The Little-Known $1,000,000 Puzzle That's Never Been Solved

[@KarenPuzzles]

Hey everyone, a viewer has created a Discord server to work on solving this puzzle. I won't be on there much, and have no part in running or moderating it, but here it is if you want to join: discord.com/invite/ZGvu4Ts7C9

[@jamesross2474]

You're gorgeous 😍

[@joshgorrell5431]

on the pool page it looks like there playing 4 card poker or blackjack.

[@baby-turtle]

The answer is in the poem. It's probably the empire state building You get the answer at 8:52 in your video... Going to watch the rest now...

[@spacieneptune]

There is text saying "fifty ways to leave your mother". A song exists called "fifty ways to leave your lover". It's by Art Garfunkel. The word ART also appears on a different page. What does this mean? Who knows.

[@angelicaesslinger9820]

16:01 the that says down the answer is upside-down

[@verodeal4487]

Netflix needs to get on this and make a docudrama series and a live action bio-pic... THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE and I thank you for all this research and hard work!

[@wishkohaku]

It keeps telling us to read the instructions. When you do it mentions deduction. The back of the box also has "deduction" in quotes. Deduction can mean logically exclude possibilities until you find the only correct one but this seems unlikely, since the number of places are huge. Another definition of deduction is literal subtraction. What if we found similar pictures (like the bell) and wrote whats missing from the copied bit of image. If you look at page 13, you can see a P. What's missing from this? On page 20 you can see the same p but with a line threw it. So what's missing from page 13? Line. Okay keep following here... Lol Working backwards we can assume the answer is as follows since we know there are 24 clues and following the insert order: US = page 15 NY = 9 T = 18 H = 24 E = 14 E = 6 M= 17 P = 21 I = 23 R = 27 E = 19 S=7 T = 5 A = 8 T = 10 E = 25 B = 20 U = 22 I = 28 L = 13 D = 16 I = 26 N = 12 G = 11 So what is page 13 missing in the repeated illustrations? A line, what letter correspondes to 13 if we apply the (presumable) solution? "L" for line. Now I could be off track here, but finding the missing piece of an image that shows up one or more times may be the key here. Edit: someone make a sub reddit so I don't have to type this stuff in KZbin comments anymore 🤣🤣🤣

[@ashleym4882]

Actually I think its "Lines" because that's one of the answers in the crossword.

[@ashleym4882]

On page 15 the clown is missing its hat or "Cap" which is also in the crossword. But that would make the answer in Canada somewhere and not the empire state building. Hmmm...

[@stacksosilver9646]

I believe Empire State Building is correct because the starting poem puzzle sounds like the plot for King Kong and he climbed the Empire State Building

[@houndstoothdinosaur]

@@stacksosilver9646 The King Kong reference might explain the gorilla suit! Haha

[@xzonia1]

@@houndstoothdinosaur I had this thought when she mentioned the gorilla suit too! Lol

[@KO-md2mc]

14:23 Spiel is the German word for game 22:40 The 5 is actually an E. In Braille, there is a symbol that designates that the next symbol is a number, it looks like a backward L and you'll see it on elevators all the time. 22:40 The unknown Braille symbol is either the sound 'wh' or the word "which" depending on context.

[@KarenPuzzles]

Wow, thank you for those tips! We should have done more research into Braille!

[@harrispinkham]

Could it be morse code instead of Braille?

[@michaelsommers2356]

@@harrispinkham No. It's definitely not Morse.

[@Averns]

I was thinking the spiel was referring to a glockenspiel which is another name for a xylophone so it could be referring to the xylophone in the 19:52 mark

[@extatis]

Spiel means game yes

[@DancingHorseFarm1]

It was so nice of all those people to respond to your inquiries after so much time had passed! What a crazy story... I was around in the 80's, but never heard of this. Yes, I watched all the way to the end for the final reward.

[@forgotn42]

The clue around the puzzle itself says to start with Page 11, which is the last page on the poster's path. I wonder if that means the path on the poster should be followed in reverse order?

[@carmnose]

I'm also wondering if where the road map intersects with each page has a meaning to where or what the clues are on each page.

[@LuNa-zw9wu]

Hi, the weird symbols on the suitcase are devanagari script and the उ is U and स is S. so it could be US and number of each letter how many times its written could mean something? I really hope you read this am a big fan! :)

[@StijnHommes]

Sounds like the place is in the US maybe the nth state by counting the number of times?

[@StijnHommes]

@@lazyhomebody1356 of course, that means not everything to solve is in the box...

[@aquawoelfly]

@@lazyhomebody1356 the accounting firm holds the money separately from the company running the contest and draws their fees either from interest or from the company. The accountants probably wanted assurances they would not be on the hook if the prize was underfunded or the company went belly up. Pretty sure the oil company was out of the picture as soon as a profit was turned. Or came in because the creators were being sued and needed to fund that battle too.

[@hendrikhardeman9832]

उ is U, but स is actually SA -- even if the A is not always pronounced. E.g. in सरल / SARAL (meaning straightforward, easy, simple) the inherent vowel A is silent only in the last syllable (ल). So उ स is more like U SA.

[@williamtell2053]

So many languages use the devanagari script and not all use the same transliteration

[@Showsni]

I think youtube ate my last comment - maybe it didn't like the links? Anyway, I think I've tracked down the source of the pictures used in the 5 pin bowling page - they're from a 1964 Canadian comic booklet encouraging people to take up bowling! I found a listing for it on eBay, and it's clear that the pictures in the puzzle book were traced over from this comic - the front page matches exactly, with the man bowling, along with the woman at the podium and cheering girl in the background. (It's called Let's Go Bowling - 5 Pin Bowling Guide). I think the same must be true of all the images in the puzzle book - they weren't drawn for the book, but they were traced over already existing works, then pieced together like a collage! If we could discover all the existing works, you could see from the additions which part are meant to be clues.

