Thread: for what it's worth

"I think if there is still a chance the key is out there, it will have to be in a secure place, or at least one that had/ has very little chance of being altered. Even stone walls have been worked on."

Exactly. But what's a secure place that has very little chance of being altered? Anything out in the woods can easily be altered by flooding, trees falling, etc. And anything man made, which will be probably be more secure, can easily get messed with over 10+ years. And that's just the key itself, never mind any markers being altered. Look at the history of the Secret. Trees that were intended to be markers in the Chicago puzzle had been cut down in the 2 or so years between publication and when the guys first got on the trail.

Originally Posted by bnut

"I think if there is still a chance the key is out there, it will have to be in a secure place, or at least one that had/ has very little chance of being altered. Even stone walls have been worked on."

Exactly. But what's a secure place that has very little chance of being altered? Anything out in the woods can easily be altered by flooding, trees falling, etc. And anything man made, which will be probably be more secure, can easily get messed with over 10+ years. And that's just the key itself, never mind any markers being altered. Look at the history of the Secret. Trees that were intended to be markers in the Chicago puzzle had been cut down in the 2 or so years between publication and when the guys first got on the trail.

I don’t know if anyone else has considered this idea, but I haven’t seen it posted.

What if we are all going about this is in the wrong way? Lately I've been rethinking ideas I've thrown out over the years, especially after seeing all of the work being done on the island over the past few years. Places I considered good candidates have been altered so much the clues don’t even fit anymore, properties have been bought and sold, the park has expanded…. I realize that very little remains static over time.

They may have learned from those other hunts that have become lost over time, and did theirs differently. I have never heard of a prize being stored in a safety deposit box and your challenge is to find the key to that box, but it's certainly safer than burying it or relying on nature to remain static over time. 13 years is a long time to keep a hunt active, so they must have considered the possibility that it would take this long, even if they expected it to be found in just a year or two.


So where can you safely hide a key for 13 years? If the prize itself is in a safety deposit box, maybe the key we are looking for is in a Post Office box. The solution to the riddle could be a specific post office on MDI, the box # where the key resides, and the combination needed to get into it. All the Stockwells would have to do is pay the annual box fee and let it sit there until someone solves the riddle and retrieves the key.

I do have some “evidence” to back up this theory, but no more than I’ve had for other ideas that didn’t pan out. By nature, we look for patterns and routinely make connections to prove a point, when in reality no connection exists. Anyone who has made up a treasure hunt knows this – people come to you with all kinds of crazy ideas that they are so sure of, but you, the person who created the hunt, have no idea what they are talking about, or that those connections even existed!

I just wrapped up a “puzzle hunt” at the hospital where I work for my coworkers for Respiratory Care Week. I hid 70 puzzle pieces around the hospital, then posted clues for each piece. Although most were relatively easy and involved looking for some picture on the wall or a hidden stairwell, I included quite a few where they had to solve a riddle or decipher a series of clues. I was amazed at some of the solutions they came up with along with their rationale for their answers – all very logical, but making connections I never saw or intended, and coming to the wrong conclusions. Usually it was the result of overthinking the clues, making things much more complicated than they needed to be. This made me wonder if we are doing the same thing with Fandango. [All of the puzzle pieces were found, by the way, and my coworkers are back to providing patient care instead of tearing the hospital apart, racing each other down the halls, or fighting on the elevators!]

It's been brought up before. The idea tends to get brought up in every treasure hunt. Who knows.

If you look through the "response to email" thread, people claim Pel has given responses that would seem to be against the idea of a PO Box

1. Can the treasure be found only at a certain time of year or season? No, the treasure can be found year round. Maybe harder to find in the snow.
2. Is the treasure in a hard to get to place like up a ladder trail or out on a cliff or out on a buoy? No, it's in an easy to get to place except if you were in a wheelchair.

