Found
October 3, 2024 5:17 AM Subscribe
Whooooooo won?
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:28 AM on October 3 [12 favorites]
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:28 AM on October 3 [12 favorites]
I'd never heard of this but it sounds a lot like Masquerade by Kit Williams from the 1970s, with less of a scandal. (Someone cheated to find that buried treasure.)
posted by pangolin party at 6:54 AM on October 3 [10 favorites]
posted by pangolin party at 6:54 AM on October 3 [10 favorites]
Oof, that BBC article is very bare bones. Plus, it decided to quote someone who posted, “It’s like Covid. So good when it’s over.” Which, emphatically, is not over in any way. Why not describe what type of puzzles are involved or how it was finally solved, rather than misinformation about something that's actively disabling and killing people? Ah well. I'm thrilled that someone has claimed the owl and I'm looking forward to reading more about the mechanical aspects of the solution!
For the interested, there's a similar puzzle-based treasure hunt that's still active: The Secret. In 1982, twelve treasure boxes were hidden and a book published with clues to find them, similar to the Owl. As of 2024, only three have been found!
posted by foxtongue at 6:59 AM on October 3 [8 favorites]
For the interested, there's a similar puzzle-based treasure hunt that's still active: The Secret. In 1982, twelve treasure boxes were hidden and a book published with clues to find them, similar to the Owl. As of 2024, only three have been found!
posted by foxtongue at 6:59 AM on October 3 [8 favorites]
Does anyone have a general theory for why the solutions remain secret for these hunts even after the hunt is over? Similarly for Fenn's treasure chest, as far as I can tell.
My first guess was that the finder was planning to publish...a book, a documentary...detailing the adventure and the solution, thus profit! However, it seems more like they want to keep it a secret. A side of human nature that is unfamiliar to me? Or am I missing another key part of the story?
I for one would want to know how close I got to the solution!
posted by TreeRooster at 7:16 AM on October 3 [1 favorite]
My first guess was that the finder was planning to publish...a book, a documentary...detailing the adventure and the solution, thus profit! However, it seems more like they want to keep it a secret. A side of human nature that is unfamiliar to me? Or am I missing another key part of the story?
I for one would want to know how close I got to the solution!
posted by TreeRooster at 7:16 AM on October 3 [1 favorite]
it sounds a lot like Masquerade by Kit Williams.
Th efull story which you can read here. (Self-link.)
posted by Paul Slade at 8:00 AM on October 3 [7 favorites]
Th efull story which you can read here. (Self-link.)
posted by Paul Slade at 8:00 AM on October 3 [7 favorites]
Why not describe what type of puzzles are involved or how it was finally solved,
You can find some of that here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Trail_of_the_Golden_Owl
posted by BWA at 8:04 AM on October 3 [3 favorites]
You can find some of that here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Trail_of_the_Golden_Owl
posted by BWA at 8:04 AM on October 3 [3 favorites]
Don’t go digging!
YOU CAN'T STOP ME!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:26 AM on October 3 [1 favorite]
YOU CAN'T STOP ME!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:26 AM on October 3 [1 favorite]
I hadn't heard of the Golden Owl, but for several years now there has been a similar, yearly event in the twin ports of Duluth MN and Superior WI. There the token is a medallion, buried under snow. The hunt is sponsored by a radio station, which every day for a week gives another clue in a similarly cryptic form.
I took part in the hunt a few times, once being exactly right about the general location well before it had actually been unearthed. But in that contest the clues only put the medallion within a couple of open acres of land, and after walking around and digging with my feet a bit I gave up, assuming I had been wrong about the location after all.
I'm not sure if they're still doing it, but I kind of hope they aren't. It got pretty popular, and people ended up bringing shovels and digging up huge sections of several city parks each winter.
posted by dbx at 9:51 AM on October 3 [1 favorite]
I took part in the hunt a few times, once being exactly right about the general location well before it had actually been unearthed. But in that contest the clues only put the medallion within a couple of open acres of land, and after walking around and digging with my feet a bit I gave up, assuming I had been wrong about the location after all.
I'm not sure if they're still doing it, but I kind of hope they aren't. It got pretty popular, and people ended up bringing shovels and digging up huge sections of several city parks each winter.
posted by dbx at 9:51 AM on October 3 [1 favorite]
There the token is a medallion ... people ended up bringing shovels and digging up huge sections of several city parks
Well, now you've reminded me of another piece I wrote. (Also a self-link).
posted by Paul Slade at 3:07 PM on October 3 [1 favorite]
Well, now you've reminded me of another piece I wrote. (Also a self-link).
posted by Paul Slade at 3:07 PM on October 3 [1 favorite]
For the curious, The Secret has been the subject of two or three episodes of Josh Gates’ “Expedition Unknown” series on Discovery and Max.
posted by lhauser at 3:08 PM on October 3 [1 favorite]
posted by lhauser at 3:08 PM on October 3 [1 favorite]
The Romanian word for Owl is "bufniţă", pronounced "boof-KNEE-tseh". I learned this from watching Jessamyn do her duolingo homework.
This was my only chance to show off to the world that I know the word for owl in Romanian. Thank you for listening. We return you now back to your regularly-scheduled thread already in progress.
posted by not_on_display at 5:10 PM on October 3 [7 favorites]
This was my only chance to show off to the world that I know the word for owl in Romanian. Thank you for listening. We return you now back to your regularly-scheduled thread already in progress.
posted by not_on_display at 5:10 PM on October 3 [7 favorites]
The bailiff wrote a report detailing this handover. It describes how Max’s envelope of solutions contained a protected file on a floppy disk, which was written in 1993 on word processing software that is no longer supported. As the bailiff could not decipher the old file, Michel Becker worked to decrypt the .SAM format file.
Is that an Ami Pro file???
posted by credulous at 5:18 PM on October 3 [2 favorites]
Is that an Ami Pro file???
posted by credulous at 5:18 PM on October 3 [2 favorites]
That is indeed! Now that was a good word processor.
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 5:20 PM on October 3 [2 favorites]
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 5:20 PM on October 3 [2 favorites]
“I didn’t think I’d live to see the day,” reads another. And: “It’s like Covid. So good when it’s over.”
Wait, what? Way to bury the lede!
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 5:58 PM on October 3 [2 favorites]
Wait, what? Way to bury the lede!
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 5:58 PM on October 3 [2 favorites]
Well, that sent me down a rabbit hole for... oh, 103 minutes? Great.
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 7:35 PM on October 3 [1 favorite]
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 7:35 PM on October 3 [1 favorite]
This sounds way cooler than the yearly Owl competition the US has. (The Superb Owl).
posted by mmoncur at 3:43 AM on October 4 [2 favorites]
posted by mmoncur at 3:43 AM on October 4 [2 favorites]
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posted by mrgoldenbrown at 6:00 AM on October 3 [6 favorites]