The Hunt Year was...

 


The American Red Cross

1992 Tropic Hunt

Your online guide to the zaniness of the 1992 Tropic Hunt!

1992 Tropic Hunt Cover Image

When:  2/9/1992

Where: Coral Gables


Ah…after six long years, the Hunt returns to it\'s former glory! To make things extra special, the Herald works things out with the city of Coral Gables to shut down all of Miracle Mile for the Hunters. Can you imagine that? Miracle Mile? In the MIDDLE of Coral Gables? That was great! It was an nice overcast day as well, and I remember spreading my Tropic Magazine out on the ground as I sit in the median of Miracle Mile…

\nThis Hunt was probably the most \'compact\' Hunt that was ever offered, because, realistically, downtown Coral Gables really isn\'t all that big. In my opinion, the highlight of the Hunt was seeing the Dave Barry for President campaign commercial in the now defunct Miracle movie theater. Other puzzles included the different musical groups, the personal ad in the billboard, the missing bus…

\nOverall, this Hunt was probably one of the easiest in terms of the individual Hunt puzzles, but the final puzzle was a doozy

\nThis was also the first time I was able to catch up to Dave and have my photo taken with him (see the autographed picture below)!


The Initial Puzzles
NOTE: The puzzle answers are hidden! In order to see them, you must highlight them with your mouse to reverse the text!

No initial puzzles available for this year.

Main Puzzles (i.e. the puzzle sites)
NOTE: Puzzle answers and their descriptions are hidden! In order to see them, you must highlight them with your mouse to reverse the text!

Puzzle: Missing Bus
Location: The Coral Gables Bus Terminal, and somewhere in Coral Gables
Description:
On the other side of the slip of paper handed out at the Colonnade Hotel was a coupon for a free trip on the Hunt Bus. There was a message on it that read: "All buses leave from the terminal." The bus station appears on the Hunt map. At bus station there were three buses in their berths. Their route signs read:
(Route 1) 44 minus
(Route 2) 7 plus
(Route 3) 6 plus
A fourth berth was empty. The lost bus must be found to finish the equation.
Related puzzle photos and materials...
Puzzle Answer: 59
How to get the answer:
Luckily next to the berths were signs describing the routes of all the buses. Follow the route until the lost bus was found (six blocks away.) Its route sign read (Route 4) 16.

Puzzle: Personal Billboard
Location: East end of Miracle Mile
Description:
The sunbathing beauty is holding a copy of the Tropic magazine section, and if one looks carefully one sees the log for the personals column in Tropic Magazine. Looking at the clouds --- 38 can be seen. But that is not a number in the list of clues.
Related puzzle photos and materials...
Puzzle Answer: 76
How to get the answer:
Going to the classified ads and look for a further clue there. One ad is "HOT NUMBER" which is just what you're looking for. The end of that add reads "I am a dreamer, the type who sees things in the clouds. But sometimes visions aren't enough. That's why I am desperately seeking my double."

Puzzle: The Six Part, Randomly Scattered Around Puzzle
Location: All Over
Description:
In Tropic Magazine that morning in the Tropical Wildlife fashion section was a picture of man wearing a colorful outfit with a big question mark on his back. When six people wearing similar outfits were seen at sites around town the participants should have taken notice. However, instead of a question mark, the shirts had F6, L+, R5, E2, I?, and E2.

In the article in which the wearer of this outfit was interviewed. In the article, the person was asked "What is the most important question?" he responded "That's easy. How do you spell... What's that Rolaids thing?" (A reference to a well known commercial)
Related puzzle photos and materials...
Puzzle Answer: 478
How to get the answer:
Re-arrange the shirts to spell RELIEF (R5 E2 L+ I? E2 F6). Take away the letters and get 52+?26. But what does "?" stand for?

Back to another Q&A in the article! Q: "What does South Florida need that your hometown (Orlando) has? A: "Another major east-west highway, Interstate 4, I-4."