A Post Office may not be that secure a location for a long period of time. The USPS has been closing post offices lately http://www.zdnet.com/article/us-post...-heres-a-list/

Originally Posted by bnut

It's been brought up before. The idea tends to get brought up in every treasure hunt. Who knows.

If you look through the "response to email" thread, people claim Pel has given responses that would seem to be against the idea of a PO Box

1. Can the treasure be found only at a certain time of year or season? No, the treasure can be found year round. Maybe harder to find in the snow.
2. Is the treasure in a hard to get to place like up a ladder trail or out on a cliff or out on a buoy? No, it's in an easy to get to place except if you were in a wheelchair.

A Post Office may not be that secure a location for a long period of time. The USPS has been closing post offices lately US Postal Service plans to close 3,653 post offices. Here's a list. | ZDNet

Right. I never meant to sound like it was certain or even probable. I'm not even convinced of it myself. It was just a thought. As far as what Pel said, I think anyplace could be considered harder to get to in the snow or in a wheelchair, just because those situations make it harder to get around in general. I don't think Pel would give out any clue that he felt might give one person an edge over another. I think he was just trying to be polite and answer questions without revealing anything. He has said the reason he doesn't post anything is that he doesn't feel it is fair to anyone who doesn't use a computer. I'm sure he feels the same way about giving clues out during an interview or answering emails. To be honest, I haven't heard anything in an interview or in response to an email that reveals anything new - anything that isn't already available in the back of the book. Thirteen years ago, post offices were considered relatively stable places. Even today, although redundant post offices are being merged and closed, main post offices still tend to be safe from closure. I am working on other ideas as well, I just wanted to put this out there. I don't mind working on this until the end date. I've been discovering corners of the island I didn't know existed and exploring it in ways I never would have without the book.

Originally Posted by Harley98

I figured out the missing numbers to the 2 number grids on pages 17 and 40 using clues in the book. Directly there are clues that give you the precise answers to the two grids. and I know more clues can be unlocked using the same method I did ...

I'm going to assume you don't want to simply spell out what your method is, but of course I'm going to be curious about what kinds of hints you might be willing to drop. My biggest question is whether your use of "clues in the book" (which is rather redundant) included just images or just text or a combination of both. My 2nd question is more general, whether your method is something we might all agree is logical and obvious or more of a leap of faith and/or luck. Could you say whether it is an extension of any of the mechanisms discussed previously in these forums, or ever used in any other treasure hunt or puzzle?

I asked Pel in an email to take an ad out in the paper and everyone could see a new clue, but he told me it wouldn't be fair to everyone, not everyone would see it.pure BS if you ask me .So I don't think we will get anymore clues from them!!! As for changes on the Island, ask your self what will never be changed?. its the monuments and plaques.They are the one constant on the island.

Originally Posted by mainer1

I asked Pel in an email to take an ad out in the paper and everyone could see a new clue, but he told me it wouldn't be fair to everyone, not everyone would see it.pure BS if you ask me .So I don't think we will get anymore clues from them!!! As for changes on the Island, ask your self what will never be changed?. its the monuments and plaques.They are the one constant on the island.

I did consider this as well, and have visited a few of them (multiple times!). Although I still think this is one of the better ideas for placement, I have seen a few plaques that have been moved, or that have been set in new stone in the years since the hunt began. I am not aware of any monuments that have been moved recently, but have read about many that were moved to new locations in past years.

And yes, I agree that we will get nothing more from the Stockwellls.

I'm not saying you will walk up to a plaque or monument and find a golden key .I'm saying they are the key in some way. As for moving them or replacing the stone they are still in the area attended, its not like they will take the sweet waters plaque and move it to otter cove or move the plaque at the light house and put it in town bar harbor

Some wouldn't be moved very far based on their nature, but some could be. And even moving them a little can throw off something that's intended to be a marker. And plaques/monuments tend to be places that large numbers of people visit, which makes accidental discovery more possible.

Poe, have you teamed up with people, or can you check out a nearby spot? It's been ages since we talked, and I wanted to give you a chance at first refusal.