/GLOBE STAFF
There were also clues in the painting that accompanied the verse. The Krupats thought that the face of the woman in the image looks very similar to that of the Christopher Columbus statue in the North End.

But most convincing was that right across the street from Langone Park is Copp�s Hill Terrace, a small park that features large granite steps. If you �face the water� with �your back to the stairs,� the Krupats figured out, you were looking straight at �home� plate of the softball field.

It sounded plausible. But so have many other theories that have gone nowhere, so the Krupats were not about to dig up home plate.

The discovery of the construction project meant they might not have to. Or it meant that the casque was about to be destroyed and lost forever.

The night he spoke to the foreman, Jason Krupat wrote a long e-mail to Wes Construction Corp., the contractor, explaining �The Secret� and his home plate theory. He never got a reply, but word spread around the construction site about the guy claiming there was a buried treasure in the park, a ceramic box encased in plexiglass.

Months passed, and then one day in early October, a construction worker named Mitch Cunningham was operating an excavator in the area around home plate when he felt the metal bucket crack something. When he got out and inspected, he found shards of plexiglass, as well as a few pieces of ornate ceramic. He put the pieces aside, and they were taken to the company�s headquarters in Halifax.

The following day, the company dug out Krupat�s e-mail and contacted him.

Krupat says he immediately ran out of his office, hopped in an Uber, and rushed to Halifax. When he got a look at the ceramic � including one that featured a sundial identical to the two casques that had already been discovered � he called his wife, Colleen Brownell-Krupat, and told her the news.

They had solved it.

Last Thursday, the Krupats returned to the site to continue searching. They were trailed by Josh Gates and the crew from �Expedition Unknown� � which will release a special on the Boston find Wednesday on the Discovery Channel � and were assisted, once again, by Cunningham and his excavator.

As Cunningham dragged the excavator�s teeth through the soil, the Krupats followed closely, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Over the course of the day, they found more pieces of the ceramic casque, as well as the all-important key.

It was a jubilant day, until unexpected visitors arrived. A woman appeared outside the construction fence and started yelling to the crew, saying she lived nearby and was working on solving the riddle. She clearly recognized Gates from television, and pleaded for someone to tell her if they�d found the casque. The crew stayed mum. Things got quiet. No one seemed to know what to do.

Soon two men joined the woman outside the fence, each of them dressed in fluorescent construction jackets, and minutes later they tried to come onto the dig site before being turned away by a producer.

�When Byron Preiss buried these things, he often disguised himself as a construction worker, so they�re carrying on a tradition,� Gates said, flabbergasted at what was transpiring.

But the Krupats had already gathered enough of the casque to claim the reward, and so on Tuesday they went to New York, to a ceremony at the Brooklyn Historical Society, where Preiss�s widow, Sandi Mendelson, and their two daughters presented the Krupats with a green gemstone known as a peridot.

The ceremony served as a reunion of sorts for everyone involved in the long story of �The Secret.� The men who found the casques in Chicago and Cleveland were also in attendance, as was the artist who made the original paintings.

�It was emotional,� Krupat said. �It was a special event. I told my kids that this was like something out of a novel. We exchanged a buried treasure for a jewel.�

�I didn�t think we were ever going to find anything,� Colleen Brownell-Krupat said. �It was just about enjoying the process and spending time with the family. I�m still shocked we were able to solve it.�

The Krupats are also a bit sad that it�s all over.

But there are still nine casques out there, nine more puzzles to be solved, and they plan to start working on one of those soon.

# ? Oct 25, 2019 19:11

SilvergunSuperman: Aug 7, 2010

What a fluffy piece, yeesh.

# ? Oct 25, 2019 19:16

FelchTragedy: Jul 2, 2002; FelchTragedy.
Internet, I call forth your power!
Let's T_Roll.

This is like Masquerade again. This is somewhat sad. In my opinion they they didn't find it and I can't congratulate them on grounds of intellectual honesty. This has a whole bunch of ramifications and drama.