[@KarenPuzzles]

Wait, this is amazing! I can't wait to dig into that a little further. Thank you for looking it up and sharing that with us!

[@TarenNauxen]

One more clue about the five pin bowling: in the '50s the pins used to be worth different values, so that could affect the calculations on that page!

[@SabrinaHawk]

Certain types of bowling are regional too so that could also be a clue

[@esayer33]

@@KarenPuzzles I'm an artist and for sure recognized some of the flapper clip art! I've used some images myself!

[@aquawoelfly]

That would certainly explain how it came together in 6m.

[@Mushiixx]

Maybe clues: - Page 5 (13:09): the numbers on the clock means to search the missing 4. Also in page 5 the hour is 7 :28 [the date!] -Page 7 (16:04): nwod-down is "upside down" maybe for the cross word clues (page 10) or the castle in the page 13, or something on page 19. Also in this page says "whole milk" and the box appear in page 18. "Other space" could be about the telescope in page 27. -Page 12 (18:16): maybe just mean that is related to something than can fly (but there is a penguin lol). -Page 14 (19:08): here we have the wheater clues and more birds. -Page 15 (19:38): clearly showing 2 and 5. (You also mentioned the B-25 make a 1 million on damage.) -Page 16 (20:49): the "iron worker" clue maybe is for building, and "big guy on campus" is for a big building. Lots of clues we can point out thaks to Pozer's son, and this video. ... So, where is the reddit? [sorry if my english is bad, im a native spanish speaker]

[@KarenPuzzles]

Your English is perfect! What a great list of ideas!

[@simonekoenig]

Hey, looking at p. 12, I think the Crane is a Crowned Pigeon and the Heron is a Pelican. What that would lead to - no idea tbh😅

[@rotcehb]

Karen did you just... did you just made an entire DOCUMENTARY!? OMG i can't believe that not only you and your family made to spark trying to finish this (awful) puzzle but also discovering ALL THIS TEA omg.... you should make a sequel gathering all the helps and tips to see if we can see the end of this saga!

[@Itsme_isabelly]

Can we just take a sec to give Karen the kudos and praise she deserves. Bringing us this very well researched video, that took forever to work on and put together. 👏👏👏👏 Also I love that her whole family has helped out♥️♥️

[@KarenPuzzles]

Thank you so much ❤️

[@aartadventure]

Normal people: I like doing jigsaw puzzles Karen: Me too! Wanna see my murder board? Normal people: 👁👄👁 Wot?

[@KarenPuzzles]

lololol why is this so true

[@byte01010101me]

30:22 you see FLAMER TAMER with a line under it and COME under that, with Smoke by it. Karen thought that meant something about "come under fire". I think the flamer tamer is a fireman and the expression is FIREMAN OVERCOME BY SMOKE.

[@For_What_It-s_Worth]

Ahh…yes. So someone else caught that. I figured that was likely, so came looking for a comment before posting my own. It’s also at 15:45, where I spotted it. Also, on the rebus just preceding that one, I would change the ‘- sunbeam‘ to ‘- tall tale’, I.e. ‘yarn’ to clean up the spare ‘n’, and toss the ‘- note’ = “mi” for ‘- latin friend’, = “ami” (if I’m not mistaken) to dispose of the extraneous ‘a’. Overall, the execution of this game seems slapdash.

[@inwalters]

Yes, we need this reward - "Universal Pictures presents "Money Hunt" - where Karen Puzzles (Saoirse Ronan) recounts the story of how she and her sister Katie (Anna Kendrick) uncovered the bizarre, but true story of a 1980's armchair treasure hunt. Also stars John Goodman as John Posner and Jim Carrey as Mr. S.

[@KarenPuzzles]

A+, except that I want Anna Kendrick to play me 😅

[@jenniferk1633]

Omg, I was totally casting Anna Kendrick as Karen!

[@inwalters]

@@KarenPuzzles Ok. Not a problem - how about Jennifer Lawrence as Katie, add Idris Elba as "Timothy" and Lady Gaga as "Michael". I think it could be an interesting film - after all how could a story involving a cache of jewels, an infamous WWII era plane crash and a man in a gorilla suit (not once, but twice!) be bad?

[@stechuskaktus]

Nicholas Cage starring as the gemstones

[@inwalters]

@@stechuskaktus LOL. In his new movie "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" Cage parodies himself. I would have made a different film called "Cage vs. Norris", where Chuck Norris thinks Cage has insulted him and sets out to kill him, but through sheer luck and improbable happenings, Cage who is not even aware of Norris' s vendetta escapes every time. Then at the end when Norris learns Cage was actually complimenting him, they go off together and have a drink.

[@KristineSummer]

Well… that was a wild ride. Can’t even imagine all the research you done for this video!

[@hopegold883]

And you handled it al so well. The buildup of suspense, the research, the telling of the tale, the sensitivity with which you handled details vis a vis people who are still alive. So satisfying, on every level.

[@BloodyGir7]

She's incredible, I could never

[@mikehyde6233]

My initial thought is that each page of the book is representing a different place. The clues in the picture might also tell you a route that you take from one place to another (like "stay on track"). You trace out from city to city on the provided map and that might lead to a final location somehow.

