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Fifty Nicknames Mystery Cache

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Fish Soup: I think it is time for this one to retire. It was never that popular anyway.

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Hidden : 6/12/2007
Difficulty:
3 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

It's time to dust of those college yearbooks to find the coordinates for this puzzle, which are not those listed above.

I'm sure we can all remember the school nicknames from our high school or university days, but do you know others? This puzzle will test your knowledge of school nicknames from colleges and universities located throughout the United States. There are some pretty cool nicknames out there, but there are also some odd or funny ones. What about the College of the Atlantic Black Flies (Bar Harbor, Maine) or our beloved Evergreen State College Geoducks (Olympia, Washington)?

The table below shows 50 US states and 50 nicknames. Your job is to match the nickname with the state in which a college or university with that nickname is located. Keep in mind there are likely to be more than one school with each nickname, although not always. I tried to keep it reasonable and didn't choose nicknames such as Tigers (45 schools) or Wildcats (32 schools), but you'll need to use a bit of logic.

Alabama         ___    1 Aggies
Alaska ___ 2 Badgers
Arizona ___ 3 Bearcats
Arkansas ___ 4 Bears
California ___ 5 Beavers
Colorado ___ 6 Bengals
Connecticut ___ 7 Big Green
Delaware ___ 8 Bison
Florida ___ 9 Blue Demons
Georgia ___ 10 Blue Devils
Hawaii ___ 11 Blue Hens
Idaho ___ 12 Bluejays
Illinois ___ 13 Bobcats
Indiana ___ 14 Bruins
Iowa ___ 15 Buffaloes
Kansas ___ 16 Bulls
Kentucky ___ 17 Cardinals
Louisiana ___ 18 Cowboys
Maine ___ 19 Coyotes
Maryland ___ 20 Crusaders
Massachusetts ___ 21 Cyclones
Michigan ___ 22 Dragons
Minnesota ___ 23 Gamecocks
Mississippi ___ 24 Gators
Missouri ___ 25 Golden Eagles
Total first 25 states:

Montana ___ 26 Golden Gophers
Nebraska ___ 27 Huskies
Nevada ___ 28 Razorbacks
New Hampshire ___ 29 Jaguars
New Jersey ___ 30 Jayhawks
New Mexico ___ 31 Knights
New York ___ 32 Lobos
North Carolina ___ 33 Lumberjacks
North Dakota ___ 34 Mountaineers
Ohio ___ 35 Mustangs
Oklahoma ___ 36 Panthers
Oregon ___ 37 Patriots
Pennsylvania ___ 38 Polar Bears
Rhode Island ___ 39 Rams
South Carolina ___ 40 Rebels
South Dakota ___ 41 Redhawks
Tennessee ___ 42 Runnin' Rebels
Texas ___ 43 Seawolves
Utah ___ 44 Spartans
Vermont ___ 45 Terrapins
Virginia ___ 46 Terriers
Washington ___ 47 Trojans
West Virginia ___ 48 Volunteers
Wisconsin ___ 49 Warriors
Wyoming ___ 50 Yellow Jackets
Total last 25 states:

Use the table as follows:

  1. Determine the correct nickname for each state (remember, this is the nickname of a college or university, not the state's nickname)
  2. Write the rank order of that nickname next to the appropriate state. For example, if the correct nickname for Alabama was Bulls, you would write 16 in blank space next to Alabama, and so on.
  3. Once you've filled in all the blanks, total the numbers for the first 25 states. Call this number x. Total the numbers for the last 25 states. Call this number y.
The cache is located at 47 41.(x+91) and 122 18.(y-104).

You can check your answers for this puzzle (after making the correction above) on Geochecker.com.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Chmmyr-Rnpu fpubby vf nzbat gur orggre xabja va gur fgngr. Fvzvyneyl, sbe rnpu avpxanzr, tb sbe gur zbfg jryy xabja (be creuncf frpbaq zbfg jryy xabja) bs gur yvfg. Lbh pna vtaber gur gval fpubbyf lbh'ir arire urneq bs. Ornef jrer 2003 APNN punzcf va ibyyrlonyy. Xavtugf cynl ng gur Ebguzna Pragre. Gur Zhfgnatf cynl va Pbasrerapr-HFN. Pnpur-Urnq uvtu va pebbx bs gerr.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)