Bitcoin Forum

This set is over, the loot has been claimed!
Solutions will be published this weekend.
Thanks to all treasure hunters.

Let's go with another set of riddles!

For memory, first edition was cracked here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=270332.0

Principle is still the same, solution is composed of a list of 5 usernames, with the exact same case as registered here.
Concat those usernames, remove all spaces, and use it as a passphrase on brainwallet to get the private key of:


As last time, feel free to help the loot grow by sending coins to this address (currently http://otcdb.us.to/tbz/?address=1A24qsRmLW9hedcx9xonMdo2iVs6MxcUqo).

!!!!! A special prize (https://www.cubicdissection.com/test/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=265&products_id=497&osCsid=e3b0b53a0fe496235254136b96886c7e) for the winner has been kindly offered by Eric from Cubic Dissection (https://www.cubicdissection.com) !!!!!!

Just send a PM to both me and Eric (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=74793), signed using the loot private key to claim this prize!

Important reminder
When claiming the loot, sweep the coins using mt.gox feature, or import the private key to a disposable, fresh wallet, to make sure QT won't use it as a change address in your main wallet.
DO NOT keep that address once you cleared the unspent output, as its private key will be public knowledge.


Rules
Each riddle gives:

• a user name
• a key to help solving the next riddle.

You may try to crack a riddle without the key obtained from the previous one, but... That won't be easy.
Obviously, the first riddle does not require a key.

Since keys are easier to find than solutions, you might still progress without completely solving the previous riddle.

Once you have all the solutions, make sure this returns true:

Hopefully, no critical typo this time.
If something looks oddly written, it's probably because I wanted it that way.

Editions
EDIT 1 : Slight modifications to #1 and a small addition to #2.
EDIT 2 : Edited the loot, adding both the anonymous donation, and Eric's gift. Thanks guys!
EDIT 3 : Fixed a breaking issue in getting 1st key, sorry!
EDIT 4 : Fixed a fix that broke the 1st key
EDIT 5 : Loot amount is now dynamic, thanks to Sammey
EDIT 6 : Don't try and find the 4th key unless you are 18 years old at least, I'll come back with an alternative way by tomorrow.
EDIT 7 : Added a softer way to get the 4th key.

Riddles

#1

This happens in a shady pub, somewhere in the future.
Two guys are discussing, both of which hold one part of the solution.
One also holds the "ke (an)y ______".


#2

Oooh, a key!
Replace that unique one with the mark Mary Read left on the map.
Consider the mark as a mirror, and fix the reflection.
Ooooh, exciting!

Now, open the book.
The 1883 one.
No, not Zarathustra... You know, the one about... The mirror thing...

.... ....'.'......

Haha. Funny shit. Wait. How do you pronounce that?

Hey, don't forget the key!
Think she hid it in the inn, Arrrrrr!
Just keep the number.

#3

s When the frigate lands like poetry, strictly focus on the key.
: Space does not matter. Ignore it.
/ Stuff all that remain in the shaker(*), then enjoy your meal.
/ He's hiding somewhere around... Think out of in the box. That /index/ isn't helping.

(*)This guy holds the next key. And key has a tail!(**)
(**)For a tail-less confirmation, see riddle #2

#4

Ewww. Are you really going to swallow that key?

http://uppix.com/f-p_d521241f80013b4ac.png

Looks pointy and dangerous to me...
Yuck. Cheers, I guess.
Let's play hangman with that fruit!

_ 5 1 2 4 _ _ _

http://uppix.com/f-hangman52124c950013b4d7.png



Wow,
this
is
S....ICK!

Want the next key?

This is for grownups only! I'll come up with an alternative way by tomorrow for younger people, sorry.

Look for the previous one on the dictionary holding Inaba definition.
5th definition.
Just keep the timestamp. Not the timestamp. (*)

(*)For a dizzy confirmation, see riddle #2

This is for solid kids, same result, softer way.