[@BannisterNicholas]

I was thinking the same, the constant references to places seems to map out a path, and likely why they gave you a specific map, drawing out that line will 'lead' you to the final destination

[@hannahbaxter8825]

That's what I was thinking

[@RebelCowboysRVs]

First thing. Flamer taimer is probably a firemen. So it reads "Firemen overcome by smoke" Second. It tells you that if you get stuck, to reread the directions. The part they are wanting you to reread is the part that says everything you need is given to you and you do not have to disturbe anyone or anything and can do it from hour living room. That means anything that sends you off looking up specalty information is there to distract you. The braille part is just that. There is no braille code book given, so it's a wild goose chase because at the time, you would have to get up and go somewhere to disturb someone that knows brail or disturb a book on it. Same with knitting codes. Wild goose chase. Thirrd. The map is also key. Last, where the pictures are is a distraction. The card game is in Mexico, the horsemen with dogs is in England as is the other horsemen playing polo, the one with the sailer suits is in either the Philippines or Singapore. To figure that out takes outside knowledge not given. And it's not in the US or Canada. So its just something do distract you. What you are after is something you can read on that map. It askes for Country, State, then exact location. That last part is the longest line. It will be where two roads meet, latitude and longnatude numbers, or a place named on the map itself. Not some building that people would have to look up where it is because its not on that map. Wish I had that kind of time, but good luck and I hope to see a video where you solve the whole things

[@KarenPuzzles]

Have you ever heard of The Money Hunt before? Is it the type of puzzle that you would want to attempt? Be sure to let me know if you do try to solve it and if you make any progress on it!

[@epohster]

Wow! I loved this video. Watched all of it only realizing it was an hour long at the end 😅 You deserve the reward Karen, after all the research you and Katie did!

[@Puffcroc]

I think the person going for the card in the first page you talked about is a dealer not a player based on not seeing their hand and their long cuffed sleeve, could be a form of poker or blackjack of some kind

[@Puffcroc]

Also in page 5 the numbers scattered around the page likely have meaning. One bill says 7 so it likely a clue. The words are likely an anagram or Caesar cipher or possibly a letter to number cipher The word vault at the bottom also likely means something. The shots of the pages aren't super clear on the whole page just close up so it's hard to see little hidden clues lol

[@barbieshatky5682]

🎃No!!!!!!

[@jandaddamio8624]

Great video and research done by you and Katie! I don't know if you caught the what goes up, must come down word puzzle as you didn't mention that one. Forgot what page it was on, and don't know if it means anything. Wish I had more time to look at this. Too bad there is no longer a reward.

[@Sarahle3]

A thought: Maybe the mini puzzles such as the rebuses, the braille, etc are red herrings, and the hints are the pictures themselves. Maybe they each represent a tourist attraction or famous site or store. Money bags = a bank or the federal reserve or a casino. Pig picture = a literal park with a hint of skyline peaking in. Woman walking dogs = again, a literal park. Bowling = bowling alley. Race track = race track. Etc. If we are meant to be thinking about New York, places like Central Park and Coney Island and Times Square come to mind. Maybe they all add up to "Manhattan." Another thought: the answer being a specific building feels unlikely since one couldn't find it on the map. As a professional editor, please don't discount the idea that some of those little "clues" might be errors in addition to red herrings. This game was manufactured in a hurry and had legal problems with the production, and communication problems with the person who had the answer; I wouldn't be surprised if no one actually "proofread" the booklet. Also consider that, without photoshop, it looks to me (as a child of the 70s and 80s) that they had to photocopy and shrink some of those images over and over (for example, shrinking any typed text to the correct size if it's going on top of a sketched picture, and then photocopying the copy), which introduces unintentional little lines and (if the photocopy machine had any dirt on it) dots.

[@Jady88Lady]

My thought was that the puzzles point to different pages and spell something out. I.e. the codex to invest and turn 1 million into 1 billion points to page 5 "Vault" where she even said herself the calculator is 1 billion, not 1 million.

[@christinabennett3355]

I would love to watch a follow up video! It would drive me crazy trying to solve this myself. Reward!

[@KarenPuzzles]

I hope I get enough leads and tips to make a follow up video!

[@eminecankaya3724]

@karenpuzzels did you get enough clues? The dis discord invite is no longer active. Looking forward to it!

[@ronniebessling6802]

This story is absolutely wild! The fact the reward was never claimed is crazy after all these years

[@justinchristoph3725]

Yeah, I keep thinking that it would have been solved by a collaborative effort by a bunch of CalTech or MIT students a while back. That it's been unsolved all this time is definitely surprising.

[@BlamBlam80]

Didn't the competition end in 1988

[@jaspirita]

Having an hour long video to watch while I cross stitch from Karen is a massive REWARD

[@edb5272]

Really appreciate the extra work that goes into making these deep-dive videos, thank you Karen! Even if there is little reward involved in making them. This kind of puzzle feels like there should absolutely be a subreddit or discord dedicated to solving them, and if anyone finds it I'd be well up for joining.

[@mirabhattacharya8474]

Facts!!

[@ag4444]

There is no way that it is a coincidence that Mr. S. is dressing up in a King Kong costume (King Kong is famous for climbing the Empire State Building).

[@sierraroseprzybyla3333]

This is the comment I came here to make!!!

[@pauline-glitterbugcrafts]

I came here to say exactly this.

[@stressfreepaperchase3215]

Great clue.

[@klucha789]

What a plot twist - Mr S wasn't protesting, he was giving out clues!