Puzzle: Dave Barry for President!
Location: Miracle Theater
Description:
On one side of a slip of paper handed out at the rotunda of the Colonnade Hotel read "The Hunt Movie Admit One". Go the the Miracle Theater (pictured on the Hunt map) and watch a six minute campaign movie. The film's title was "Dave Barry For President. The Price Is Right." Throughout the movie nefarious sharacters are handing Dave money. The money adds up to 950 dollars.
Related puzzle photos and materials...
Puzzle Answer: 475
How to get the answer:
When the film was over, it was "suggested" to the audience that they watch the credits. The second to last credit read "Final Answer - Divide Total By Two"

Puzzle: Music Festival
Location: Ponce de Leon circle
Description:
At the Hunt music festival, three different music groups were playing simultaneously on three small stages. At each site there was a sign that read "Hunt Musical Productions Presents: WHAT'S WRONG IS RIGHT, A Concert To Right The Wrongs of the World" and a sign with a number on it.

An ad in Tropic Magazine listed the names of the groups:
- Mike Suman and the Swing City Dixieland Jaxx Band
- The Barbara Corcillo String Quartet
- The Simon Salz Jazz Combo
Related puzzle photos and materials...
Puzzle Answer: 519
How to get the answer:
Notice that the quartet had only three players.

Puzzle: Olympic Figure Wading Trials
Location: Columbus Center Plaza
Description:
The Olympic Figure Wading Trials were held at the reflecting pond at the Columbus Center Plaza. Three men are wading in the pool. They always took the same path. Jones just went back and forth like a figure "1". Mazerosky always went in more or less in a circle like the figue "0". Leigh Thompson splashed around a path like a figure "8". They were apparently racing each other. (Note: The figue that they made was contained in their names.)
Related puzzle photos and materials...
Puzzle Answer: 108
How to get the answer:
Put the numbers in the order that the racers finished.


The Clues
59. Police allege that on the night of Dec. 21, 1991, Arnold M. "Eight Ball" Heemer did allegedly assault Raymond F. "The Moth" Quaverman with an alleged manatee organ.
78. It was a couple of months back on Christmas, and I was, like, going bananas because the pet store was closed and I just had to have a gerbil, if you know what I mean.
108. When you're at an outdoor cafe in Monaco on a sunny Friday in June drinking frozen cocktails with little red umbrellas and chatting with beautiful members of the international set, the last thing that you want to worry about is Protruding Nasal Hair.
475. This is one of your initial clues. It will help you in the end.
519. The three-credit course, Godzilla's Knee vs The History of Economics, meets Thursdays from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Bring a sleeping bag.

The Final Puzzle
NOTE: The final puzzle description is hidden! In order to see them, you must highlight them with your mouse to reverse the text!

The Final Puzzle:
The final clue broadcast on the radio was Paul Anka singing the chorus of "Lonely Boy".
Final puzzle photos and materials...
Solving the Hunt:
Five of the six clues had two things in common:
1) The clue contained a day of the week in it, or a way to determine a day of the week.
2) There was a reference to objects on the Hunt Map.

The clues had to be arranged in order, by day of the week. Then the map coordinates for each of the objects mentioned in the five clues were written down.
In order these coordinates were:
P-A S-S W-O R-D I-S B-O O-G E-R = Password is BOOGER.

The final clue "This is one of your initial clues. It will help you in the end" was needed to decode the Final Radio Clue.

"Lonely Boy" was the heading of of another personal ad in the Tropic Magazine.
It read:
"Blue, unloved, sentimental -- the eternally romantic, male is now awaiting love. Be unfailingly mine."

From the leftover clue it must be surmised that the INITIAL letter must be taken trom each word ot the ad to find the path to the final solution. It reads "Bus Terminal Bum." All that had to be done to win was to find the bum In the hallway of the bus terminal and whisper "booger" in his ear.

Who won (Congratulations!):
1st place team
Richard Odlum
Devin Odlum
Lauren Levy
Suzanne Levy
Michael Hubschman
Betty Hubschman
Jackie Hubschman
Jonathan Weitz
Marisa Morgan
Anne Odlum
Andrew Odlum
Jay Packlick

2nd place team
Kevin and Tania Calderon
Aurora Sanchez
Pan Courtelis Donna Gerken

3rd place team
David, Brenda, Matthew, Kimberly, and Christopher Hinds
Wayne, Maria, Marisa, and Lisa Berenbaum.

Photos & related materials for the winners...

Articles/Ads

Photos, articles, stories and other multimedia related to the hunt...

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Page last updated: Friday, December 13, 2024  12:58:13 AM