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Loony Bins Mystery Cache

Hidden : 9/15/2008
Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

Puzzle cache: do not go to the posted coordinates!

I have always loved looking at maps. It's great to get a sense of where I am and where things are. As a kid I loved being able to look at the map at the local mall and see the big red "You are here" dot. As a boy scout, I came to rely on topo maps to get where I needed to go without getting lost. And now, half the fun of caching is pulling up the maps to see where the cache is and plan out the best approach. The best maps combine science, math, and fine art, becoming magnificent tools for creating a sense of place.

A few months ago, as I was checking out old maps of New England, I came across the following map of the McLean Insane Asylum (now named McLean Hospital and part of Harvard Medical School).



I looked up McLean online and found out that it was at the forefront of many of the 19th- and 20th-century mental health reforms, and that quite a few famous people had been treated there. I read more and started to develop an interest in the history of psychiatric hospitals in general. I went about obtaining some research material; when the first shipment arrived, I found something surprising. On the back of the receipt, somebody had written the words "LOONY BINS." Underneath this heading was an array of numbers. I thought at first that perhaps someone in the shipping department was making fun of my taste in books. But then my curiosity got the best of me and I tried figuring out what the numbers could mean. I've run them through the many decryption tools I've found on the net, and so far I haven't had any luck getting them to say anything to me. Can you figure out the numbers' hidden meaning?

1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1
5 4 5 9 3 5 4 8 9 9
5 0 9 3 0 7 0 2 5 3
1 6 0 6 6 0 1 3 2 2
5 5 1 3 8 6 6 4 9 9
3 8 0 4 0 1 0 2 8 1
7 7 3 7 6 5 3 0 6 6
5 2 1 8 0 3 3 1 8 0
4 0 5 4 3 4 7 9 0 5
0 6 6 8 7 9 8 1 9 9


You can check your solution here.

Congrats to FTF Trivial Pursuits!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Nobhg gjragl srrg fbhgu bs gur cnirq genvy, oruvaq gur 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)