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Solution To Google Da Vinci Code Quest #1

The Student Rant blog has the solution to the SuDoKu-like first puzzle in the Google / Da Vinci Code Quest game that Miel posted about. I won’t post the solution here, so as not to spoil things, so just follow this link to read it there. To help you out, though: The answer to the bonus question you get asked after completing the puzzle can be found at Wikipedia, second-to-last bullet point in the spoilers section, 20th word.
(via Digg)

UPDATE: IF YOU ARE ARRIVING TO FIND THE SOLUTIONS, THEY ARE NOT HERE. HOWEVER, YOU CAN GET HINTS AT THESE LINKS, AND THE ANSWERS CAN USUALLY BE FOUND IN THE COMMENTS BELOW:

There’s a special message at the end of my Quest #23 post, thanking all the great people who have shown up here the last few weeks to play this game. I’d like to thank you all, and announce that if you keep reading this site, you’ll be eligible to win some free DVDs that I’m about to start giving out. So check it out!

UPDATE: News has come out on the Final Challenge. I have it all following this link. Keep coming to this page for updates. Yeah, I didn’t win it, but emails are coming in to the finalists and prizes are being sent.

Just because the Quest is over, doesn’t mean there aren’t any new puzzles. Puzzle creator Wei-Hwa has pledged to keep going. Details at this link.

April 18th, 2006 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | iGoogle, Search, General | 175 comments

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175 Comments »

The puzzle was easy, even for me, who have never solved a sudoku. The answer to the question could be found on the official Da Vinci Code website.

Too bad though that the puzzles don’t work here in Linux. They require Flash version 8, but the latest released version is still 7. Kind of weird, considering Google seems to like cross-platform compatibility and Sony is installing Linux on the PlayStation 3…

Comment by Sander | April 18, 2006
The puzzle was different for everyone. It’s teh answer to the question that you shouldn’t be giving out. Took me a while to figure out on my own yesterday.

Comment by Jason Schramm | April 18, 2006
What’s the name of that star Google Da Vinci Code Quest #3?
The pentagram it’s in his chest, but that little star next to him?
Thanks

Pedro

Comment by Pedro | April 20, 2006
How do I submit the puzzel once i am threw.

Comment by FAtty | April 20, 2006
Whats the triangle called?

Comment by FAtty | April 20, 2006
in Google Da Vinci Code Quest #1, what is the triangle thing called, the pyramid like thing.

Comment by joe | April 21, 2006
The answer to the bonus question you get asked after completing the puzzle can be found at Wikipedia, second-to-last bullet point in the spoilers section, 20th word.

Comment by Nathan Weinberg | April 21, 2006
This blog has the solutions to all of the puzzles. http://googlefact.blogspot.com

Comment by James | April 22, 2006
the blade

Comment by maureen | April 23, 2006
has anyone else had problems loading the second puzzle? i cannot seem to get past the ‘loading’ page….

Comment by Leanne | April 24, 2006
#1 answer: blade

Comment by Mahesh | April 24, 2006
hey whats that triangle called i want the soluton to that quest 1

Comment by sai | April 24, 2006
Anyone know what the answer is to Challenge #7. I completed the puzzle but do not know the ansewer to the question, What are 2905 didot points in inches to the nearest whole number?

Comment by Lisa | April 24, 2006
43 inches.

Answer here

Comment by Nathan Weinberg | April 24, 2006
How do you figure out the answer for the question about the blue moon?

Comment by Nadine | April 24, 2006
how do you clear the debris on #2??? it wont move!!!

Comment by Huh | April 24, 2006
type the parts of the equation into google and use google calculator the middles c and blue moon are frequencies. use the freq. numbers to do the rest

Comment by jeff | April 24, 2006
“What has the state of ISBN 8822234278?”

Question #8

PLz help me!!

Comment by matt | April 25, 2006
“What has the state of ISBN 8822234278?”
War

Comment by Kimberly | April 25, 2006
Question 8 - city is not Rome or Paris. It’s Piedmont.

Comment by Jim | April 25, 2006
i want the answer to the curator problem. and the triangle is called the blade.

Comment by Julia | April 25, 2006
whats the answer to question#6? what city is it?

Comment by cheese | April 25, 2006
why is the answer to #1 blade?

. . . or would I have to read the book/watch the movie to find out?

Comment by Teresa | April 25, 2006
New York

Comment by Cecilia | April 26, 2006
I believe the questions might be different for a few people. My answer for number six was New York. And the question had something to do with a sculpture of The Last Supper that is on display at the MET.

