SMOKE SIGNALS (#1) Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Welcome to White Birch Estates, a growing subdivision with still
plenty of green space around it. We begin at the end of Woodworth
street, a perfect place to park your vehicle.
I'm in the Communications business, so it only stands to reason
that this series pays hommage to different forms of communication
that man has used over thousands of years.
SMOKE SIGNALS:
In Ancient China, soldiers stationed along the Great Wall would
alert each other of impending enemy attack by signaling from tower
to tower. In this way, they were able to transmit a message as far
away as 750 kilometres (470 mi) in just a few hours.
Polybius, a Greek historian, came up with a more complex system of
alphabetical smoke signals around 150 BC. He invented a system of
converting Greek alphabetic characters into numeric characters. It
was devised to enable messages to be easily signaled by holding
sets of torches in pairs. This idea, known as the "Polybius
square", also lends itself to cryptography and steganography. This
cryptographic concept has been used with Japanese Hiragana and the
Germans in the later years of the First World War.
The North American Indians also communicated via smoke signal. Each
tribe had their own signaling system and understanding. A signaler
started a fire on an elevation typically using damp grass, which
would cause a column of smoke to rise. The grass would be taken off
as it dried and another bundle would be placed on the fire.
Reputedly the location of the smoke along the incline conveyed a
meaning. If it came from half way up the hill, this would signify
all was well, but from the top of the hill it would signify
danger.
Smoke signals are still in use today. In Rome, the College of
Cardinals uses smoke signals to indicate the selection of a new
Pope. Eligible cardinals conduct a secret ballot until someone
receives a vote of two-thirds plus one. The ballots are burned
after each vote. Black smoke indicates a failed ballot; white smoke
means a new Pope has been elected. In general smoke signals were
used to transmit news, signal danger, or gather people to a common
area.
This Cache was hidden by a member of the MGA!
-=Maritime
Geocaching Association=-
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Oruvaq.