If you had visited the posted coordinates in the 1990s, you might have walked out carrying a stack of movies. Today, there's no sign of the video store that once stood here—one of nearly 1,900 locations that closed when parent company Movie Gallery, Inc. filed for bankruptcy in 2010.
Long before streaming services put thousands of movies at our fingertips, people visited places like this to browse aisles of VHS tapes and DVDs, debate what to watch, ask for recommendations, and hope the latest release was still in stock. I spent part of my college years working at a Hollywood Video, so National VCR Day seemed like a good excuse to celebrate this nostalgic era of home entertainment.
Solve the movie-themed clues below to determine the cache location.
You'll find a small container in a standard hiding spot at N 47° J.ABA′ W 122° K.CDEÂ
A = The number of words in the title of a movie based on the true story of a 1917 dog-sled race from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Saint Paul, MinnesotaÂ
B = The number of letters in the last name of Andy’s favorite space rangerÂ
C = The number of words in the title of a 1995 movie about two identical-looking strangers who swap lives
D = The number of letters in the last name of a family shipwrecked on an uncharted tropical island.Â
E = The number of children governed by a high-spirited nun in this story set in Austria in the 1930sÂ
F = The number of letters in this coming-of-age adventure comedy loosely based on the real-life Stouffer brothers
G = The number of letters in this Disney movie featuring the music of Phil Collins
H = A charismatic high school senior fakes an illness to skip school. Add the digits of the year this cult classic was released
I = The number of letters in the last name of the formidable headmistress of Crunchem Hall Primary School
J = H + I
K = F + G
You can validate your puzzle solution with
certitude.
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Optional: In your log, I'd love to hear about your favorite video store, a late-fee horror story, or a tale of accidentally recording over the wrong VHS tape. Not old enough for these things? Ask the nearest old person!Â