Wired magazine held a contest of sorts offering tickets to the spy museum in D.C. or a Wired t-shirt for the first person to decode the message "encrypted" in the inner ring.
Three hours later the solution was found and there were lots of disappointed people. I was one of them.
I wasn't disappointed that someone had found the answer to the puzzle so quickly, it was just the solution required not so much brainpower as it did a Google search for hash algorithms.
Sour grapes? Eh, maybe. But I prefer puzzles that can be solved with some paper, a pencil, and a lot of thought which is why I make mine as though I expected a 19th century (or early 20th century) citizen to give them a go. No computers required.
I really don't mind spending a lot of time on puzzles that have that kind of feel to them. The Kryptos puzzle on the grounds of the CIA headquarters is one that I look at from time to time. I will probably never crack it, but who knows, right? Another one that I mess around with on and off is the Kahn's Cons Puzzle at puzzlemonster.com. I have been "pretty close" to figuring this one out for literally years now... Grrr.
Speaking of puzzles, the last Secret Puzzle has been found by jimmydunes! Here is what he recently found pasted to the bottom of the art supplies table I built for him last year:
Good Luck!
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