[@KelseyShields]

They did say if it wasn't solved they would give out more clues. Maybe this was the "more clues"

[@RiteofWriters]

You mention “Ready Player One” at the end of this video but it reminds me more strongly of The Dream in Hank Green’s “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing.” Your call to action, asking people from various backgrounds to contribute their knowledge, the NEED for so many people to come together via the Internet to solve this massive puzzle; I feel like the numerous similarities are uncanny. I’m excited to see what kind of community crops up from this. I hope that, like in the book, the journey to the answer can be, in itself, its own reward. Thank you for another great video!

[@Ixdontxknowxanything]

This is what I was thinking as well!

[@Chaotic_Pixie]

So, I'm looking at the knitting shorthand. I think the clues are in what doesn't make sense for knitting. The 371 at the front... 371 what? Then it's Purl 1, Knit 1, Purl 1, Knit 1, Moss Stitch 9. The Moss Stitch 9 doesn't make sense either. Moss stitch is a stitch pattern made up of knits and purls does in a 3 row repeat. I thought maybe the MO meant Make One usually written as M1, but SST doesn't mean anything in knitting either. SSK does. The next line is Knit 3, Knit 5, Knit 1, Knit 5, Knit 3-43. Sure, knit a certain number of stitches makes sense, but you would write that as Knit 17... but then there's that spare 43. A stab in the dark that RMOSS means reverse moss stitch which isn't really a thing. My brain hurts looking at this... but I think to figure it out you'd have to talk to someone who was knitting back in the 80s because its possible terminology has been streamlined? I have to head to my LYS this week and I know there are two older ladies who work there who've been knitting a long time. I'm gonna ask them about this because there's definitely distinct knitting terminology in this.

[@tristynlinde]

Maybe the 371 is the amount to cast on? That's the best guess I have, despite the rest of the pattern not seeming to total 371 stitches across.

[@pre4edgc]

I honestly wouldn't think it's a knitting pattern, unless it was assumed in the 80s that being able to read knitting patterns was just common knowledge. Since the box would presumably contain everything needed to solve the puzzle, it doesn't make sense that one of the puzzles would require knitting materials and know-how just to figure it out. It could be just like the substitution cipher that translated to something interesting but wholly irrelevant to the puzzle at large, kind of like an 80's style easter egg.

[@coralblake9868]

I was looking at those terms, they look made up. I have knitting patterns from 1950, none of those strange terms are used. I wonder if someone is just trying to look smart and distract the eyes.

[@sierraroseprzybyla3333]

…I think that probably more people in the early 80’s could read a knitting pattern vs. now… but I also agree that probably the specifics of the pattern aren’t as relevant that it just being a knitting pattern as some sort of play in words or etc.

[@Christie-cz7tc]

SST is an airplane... SuperSonic Transport....

[@Mushiixx]

Thanks to your sister and your family for all the work they put on this puzzle/video. You need a Reward.

[@jlilley73]

What stands out to me about that map is that it's a ROAD map: The highways between the cities are very prominently marked. Could that be a clue? Perhaps the clues, once decoded, give you a set of driving directions.

[@jlilley73]

Also, why are the illustrations in the book in a different order than they are on the poster? Seems needlessly convoluted, unless the page numbers are themselves a clue.

[@niwasox3]

Hi Karen, the arrangement for the financials might look a bit odd, but here is my take on it: Effectively they are loaning a company $240000, to be payed back in 20 installments of $50000. Assuming to years of no payments while the contest is run, this works out to an interest rate of 14.9%. The federal interest rate in the early 80's was around 15%, so the added assurance for the game maker by having a stake in the oil company, and the low interest for the oil company plus a cut of game sales suits both partners. Essentially, the game maker managed to get a fixed annuity at excellent conditions, and the oil company managed to secure a (for the time) cheap loan.

[@petrescuework-difficultcas6581]

11:30 "Get comfy cause this thing is a beast." Me looking at how long the video is, seeing it's over 1 hour: Yaass!! 😲

[@petrescuework-difficultcas6581]

Oh boy, that was a ride! Props to you for the research work! I was a toddler at the 80s and am European, so not a big help, but for me it seems like the Empirestate Building isn't that unreasonable to be the solution.

[@bluji1250]

I really truly love seeing where your channel has grown over the last couple of years. This case was WILD, and I don't think there can be enough kudos given to you and your sister for all the work you have put into figuring out the background situation :D you'd deserve a reward for it, hehe

[@Corlock78]

Coming to this way late, I know. But did anyone else notice the little tab in the bottom of the box when Karen opened the box? They say everything you need is in the box, I wouldn't be surprise if they hid something in the box. But maybe they didn't. I'd also consider the box itself to be a clue. As for duplicates, you forgot that the imagery on the box itself was duplicated on the back of the instruction manual, and the image on the cover was duplicated on the jigsaw puzzle. Probably look for differences between the two versions of those images. But again, I'm very late to this video, I'm sure all of this has been considered.

[@joadbreslin5819]

I noticed the little piece of cardboard in the box. I was surprised she missed that. I wouldn't worry too much about clues for this puzzle. From what we saw, it seems so convoluted and arbitrary that it is probably unsolvable. If we were able to hear an explanation of the solution from the creators, I doubt that it would be satisfying. It seems to be one of those "guess what I am thinking"-type puzzles.

[@HelmutCrisis]

I appreciate the check-ins midway to make sure we’re doing ok. Definitely REWARD ing to watch the whole way. Great job.

[@aliceogorodny2914]

I love the idea of "passing the buck" so you can do the kind of puzzles you do best and other Sherlocks can follow up on your extensive work. I hope we all get a reward when somehow a solution is discovered. Good work, Karen!

