Competition Now Closed Phew! Well, there was a frantic burst of sleuthing right down to the wire when we received a shedload of answers right up until midnight! But before we scroll all the way down to the answers, let's look at the rules again: On offer as glittering gifts are the first two signed editions of Shades of Grey ever, complete with a complete set of giveaway postcards, and a few other goodies. The books are 1st edition hardbacks, and are a copy of the US and UK versions, one for each successful sleuther from each marketplace. But such stonkingly worthless gifts cannot be simply given away. You're going to have to work for them, and that is why I have devised some utterly fiendish questions to test all you budding Sherlocks out there. The rules are dazzlingly simple. All you have to do is answer the following questions (or as many as you can) and submit them to me at jasper(at) jasperfforde.com. with 'Sleuth' as the subject line. (It helps keep my inbox tidy as it will auto file) All the correct answers received by the 1st March 2010 (or if no-one gets them all, then the most complete answers) will be put into my largest hat and pulled out at random. Answers will be published on this page on the 2nd March, and anyone can enter whether you have bought a book or not. Four runners-up will be given sets of postcards, and there are no extra points for entertaining yet incorrect answers. Judges decision is final, and note that this is all for a bit of fun. Gifts have no value, and no cost is required to enter or find out who won, or receive the books and cards. Note: These questions are all GENUINE questions and can be worked out by thought, a bit of logic, research and observation. Take your time. Team up if necessary. No hints. If you can't figure them all out, send in what you can. It's possible no-one else did either, as there is one super-stinker of a question in there. And for anyone who uncovers this competition in ten year's time and don't want to spoil it for themselves, here are the questions again: 1: Many Post-apocalyptic stories/films feature the Statue of Liberty. Shades of Grey does too. But where? 2: What film was playing on the Remote Viewer Eddie sees in Rusty Hill? 3: Who are the most likely missing figures from the Oz Memorial? 4: What was the pre-epiphanic names for East Carmine, Rusty Hill and Vermillion, and what linking factor connects all three today? 5: In which area of the pre-epiphanic world did 1: The Russetts and 2: The Oxbloods once live? 6: Where is Rusty Hill's Caravaggio displayed today? 7: When is it thought the 'Badly Drawn Map' was actually drawn? 8: What is the first rule in the rulebook? 9: What is the last CE date alluded to in the book, after which we can assume the 'Something that happened' might have occured? 10: What was The Fallen Man before it was a tearoom? Answers below: 1: Many Post-apocalyptic stories/films feature the Statue of Liberty. Shades of Grey does too. But where? The first question is easy enough. Lady Liberty was in the snow globe that Eddie finds on his bed, left (presumably) by the mysterious person who lives upstairs. Shades of Jane Eyre here. Jane and Edward parted by social class and a mad woman in the attic. There is also a 'Red Room' in Jane Eyre, which whilst not as fatal as the 'Green Room' in SoG, is still quite frightening. I can't remember the bit in Jane Eyre where Jane tried to kill Rochester with a carnivorous tree, but I'm sure she had it in her. Almost everyone got this question right. 2: What film was playing on the Remote Viewer Eddie sees in Rusty Hill? The film playing on what Eddie calls 'The Remote Viewer' was Raiders of the Lost Ark. A few people thought it was 'Indy4: The Crystal Skull', so they clearly need to brush up on their Indy. I like the idea that the power and information grid is still up and running. Knowledge is always there, so long as you seek it, and know where to look. 3: Who are the most likely missing figures from the Oz Memorial? Okay, so that was the warm up. Question Three was slightly harder, and required a small leap of thought. I gave a clue when I said that some of the questions were related, and this question, the next question and the 'Badly Drawn Map' question are all linked - figure out one and with a bit of luck you'll get the rest. I was, of course, referring to Frank Oz, the well-known muppeteer, and not the L Frank Baum Oz, which only gets a fleeting mention in SoG with 