Ah yes, I remember having Paint by Numbers as a kid:
And here we go again - the geocache hider in me seems to want to take anything associated with numbers and turn it into a geocache hide puzzle.
So without any further adieu, this cache is not at the Kent Bulding Supplies paint help desk as the published coordinates suggest. Instead, the cache can be found at:
N47 3A.BCD W052 4E.FGA
Where A thru G may be learned upon considering the paint codes below for some PPG brand paints found in the hardware store. Now, you could go to the hardware store and search through the PPG paint chips upon display and the exact shade listed - yet let's face it - most of us would turn this into an online search. With the latter being the likely case, I wanted to make this a little more challenging by making each coordinate value into a little puzzle itself. Read on, and you'll see.
One more noteworthy point: As I teach high school I regularly get the question: "If you couldn't teach high school, what would you like to do for a living?" My response is always the same: "One of two things: 1) Professional Bingo Caller (I'd be as intense calling bingo numbers as UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer introduces fighters), or 2) The Dude who gets to put amazing names on individual paint shades." Accordingly, I haven't picked just any paint shades for this puzzle - I've picked six with some incredible name tags.
For A: In the hit Canadian TV show Letterkenny, characters such as Wayne or Katy Kat are commonly heard to say: "<PPG Paint Shade Name>, let's get at 'er".
For this <PPG Paint Shade Name> the code is PPG 11xy-4. A = x + y.
For B: One of the most infamous hacker groups known is <PPG Paint Shade Name>, and they are represented by the icon below:
<PPG Paint Shade Name> has the code PPG 112B-1.
For C: The band .38 Special released an album in 1978 called <PPG Paint Shade Name>, with the artwork below done by Neon Park (no relation):
<PPG Paint Shade Name> has the code PPG 103C-3.
For D: Rudolph and his pals drive Santa's sleigh on Christmas eve. They are all <PPG Paint Shade Name>, with Rudolph being the only red-nosed one in the bunch.
<PPG Paint Shade Name> has the code of 105D-3.
For E: Here's an easy one. A puzzle cache that I have hidden in the centre of the city is GC71F8F, with its title <PPG Paint Shade Name> being tha name that you're looking for here.
<PPG Paint Shade Name> has the code of PPG 11E5-1.
For F: Ok, I have no idea how this next one can be related to a paint shade, proving that anything can be the name of a paint shade. The dictionary devines this verb and <PPG Paint Shade Name> as "to laugh lightly in a nervous, affected, or silly manner."
<PPG Paint Shade Name> has the code PPG 12F7-1.
For G: Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong made a living off of portraying a couple of stoners in movies in the 70s and 80s. One of their most famous is "<PPG Paint Shade Name>". A screen grab from that movie is below.
<PPG Paint Shade Name> has the code PPG 101G-6.
It's now time to try your coordinates into the checker below. Have you completed your masterpiece, or have you painted yourself into a corner?
Once you've stirred up the right values, go make a splash on your map with a brand new smiley!
Enjoy!
CtB!