[@lexter2000]

For the Page 18 Rebus Puzzles Middle Panel => "Muskegon" (a city in Michigan) + Chicago (22:09) Right Panel => Headlines? (22:19) Reasons 1) Looks like the NHL team Chicago Blackhawk logo and Chicago is a musical, hence the musical bars (and musicals is a theme has come up a few times in the crossword) 2) Moose + Key Gone (a key hole) is a rebus/pun on the Muskegon 3) Visually on the map provided Chicago and Muskegon are sort of in the same map positioning as how they are depicted as the rebus (vertically), 4) The images below the moose/chief could be hinting at looking directionally along bodies of water, maybe for pairs? (the arcs river, the 4 directional arrows), which these 2 would be, along Lake Michigan. Other Thoughts - Given the map, the "path" with the pages, the airplane crash hint, I think we have to draw/trace something on the map. Would fit thematically - It's weird that it tells us to start at the last picture on the page path, and then the poem (seems to) want us to find the "place one did play", which (seems to) refer to the first page in the path. Again, order and movement (maybe backwards) seems to be important? - Why have the pages ordered a way in the book, then just to be reordered with the path given? - The books on the last photo page remind me of an indexing hint. Like the decoding will only work if you remove A (1), H (8), and switch the V and S (19 and 22). Maybe a Polybius Square Cipher like the "A Treasure's Trove" solutions? - With all of the repeated drawings, maybe that is another way of connecting the images in a "path" to do something with (like Page 11 then connects to Page 28 due to the weird titled book, which then connects to Page 10 due to the symbols on the book cover, etc) - For the bird photo, maybe indexing the amount of each bird into the name (ex 6 flamingos = take the 6th letter of flamingo)? There are also 2 parrots I think in the bottom right corner. This was an incredibly amazing and well-researched video Karen! Loved every second of it. Thanks for bringing it to so many people's attention and kudos for finding your own "exclusive tips!" =)

[@KarenPuzzles]

Wow, these are amazing ideas! Thank you for taking the time to write them out, and please email me or leave another comment if you come up with anything else!

[@jigsawjeff]

Hi Karen, just discovered your vids, love it!! I too like to do puzzles, hence my name🤣 I actually competed in the National Jigsaw Puzzle Championships in the 80s and 1990, not to brag, but I placed top 10 five years in a row, best finish was 3rd, ok I’ll stop rambling, keep up the good work and happy puzzling👍

[@KarenPuzzles]

Wow, very cool!

[@AnneleenRoesems]

I appreciate that you gave us little reminders about who was who, like "remember they had this whole thing about the gem stones". So many KZbin videos just assume that you remember all those names and people! It was very helpful 😊

[@animerlon]

Wow, that was a seriously deep & twisted dive down that rabbit hole. You did such a comprehensive search, well done you. I really liked the way you presented & edited it, thanks muchly.

[@malvastensson3510]

What an intresting puzzle, to say the least, haha. You, Katie and your mom deserves a REWARD for all the effort and research that was put into this video! Thank you once again for an amazing puzzle video, looking foward to the next!!!

[@blair2378]

I don't need to solve the mystery. Getting to listen to you explain all this puzzling drama while puzzling myself was its own reward. 😁

[@hannahsutton4978]

The music notes on the staff are written backwards. With the stems facing up, the note heads should be on the left side.

[@courtneykappel370]

My reward for finishing my Sunday chores was watching this video. Kudos to both you and Katie on the noble quest and research!

[@camos3785]

My reward was this fascinating puzzle! I also noticed the bottoms of the wine glasses floating around in addition to the tops of the glasses. The top of the Empire State Building resembles a top hat which could bring a couple more clues together.

[@alizlovescherry]

The first video of your channel that I watched and your research is absolutely amazing! Definitely a reward for me to stumble upon you. Hope everyone (or any other KZbinr) can solve this mystery together!

[@JudithARobinson]

When you mentioned on Instagram that you'd been working on your new video for six months, I was really hoping we were going to get an answer to the knitting pattern that isn't a knitting pattern! (It's been bugging me ever since I sent you my thoughts in it) Well, there's no answer, but, wow! I really hope more information comes to light as a result of this video, as I am totally intrigued by the whole saga - puzzle, lawsuits, gorilla costume - it's got everything!! I think you deserve a reward for all your hard work (Katie too). Maybe one day you'll write a book of all the fascinating stuff you've dug up about old, prize puzzles😊

[@bkackman]

Wow, so much effort put into this episode. Always impressed by the backstory you (and your sister) are able to provide. This was all very interesting as you led us through the contents, the pages, the discoveries you made, your interpretations, the correspondences, the legal saga, and what you think might be the answer. I just enjoy your discussions, inflections, ups and downs, enthusiasm and frustrations. My reward is the entertainment you provide. Thank you so much for all the effort in this one. Worth every minute watching the video!!

[@Lyntintin1]

I'm having so much fun reading the comments!!!! I can totally see this as an 80s made for TV movie, with the actors all dressed in 80s garb. With Mr. S still wearing his 70s leisure suit!

[@melissahayes5994]

When it's 3 a.m. and I've been listening to this whole story while working on a puzzle. I have officially reached a whole new level of weird, but it was fun so 🤷‍♀️

[@mackachuck]

My reward today was rewatching 8 of your videos. I love watching you put together puzzles 🧩 it inspired me to get back into doing puzzles again.

