Level 15

[mjpieters]

Any hints for 15? (Yes, there is a level 15!)

I found the standard module that helped me find the digit fitting in the holes easy enough, and I found the source hint, but am not sure how to interpret that one. Which of two meanings should I apply? Ordering (last, first, etc.) or as a description of a unit of time?

The digit or the digits? I don't know too (yet). There are six possible results for missing digit AND digits.

[mjpieters]

Only one if you regard it as one missing digit. Considering the font I recon there is only space for one, but I'll consider the others as well then,

Level 15 was easy! Once you've found the date (which has two missing digits), all you have to do is Google for its signficance.

Level 15 was easy!

Thanks Dan, you provided the way out

[mjpieters]

Darn it, nothing significant pops up for me; there are 5 dates that fit the bill (two missing digits, **** **** {spoiler removed}) and none of them make anything stand out on Google. How did you note the date, mm-dd-yyyy, dd-mm-yyyy, dd M yyyy or M dd, yyyy?

*sigh*

[mjpieters]

Found it with some help (thanks tzot); the trick lies in the formatting of the date. Note that Wikipedia pins the date one day later! Way more hits on that date...

[note: an additional hint was added to the challenge after I solved it]

Level 15 is pretty lame-o - having to resort to google to sort out which of 8 matching years is the right one, only to find that the day is wrong too isn't
much of a programming challenge, let alone a python one.

Level 15 is pretty lame-o - having to resort to google to sort out which of 8 matching years is the right one, only to find that the day is wrong too isn't
much of a programming challenge, let alone a python one.

You didn't find (or use) all the clues, then. For example, you found too many years. If you had found the correct number of years, the other clues would have identified the correct year and day uniquely. The most obvious way not to do it right would have identified a wrong year and day, but still uniquely.

the trick lies in the formatting of the date.

[note: an additional hint was added to the challenge after I solved it]

Formatting the date is a trick? I'm...not getting it. I think I've got the right date, but it's unclear to me which of the many things that happened on the date matters (and from the forum, now I'm unsure I'm even looking at the right day...

the trick lies in the formatting of the date.

[note: an additional hint was added to the challenge after I solved it]

Formatting the date is a trick?

Na, not really. I think Martijn was talking here about the way you type the date into, say, a Google search box. When he (& I) first solved this one, the "todo" hint didn't exist, and we were indeed looking for a wrong day as a result.

I'm...not getting it. I think I've got the right date, but it's unclear to me which of the many things that happened on the date matters (and from the forum, now I'm unsure I'm even looking at the right day...

The riddle isn't trying to be tricky here -- pick the most obvious possibility. Note that you're missing an obvious clue if you're looking for arbitrary "things that happened" -- read the page title .

The riddle isn't trying to be tricky here -- pick the most obvious possibility. Note that you're missing an obvious clue if you're looking for arbitrary "things that happened" -- read the page title .

Hmm...Yes, I got that (although given my lack of success, I could be wrong), I was being vague to avoid spoilers. =) But associating the title with the date just gives a form of information, it doesn't tell me what form the answer should be written in (to test theories) and it doesn't tell me what I'm looking for in any more specific sense. I've done what I think are the obvious google searches and really nothing leaps out at me. Given the apparent 'obviousness' of the answer, I'm feeling lost. Hmm.

... Given the apparent 'obviousness' of the answer, I'm feeling lost. Hmm.

Hmm. The most obvious way to miss a clue here would in fact leave you with a wrong year. Have you read the other messages in this level for clues about the right number of years?

... Given the apparent 'obviousness' of the answer, I'm feeling lost. Hmm.

Hmm. The most obvious way to miss a clue here would in fact leave you with a wrong year. Have you read the other messages in this level for clues about the right number of years?

I missed a _very_ important clue until you said that. I'll need to hunt a bit more, clearly. Thanks!

-John

Okay...I'm having a problem that really annoys me. The epoch wasn't that long ago. This may or may not actually be relevant for the puzzle, but can anybody tell me how to work around that? Cheers,

-John