The methodology discussion

[Doghousereiley]

I know how bad people can be. you can see on one thread that I have been called delusional. crazy had threats against me and cyber stalked

one forum member went to my facebook page downloaded my photos and started using my photos as their own on the forum. not just one photo but a few and over time

also made odd comments about my children etc. really scary and odd. I understand you caution and reserve

[catherwood]

Feel free to join our Facebook group, ... it's just a place where people can share their ideas without the fear [of being] ridiculed or put down.

Give it time.

[Choice]

I actually like the local newspaper connection hypothesis.
Looking at the image 1 for example; the table has been described as a turntable with a clock. The whole table setup, if you have a good imagination looks like an old phonograph with the rose being the speaker.
You play records on a turntable or a phonograph.
Clock represents time or chron in Greek.
Chronicle literally means record of happenings in time.

Or Houston has many columns. Houston Post?!
Take twice as many east steps as the hour Or more, two or more times... NY Times?

[erexere]

I've always wondered if the design of these puzzles uses a varied method. It's a great thought that a newspaper of a particular date could be of special significance. The month is easy, the day and year much harder to determine. I could see this being implemented in one puzzle but not all. Same goes for how the shadow could be used to align a shovel for just one puzzle.

I really got into looking at the May 1913 issue of National Geographic Magazine. I scanned it with intensity, and I did my best to work it into a Charleston theory about bugs (moths and sich) or as the article put it fairy tale creatures in our own back yards.

[JamesV]

I really got into looking at the May 1913 issue of National Geographic Magazine.

Erexere, this seems like a really worthwhile approach, although the Japanese clues did say something like "Look in a history book. What happened in May 1913?" Print magazines like National Geographic are normally laid out a few months in advance, though-- if you've still got access to those issues, it might be a good idea to page through the June, July and August editions as well.

Your idea also got me thinking: Surely, any major historical events would have been covered in real time by the major news outlets of that era, right? Well, it turns out that the New York Times has a searchable digital archive (link: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes ... chive.html) of all their stories from 1851 on.

Since I'm personally biased towards an I1/V6 pairing for San Francisco, I ran a quick search for any articles about "China" published between 5/1/1913 and 5/31/1913. That month, it looked like the NYT ran an awful lot of stories about the USA's formal recognition of the Republic of China as a country.

[Kang]

I really got into looking at the May 1913 issue of National Geographic Magazine. I scanned it with intensity, and I did my best to work it into a Charleston theory about bugs

erexere - Did the May 1913 National Geographic have to do with bugs? The cover or one of the articles? I'm not familiar with what the content was, so I'm wondering what prompted you to try that connection.

[erexere]

Kang, I wasn't strongly prompted by anything specific. I had access to a large collection of Nat Geo when I visited my grandfather's home and saw the collections on the shelves at several libraries. With the line from Verse 6 just saying "Or May 1913" I thought I should take a look and see if anything seemed relevant at all, just in the offchance, and it it did mention the stuff of fairy tales as it talked about the bug microcosm in people's own back yards. The article author's name was Fairfield. It really didnt seem sanely relevant to the Secret, but was very intriguing at the time.

[Choice]

Using Boston as a model, we may be able to find localized zip codes in flowers for other images:

Image 12, 10271, Trinity Church area https://tinyurl.com/yxpk6ak4



Image 1, 94121, Lands End area

[Choice]

May need help with New Orleans. Don't like that area! 70113 or 70112.

[WhiteRabbit]

Using Boston as a model, we may be able to find localized zip codes in flowers for other images

...oh, so it was 02113 not 02115...? Goddamn.

It's pretty difficult to read that one without the benefit of hindsight if you ask me, so good luck with the others. (Yes, I'm sulking.)

[WhiteRabbit]

Another vindication for the introduction, I think.

Cradling Italy...Upon its sleeping surface bobbed a motley flotilla



(NB circled area only approximate)

[chevechercher]

Another vindication for the introduction, I think.

Cradling Italy...Upon its sleeping surface bobbed a motley flotilla

Indeed. Also they drift all the night without wind... an allusion to Revere's Midnight Ride?

(NB circled area only approximate)

Yeah, you even got the baseball field and the park wrong... As far as I know, it was the smallest of the two baseball fields in Puopolo Park, not in Langone Park.

[WhiteRabbit]

Yeah, you even got the baseball field and the park wrong... As far as I know, it was the smallest of the two baseball fields in Puopolo Park, not in Langone Park.

I know, I know...OK, sheesh...



Better?

[chevechercher]

...oh, so it was 02113 not 02115...? Goddamn.

The final spot in the Puopolo Park actually has zip code 02109. 02113 would be the inner North End area, excluding the coast. The Copley Square in Back Bay would be 02116, and 02115 would be south of Fenway, which seems unrelated to the final spot. So, only 02113 would work for North End, e.g. for the Old North Church or Paul Revere's house.

[chevechercher]

Better?

Much better :-D