[@michelea2326]

GIRLLLLLL THE AMOUNT OF WORK AND RESEARCH PUT INTO THIS IS TO BE APPLAUDED!!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@Thedarkbunnyrabbit]

Fascinating. My first guess listening to the puzzle was 'something to do with the Empire State Building'. The fact that one of the sons said 'it involves the plane crashing into the ESB' strengthens that. The answer is likely not the Empire State Building itself, because they expected 3 guesses from people. It's probably something like 'the location the plane was headed', 'the place the plane ended up scrapped at', or some critical location to do with the cause of the accident. Given the fact that the instructions tell you to start at the page that happens last, I think this means you should back trace the timeline of the accident. I'm placing my bet that the location is something to do with 'the source of the accident'. There's probably something a little bit more than just 'it was foggy out'.

[@Thedarkbunnyrabbit]

...If the answer is Capitol Hill, Washington DC, I will laugh.

[@jameshamilton6674]

Yes I was thinking the same thing. The place the plane took off from! US Airforce Base in Bedford, Mass. the plane was on a routine flight.

[@jameshamilton6674]

On Saturday, July 28, 1945, Lieutenant Colonel William Franklin Smith Jr., of Watertown, Massachusetts,[2] was piloting a B-25 Mitchell bomber on a routine personnel transport mission from Bedford Army Air Field in Massachusetts to Newark Metropolitan Airport in New Jersey.[3][4][5] Smith asked for clearance to land, but he was advised of zero visibility.[6] Proceeding anyway, he became disoriented by the fog and turned right instead of left after passing the Chrysler Building.[7] From Wikipedia REWARD 🎉

[@Thedarkbunnyrabbit]

@@jameshamilton6674 It seems highly likely that the place it took off from is somehow connected to the answer.

[@heartofthematterlanguage]

I don’t think so, though, because remember, this was pre Google. No one could have looked up anything like that.

[@analuisa1214]

Watched half of it, had lunch, and now I'm going in for the other half 🤩 I wish I wasn't interrupted but I just couldn't wait to watch it after lunch!!

[@KarenPuzzles]

I assume most people will watch it in sections. There's a lot to get through 😂

[@zofiabochenska1240]

For me this feels a lot like the Absolutely Remarkable Thing plot, with people coming together from all over the world, to solve the mystery. I wish you'll gather a crowd to actually figure out the solution!

[@dawnnoele]

You definitely deserve a reward for all the research and work you did on this! I thoroughly enjoyed this video! Thank you! 💕

[@JudithARobinson]

Masquerade is such a beautiful book. I still have my copy from when it first came out. But how anyone was ever supposed to figure out that solution is beyond me! I remember being in the library at school, with friends, scrutinising each page for clues - so many details that look like they could be important. I suspect this puzzle may be something similar - lots of stuff that looks important, but is actually just to distract you from a relatively simple answer. Or maybe not ... 😂

[@Ravenesque]

There is a wonderful livestream from a couple of years ago when somone went through it page by page. there is also a book called Hunt for the Golden Hare by Bamber Gasgoigne. The puzzle was properly solved by two science teachers who were lead to the solution by thinking 'Kit williams needs to communicate some very precise information just throught these pictures and letters. how would he go about that?' and from there they got the eventual solution of drawing lines from animals eyes through their hands and feet to the letters around the edges

[@thegorgon7063]

There's a talk by Ashens on KZbin about Masquerade and the subsequent follow-up computer game puzzle called Hareraiser by the person who found the golden hare. Worth a watch.

[@pocketjohnson1820]

Masquerade all turned into a bit of a scandal unfortunately for Kit Williams as the winner of the prize actually got it from an ex girlfriend of Williams there was a program on a few years ago which details everything

[@SongoftheLute]

I've got the crazy book by kit williams about the bees. You were supposed to guess the title from the story. Heck knows if it was ever solved or even how you were supposed to solve it. PS. I've also got a book called the tasks of tantalon which I could never solve either.

[@irisn.s.8511]

'the tamer of the flamer' kind of reminds me of 'the taming of the shrew' by Shakespeare, and since the titles on the last page are also plays on actual books this could also be one. And it comes back as 'flamer tamer', the one who tames the shrew is Petruchio. There were also a few films about 'the taming of the shrew' befote 1986. I'm so bad at puzzles so I don't know if this could help or if it's relevant :P

[@KarenPuzzles]

Maybe! It sounds like it's referencing some kind of firefighter, but I couldn't think of any classic books that are named in that way.

[@synhegola]

@@KarenPuzzles The book Fahrenheit 451 was inspired by the nouvelle "the fire man" by Bradbury. Don't know if that helps in anyway xD

[@lateal2380]

I was thinking it was hinting at firemen

[@lauracoffin]

Somebody had to put the fire out after the plane crash.

[@paultapping9510]

'flamer tamer' appears on the book cover and the puzzle labelled as 'under fire?' at 15:50

[@breadmoneymusic]

I highly appreciate the pacing of this video. It really made a one-hour video about an obscure puzzle from the 80’s much easier to watch and re-watch.

[@ColorwaveCraftsCo]

I feel like this puzzle was definitely not handled as professionally as the Decipher puzzles. It seems to me like Pozer was probably just trying to jump on the bandwagon of this “armchair scavenger hunt” trend and was probably thinking it would be a way to make some money for himself. I could be completely wrong about this. I also feel like it was made purposely convoluted to make it less likely for them to have to pay out the reward to someone, which is pretty scummy in my opinion.

[@BannisterNicholas]

As a puzzle creator myself, Its more likely that he made the puzzle, then people couldn't figure it out. I not several places where words are added to show what these things are, they 'seem' like someone said to him, 'this isn't obvious, you need to put text here to show what this thing is', and being the 80s, less likely to be 'scummy'

[@classiccomedycinemaprogram1640]

On page 9 with the top hat to the right and up is a face turned 90 degrees that looks like it will fit under the hat if cut out. It is the enlarged version of the rider on Page 23. The head of this horse also appears at the bottom of page 13.

