This puzzle requires you to decode a set of encoded coordinates by resolving the Christchurch Hairball Puzzle. Each list below provides 9 out of 10 elements that will associate to a common theme. The elements in each list can be ordered and unambiguously associated with the digits 0-9 based on that theme. For example, a list may be the first 10 states that entered the United States (List Y below), or they could be pronouns with different word lengths (List Z below). A little web search and analysis will show that Massachusetts is missing in List Y, and that Massachusetts was the 6th state to enter the union. So the letter Y would resolve to 6.
An astute observer will also notice that each of the pronouns in List Z is of a different length, and that there are nine pronouns of different lengths (2 letters through 10 letters), but no pronoun of 1 letter length. Therefore, Z would resolve to the value 1.
There is one missing element in each of the 10 lists. The zero in each list may correlate with a zero or with a 10 depending on the context. Once you have enough of the lists solved, you can decode the coordinates.
Christchurch Hairball Puzzle
W = J - D
X = D + I
Y = A + F - D
Z = E - I + B
R = B + I
S = E - A
T = D + H - J
U = C + G – A
The cache can be found at:
S 43 2W.XYZ
E 172 2R.STU
A few hints on solving:
- A collaborative team of diverse thinking people will help in brainstorming the solution.
- Some puzzles require a little web research, some are just simple exercises in observation.
- No advanced knowledge of any topic is necessary. A high school education should be sufficient.
NOTE: The caches that this one is based on were placed in Massachusetts by JWCOREY. If you ever get the chance to do any of this caches, they are well worth it. The puzzles are all well constructed, and he uses great cachesmanship on the actual hides themselves. These are amongst my favourite finds.