Give this puzzle a shot! (solution posted)

[Agent 57]

Due to the recent conversations about SotC and puzzles in general, I was thinking that you guys might enjoy one of the puzzles that I did recently in our practice puzzlehunt. It's not too hard, but it's a fun little puzzle. (The answer is a word or a phrase, and the italicized text above the puzzle clues is called the "flavortext" and offers hints as to how to solve it.)

<font size=+1>Area 50</font>

In this strange chamber, you notice numerous bumper stickers on the wall, along with road signs that say "Join Us" and "For Free Stuff, (HI*TN)-555-1212."

ME * NH - CT

WI * MO

AR * IN

CA * VT

MD * MN

MS * RI

In the actual puzzle, there were pictures of the states, but since I couldn't reproduce them here I just wrote down their postal codes.

[Agent 57]

Hmmm. No takers thus far.

All righty, here's a hint: find a way to associate U.S. States with numbers. There's a clue to which set of numbers you should use in the flavortext.

[Kupek]

Well, I mainly read the shrine when I'm at the office, and when I'm there, may job is basically problem solving anyway. So I could spend time solving problems that help my research, or solving a problem just for kicks. Research problems usually win out.

[Agent 57]

Still no takers (I woulda figured somebody else here would be interested), but I'll give one more hint:

The number for free directory assistance is (800)-555-1212, and one way to get 800 is to multiply 50*16.

[Flip]

Still no takers (I woulda figured somebody else here would be interested), but I'll give one more hint:

The number for free directory assistance is (800)-555-1212, and one way to get 800 is to multiply 50*16.

I got close to that far. i figured the number in the flavor text had to be 800 (or 1-800) and was trying to associate numbers to the states like an alphabetical list of states numbered 1-50, but couldnt figure it out. Numbering the states in what order they became a state requires even more research.... i thought about that but then decided it probably wasnt that deep, lol.

[Agent 57]

Numbering the states in what order they became a state requires even more research.... i thought about that but then decided it probably wasnt that deep, lol.

Actually, that's exactly it (at least, for the first layer of the puzzle). Remember how my first hint said that there was a clue as to how to number the states in the flavortext, and the other road sign said "Join Us"? That was the clue.

Also, Googling things is often necessary for puzzles like these, and generally it doesn't take more than a few minutes of reading in order to find what you're looking for. For example, typing "order states union" into Google will get you what you need for the first part (you could even click the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button).

[Agent 57]

Here's the solution, if anyone at all cares:

As I mentioned in my last post, the first part involves replacing the states in the puzzle with their order of joining the US, and then doing the math:

ME(23) * NH(9) - CT(5) = 202

WI(30) * MO(24) = 720

AR(25) * IN(19) = 475

CA(31) * VT(14) = 434

MD(7) * MN(32) = 224

MS(20) * RI(13) = 260


So, we've got a bunch of numbers. Now what? Well, since in the flavortext example they used the product of the states to get an area code, let's do the same thing here. Google for the list of US area codes, and do a reverse lookup to what part of the country they represent:

202 = District of Columbia

720 = Colorado

475 = Connecticut

434 = Virginia

224 = Illinois

260 = Indiana


Now, of course, the question is "how the heck do I get an answer that's a word or a phrase out of those states?" Well, one thing to remember at this point is that the equations were presented in the order they were for a reason, and one thing that's helpful to know is that in a lot of these sorts of puzzles, reading down the first letters of a list of things will often produce something useful.

In this case, reading down the first letters of the states gives DCCVII - it doesn't spell anything, but we've all played enough Final Fantasy games to know what Roman numerals look like, right?

DCCVII ends up equaling 707, and doing one final area code reverse lookup leads to the answer, which is CALIFORNIA. (Yes, this is the kind of thing I find fun.)