[@terileighbaird5790]

I thought it interesting that many of the images evoked a Jazz Age feel as well as a Magnum PI vibe. I remember this being sold in stores, but it was not something I owned. I look forward to a follow up to this once the crowd gets going on the clues.

[@fayellaf]

I got more of a feeling of The Great Gatsby and also the south of France.

[@MarxKosmos1024]

Whew! I'm 40mins in and still hooked. NOTE: the time on the watch is 7:28 which is the date of the plane crash. I think another viewer was right about each page perhaps represents a different state. The phone image could mean to find the area code with the numbers on the page, if any. Back to the video....

[@dees3179]

Well done Karen. That is probably your best video yet. I really enjoyed it.

[@alikigeorgiou8499]

Reward: Funniest line in the video had to be "if you were around in the Canadian board game scene in the 80s....." Totally cracked me up! Well done Karen to you and your sister (and mum!) on managing to crack a lot of the clues anyway and for your amazing powers of observation - good luck solving this one!!

[@eddyandthebadcheese2247]

Just a few observations . at 21:00 there are 16 days of the week and you are on page 16 the playroom with the music note corresponds to the notes on the xylophone, and you can get the right letter and/or number. Also, deductive reasoning from Conan Doyle is "if you remove the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be true."

[@usainengland]

The moral to the story: Not every puzzle maker is sane.

[@renegade637]

That's what occurred to me. Something can make perfect sense to the person who thought it up and no one else because their brain works on a completely different level.

[@Tasarlin]

Wow Karen this video is fascinating! Watching it was it’s own reward 😉 I appreciate the months of research that went into this crazy story!

[@nicolestuder7130]

Wow. Amazed how much you and your sister figured it out. You both receive a reward. Thanks for all the background digging you did

[@debbiee8431]

Are the elements that are repeated on multiple pages the same size? They seem to be at different angles at least. I wonder if physically overlaying the pages on top of each other at those angles so the drawings match up will make anything else on those two separate pages line up to make a connection/clue.

[@bethanykarasek7819]

You and your family deserve a reward for all of the work you put into this! I really hope the community can come together and possibly solve it, maybe an update video in the future?

[@phillyblaze777]

WOW! You really deserve a reward for all of your research and hard work on this project!

[@keith4861]

I think you were overthinking the clues to the puzzle, I was a teenager in the time frame, I think the clues on each page are clues to cities. Each page is a state, and use the map to travel the country until you get to the desination. Each page could be a state, and different clues for each state. My two cents..lol

[@KarenPuzzles]

That's a possibility! Have you figured out what any of the states or cities are?

[@keith4861]

@@KarenPuzzles I watched your video completely to the end, I saw different clues like the card players, could be Vegas, etc...the lady with the dogs was Chippendale, etc.. that was my thought process.

[@aurora.puertas]

Following your clue plus Karen's clue on certain images (bell and telephone) repeating in several pages, I have come up with a theory. Graham Bell presented the inventin of the telephone in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the World Exhibition in 1876. At this same location was taking place the 100 year anniversary of the Declaration of Independence signed by 13 states. There are 12 pages to go through before you arrive to Philadelphia. Do these pages match with the other 12 states that signed?

[@madisonwuertz2349]

The dedication for this amazing, huge respect for going through as much as you could and reaching out to anyone and everyone!!

[@MollyBlueDawn]

Masquerade was such a huge publishing phenomenon that many people tried to recapture its magic for years afterwards, but most of them did not understand why it was so successful. Masquerade was a beautiful art book with a fascinating story, so hundreds of thousands of people all over the world bought the book and loved it even if they didn't think they had any chance of solving the puzzle or getting anywhere near the hidden treasure. Knowing that someone, somewhere was on a quest for the beautiful golden hare lent it an extra air of intrigue and adventure, but ultimately, just reading the book and enjoying the gorgeous illustrations was its own reward.

[@redunicornx]

The game at 14:28 looks like the game "Fang den Hut" which is a classic german game. "Spiel" ist actually german for "game". Not sure about the 123456 though. I mean there is a dice game called "Zehntausend" or "Tutto", which is similar to the game "Chicago". In that game there is a chance to get a "street" if you roll the numbers 1-2-3-4-5 and 6. Then you get 2000 points at once. That might explain the five dices in the middle. I don't get the reference to "Fang den Hut" though. Very interesting video, I can really appreciate all the work you've put into it. Greetings from Germany!

[@edwardlane1255]

fang den hut - catch the hat :)

[@esoteric_squid]

I think it might be a suggestion to literally find the hat throughout the booklet, but also (as someone else suggested) that it might be a red herring since an assumed knowledge of German is not included in the box

[@Aviertje]

"How are you all holding up? I told you there was a lot to cover here!" Honestly, I don't give a damn about the puzzle. I'm just amazed by the amount of effort that went into editing this video. This looks like it was a months work if not more, and this is only the halfway mark!

[@justinsheppherd1806]

What a story! And the deerstalker suits you, Ms. Holmes. I hope this mystery gets solved. You deserve at least that, as a reward for your hard work.

[@TheoRose13]

The substitution puzzle references investing and turning the prize into a billion, the number on the calculator on the vault page so its possible those two are linked and may require some calculations somehow. Also with the tophat crossword, one of the people behind the fence in the outdoor bbq scene had a tophat so the pages could be linked too.

[@analuisa1214]

We can definitely see you put so much work on this video, it almost looks like a documentary!! This is a masterpiece, and I can really see us as a community creating a place to continue to discuss and share our thoughts, even tho the money reward is not claimable anymore it would definitely be rewarding to finally know the answer after 35 years!! Thank you for doing such an outstanding job at every single video you upload, I am always excited when you annouce a new one on your instagram because it's certain that I'll enjoy every second of it.

