Too Many Secrets
Marleen's 40th birthday puzzle hunt
My sister made me this amazing birthday gift - least I could do was to write a report on it and make it look kinda of awesome to do the experience justice. So that's what I did. I didn't have time, however, to create a version that displays beautifully on small screens. So this report is only available on tablets, laptops, desktop PCs and TVs.
You can try turning your mobile device sideways (for landscape mode) - or otherwise, find a slightly larger screen and then come back!
Thank you.
- Marleen
Tool Kit
The Map
Curious Sand Circles
Following the map, it was time to have a look at the curious sand circles.
Difficulty level: You can totally do it
After the heavy lifting in the previous puzzle, I kind of needed to catch a break, and the sand circles provided me with one.
Both the map and the website showed what look like atoms, and then there was also this number sequence: 6 7 8 10 16 22 57 76 81.
Well, when I see atom-shaped symbols, this is where my mind goes:
The corresponding symbols on the map are one hydrogen atom and two beryllium. I had some some googling around that earlier, and learned that there was once an experimental rocket fuel using hydrogen and beryllium. And now you know, too.
A quick look at the periodic table of elements allows you to translate those numbers into the following elements: C, N, O, Ne, S, Ti, La, Os, and Tl.
Throw it in the ol' anagram machine...
... and you get: CONSTELLATIONS.
And with this, it was clear that MESSIER referred not to my desk (which was definitely very "messier" at this point) but Messier numbers which are used to classify astronomical objects.