Look for the fruit on the dictionary holding Inaba definition.
(01) 00-04-72-80-WHY
Just keep that as the timestamp.


#5

Yaaawn. What time is it?
*looks around*
Whatever. Carpe diem.


Come on, shawshankinmate37927, try to chew on this one.
Clock says it's "<date>bcef".
When are we? WHEN?

Oh no another one ;D

Let me see what I can do.

I wish I was smart enough for this.

Slight changes to #1 and small addition to #2.
And here's a hint.

The big brown question is what you need to answer.

One of these? They don't really seem to be questions, they're more statements... And why does "COME ON?!!" have a question mark...


I'm thinking this is trying to say that taking the second letter from each riddle's solution (username, not key), spells out "mates"

Not confirming anything, but that's some progress, for sure. :)
One of the questions you quoted looks bigger than the other, IMHO.

WHAT'S you need might be bad ears.
And keep those bad ears for later, too.
COME ON?

Back from vacations!
Glad to see you made a lot of progress. ;D

First sentence holds first ke (an)y .....
Unique one is in the middle.

I feel the same as you.

Yay puzzles

Wow, this one looks harder than the first one. I'm gonna try to figure it out. You bumped it, so it's still going, right?
EDIT: Bump was older than expected. Is this still going?

Yes, it is. Just checked and the funds are still untouched. :)

first riddle: I go find out what concat means lol  :P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concatenation

Many thanks, anonymous contributor.
The loot is now up to 0.1 BTC!

Last round was cracked through collective work. This is probably your best bet, too, here, just post your ideas, leads, etc.
This would also help me leak a pertinent hint once in a while.

Hint : there was no hint in this post, just a big thanks to the lady who contributed to the loot.
Well, I hope a lady she is.
Hopefully.

Are all of these members active? I'm really onto this.

Yes, they are.
Remember I can throw in a few hints once in a while, if I know where you're headed to.
Good luck. :)

As incredible as it may sound, a sponsor asked me to add a very nice special prize for the winner.

Thank you http://uppix.com/f-cubic5282737600148991.png (https://www.cubicdissection.com/) !!

OP Edited with details.

"JDWLQ DQCHTUHQ" -> inverse Caesar shift -> "GATIN ANZEQREN" -> Gavin Andersen?


(The more I read, the more I feel that this is a carefully crafted trolling attempt designed to screw around with minds...)

These are all quite long and obscure riddles. I've been at it for the last couple but am not getting anywhere.

Well done. Will keep trying.

:o these are impossible!!

Got a few lines into writing a brute forcer, until I realized there are approx 167000^5 = 129891985607000000000000000 possibilities... Could be useful if your only missing 1 or 2 solutions though.

I think I've got a couple of the keys, but I cannot figure out a single username :(

Need more clues !

If you got the first key, which is 6 chars long, the second riddle is really not that hard. ;)

Damn I was thinking the first key had 5 letters..

/startover

Haha, sorry, it is 5 chars, actually, and you probably got it.  :-X
As a bonus, mary's mark is just one char.

Recounted, it is 6 5 chars. Bit hard to count that many provided my current state...  ;D
EDIT : fixed the fix that made you think it was 5 chars. 5 chars it is.  :-\
Added more to the loot, hoping you'll forgive that.

While I haven't actually cracked any of these riddles, and probally never will (riddles are not my gift), I do get the feeling that I might be a solution.

Oh wow.. You lost me now !

I thought it was "sense", I know Mary's mark for sure, now I just need to stick it in a new key :)

Also, I think missed your fix ? Was it the lines ??

Not feeling it, do you know something we don't ?  8)

You... Are... Not Wrong. I just won't reply to this tonight again. Really sorry. (Fixed OP again, you can brag about making me a fool, now :D)

Now just keep on!  ;)

There could not have been a unique one with 6 chars.

Probably not.

WOW!  This is just ridiculous.  I don't know where to start.  Does one have to be a programmer to understand these riddles?

