The final geocache is NOT located at the posted coordinates, but they do provide a general location to park. The actual coordinates for the hide location are determined based on the clues given below. Bring your own writing tool. Permission for the hide was received from the land manager.
I've often been accused by close family members of being slooooow to catch the holiday spirit. They've even associated me with the phrase Bah, Humbug!!! Well, in my defense, I simply don't want to peak too early. Starting holiday shopping in early July would have me peaking in July instead of late December. Hence, just to PROVE I am not a Scrooge in 2021, I present this hide to you as my holiday gift to the geocaching community in the form of a little fun (the puzzle shouldn't prove too difficult) and an easy smiley (pretty straightforward hide). Have a Happy Holiday, everybody!!!
December 24th (Christmas Eve) and December 25th (Christmas Day) are important dates recognized around the world for obvious reasons. However, many other “notable” events have occurred on these dates as well. To determine this year’s coordinates for your Christmas hide, simply determine the years these historic events took place. Note that some events may have spanned both dates, but the year they occurred is the key. The sum totals of the years for each identified event provide the keys to determine the final hide location.
The final hide latitude is N 42 (sum of Dec 24 years - 16923) / 1000
The final hide longitude is W 091 (sum of Dec 25 years + 18687) / 1000
Notable December 24 Events:
1. The American Revolutionary War commander-in-chief of the Continental Army holds a meeting in Pennsylvania to discuss a raid on Trenton he would be conducting the following night.
2. As part of the first wireless Christmas, the BBC broadcasts the original British radio drama: “The Truth About Father Christmas”.
3. NORAD starts a tradition of tracking Santa when a young child accidentally dials the unlisted phone number of the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, believing she was calling Santa Claus, after seeing a promotion in a local newspaper.
4. Kiritimati, also known as Christmas Island, is discovered by James Cook.
5. A fire destroys about two-thirds of its 55,000 volumes, including most of Thomas Jefferson’s personal library, at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
6. "The Aristocats", an animated film produced by Walt Disney Productions, is released.
7. Consumption of too much eggnog spiked with smuggled whiskey by West Point cadets, results in the “Eggnog Riots”.
8. The Apollo 8 astronauts, orbiting the moon, read passages from the Old Testament book of Genesis during a Christmas Eve telecast.
9. Steve Smith, Canadian actor of The Red Green Show fame, is born.
10. "Silent Night! Holy Night!" has its world premiere on Christmas Eve in the St. Nicholas church of Oberndorf near Salzburg, Austria.
Notable December 25 Events:
1. A “Christmas Truce” takes place on battlefields of WWI between British and German troops, where they play soccer and exchange gifts, instead of fighting.
2. Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr) receives his first “real” drum set.
3. Walt Disney’s “The Sword in the Stone” is released in the U.S.
4. King George V falls through the seat of his favorite chair just as he is about to deliver his wireless broadcast Christmas message.
5. Mikhail Gorbachev formally announces his resignation as head of the Soviet Union.
6. Eartha Mae Kitt, perhaps best known for her 1953 Christmas song "Santa Baby" and for her playing Catwoman in the Batman TV series, dies at the age of 81.
7. Christopher Columbus’ ship, Santa Maria, a 110-ton cargo ship, runs aground in Haiti and had to be abandoned.
8. Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius introduces a centigrade thermometer scale for official weather reporting, defining the freezing point of water as 100°C and the boiling point of water as 0°C (to avoid negative weather temperature readings). By the way, those temperature definitions will be reversed a few years later by physicist Jean-Pierre Christin.
9. The first ever indoor baseball game on record is played in the city of Philadelphia in a large building on the state fairgrounds. Two thousand spectators watch the Uptowners defeat the Downtowners by a score of 6-1.
10. In John Philip Sousa’s autobiography, Marching Along, Sousa wrote that he composed "The Stars and Stripes Forever" at sea on this Christmas Day.
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I hope you enjoy this year's puzzle. If you did, here are some others you may find amusing.