FelchTragedy fucked around with this message at 19:05 on Oct 26, 2019

# ? Oct 25, 2019 19:17

SilvergunSuperman: Aug 7, 2010

Agreed, and I hope it haunts them.

# ? Oct 25, 2019 19:19

Crusty Nutsack: Apr 21, 2005; SUCK LASER, COPPERS

FelchTragedy posted:

This like Masquerade again. This is somewhat sad. In my opinion they they didn't find it and I can't congratulate them on grounds of intellectual honesty. This has a whole bunch of ramifications and drama.

why? who actually found it then??

# ? Oct 25, 2019 19:44

wa27: Jan 15, 2007

Can someone summarize why finding a cask is actually a bad thing?

# ? Oct 25, 2019 20:06

Piggy Smalls: Jun 21, 2015; BOSS MAKES A DOLLAR,
YOU MAKE A DIME,
I'LL LICK HIS BOOT TILL THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS SHINE.

They should have just tried to get their hands dirty and break a wrist.

# ? Oct 25, 2019 20:22

Drunk Nerds: Jan 25, 2011; Just close your eyes; Fun Shoe

wa27 posted:

Can someone summarize why finding a cask is actually a bad thing?

Yeah it's cool that we now know Preiss did not give a poo poo. The NYC cask is totally on Ellis island near those bird statues in view of a russian orthodox church and he probably did dig up the yard of the rich guys club in montreal

We also have another set of tools to try to solve others: everything seems to have the closest dig landmark mentioned in the verse and image

# ? Oct 25, 2019 20:31

Crusty Nutsack: Apr 21, 2005; SUCK LASER, COPPERS

wa27 posted:

Can someone summarize why finding a cask is actually a bad thing?

it's gotta be that people who have been obsessing over this for a decade are mad they didn't think to go talk to the construction people

# ? Oct 25, 2019 21:39

FelchTragedy: Jul 2, 2002; FelchTragedy.
Internet, I call forth your power!
Let's T_Roll.

wa27 posted:

Can someone summarize why finding a cask is actually a bad thing?

I guess it's relative from whose perspective it is. People have been beaten down by soccer mom rage at the audacity of asking reasonable questions.

# ? Oct 25, 2019 22:04

Invicta{HOG}, M.D.: Jan 16, 2002

Wow this is so awesome. As someone who has spent time (with Xie at times) looking around Boston I was pretty far off. I had focused on Cambridge Common and along the Charles and the only thing that I had right was that it was under a home plate. I'd actually gone out to watch them dig up the baseball field on the Common a few years back but didn't see anything in the rubble pile. I kept thinking about this ever so often and now it's amazing to actually see another one come out of the ground and answer my quest -- it feels great because I thought that I would probably never know the secret. I'd never even heard of Langone Park...

# ? Oct 25, 2019 23:26

Comstar: Apr 20, 2007; Are you happy now?

I just saw the news on reddit- which picture had the clues for the poem? Did anyone in the thread guess right?

# ? Oct 26, 2019 02:31

bird with big dick: Oct 21, 2015

A treasure hunter didn�t find the cask an excavator did, the excavator should get the jewel.

# ? Oct 26, 2019 03:20

Viruswithshoes: Mar 26, 2007

Can anybody post some pictures of the ceremony? Or just more pictures in general.

# ? Oct 26, 2019 15:05

TipsyMc: Sep 5, 2004; I visited BYOB and all I got was this lousy avatar

Viruswithshoes posted:

Can anybody post some pictures of the ceremony? Or just more pictures in general.

It will be shown on Expedition Unknown this Wednesday.

# ? Oct 26, 2019 16:45

Taima: Dec 31, 2006; tfw you're peeing next to someone in the lineup and they don't know

mind the walrus posted:

Paywall

There are addons that allow you to selectively disable javascript on a per-site basis. This disables the paywalls.