Ok, I totally got the Second riddle. I need to find a post of him to check the correct spelling, haven't seen one in a while.

Congrats :)

How did you think of these riddles? I am awed!

Just solved the second one (but only that one). Indeed, a bad ear helps!

(just getting into the mood, don't mind me)

Congrats. :)
Any search engine could help you getting started on the next one!
Then, just follow the guide.


G'luck!

Wow nice riddles, I managed to solve the first one and find first two keys but I'm stuck on the second riddle.  When you ask for Mary Read's mark you are generalizing here as a pirate right?  Also, does the second riddle lead to what could be considered mature content?  I hope I just found a false lead and this is not the case. 

More hints for the second riddle please. :D

Congrats about the first one, it was the most "messy" one, next ones are hopefully a bit more elegant!

At least PG-13, for sure.
About your other questions, maybe you can try and exchange hints with people who already solved the 2nd one, but not the first?  ;)

Looks like you're onto something on the second one  ;) keep at it !

I gotta say though, I only got #2 because I had seen the user in question before. The answer to the riddle is not the name correctly spelled.

I still haven't figured out the first one though... something's up with all those words..

Btw, I think I have all keys, except the last one.. does it have a key as well?

Keys are used to crack the next riddle. So... ? ;)

Voodah, here's what I have on riddle #3, maybe you could help me with #2?

The 's', ':', '/', and '/' at the beginning of each line combine to create "s://", if you'll notice these letters appear in your address bar at the top of your web browser along with the word "index".  What remains is "http" and "bitcointalk".  "http" satisfies the requirement of having 't' as the second letter and is a username on this forum.  However if you search members for "bitcointalk" you can find a user named "btctalk" which also satisfies the letter requirement. 

My bet is on the username for riddle #3 is http, but I'm not sure about the key from #3.

Find the word before looking into s://.

Taking a break from the 3rd to work on the 2nd.  The key from the second and and Zarathustra seem to lead to the prequel to Zarathustra, but I can't get any where from there as there is no mention of unfortunately wrecked or china.  (I still have no idea why "tra" is italicized.)

You are leading to Emily Dickinson's poem on the 3rd riddle, correct?

Heya,

You were right on your previous assumption that Mary Read's mark led to something "dirty". He's not refering to Nietzsche's book, but to the "book of love" instead !  ;)

And regarding riddle #3, yes ! He is sending us to Emily's poem. Once there, if you "strictly focus on the key", you'll find something...

I have to admit, I've made no progress.

Does that mean you cracked #3 too?

I'm not really sure..

I have my candidate answers for sure, but there's no way to know yet.

I think have #4 too but both the fruit hangman and the dizzy confirmation are throwing me off, so I guess not... Are you sure the confirmation for #4 is in #2 as well (just like #3?)

Also, I do not get #1  :)

Something about all those words with x.. but I just can't get it.

And the ears? OMG that's driving me crazy...

EDIT: Having lots of fun tho.. feel like quite the PI

Then you have not, you can't possibly have any doubt after you solved #3. :)
If you have the word that frigate, shaker and previous key are offering, then just follow the instructions.

Okay, screw this. Where can I get a list of all BitcoinTalk users?

Look up.  Above the Bitcoin Forum breadcrumb, there is a series of buttons starting with "Home".  One of them says "Members".  Be warned: there are 5,554 pages and no way to list them all at once, so unless you have some idea of who it might be, it'll take you a while to dig through the list.  (There is a search function, however, so thus the unless.)

http://otcdb.us.to/tbz/?address=1A24qsRmLW9hedcx9xonMdo2iVs6MxcUqo

You could just use that to dynamically show how many BTC the prize is. :)

Excellent, thanks for the hint, and even more thanks to the anonymous guy who added 0.05 more!
I'll edit the first post.

