About this geocaching series:
Since there is a serious shortage of puzzle caches in the
Bryan/College Station area, I have put together a series of them,
each with a different theme and unique puzzles to solve. They will
also have varying levels of difficulty, but I have designed the
puzzles to be solvable without needing extensive specialized
knowledge. Please refrain from posting in your logs any hints to
either the puzzles or the actual cache locations. However, I do
encourage you to work with others. I will not post any hints, but
if you keep having trouble after repeated attempts at solving them,
feel free to send me a message and I can point you in the right
direction. I want these to be challenging but still fun to do. So
good luck and happy trails.
THE CACHE IS NOT AT THE POSTED COORDINATES!
In order to obtain the coordinates to the location of this cache,
you will need to take upon youself the role of a private-eye. Below
are a series of clues that you will require the aid of both
Wikipedia and Google to solve. I have devised each step to be
solvable using common sense and descriptive key words in Google's
search engine. In each step you will need to visit specific
wikipedia articles indicated by each clue and identify a specific
word from each article to piece together the coordinates to the
cache's location. As you are solving this puzzle, I encourage you
to read the articles in their entirety to learn some really
interesting things about a part of the world that few Americans
have visited. So without further ado...
Step 1:
This Cold War officer's split-second decision may have
single-handedly changed the fate of the entire world. Find his
wikipedia article.
Wiki
Clue #1
-Coordinate Question (from now on referred to as CQ) #1: What is
this man's first name?
Step 2:
This is quite a unique (and very hot) place. Find its wikipedia
article.
Wiki
Clue #2
-CQ #2: In which country is this located?
Step 3:
A Ferris wheel that no one has ridden in over two decades. Locate
the wikipedia article of the city where you can find this
well-known Ferris wheel.
Wiki
Clue #3
-CQ #3: Was is the name of its offending neighbor city?
Step 4:
A well-known (and feared) sharpshooter. Find his wikipedia
page.
Wiki
Clue #4
-CQ #4: What was this man's home country?
Step 5:
This is the (old) coat of arms of a certain country. Identify the
country and find its wikipedia page. Be careful, another country
has one that is very similar.
Wiki
Clue #5
-CQ #5: What is a popular soft drink consumed here?
Step 6:
The current (as in not the old) coat of arms of the same
country in Step 5 looks unsurprisingly similar to that of another
country with a more extreme style of government located on a
different continent. Read the "Politics" section of Step 5's
wikipedia article to narrow your search for the next location (you
might find a link with a clue).
-CQ #6: Go to the wikipedia article of this next county's current
president. Identify the given name of his youngest son (not
his family name!)
Order the answers to the coordinate questions into a list and
convert the specified letters using this letter-number key: (a=1,
b=2, c=3, d=4, ...)
A. From CQ#1 - Convert the 6th letter of the
answer
B. From CQ#2 - Convert the 6th letter of the
answer
C. From CQ#3 - Convert the last letter of the
answer
D. From CQ#4 - Convert the first letter of the
answer
E. From CQ#5 - Convert the 2nd letter of the
answer
F. From CQ#6 - Convert the 4th letter of the
answer
Now solve the equation: [(A+C)*B]-40 = ??? and fill the blanks to
get the North coordinate:
N 30 43._ _ _
Now solve the following equations: (D*E*F)-517 = ??? and fill the
blanks to get the West coordinate:
W 096 24._ _ _
The cache is a micro so bring your own pen and some tweezers to
fish the log out.
Shout out to JJball and team turfman (FTFs). I bet you guys liked
to watch that old Carmen Sandiego show back in the day. Also,
thanks for helping me fix the bugs in the puzzle.