# ? Oct 26, 2019 16:48

Viruswithshoes: Mar 26, 2007

TipsyMc posted:

It will be shown on Expedition Unknown this Wednesday.

I don�t live in the USA

# ? Oct 26, 2019 22:38

FelchTragedy: Jul 2, 2002; FelchTragedy.
Internet, I call forth your power!
Let's T_Roll.

Viruswithshoes posted:

I don�t live in the USA

A livestream happens.

# ? Oct 26, 2019 23:30

joebuddah: Jan 30, 2005

The OP said the jewels were gone. Very interesting

# ? Oct 26, 2019 23:35

Comstar: Apr 20, 2007; Are you happy now?

So do we know which clues meant what? What picture and clues in the picture helped?

# ? Oct 27, 2019 03:47

Snowy: Oct 6, 2010; A man whose blood
Is very snow-broth;
One who never feels
The wanton stings and
Motions of the sense

FelchTragedy posted:

This is like Masquerade again.

If only, then at least the artwork would be good

# ? Oct 27, 2019 04:26

BigFactory: Sep 17, 2002

Has anyone solved the tribute puzzle yet? It seemed like it was getting narrowed down.

# ? Oct 27, 2019 13:41

FelchTragedy: Jul 2, 2002; FelchTragedy.
Internet, I call forth your power!
Let's T_Roll.

BigFactory posted:

Has anyone solved the tribute puzzle yet? It seemed like it was getting narrowed down.

No. But goons are exploring it. It just a matter of people adding a search in with their spare time. I think I have a promising place to have searched that has a full trail of logic.

FelchTragedy fucked around with this message at 23:53 on Oct 27, 2019

# ? Oct 27, 2019 23:45

Urban Smurf: Jun 12, 2013; Take this avatar, rotate it 180 degrees, mirror it, mark a point from the tip of the dogs noses and you will see it will line up to this image of the centaurs tail "exactly."

FelchTragedy posted:

No. But goons are exploring it. It just a matter of people adding a search in with their spare time. I think I have a promising place to have searched that has a full trail of logic.

It's the "full trail of logic" that burns us the most. Seems the best thing to do is invest in a back-hoe and go full tilt on any old hunch.

# ? Oct 29, 2019 14:45

BigFactory: Sep 17, 2002

Urban Smurf posted:

It's the "full trail of logic" that burns us the most. Seems the best thing to do is invest in a back-hoe and go full tilt on any old hunch.

That didn�t work out for Houston

# ? Oct 29, 2019 15:06

Friend: Aug 3, 2008

Comstar posted:

So do we know which clues meant what? What picture and clues in the picture helped?

Most of it is in the article FelchTragedy posted and that reddit post but basically it seems like most of the stuff in here is either overthinking or just clues to it being in Boston but not about the actual location, except that the balls are actually bocce balls ('cause it's Italian and there were 3 balls and 3 bocce ball courts near the field) and what looks like a leg standing on the corner of home plate on her sleeve

# ? Oct 29, 2019 18:01

Urban Smurf: Jun 12, 2013; Take this avatar, rotate it 180 degrees, mirror it, mark a point from the tip of the dogs noses and you will see it will line up to this image of the centaurs tail "exactly."

I still wonder if there isnt some baseball/Italian inspiration feeding this from a song that asks where Joe DiMaggio has gone.

The Boston verse,

"Feel at home
All the letters are here to see"

Compare to Simon and Garfunkles 2nd verse of Mrs Robinson,

"Look around you all you see are sympathetic eyes
Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home."

# ? Nov 4, 2019 00:28

Cobalt60: Jun 1, 2006

thank you urban smurf it's been a while, very cool

# ? Nov 4, 2019 00:32

Pissed Ape Sexist: Apr 19, 2008

Urban Smurf posted:

I still wonder if there isnt some baseball/Italian inspiration feeding this from a song that asks where Joe DiMaggio has gone.