#2:  I believe the book being referenced is "Art of Love"*, but I would prefer not to look into this due to the possibly mature content, so if someone could post the keywords for this riddle's username I would really appreciate it.

*The Italicized portion of Zarathustra is "art" spelled backwards and after you manipulate the previous key you get the word "sexes" which combine to indicate "Art of Love"

#3:  @OP I have the word this gives me:
but I can't figure out how it fits into thisCould you give me a hint?

You will need your keyboard to finish this one.php?

EDIT : About the book that might be needed for second riddle, make sure the date fits.
You don't have to read it, just extract what you need from it (which is totally safe regarding your fears, and provided you have the right book). ;)

I think I've got #1 and 2, but 3 is really throwing me:

Do we need to worry about zero-indexing with the poem?
Is there some sort of targeted search needed for the user?

Fun puzzles so far!

Read the previous hints about that riddle. It comes into 3 parts:
- Find the material
- Follow the instructions to get a word from this material
- Find a way to use that word

G'luck!

I realised the 4th key might be a little violent to acquire for BookLover, so I added an alternative way to get it. Check edit history in first post.

You don't HAVE to be in the NSA to solve this, but it helps.

I, 12648430, am the riddlemaster =)
G9f5eNimxeYzJLVpkqFR5GyApCbrKJEdU44nu5cAs0jpGJsx+2h36VyYC8PBrp345/v1H2pjluISx1/5vO6XLwM=

Ok, the loot has been claimed, this message signature appears to be valid.

Congratulations!

I'll post the whole solution this weekend.

In the meantime, could you please share a bit more details about how you found it?
Was it brute force or did you figure out all the riddles?
Or did you hack into my computer and/or account?  ;D

I didn't solve all the riddles, but I didn't really do anything like brute-forcing either.

- I solved #2.
- meta.p02 posted the solution to #5, although I'm familiar with Caesar cyphers and don't think that one would have stumped me

#2 and #5 game two names that fit into your meta-puzzle (second[] = "mates"), leaving the letters "m", "t", and "s" to be matched to usernames. "m" would not fit many users and a single well-known name came to mind; "t" went the same way. That left "s". I couldn't think of any names I knew that'd fit "s" so I went to the members list, sorted it by post count, compiled a list of the first several pages, and regex searched it for usernames matching "s"; I was honestly kind of shocked that my strategy worked so well when the second passphrase I tried produced the keys.

Thanks for the report and congratulations :)
I'll make sure in the next set that you can't deduce the whole solution with just 2/5 riddles solved, I guess... Still improving!

For the record, the "s" one was escrow.ms, which I promised to include in this set as he was really kind and rewarded the "sherlocks who didn't make it" from the first set.

Okay, so what was the solution?

I wish there were puzzles for people who were not learned about super complex puzzle solving.  But I guess making that kind of puzzle would be too easy.  Wish I was part of the niche of people that could solve this.  It looks super interesting.  Wouldn't know where to start though (probably first step is to take a programing language course)...

I'm on it, not sure if I'll have time to finish tonight, but I'll try my best.

In the meantime, I can tease and tell you the brainwallet passphrase was:
gmaxwellGavinAndresenStephenGornickMeniRosenfeldescrow.ms

Congrats to the winner !

I was so close :(

I had gmaxwell, MeniRosenfeld and GavinAndresen.

I think my biggest downfall was the fact that I don't even remember having seen a post by StephenGornick. My guess is we just don't use the same sub-forums.

#2 was the easiest imo.

Good job 12648430 & Kouye , fun times !!

No programing skill was required to crack those, apart maybe for the meta-riddle that just helped to reorder in the end.
I thought it might be understable by anyone, sorry if it was not, but we'll discuss that after I post the whole solution, if you don't mind.

This chunk of code was also a confirmation because apart from escrow.ms (which I promised would be part of it), I tried to pick users involved in bitcoin dev, to pay my respects in my own way. ;)

Here's a first draft of the solutions!
Might be edited for clarity later, but it should be enough for a start.