Comment by Dro | April 26, 2006
What did SIlas toch last

Comment by Ky | April 26, 2006
i mean touch

Comment by Ky | April 26, 2006
please answer soon
its a hard one

Comment by Ky | April 26, 2006
its holy water thast was a hard one

Comment by Ky | April 26, 2006
its holy water boy that was difficult

Comment by Ky | April 26, 2006
what is the shape of the box Silas takes out of the church in his video clip? 8 sided star shaped? Not octagram

Comment by Charlie | April 26, 2006
i dont know got the same questions do you have the other answers??

Comment by simcon | April 26, 2006
Try this website

http://solomon.dailygrail.com/node/44?from=50&comments_per_page=50

Day 10 - Observation Challenge
Had to search Google Video for a video of Silas then asked three reasonably tough questions…. Considering that the Google Quest winners are based on who answers all questions cumulatively the fastest, I feel like with 3-4 minutes of searching on this one, I’m sunk, so here are my answers to help the next person
1. Silas extracts an important looking stone object from the ground, what shape is it? Note that while this is an eight-pointed star, referred to in the movie as a disc and with an incised circle on it, the answer Google wants is octagon
2. What is the last thing Silas touches? Sure LOOKS like water, but the answer Google wants is holy water
3. Silas breaks many things but what is it that will ultimately be broken? Listen to the audio in the clip and it tells you, the answer Google wants is silence

Comment by simcon | April 26, 2006
Octagon

Comment by Sam | April 26, 2006
what is ultimately broken (the last question)

Comment by Sam | April 26, 2006
The 2nd is Holy Water but…what is the 3rd reply..?Help me!!!

Comment by Marco | April 26, 2006
What’s the answer to the third question about the Silas video. What is it that will ultimately be broken?

Comment by Marianne | April 26, 2006
it is octagon !
and whats the answer to the 3th question:
“…but what is it that will ultimately be broken?”

Comment by Luis Monteiro | April 26, 2006
Sorry ! it is ‘the silence’

Comment by Luis Monteiro | April 26, 2006
It’s an octagon. So what’s the answer to the last question for #10 …

“During the action in the video, we see many things shattered and destroyed, but what is it that will ultimately be broken?”

I tried “Da Vinci Code” in all combinations, and also “riddle”. Is there some significance to the bolded words at the top?

Comment by Brad | April 26, 2006
the famous drawing by da vinci in question 3 is Studio del Corpo Umano right? so why won’t it except my answer?

Comment by Mara_Jade | April 26, 2006
Silence is broken….the narrative of the video. Guess you have to have a sound card for that one.

Comment by Charlie | April 26, 2006
did not know there was a time constraint.
Oh well. I hate competition anyway, just like puzzles.
Hey…you guys remember when the book came out the way it got popular was another puzzle problem. tied to the book. The book had all sorts of clues on it’s jacket too. Now those were hard puzzles. I got about 2/3 through that one. I might like to go back to it now. Anyone remember the link?

Comment by Charlie | April 26, 2006
It’s www.randomhouse.com/doubleday/davinci

Comment by Jim | April 26, 2006
The answers are ALL here in this video link:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8937530141955979464&q=da+vinci&pl=true

Dan

Comment by Dan Bressler | April 27, 2006
[…] Solution To Google Da Vinci Code Quest #1 By Nathan Weinberg Digg this story […]

Pingback by » Solution To Google Da Vinci Code Quest #1 » InsideGoogle » part of the Blog News Channel | April 27, 2006
Mara
the famous painting is “The Last Supper”.

Comment by Lida | April 28, 2006
What I want to know is what do we do with the symbols that are behind the pages. where do we enter them?

Comment by Lida | April 28, 2006
am on the 12th quest, cannot find the greek cross, tried clicking everywhere. Help!!!

Comment by Sid | April 28, 2006
Um whats the city that this museum is in? i cant figure it out
xXx

Comment by Meghan | April 28, 2006
Think about it.. How many religous cities can you name?… The Greek Cross.. isn’t “REALLY” there.. you just have to find the right building and click around there..

Comment by George | April 28, 2006
Roma is le bonissima city lol (actually Rome works), but i cant find the dam cross, anyone know where it is?

Comment by Miki | April 28, 2006
City is Rome

Comment by Heather | April 28, 2006
What is called “A ETERNAL CITY”?
Answer is Rome

Comment by Fox | April 28, 2006
hey…for day 3 part 3…what are the number of dials on the cylinder?

