(Solution)

Document 2.8: What's Green, Hangs on the Wall, and Whistles?

"A herring," your boss wrote below the question posed above. "After all, why not paint it green? And why not hang it on the wall? The whistling part...that's just in there to make it harder. Every puzzle needs something to make it harder, after all. Even if it's not obvious at first."

Bring in forty points worth of objects from the following list, including at least 5 from each group (people, objects, and photographs). Each item is worth a point. Half credit will be given for anything manufactured specifically for the Hunt (exception: the last two "Object" items). Photos posed and taken for the hunt are worth full credit, but photoshopped pictures are half credit. Note that a numbered item which asks for more than one thing (e.g. four matchbooks) counts as a single item.

All items brought in are subject to approval/confirmation by an HR team member: proof must be provided, skills demonstrated, etc. In the items category, all consumables are subject to 'testing'.

People

  1. A current MIT undergraduate student with a declared numerical major which is not a single digit nor an even number
  2. A person with hair that is not brown, blonde, white, grey, red or black
  3. A person with a surname/family name that does not contain a, e, i, o, or u
  4. A person who has a piercing which is not ear, navel, nose, or genital
  5. A person who can make a string figure (e.g. "cat's cradle") which is not the cradle, witch's broomstick, crows feet, or monkey picks a banana
  6. A person who can play a recognizable tune on a string instrument (keyboard instruments with strings inside do not qualify) which is not a violin, viola, cello, bass, or guitar
  7. A person who can juggle objects which are not clubs, balls, rings, kooshes, or bean bags
  8. A person who can pick a lock which is not a luggage lock, a file cabinet or a combination lock
  9. A person who can sing a rock song in a language which is not English or gibberish
  10. A person who can make a balloon animal that is not a snake, giraffe, or dog
  11. A speaker of an Asian language who is not Asian nor a current or former MIT student
  12. A person who has been on a game show that's not "Jeopardy!", "Win Ben Stein's Money", "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?", or "The Weakest Link"
  13. A person or people who can act out, without scripts, a skit from the Monty Python TV series (approximately two minutes: saying "It's..." is not a skit; English accents not required), which is not a song or the damned dead parrot sketch
  14. Person who travelled in December on an airline (please have your photo ID and boarding pass ready) which is not United, Continental, American, US Airways, or Delta
  15. Person who can open walnuts without the aid of a nutcracker or other foreign object, including shoes (stomping barefoot is fine)

Objects

  1. Matchbooks from four different pubs in Cambridge which are not the Muddy Charles, Thirsty Ear, Miracle of Science, or Cambridgeport Saloon
  2. Ice cream which is not frozen or wet
  3. Chocolate that is not Hersheys, Nestle, Cadbury, Mars, or Whitmans
  4. A carbonated beverage which is not bottled by Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Poland Spring, Polar, or RC Cola
  5. Pennant from an institution of higher learning which is not located within 25 miles of MIT
  6. Obsolete (ie no longer legal tender) currency which is not a lira, franc, deutschmark or peseta
  7. Negotiable currency that is neither round nor rectangular
  8. Red Sox paraphernalia associated with a specific player who is not Nomar Garciaparra, Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe, or Shea Hillenbrand
  9. Sports paraphernalia associated with a Boston team which is not the Sox, Bruins, Patriots or Celtics
  10. Cover of a men or women's magazine which does not mention sex, weight loss, bed, or tips
  11. An action figure which is not from Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, GI Joe, or Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
  12. A Pokemon (card, stuffed animal, or figurine) who is not Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Bulbasaur, Squirtle or Charmander
  13. A published game that does not use a board, cards, or dice
  14. A platonic solid which has no numbers or pips on it and is not a cube
  15. A medical implement which is not a stethoscope, a tongue depressor, a blood pressure cuff, or a thermometer
  16. A jacket which is not Gore-Tex (or similar), nylon, fur, denim, or fleece
  17. A copy of a Hong Kong action film which does not star Chow-Yun Fat, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh or Bruce Lee
  18. A ticket stub from a museum which is not MIT-related, the Museum of Science, MFA or Isabella Stuart Gardner
  19. A newsprint copy of the Tech that is not from 2002 or 2003
  20. Cheese which is not white, yellow, or orange
  21. An object related to an MIT hack which does not have a dialup machine named after it
  22. A receipt from an all-night business which is not Store 24, IHOP, Dunkin Donuts, CVS or a gas station
  23. A souvenir from Arisia which is not an on-site registration form, a schedule, or a map
  24. A souvenir from a geographical location that is not a keychain, a postcard, a snow-globe, or an item of clothing
  25. A computer running an operating system which is not any variety of MS-DOS, Windows, Mac OS, Linux, or Palm
  26. A movie (videotape or DVD) that takes place on the moon which does not have aliens, lasers, or NASA
  27. A piece of Carmen Sandiego paraphernalia that is not a red hat, a CD, or a CD case
  28. A bus schedule that is not from the MBTA system
  29. An origami animal which is not a crane, frog, swan or snake
  30. A fruit or vegetable in the style of "Play with Your Food" which is not a radish, orange, or green pepper

Pictures

  1. Picture of team member(s) in front of a storefront ACME sign which is not altered or ACME Ice
  2. Picture of team member(s) on a planet of the solar system which is not Earth
  3. Picture of team member(s) in front of an Art on the T exhibit at a red line T stop which is not Kendall, Central, Harvard, Davis or Porter
  4. Picture of team member(s) on a bridge over the Charles (Museum of Science is a dam, not a bridge) which is not the Longfellow, the Harvard Bridge, the BU bridge, or the Elliot bridge
  5. Picture of a team member(s) sitting in a convertible with the top down which is not a Mazda Miata, Volkswagen Cabrio, Chrysler Sebring, or Ford Mustang
  6. Picture of team member(s) participating in a winter Olympic sport which is not skiing, hockey, skating, or snowboarding
  7. Picture of teammate(s) at a Freedom Trail landmark which is not a Statehouse, the Bunker Hill Monument, the USS Constitution, Paul Revere's House, the Old North Church or the starting point visitor's center
  8. Picture of teammate(s) on a continent which is not North or South America, Europe, or Asia
  9. Picture of team member(s) on an ice rink (extra point for Fleet Center, but not if photoshopped) which is not the MIT rink, the Harvard Rink, the Frog Pond Rink, or the BU rink
  10. Picture of team member(s) at a hackers sign-in site which is not from the hacking puzzle in last year's hunt (http://www.mit.edu/~puzzle/02/round1/04/Puzzle.html, answer at http://www.mit.edu/~puzzle/02/round1/04/Solution.txt)
  11. Picture of team member(s) enacting a scene from a Shakespeare play (it must be obvious which scene) which is not Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream, or Macbeth
  12. Picture of team member(s) with a live sea creature that is not a bird, a lobster, or a crab
  13. Picture of team member(s) in front of a 'permanent' unaltered sign that has an unintended humorous meaning which is not Fresh Pond Gas, Long Funeral Service or Metropolitan Sto(rage Warehouse) F(ireproof).
  14. Picture of at least three team members in a room who are not touching any furniture, the floor, wall, or ceiling (with skin or cloth or shoes)
  15. Picture of a team member in a foreign country which does not have English, French, or Spanish as a national language


Back to the index