This little puzzle brings me back to my basics. I've always enjoyed playing with numbers. As a kid I read many books on mathematical puzzles by famous mathematicians, or compilations by columnist Martin Gardner and others. The idea for the puzzle below was originally published by the French mathematician Emile Fourrey. I found it in one my older compilations, where it was rated as follows:
difficulty level: 2 on a scale from 1 to 4, "fairly easy"
mathematical knowledge needed: 1 on a scale from 1 to 4, "none"
The instructions to find the coordinates for this cache are clear and simple:
- Put all the integers (whole numbers), starting from 1, in a row as follows: 12345678910111213141516...Go as far as needed to solve the puzzle.
- {D} denotes the D-th digit in that series. A couple of examples to illustrate: {3} = 3, {10} = 1, {23} = 6
- You can determine the coordinates of the cache as follows:
Latitude = N AB° CD.EFG
Longitude = W HIJ° KL.MNO
where:
A = {37412}
B = {87654320}
C = {3738}
D = {60264027}
E = {77777809}
F = {8777777787}
G = {24910780}
H = {38890}
I = {616163}
J = {19888834}
K = {488894}
L = {30770774}
M = {680309142}
N = {2221}
O = {86527065}
This puzzle can be solved by hand or with a calculator if you apply some cleverness. I will not confirm coordinates. You have plenty of check-digits in the puzzle to verify your method and solution.
The cache was originally a green plastic container of approximatly 6" x 4" x 3" but as of 8/8/05 it is a camo painted ammo can. At that time it was restocked with a bunch of good stuff. Please rehide as found, and if trading, trade equitably.
There have been reports of Poison Oak in the area, not in the immediate vicinity of the cache, but around the last stretch to it. Be careful and survey the area before you decide which way to go. You can avoid most of the P.O. except maybe 1 foot or 2. On 8/7/05 I found two approaches where the P.O. can be avoided with careful steps.
Enjoy and good luck!
PLEASE NOTE: The follow-up puzzle cache More Digits has been archived as of 03/28/2016. You can therefore discard the hint sheets that you will find in the cache container.
UPDATE 10/27/2014: The "Location Hint" and "Container Hint" from the hint sheet you'll find in Digits are not valid anymore, as More Digits was moved to its new location today 10/27/2014. The "Puzzle Hint" from the hint sheet is however still valid and very useful to many.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.