It looks like NBC is getting into the game with their new Treasure Hunters show. They have created a Treasure Hunters Challenge site that you can play to enhance the experience. While not as immense in scope as The Hanso Foundation, it’s still not bad (and you may win money). What’s more is that it seems to have some end in site, while The Lost Experience seems almost never-ending.
While I originally started to put the details of the challenges here in this one entry, it quickly overwhelmed the size of this entry. So in order to make things a little more manageable, I’ve broken each week out into its very own entry, which should help to keep things somewhat orderly and help you to find what you need a little faster. At least that’s the plan. Things may change once we see what’s working and what’s not. Stay tuned for further developments on that front.
Each week is listed, along with the primary focus of that week’s challenge, which may or may not agree with what you think the challenge should be named. I’m not trying to be difficult (I promise), but I figured that it would be better to give the challenge some sort of descriptive name, rather than just “Week 1”, “Week 2”, “Week 3”, and hopefully what is there will be enough to help you find what you need. If not, I’m sorry. Click the link and read up to see if it’s what you need. If not, come on back and try the next week. Ultimately there are only 9 challenges (and only 8 weeks) so it shouldn’t take long.
- Week 1: Golden Spruce
- Week 2: Abraham Lincoln
- Week 3: West Point
- Week 4: Thomas Edison
- Week 5: Fulton Paddleboat
- Week 6: Ghost Town
- Week 7: Sleepy Hollow
- Week 8: Spanish Doubloon (and Fireplace)
Just a reminder: Since the details were getting so long, I’ve split this post into detailed reviews of each week’s challenge. Check back here, where I’ll update this list with links to each review, or keep an eye out for the detailed reviews.
If you want to discuss the overall game theory, discuss it here please, and leave the other entries for challenge-specific information.
Update August 15, 2006: For those who have been waiting, the answer has been posted.
We were indeed looking for the Star Spangled Banner at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Apparently either Smithsonian and/or The National Museum of American History was accepted as a correct answer. The ten winners names have been posted.
Thanks, RobH, for the pointer to the post, and to everyone for playing along! If anyone who participated here was among them, congratulations and good luck in the contest!
Comments
144 responses to “Treasure Hunters Challenge”
My guess has been The Statue of Liberty.
Here is my 2 cents on the final clue word “REEF” – Looking at each of the 9 clues individually you get the Star Spangled Banner. The 10th clue “Where is the early symbol laid out for reef?” seems cryptic until you discover the archaic use of the word reef can be a verb which means to furl or unfurl the extra cloth in a ship’s sail to increase or decrease the sail’s area. So this last clue can mean “where is the early symbol unfurled?” the answer for which would indeed be the National American History Museum at the Smithsonian in Washington DC where “Old Glory” is on display.
However, NBC didn’t call to pick me, so what the heck do I know?…. (sigh)
Thanks for the blog. It made the challenge a whole lot of fun. I enjoyed checking in and seeing how everyone was doing.
Not that it matters now, since the contest is over. But, I still believe it’s the NMAH. The new construction that is about to occur includes removing the central core of the building and installing a new dramatic glass skylight. Kind of like the image that you see in the final challenge. If I’m wrong, then so be it. It was fun anyway.
Ok, this may be a bit obvious, but I haven’t seen it mentioned yet.
There is an artificial reef in SC called Betsy Ross Reef. I can’t find that much info online about it, but the standard quip I’ve seen is:
“Betsy Ross Reef, Lat. 32 03.2’N, Long. 80 25.0’W. 18 miles off Hilton Head Island. 440′ long liberty ship is the largest single piece of material on any of South Carolina’s artificial reefs. 85′ of water. Trolling & bottom fishing habitat.”
This info is from the site. Other references I’ve seen say that it is off Beaufort. So… If everything is a reference to the SBB and and the last clue is “I seek thy reef”, and there IS a Betsy Ross Reef……
FYI…
I put in the National Museum of American History… but there is no water or reef… but there IS at Fort McHenry… where the flag and the resulting poem originated – AND Fort McHenry DOES have a sight of an old tavern there…
HOWEVER… the words circled in red spelled out “Fort Lewis” (the first letters re-arranged). So I put Fort Lewis instead.
I looked at it like this… the line clues were there to help figure out the placement of the puzzle pieces – the Smithsonian at the National Gallery… the circled words were there to figure out the final treasure…
Actually, if you turned “reef” around, wouldn’t you get “feer”? 🙂
As obvious as it may seem the obvious is not always the answer. If we turn reef around we get free. But should we turn it around? I didn’t.
My answer: National Mall United States Navy Memorial.
Why? Becuase our early symbol was not Old Glory that is in the Smithsonian, our early symbol was the first Navy Jack, a red and white striped flag with a rattlesnake on it and written under it is the words “Don’t Tread on Me”.
After 9/11/01, the secretary of the Navy order certained ships in the Navy fleet to fly this Jack. One year later on the anniversary of the terrorist attack the secretary of the Navy ordered all ships in the fleet to fly the Union Jack and keep flying it until terroism is wiped out.
Not only does it fly on the ships and subs of the United States Navy but it also flies at the National Mall at the Navy Memorial. The song written for it was a song for drinking in night clubs and bars or taverns if you wish, called “Don’t Tread On Me”.
That is my answer am I right? Who knows but I never got to enter it, it was too late but if the answer relates to the Mall I did put that in three times and the rules say you only need one right answer to win. Did anyone else have the same answer as I did?
Did anyone guess Fort McHenry? That was my final answer. (The fort is laid out in the shape of a five pointed star. It was the battle at that fort that Francis Scott Key was watching from the brig on the ship when he wrote the Star’s Spangled Banner.)
Did anyone think about the symbol of the Cross that Washington is laid out in? If you remove the left bottom corner that has no building on it, you get the cross.