I have always been enchanted by the playful potential of words. When I was younger that took the form of bad jokes, (Q: Why was six afraid of seven? A: Because seven ate nine), and singing Mairzy Doats at music school, as I’ve grown older and acquired more knowledge this has expanded to include puns and places where my native language overlaps with other languages I’ve encountered, (I can’t be the only English speaker to think of the white condiment every time I say 沒有). Luckily for me, it seems that geocachers also enjoy a whole lot of word play.
Quite often you’ll find that a puzzle cache contains a clue to the solution or final GZ in the title, description or hint of the cache, from example a cache hidden in a tree might have the clue “stumped?”, or one hidden in the vicinity of a clock might be titled “Time to find a puzzle cache”. But the potential for giving clues in text is as infinite as language itself.
Some of the easier to solve puzzles include those where the location or clues are given using other languages. Sometimes it’s possible to decode those by running stuff through google translate but at other times the language might be fictional or dead (think Elvish, Dothraki, Klingon, Old Norse or Egyptian Hieroglyphs). There are also a whole load of languages which are commonly used by geocachers which aren’t technically spoken or written - these include braille, semaphore, morse code, nautical flags and sign language - to solve these it’s just a case of working out which language you’re dealing with and then decoding the message.
If you don’t need to translate or decode something you might find that the information is concealed in the text of the geocache listing. Check for anything which could be read as numbers and remember that since we’re living in a place where many geocachers are familiar with at least two languages it is common to find puzzle caches which need you to use your knowledge of both languages.
We are spoilt for local linguistic caches as it seems are several caches who enjoy playing with words. For example you could uncover Steve4nlaguage’s The Written Word (GC6WH05), Jefferyh’s Language (GC609N7), luisloco514’s A Challenge of Languages (GC5GH7H) or Haima’s Smoke gets in your eye (GC39N72).
PUZZLE GYM SERIES
WRITTEN RIDDLES
PICK OF THE FLICKS
It has to be said, I enjoy a good movie - although to be totally honest, you probably won't catch me watching the latest action hero movie. No, instead I will be watching strange or obscure titles in film festivals or lurking in the dark parts of the internet. The problem is, sometimes they are so obscure that I have no idea what they mean. Take the synposes below for example, I saw them last month and I'll be buggered if I know what they were trying to tell me. Perhaps you can make more sense of them.
Sick of the neglect he receives from his mom and dad, a young boy leaves home and travels the world in search of new parents. He gets into some trouble with the law and then cornered by the DEA, the convicted New York drug dealer reevaluates his life in the 24 remaining hours before facing a seven-year jail term and a young man whose job is to watch over the Cube endeavours to rescue an innocent woman trapped in one of its rooms. In the sequel, which is set during the summer of 1979, a group of friends witness a train crash and investigate subsequent unexplained events in their small town. One of them dreams that it is the year 1944 and World War II is not over yet. The Germans want to send their last available submarine on a secret mission from Toulon to Warnemuende. Atze pretends to be the legendary Lieutenant Commander Roenberg. But the crew gets suspicious when their commander starts issuing unconventional orders. It was a weird dream, but then it became even weirder when it shifted to 1998, and the family of the late Roger Maris went to Busch Stadium to witness Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals break their father's record with a 62nd home run. Maris' widow, Pat, was hospitalized due to complications from arrhythmia and watched the game on television from a hospital bed. The dreamer didn't know what it meant.
Elva and Sammy are on a journey - to Neverland. When their parents are killed in a tragic accident, Elva and Sammy run away from home; heading to find a better life. But things don't go to plan and soon they're in need of help. They encounter a down on his luck author, who, after checking into a desolate hotel, learns that his room lives a life of its own, revealing the secrets of the room's past visitors. The hotel has a range of other guests including some people of questionable character: indeed, whilst he is there, a gang of con-men rob prominent rich businessmen and politicians by posing as C.B.I and income tax officers and use the hotel as their base. All this happens in Spring 2012, during the french presidential campaign and in a climate characterized by the rise of the extreme right. Some people like Marco, move away from politics and no longer vote. Both disappointed by politicians and mired in financial problems, Marco gradually turns his back on our society. Approaching forty, he takes stock of his life and realised that he has not yet reached his goals. Others turn to sensationalism and elsewhere in the world three young conspiracy theorists attempt to uncover the mysteries of the government's secret location rumored to have hosted encounters with alien beings. What they find at this hidden facility exposes unimaginable secrets.