'Emerald City'. The reason the memorial is here at all is because Vermillion - formerly Hereford - was the birthplace of Frank Oz. The fact that he is unrecognised in this city is a lamentable lapse on behalf of the city council, one that surely will be rectified in the fullness of time. This was a tricky one to mark, so we actually awarded three half points. You get half a point for mentioning any three muppets that Frank had performed, another half point for mentioning Yoda 'The claw feet of no creature living' and a further point for Frank Oz himself, which only three people thought of. My own interpretation of the memorial was of Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Yoda, Frank and Bert. Interestingly, this leave us with the possibility of winning 10 and a half points in a ten question quiz. This question also allows us to see who your favourite Muppets were, and who you would like to see on an Oz memorial. The answer was Animal or Bert, with Grover and The Swedish Chef not far behind. Lots of answers referred to 'The Dark Crystal' Remember that? Very odd film. 4: What was the pre-epiphanic names for East Carmine, Rusty Hill and Vermillion, and what linking factor connects all three today? This was probably the most Sleuthy of the questions, and generally speaking, most people got Wales correct, and no-one who got Wales right managed to then get all three locations wrong. East Carmine as Llandrindod or Brecon was a common error. Here are the answers, and why: East Carmine: Rhayder. The biggest clue was when Jane unlocks the Perpetulite. The road here is still the A470 (no reason to change, really) and the 'Heol Canolfan Cymru' means 'Central Wales Road' in Welsh. There are also some GPS co-ordinates to clinch it, and Doug tells Eddie all about the 'Five part dam complex' which they drive past - the Elan, also mentioned in several TN books. There is talk of the 73-mile aqueduct, too, which now, as then, feeds Birmingham ( Blue Sector West) Rusty Hill: Builth Wells. It is roughly 14 miles from East Carmine in a Southerly direction, and Zane the wrongspot's spoon is engraved with an LD2. There is also a stone bridge there, and the railway would have been the other side of the river. We used to do all our shopping here when I was a kid, and for a treat, went to have ice-cream in Conti's cafe (now no longer there, worse luck) Vermillion: Hereford. It's about the right distance, has the Oz connection, a map museum, and today has the Green Dragon Hotel, mentioned several times in the book. The linking factor is the River Wye. (Half a point for all three locations correct, then half a point for the linking factor) 5: In which area of the pre-epiphanic world did 1: The Russetts and 2: The Oxbloods once live? This is the only question that EVERYONE got right. RG6 is a Reading postcode (a nod to the NCD series, perhaps) and SW3 is the frightfully proper Kensington and Chelsea Postcode in London. Hoorah for the geeks on Wikipedia! 6: Where is Rusty Hill's Caravaggio displayed today? The Carravagio that Eddie retrieves from Rusty Hill is never given its real name, but Frowny Girl removing Beardy's head is enough to lead one to Judith Beheading Holofernes. A couple of people thought it might be Salome with the head of John the Baptist but she isn't actually removing Jonno's head in that, and she's not holding the platter, either. A quick google will tell you that the painting is currently being displayed in the Galleria Nazionale d'arte Antica in Rome. Incidentally, I am hugely indebted to Linda, who had the amazing sleuthing skill to tell me that it isn't there at all - it is out on loan to the Scuderia del Quininale from the 20th Feb to the 13th June. So we accept 'Rome' as the answer. 'At the Cochineal's house' is not accepted. I meant today as in 'today, today.' 7: When is it thought the 'Badly Drawn Map' was actually drawn? If you got the 'Vermillion-as-Hereford' question, then this one is a cinch: The Badly Drawn Map is that well know medieval sketch known as the Mappa Mundi, currently housed in its own special museum attached to Hereford Cathedral. You can view it there today, and it is highly recommended. But be prepared. Like the Bayeux Tapestry and the Nazca Monkey, it is very badly drawn. They think it was cartographed around 1300 CE, so that's the answer. If you think you will be able to use the Mappa Mundi to find your way home after getting a skinful at one of Hereford's nightspots, forget it. Many people thought I was talking of either the Risk board or the London Tube map, but they hadn't figured the Hereford connection, so understandable. 