The Boston verse,

"Feel at home
All the letters are here to see"

Compare to Simon and Garfunkles 2nd verse of Mrs Robinson,

"Look around you all you see are sympathetic eyes
Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home."

Joe DiMaggio played for the Yankees, the least sympathetic possible team in terms of anything Bostonian, and that lyric is about Mrs. Robinson as DiMaggio hasn't been mentioned in the song yet. It's solved. Move on.

Pissed Ape Sexist fucked around with this message at 00:39 on Nov 4, 2019

# ? Nov 4, 2019 00:36

Synthetic Hermit: Apr 4, 2012; mega survoltage!!!; Grimey Drawer

bird with big dick posted:

A treasure hunter didn�t find the cask an excavator did, the excavator should get the jewel.

The excavator wouldn't have known what it was if the solver hadn't spoken up.

There's zero controversy. If anyone is concerned about a solve being "stolen", once you share information, even through email, exclusivity is waived.

---------------------------

A HUGE congratulations to Mr. Krupat!!! Hopefully this accelerates the rest of the search! :cheers:

# ? Nov 4, 2019 01:28

Drunk Nerds: Jan 25, 2011; Just close your eyes; Fun Shoe

Agreed. Solves abound like cars in New York city. The spoils go to the people who put in the actually hard work of getting on site and figuring a way to get it.

# ? Nov 4, 2019 02:32

treasure bear: Dec 10, 2012

miraculously the excavator's bucket link wasn't tragically broken

# ? Nov 4, 2019 06:47

SilvergunSuperman: Aug 7, 2010

Drunk Nerds posted:

Agreed. Solves abound like cars in New York city. The spoils go to the people who put in the actually hard work of getting on site and figuring a way to get it.

Lol "hey use your equip to dig this up for me" truly the hardest of work and they deserved it way more than the people that showed up later that day to make the same request.

Asterisk, asterisk!!

# ? Nov 4, 2019 09:29

FelchTragedy: Jul 2, 2002; FelchTragedy.
Internet, I call forth your power!
Let's T_Roll.

I don't agree. There was some thing that Einstein theorised about that the technology wasn't good enough to test at the time. Within recent years it was possible to test it it and Einstein was right. Plaudits for the scientists that carried out the tests but also plaudits for the person that does proof on concept. Whether you buy the proof of concept and result in this Boston case is a different matter of course. It's basically the acknowledgement of perceptiveness.

# ? Nov 4, 2019 14:05

Urban Smurf: Jun 12, 2013; Take this avatar, rotate it 180 degrees, mirror it, mark a point from the tip of the dogs noses and you will see it will line up to this image of the centaurs tail "exactly."

Pissed Ape Sexist posted:

Joe DiMaggio played for the Yankees, the least sympathetic possible team in terms of anything Bostonian, and that lyric is about Mrs. Robinson as DiMaggio hasn't been mentioned in the song yet. It's solved. Move on.

You are arguing assertions that nobody has made, which makes you weak and foolish, so try harder to stand up to the question. Who gives a poo poo that he played for the Yankees. Who gives a poo poo that Joe DiMaggio hasn't been mentioned "yet". That's like people saying you're not a dipshit till you've opened your mouth. Are you really trying to argue that DiMaggio, being Italian and being a baseball player is inconsequential, since hes not from Boston? The "solve" and location strongly implicate Italian immigration, baseball, and Revere. You might've thought to argue that a Yankee is a good reference to the American Revolution and a good way to tie in Revere's involvement.

As for the comparison of lines of verse 3 to a well known song, it's similar to the well discussed connection people have had on the paraphrased words to the "hesitating purchaser" from Treasure Island to the first 4 lines of verse 6. The question of why things like this might be included or whether they influence anything to do with a solve or not is what you might consider.