#1

This happens in a shady pub, somewhere in the future.
Two guys are discussing, both of which hold one part of the solution.
One also holds the "ke (an)y ______".


=================================================================================

Case was important, here.
Bad ears helped, too. ;D

The idea, as hinted just a bit later, was to reply to the question.
WHAT'S... COME ON?!

Which, I hoped, with bad ears, could transform in "what's common?"
But apparently that failed miserably.

Then all you had to do was to notice some words from one of the guys were in italic (the fact they were really weird words was supposed to help notice them).
I was hoping the repetition of the letters in those words would hint to take a closer look at the letters they had in common, too.

if you keep only the letters they have in common, you end up with
m, g, a ,x

Which I, at some point, thought would be sufficient.
On a second thought, I added the rest in the first guy replies, in the form of an obvious typo, which I warned in initial post was probably here because I wanted it to.

Maybe I should not have, but we'll discuss this after I posted all the solutions.

==> gmaxwell

The key for next one was not too hard, most people found it.

ke (an)y _____

So this tells the key is 5 chars (I won't ever reply to a riddle thread while drunk, sorry again, Voodah)
Also tells it's after "ke any"
(The "an" was smaller to let just key appear, for elegance.)

==> Key = sense

#2

Oooh, a key!
Replace that unique one with the mark Mary Read left on the map.
Consider the mark as a mirror, and fix the reflection.
Ooooh, exciting!

Now, open the book.
The 1883 one.
No, not Zarathustra... You know, the one about... The mirror thing...

.... ....'.'......

Haha. Funny shit. Wait. How do you pronounce that?

Hey, don't forget the key!
Think she hid it in the inn, Arrrrrr!
Just keep the number.

=================================================================================

Mary Read was a pirate, so the mark she could have left on a map was an "X"
This was consistent with the whole "treasure hunt", too.

The unique one in "sense" is 'n'.
So if you replace it with the mark, you get "sexse".
Fix the relection : "sexes"

Open the book. The 1883 one.
This needed just a bit of culture to deduce "kama sutra", and a little google work, to find an online version of first 1883 kama sutra english translation. (public domain... I think)
http://www.classicly.com/download-the-kama-sutra-of-vatsayayana-pdf


Nietzsche's Zarathustra was published the same year, the "tra" ending was the same, and was supposed to be a hint, echoing from first riddle.

Then you just had to look into the book the required extracts:

- Preface, last paragraph, unfortunately wrecked ? ==> many
- the china => rose
- Preface, (First word)[1] (that's "get the second character from first word of the preface) => n
- In the paragraph after the Solution of riddles, whoever ? to repeat (was glad about a riddles being mentioned, so used it) => failed

Ended up after you put all this in
.... ....'.'......

many rose'n'failed

which was a self-confirmed (although a "mature" joke, I guess) result.

Use the bad ears again, and...

==> MeniRosenfeld

For the key, just google "Mary Read Inn".
http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/Pirates/p/Biography-Of-Mary-Read.htm
This comes up, just keep the "number"
so key => 3 or three

#3

s When the frigate lands like poetry, strictly focus on the key.
: Space does not matter. Ignore it.
/ Stuff all that remain in the shaker(*), then enjoy your meal.
/ He's hiding somewhere around... Think out of in the box. That /index/ isn't helping.

(*)This guy holds the next key. And key has a tail!(**)
(**)For a tail-less confirmation, see riddle #2

=================================================================================

The poem was just a google search away.
When the frigate lands like poetry = http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19730

If you strictly focus on the key (3), keeping only 3rd char from each line and discard spaces, you get:
"eritwa"

Which, if you're good at anagrams or just stuff it in any anagram solver, turns out to be:
http://anagram-solver.net/eritwa

The only word related to an incoming meal seems to be waiter.

s://
He's hiding somewhere around... Think out of in the box. That /index/ isn't helping.

