**FIRST EMAIL**/FRC Game Hint #2

[mackfix]

lol. it probably means nothing but its worth a look over (I hope). Maybe you would like to add to my list?

[Elgin Clock]

More stuff to play around with:

http://www.panoramamagazine.com/pano...er%20Fountain/

[Alex Burman]

According to the wikipedia article on the Boston Marathon, Copley Square is the official finish line. This, along with the tortoise and the hare speculations lead me to believe this years competition will be a race. Perhaps there will be benefits to being the first to finish or taking your time.

[Roger]

Well, according to my eyes, it's approximately* between the old and new buildings of the Boston Public Library on Boylston Street. In the attached photo, taken on Boylston Street looking (ahem) approximately east, on the right from front to back: The Lenox Hotel, The Phillip Johnson addition (scroll down), the original McKim, Mead, and White building, and Copley Square and Trinity Church beyond. The finish line is painted on the street around the last "column" of the Johnson building next to the McKim building. You can also zoom in on Google Maps here and see "FINISH" painted. Copley Square may be the "official" end only in terms of that is where the runners are carried to the doctors, and where spouses go to pick up the remains. I recall the line used to be at the Prudential Tower when Prudential was the sponsor.

Regarding the history of Copley Square, it was created in 1883 and was originally a triangle lot because Huntington Avenue went straight thru it. The other triangle lot in front of Trinity Church was added a year later when they realized how silly it was having a three-sided square. The removal of Huntington Avenue thru the square was more recent.

Since the Hint was fairly precise and did not give a tolerance, one must conclude they meant the plaza in front of the church and not anywhere else. Unless, of course, they posted it without Dave's advice, which would be silly. I'm still leaning towards a tortoise and hare theme.

By the way, Dave, perhaps some of the official Smoot websites should be updated, as both "a salute to Smoot" at the MIT website as well as the Lambda Chi Alpha website indicates 364.4 Smoots "and one ear" (MIT) or "plus 1 ear" (LCA).

*Since the two engineers above are debating the issue of precision and tolerance and the possible size of Mr Smoot's ear, a lesson the rest of us should tolerate and watch from afar.
_________________
Everything I know today I've learned from listening to myself talk about things that I knew absolutely nothing about. Gracie Allen

[aztech75]

I am not sure it this point has been braught up yet but it was an idea i had.

The Boston Public Library is close to the coordinates in the clue, could the last number be some sort of dewie decimal code for a book that would refer to a clue some how?

[Roger]

BPL I believe uses Library of Congress cataloging; I think someone mentioned it many pages ago (I don't blame you for missing it).

342 in Dewey Decimal System is "Constitutional and administrative law", not a very hopeful path to go in. Not many numbers go to six places, but I seem to remember some sections did get that far, but I don't think 342 was one of them. Melville Dewey was an odd character; besides the DDC he advocated the metric system and simplifying the English language spelling. Thus his name became Melvil Dui.

Why, yes, in my youth we spent many a summer vacation going to visit libraries; my mother was a librarian -- can't you tell? (And her name was Marion.)

[Howman]

If 342.242026 refers to the heading, then it seems to point you right at the fountain. So maybe the game has something to do with water?

However, because of the number of sig digits, it may be a heading to something much further away or something near but quite small.

[ALIBI]

Originally Posted by Howman

If 342.242026 refers to the heading, then it seems to point you right at the fountain. So maybe the game has something to do with water?

However, because of the number of sig digits, it may be a heading to something much further away or something near but quite small.

A fountain full of tetra? GO FISH!

[Roger]

Originally Posted by Anne_droid

I'm not sure what the Smoot might have to do with the Game Hint...

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's dlavery's way of getting everyone off the subject when we get too close to the correct answer to the Hint.

Wikipedia says "the bridge's length was measured to be 364.4 smoots plus or minus one ear, with the 'plus or minus' intended to express uncertainty of measurement", which does lend credence to dave's version of the events. Why .4 plus an ear? Wouldn't 364 plus a leg be better? But why would two sources closer to the event omit this?

Yet reading Lambda Chi's webpage a little more may reveal more of the truth. Oliver Smoot himself says "Luckily ... we were cold sober" when a police van came upon them. But this was a fraternity pledge hack in 1958; a later quote from a younger frat brother says "later the story came out as 'he was stiff as a board' from earlier festivities at the bar!" I suspect the tolerance would be a bit more than "plus or minus one ear."

[batterybox]

Here is what I am thinking so far...

Using Google Earth, the coordinates 42.349905, -71.076072 brought me to Copley Square in Boston.
Approximately 342 smoots away from that point is the Prudential Tower.
The Prudential Tower has a little message system using the red and blue lights on top of the tower.

Steady Blue, Clear View
Flashing Blue, Clouds are Due
Steady Red, Rain Ahead
Flashing Red, Snow Instead

IR board using different signals to perform different tasks..? That's all I got.

[Capt. Quirk]

If Copley Square really is a clue, then maybe the "Square" is the real clue.

[batterybox]

Originally Posted by Capt. Quirk

If Copley Square really is the clue, then maybe the "Square" is the real clue.

Where is the fun in that....

[Justin Montois]

I didn't read every post so Sorry if this was already mentioned but Copley Square is very close to "Co-Play Square"

[alex1699]

Originally Posted by Capt. Quirk

If Copley Square really is a clue, then maybe the "Square" is the real clue.

i just thought of posting that.

[Anne_droid]

Originally Posted by Roger

By the way, Dave, perhaps some of the official Smoot websites should be updated, as both "a salute to Smoot" at the MIT website as well as the Lambda Chi Alpha website indicates 364.4 Smoots "and one ear" (MIT) or "plus 1 ear" (LCA).

This is my memory of it as well - the measurement was "364.4 Smoots + 1 ear." There was no +/-. I do remember going to a presentation once, where they gave a tolerance value for the measurement (in Smoots) but it had nothing to do with the ear. The ear itself I tend to interpret as just a silly way of completing the full distance of the measurement. I think the tolerance may have been added to the lore later on and not had much to do with the original fraternity stunt. (But maybe I'm not giving the guys enough credit.)

I'm not sure what the Smoot might have to do with the Game Hint but the discussion of units and tolerance is certainly relevant.