# ? Nov 4, 2019 15:12

AnacondaHL: Feb 15, 2009; I'm the lead trumpet player, playing loud and high is all I know how to do.

Urban Smurf posted:

You are arguing assertions that nobody has made, which makes you weak and foolish, so try harder to stand up to the question. Who gives a poo poo that he played for the Yankees. Who gives a poo poo that Joe DiMaggio hasn't been mentioned "yet". That's like people saying you're not a dipshit till you've opened your mouth. Are you really trying to argue that DiMaggio, being Italian and being a baseball player is inconsequential, since hes not from Boston? The "solve" and location strongly implicate Italian immigration, baseball, and Revere. You might've thought to argue that a Yankee is a good reference to the American Revolution and a good way to tie in Revere's involvement.

As for the comparison of lines of verse 3 to a well known song, it's similar to the well discussed connection people have had on the paraphrased words to the "hesitating purchaser" from Treasure Island to the first 4 lines of verse 6. The question of why things like this might be included or whether they influence anything to do with a solve or not is what you might consider.

holy poo poo does this thread deliver

# ? Nov 4, 2019 15:55

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# ? Jun 3, 2024 10:35

Pissed Ape Sexist: Apr 19, 2008

Urban Smurf posted:

You are arguing assertions that nobody has made, which makes you weak and foolish, so try harder to stand up to the question.

Lol, okay big guy. Your only question was, just like in every other case, 'what if this unrelated bullshit was true', which it undoubtedly isn't, ever. You have no valid platforms upon which anything reasonable can stand against any scrutiny except your own. You fancy yourself the Secret version of that meme where the lady is doing complex math in her head and it's ridiculous. Literally deserving of ridicule. Every single time.

Urban Smurf posted:

Are you really trying to argue that DiMaggio, being Italian and being a baseball player is inconsequential, since hes not from Boston?

No, I'm trying to slap you out of that same infuriating mental spin cycle you always default to so you can post like a human or, preferably, not at all. "Feel at home" isn't some esoteric clue, it's just a really common phrase. Thought experiment: I'm going to google 'feel at home, you genius', and add some theories to the first song result that I bet will be more relevant than the song idea you lovingly plucked from your own rear end in a top hat.

Oh, cool, it's Ray Charles' "I Feel at Home With You":

You always fit on
The knees that you sit on [kneeling/sitting just like a catcher?]
That's why I feel at home with you [omg catchers are at home plate]
I love to roam with you [holding the puzzle in your heart, 'with you', and searching diligently]
Each place that we go ['sit' from line 1 + 'go' from this line = 'sit go' = the Citgo sign in Kenmore Square!!!]
You flatter my ego [upon finding a casque an immeasurable sense of pride will result]
That's why I feel at home with you [omg home plate twice, this is totally it]

A random phrase typed into a search engine returns more cogent, reasonably interpreted results than you do when you try. Good job chachie

Urban Smurf posted:

You might've thought to argue that a Yankee is a good reference to the American Revolution and a good way to tie in Revere's involvement.

If I was an insane rambling fringe case relitigating things, yes. I'd jump right on that immediately so everyone knew it was me who did it. All me. Look what I put together. Look at this. Here. Look. This was the key all along. I'm part of this. Me.

Urban Smurf posted:

The question of why things like this might be included or whether they influence anything to do with a solve or not is what you might consider.

"A song could be tied to this" has even less weight than each previous piece of inane, fractally related cultural lint in every theory you've vomited forth for years; every successive musing builds the hillock of inane bullshit higher, rendering each turd within relatively less and less worthy of consideration through sheer volume of the contrary evidence upon which the most recent offering sits. gently caress off.

AnacondaHL posted:

holy poo poo does this thread deliver

Right?

Pissed Ape Sexist fucked around with this message at 16:40 on Nov 4, 2019

# ? Nov 4, 2019 16:33

The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > Let's solve a 40 year old unsolved treasure hunt!

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