That was a hint to think both "out of the box" and in the current context.
The index, followed by the php hint, was supposed to make you curious and try:
https://bitcointalk.org/waiter/

Which, thanks to theymos help, held the answer for this one.

Many, many thanks again for that, theymos.
Please let it live for a couple more weeks until most people are done reading this.
Just for the record, I asked theymos for a 2 weeks clearance to have this url showing the answer.
It took several months, after all, because I underestimated the difficulty. He still kept it alive even after the couldflare-hack&rollback.

For late people, this url was just showing :

==> escrow.ms

Key was pretty straightforward.
Shaker holds the key
==> Cocktail
With added confirmation : "And key has a tail!" (I won't go through the confirmation of the confirmation for PG rated reasons).

#4

Ewww. Are you really going to swallow that key?

http://uppix.com/f-p_d521241f80013b4ac.png

Looks pointy and dangerous to me...
Yuck. Cheers, I guess.
Let's play hangman with that fruit!

_ 5 1 2 4 _ _ _

http://uppix.com/f-hangman52124c950013b4d7.png



Wow,
this
is
S....ICK!

Want the next key?

This is for grownups only! I'll come up with an alternative way by tomorrow for younger people, sorry.

Look for the previous one on the dictionary holding Inaba definition.
5th definition.
Just keep the timestamp. Not the timestamp. (*)

(*)For a dizzy confirmation, see riddle #2

This is for solid kids, same result, softer way.

Look for the fruit on the dictionary holding Inaba definition.
(01) 00-04-72-80-WHY
Just keep that as the timestamp.


=================================================================================

Picture was showing (the key?) a hammer. A tool.
But description did not fit.

"Looks pointy and dangerous to me..." was a hint to find the right tool.
"Ewww. Are you really going to swallow that key?" was a confirmation you were looking for a cocktail.

Tool, pointy, cocktail
was supposed to lead you to "Screwdriver"

Let's play hangman with that fruit!
The only fruit in screwdriver recipe is "orange".

playing hangman with "orange" and this:
_ 5 1 2 4 _ _ _

was supposed to lead you to:
_ G O R N _ _ _

with letter 3 and 6 excluded, and thus building up the gallows.

result, combined with:


was giving SGORNICK. A quick google search on that:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/User:Sgornick

Again, was pleased with the "SICK" result here. :)

Bitcoin related, all you had to do then is to find his nick on btctalk.

==> StephenGornick

For the key, you needed to use the urban dictionary, which has the best definition for Inaba I could find.

Searching for "orange", you found

The colour which vain assholes turn after a session in the tanning salon; Often confused with Hepatitis.

apply (01) 00-04-72-80-WHY
(01) = first definition

Then

http://uppix.com/f-today52a0f0600014c200.png

==> today

I won't go through the initial key hint, but it required looking for the timestamp on the 5th (initially 4th) screwdriver definition of the same dictionary.
That was supposed to be a self-confirmation (which I was again pleased with), too, but I understand we have some youngsters, and will be softer in the future.
Sorry about that.

#5

Yaaawn. What time is it?
*looks around*
Whatever. Carpe diem.


Come on, shawshankinmate37927, try to chew on this one.
Clock says it's "<date>bcef".
When are we? WHEN?

============================================================================

Last was very easy, and a tribute to shawshankinmate37927 for this:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=270332.msg2907723#msg2907723

Just the usual Caesar shift, with the following correspondance:

I'm eager to have any feedback, even if very negative/trollish.

Some things I learnt during this set:
- Never reply when drunk.
- Make sure people have to crack all 5 riddles to find the treasure
- Posting both riddles and solutions to an admin to fix typos/ language mistakes prior to going live might be a good idea.

Overall, I'm still pretty happy with those riddles, apart from the first one, and the fact they were not suited for underaged members.
But consistency was mostly acheived, in my eyes, at least.

And again, many thanks to theymos, who I have had my share of disagreement with, and who still accepted to include a part of the solution "somewhere around".

