Bookworm Mystery Cache
Nomex: No response from owner. If you wish to repair/replace the cache sometime in the future, just contact us (by email), and assuming it meets the current guidelines, we'll be happy to unarchive it.
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I'm trying something different. The cache is at the indicated coordinates. The cache is a magnetic hide-a-key in the usual spot. I do not, however, suggest you go looking for it without solving the following old chestnut. I will confirm the solution (after the FTF of course).
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Grolier F. Wagnall is the proud owner of a complete 1921 edition of the Encylcopedia Britannica. The set is a leather-bound wonder of workmanship. Each volume is made of the finest Lithuanian parchment and bound in rare Peruvian leather. The printed portion of each odd-numbered volume is exactly two inches thick. The printed portion of each even-numbered volume is exactly one and a half inches thick. The binding of each volume is exactly one quarter of an inch thick. (By "binding," I mean the front cover, the back cover, and the spine. Each of these components is one quarter of an inch thick.)
Not only is this set the pride of Mr. Wagnall's collection and the envy of the Snobbleshire Book Collectors' Club, but the local insect life finds it very tasty too.
One day an efficient bookworm starts from exactly one and a third inches down from the top edge and two and an eighth inches from the left edge of the first page of volume one. It starts muching and takes the shortest route to the last page of volume two. At that point it stops.
Puzzle: how far did the bookworm travel (in inches)?
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Please note: I have learned not to underestimate the abilities of the local puzzle-solving group to second-guess the conditions. So you are allowed to assume that each individual page has a negligible thickness, that the worm starts on the very first parchment page and goes to the very last parchment page (and any prefaces and indexes paginated with small roman numerals would thus be included), that the volumes are in their natural order on the same shelf, that the volumes are printed in English using the standard conventions, that the volumes are packed together infinitely close together and that you can ignore any physical space between them, and that the worm is in fact a breadthless point whose length is immaterial to solving the puzzle. I am sure I haven't considered all of the possible distractions. If I have missed any, ignore them. Write to me if you need clarification or have objections to the consitions.
Once you have the answer, drop any decimal points and pad the result with as many zeros on the right as you need to. Thus if the answer is 4.79 (it is not), use the numbers 479, 4790, 47900, etc. If the answer is .0008 (it is not), use the numbers 8, 80, 800, 8000, etc. The number of zeros will become apparent in due time.
The container is a new-style hide-a-key. It opens by pulling it apart and twisting. If you're smart enough to figure out the puzzle, you're smart enough to figure out how to open the container. But if you have problems, let me know.
[Note 7/16/06: Please avoid the temptation of putting even small items in the cache. The interior is not as large as you think it is. I think that's what's screwed it up the last two times.]
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
[Puzzle:] Vs lbh unira'g frra guvf purfgahg orsber, lbh znl jvfu gb pbafhyg na npghny raplpybcrqvn svefg. Abg n iveghny bar.
[Checksum] Bu, pbzr ba abj...