[@PaulaJaey]

I enjoyed the constant check-ins during the video haha, it was nice. Also I feel like I need a reward for watching this entire video; when I saw the run time, I was really surprised but also pretty happy about it :P It was entertaining!

[@anitaxyz8707]

The "Spiel 123456" you mentioned at 14:20 is actually German für "Game 123456". So "Spiel" is "Game" in English. Maybe this helps... but maybe not 😂

[@KarenPuzzles]

Great tip! But then what do we do with that? 😂

[@speedpaw8023]

@@KarenPuzzles I think it might have something to do woth the dice, since they are all numbered 1 through 6. Also they are seen twice on this page, in the top left corner they appear again

[@lisettespindler2490]

I was just going to comment that! Also, it looks like an old german board game called "fang den hut". :)

[@BerniekWittendorp]

Yes spiel is just German for game. And fang een but sure looks like it. That game is called Coppit in English.

[@fabiolafunk750]

@@BerniekWittendorp well and then you could connect "coppit" to numbers 1-6 c=1 and so on, although it wouldn't really work out with the double p 😅

[@carolineturlington2335]

Wow, loved watching your deep dive into this mysterious puzzle! Full of fascinating facts and what a story. Thank you Karen for making this video and all the hard work researching this puzzle for us 😁

[@joaniemeow]

"There is a guy behind the fence with really big eyes". I laughed so hard my cat ran away hahaha.

[@campbellscraziestlife8435]

I just get excited every time I see you posted a new video , I do truly Appreciate all the hard work you put into research finding new puzzles and everything you teach us about parenting

[@Heather-Luper]

This video is fascinating and the comment section is blowing my mind! 💜💜 My brain doesn't work this way, but I'm so intrigued.

[@jmscott31]

Karen, you are fantastic. I'm not even a "puzzle builder" and I enjoy watching your channel. My kids and I watched a recent competition for the first time. That was pretty awesome! :) I didn't even know these competitions were a thing until I found your channel lol.

[@pattydorr4848]

Reward! I keep thinking of Chris Ramsay who does puzzles, puzzle rooms, escape rooms, magic "tricks" and wonder if he'd take this on....he's also Canadian. May I send him a link to your video?

[@leeanntripple5792]

This was so interesting, I can't believe how much work you did Karen to produce this video. And I didn't realize the connection with BC (where I live) - I don't recall anything about this back in the 80's. Great job!

[@amydixon9982]

Quick thought on the xylophone on page 15. I think it should be an octave on the notes, middle C to B so equating the two notes to the code on the keys, AD would give you B2. Don’t know if that helps.

[@SongoftheLute]

I just love watching your detective puzzle videos. You're like the sherlock holmes of the jigsaw world! Hats off to you for such a great video.

[@bunnyhatanpaa]

I remember as a kid liking magazines that had hidden codes or pictures when folded . Maybe that could work on some of these pictures?

[@rowaboat6019]

This is your best video yet!! It's so exciting and well put together and just AAAAHHH! Cant wait to figure stuff out and I hope you do a follow up video when people have found some solutions!!

[@lindralyndra]

Karen, this was a RIDE of a video! And I love your "and GET THIS!-" tone in some places, so familiar to sitting around with friends listening to jaw-dropping stories. it is such a wild story and I'm happy you enjoyed at least some of what seems like a lot of research with a lot of frustrating setbacks. I hope you get to sit with a lovely intricate puzzle after this that has absolutely nothing to do with lawsuits 😄😄

[@PepeHerreraH]

OMG! What a fantastic video. I got sooo invested into this whole story I want to know more... just like you. 😅 I'll definitely be on the lookout for more information released/found. That'll be a REWARD to all of us!

[@KVTRockAngel]

Reward! 🤯 Wow....I can't believe I watched the entire video! So interesting! I hope someone can solve this. I'm super curious to know the answer. 🤣 Props to you for having so much patience and spend so much time on it, getting your family involved, and even reaching out to the people who could possibly give you hints to try to figure all this out. This was so entertaining. You're almost like a detective. You're the best, Karen. ❤

[@icturner23]

I'm so excited to watch this and I love how long it is! I don't have much spare time online at the moment but will enjoy watching it in sections.

[@icturner23]

I couldn't resist watching the whole thing even though I didn't really have time. Loved it as expected. Thank you for a real;ly fun hour, Karen.

[@jennifertrace3836]

You deserve the REWARD for all of the hard work you’ve done! 👏

[@Kas_Styles]

Just found your channel from this video. Very interesting and great job on all the research. Definitely need an Part 2 for this.

[@agirlhasnoname3269]

17:25 those are Hindi alphabets The one which looks like a 3 is sounded out as 'oo' and the other one is sounded out as 'ss' Idk about its relevancy but I just wanted to mention it Idk what the triangle is though

[@KarenPuzzles]

Great tip!

[@niak361]

I'm on a puzzle freeze too. I can't stop looking at new puzzled, putting them in my cart and running away from the cart. I'm new to puzzling since retiring. Enjoy your channel 🧩🧩

[@usedtomakemesmile]

Karen, this is amazing! I live in BC and have a friend who works at the law library; trying really hard not to go into a research spiral of my own!

[@KarenPuzzles]

If you have access to law documents that can't be accessed online, feel free to send me an email and I can send over some of the real names and specifics I didn't want to include in the video. Maybe the answer is buried someone in a legal document somewhere?