EDIT : Thanks to tysat, too, for letting me post here. :)

No problem. Thanks for setting this up. The riddles were really difficult! If brute-force attacks weren't possible, they probably would have never been solved without hints or a lot of community cooperation.

Nice work Kouye, you really kicked it up a notch on this one !

Regarding constructive feedback, I've got two or three observations on where to improve:

+ Too much reliance on knowing lots of forum usernames. Our brain works kinda funny and sometimes, you need to already know the answer to your current problem and just let you brain dig and work out the connections for the answers to surface to consciousness. This process is short-circuited when you're looking for something you never even heard before in your life, and your brain starts to wander and make false positive connections with stuff you are familiar with. In a sense, this is handicap for newer users, who are working with limited knowledge.

+ The "mates" thing basically allowed brute-forcing or similar techniques. Not much more to add here. It wouldn't have been cracked yet if the usernames were not scrambled and that hint given away.

+ Some clues too ambiguous (this one might just be my impression based on where my guesswork took me). For example:

The poem:
"If you strictly focus on the key" meant keeping only 3rd char from each line and discard spaces, you get: "eritwa"

At first I had focused even more strictly, so I applied 3 from general to specific:

I went to the 3rd search result on Google, which was this: http://www.shmoop.com/there-is-no-frigate-like-a-book/stanza-1-summary.html

If you go there, you'll see that the poem is actually broken in its verses and you even have the title "Lines 3 and 4", so naturally, I went for verse 3. This was a coincidental misled.

In verse 3, the 3rd word looked nice and capitalized: Coursers

Now Coursers did not sound to me like any username, but then I see:

"(*)This guy holds the next key. And key has a tail!(**)"

And as you might know, a "courser" is a horse, and they have tails !
and even then:

"(**)For a tail-less confirmation, see riddle #2"

and riddle #2 had the thing about The Three Horsemen, so I naturally took the Horsemen as the tail-less confirmation !

Hahaha, this was such a coincidental mindfuck. Or was it?

Something similar happened with #4 and the timestamp I had to grab.

Also last thing i just remembered is I kept second-guessing myself with the fact that Google gives different results for everyone, and if that was or not taken into account during riddle creation.

But all in all, it was great fun, so grats and thanks for your time and effort (and btc for the winner :D)!

Thanks for this great feedback.

I actually tried all google search on the french and murrikan results. Maybe I should have been more thorough, that's an excellent point.

The usernames was first to give an edge to people hanging around. Second time was supposed to be a tribute to btc devs.
Next one won't have any username in solutions (or will it?  ;D)

I'm really sorry about the false lead you followed on the poem one. Altough the fact Coursers didn't have to go through a shaker to come up, should probably have left you with some unsatisfaction feeling.

The fact that Inn name was related to it was an absolute coincidence, too. :-[

Anyway, feedback like yours will help me crafting better riddles, and I thank you again for that.

I find amazing coincidences well.... amazing !!

So it was kind of funny and joyful finding that I got some crazy alternate universe (mis)leads there.

For the record, I thought the last one was a reference to late at night, and that the answer would be my username.  That's why I thought I might be in there somewhere.

Obviously, I was wrong.

We have a limited number of words at hand, and this kind of confusion will always happen.
Sorry, but you really need to follow the instructions, even if intuition can (and will) help, sometimes.

No, but it helps.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/10468112/The-internet-mystery-that-has-the-world-baffled.html
Looking forward to Jan 4th?

My proclivities draw me to solve puzzles and mysteries, but my sense of dire urgency keeps me focused on the ones that have a concrete impact.  There is no shortage of those, and while it would be a delight to meet others of similar mind that, and personal satisfaction of curiosity is a purely selfish motive for me when important work is also calling.

Consider those just as a training (& entertaining, hopefully) session before more serious enigmas. ;D
Next set should be out within a week, stay tuned!