8: What is the first rule in the rulebook? The First Rule in the rule book is listed as one of the chapter headings. The numbers give it away: '1.1.01.01.001' which, using my personally invented numbering system, has got to be the first rule: 'Everyone is expected to act with due regard for the well-being of others'. I thought of making the first rule 'Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself' but it sounded a bit trite, even if a very good rule to go by. Incidentally, the 'due respect' rule WAS the first rule in the rulebook at my school, Dartington, in Devon. I remember the head teacher, a very tall man by the name of John Wightwick, telling us the rules on our first day there. Actually, John (we used first names in our school, it was like that) had such long and bendy legs that they could get him into trouble. He used to sit on a chair during school moot (a sort of Teacher/Pupil Council where we used to think up groovy new rules like 'free cash to all pupils' only to have the staff veto every one. I thought it a realistic introduction to committee meetings.) Anyway, John used to get bored and wrap his legs around the legs of the chair, and one time, because his legs were SO long and SO bendy, he got them jammed, and had to stop what he was talking about so he could extricate himself. Oh how we laughed. Good chap, really, for a head. Then there was the incident with the gibbon. *Sigh* happy days. From a puzzleologist's point of view, this question had quite a variety of answers, many not actually in the book, and some simply as a wild stab when the entrant had actually figured out much harder puzzles. In my hobby-psychologist's mind I think the question was sneakily in the wrong place - if I'd placed it as question number three, people would have assumed it was easy, and probably managed to crack it a bit easier. Being lower on the list gave it the expectation of being hard, which it wasn't. Hmmm. 9: What is the last CE date alluded to in the book, after which we can assume the 'Something that happened' might have occurred? This is one of those stinky Red Herring questions that were specifically designed to catch you out. There are three dates in the book, two fairly obvious, and one not. A few people took the Ovaltine date of 2083 and went with that. The majority thought this was the sneaky catch, went for the 2136 that appeared on the Perpetulite control panel and moved no further. Actually, both dates were wrong, and there was a clue in the wording of the question - neither of those dates were alluded to - they were stated. The actual answer were the medals that Eddie sees in his Father's lodgings that refer to the 'XCVI Olympiad' That would equate to the 96th Olympiad. 2012 will be the 30th Olympiad, so we're looking for a date around 2276 We accepted minor arithmetic jiggyphobies, since you were so totally on the right track. The Something That Happened occurred after this date. We're still not sure when, and neither is anyone else. 10: What was The Fallen Man before it was a tearoom? This was the hardest and the least answered. The annoying thing (for all your sleuthers out there, not me) is that the clue is not in the text at all. Reading the book you have no possible way of knowing what 'The Fallen Man' was before it was a Tea Rooms. It might have been Mrs Cranston's, but there is nothing certain about this. The clue is in the picture itself, and the emblem at the top of the sign - a Crown. Rhayder has a lot of pubs, and even a cursory google will tell you that there is a Crown Inn. This is an old pub sign, with the old pub board removed, and the 'Fallen man' placed there instead. Before it was The Fallen Man, it was the Crown Inn. 'A pub' was not close enough. So that was it. Average mark was a 7.2, and no-one made the full possible 10.5 marks! Out of the 178 entrants, five UK entrants made it into the hat, and four from the USA. The Winners: Tabitha picked out Sue Barnes for the UK, and Caleb Rasmussen for the USA. A team of security personnel are being briefed in order to deliver their extremely valuable gifts into their hands. Thanks for everyone for entering - hope you enjoyed it. There will be another Super-Sleuthing puzzle with TN6: One of our Thursdays is Missing next year. Jasper Fforde 2nd March 2010