Comment by psn | April 29, 2006
The name of the traingle is on the wikipedia page that has been given above, just use CTRL+F and type in triangle to find the name

Comment by Asif | April 29, 2006
translate “Clef” from French = Key

Comment by g | April 29, 2006
The city is Rome. A hint of where the cross is hidden would be a big help!

Comment by Pete | April 29, 2006
the museum is in rome.

now, i have a question.
WHERE is the museum???
i got the exact same map up on google maps right now, but i still can’t find it. help!

Comment by Isaac | April 29, 2006
ROME

Comment by Avi | April 29, 2006
Challenge 12 answers: The Greek cross is in the section directly to the upper left of that large “D”-shaped building in the middle of the city (Rome).

My problem is the chess challenge for day 11: it won’t load in my browser. The first chess challenge was fine. (Only now, when I try to re-do THAT one, it doesn’t load either.)

Very frustrating… Anyone else having probs with that one…?

‘Google’s DVC Quest rules document pretty much insulates them from any module malfunction, so no help from their ‘help’…

Comment by gabrielle | April 29, 2006
i can’t get 9th puzzle to load, the second curator question. anyone else having trouble?

Comment by jewles | April 30, 2006
I am stuck on day 13!! Its MUCH harder than the previous ones… I guess I will just have to keep at it!

Comment by Oliver | April 30, 2006
Completely stuck on 13

Comment by Eric | April 30, 2006
yes, day 13 is very very hard. does somebody know the placement of all of them?

Comment by isaac | April 30, 2006
The aswer to the question of day 14…
The question is to traslate ‘wrermv kilkligrlm’ from Atbash to English, and the aswer to that is ‘divine proportion’…

I posted here because day 14 had no thread yet…

Comment by Danni | April 30, 2006
I’m having trouble loading the 1st curator question. It gets to right near the end of the loading thing and just stays there… Any ideas on whats wrong? It’s the only one I can’t load. Every other one worked fine…

Comment by Coralea | April 30, 2006
Does anyone know the city with the 3 dimensional city of the last supper it was the day 6 puzzle?

Comment by Stacie | April 30, 2006
never mind lol got it.

Comment by Stacie | April 30, 2006
i know 13 it is anatomy!!

Comment by lottie | May 1, 2006
oh soz, thats 14 (oops!)

Comment by lottie | May 1, 2006
Day 6 answer:

3-D version of the ‘Last Supper’ is in New York City.

Comment by gabrielle | May 1, 2006
Anyone know the answer to “Translate keystone to Italian”?

Comment by Chris | May 1, 2006
Message 33:
Simon said: “Considering that the Google Quest winners are based on who answers all questions cumulatively the fastest, I feel like with 3-4 minutes of searching on this one, I’m sunk, so here are my answers to help the next person”

Not sure if you’re referring to the UK site, but that says:
“Winners drawn randomly and under independent supervision, from all entrants who have correctly completed all 24 puzzles, and notified within 28 days of the closing date.” - which doesn’t seem to say to me that you’ve got to do it fast … I hope you haven’t, that’s for sure!

Comment by Emma | May 1, 2006
I too get the tranlation for keystone at ‘chiave di volta’ but thats not the right answer apparently…HELP!

Comment by Courtney | May 1, 2006
Try:

pietra di chiave

or

perno

Comment by gabrielle | May 1, 2006
or

fulcro

Comment by gabrielle | May 1, 2006
I’ve tried chiave di volta, pietra di chiave, perno and fulcro and none of these seems to be correct. I find it interesting that google’s own translation is incorrect according to the game. Has anyone figured this out or am I just completely lost?

Comment by Danielle | May 1, 2006
i got to translate “flight” to italian in 15th puzzle and it is “volo” so try chance wih this

Comment by mk | May 2, 2006
Hi

Can anyone give me a hand with question 15?? Cant place those pictues right at all!

Comment by Jen | May 2, 2006
Once in a blue moon is
1.16699016 × 10-8 hertz

middle c is
261.625565 hertz

quadrillion is

1 x 10×15

Doing the math will leave you with

4.46053565 × 10×4 or

44605 rounded to the nearet integer

that’s all folks

Comment by Krishna | May 2, 2006
Help!! Im stuck on the 3rd question Which of these people in history never step foot in notre dame?
I have googled till I cannot google anymore! PLease someone put me out of my misery!

Comment by Toni | May 2, 2006
Forgot to say question 16

Comment by Toni | May 2, 2006
Q 16:
Pope Leo the Something never set foot in Notre Dame…

Comment by gabrielle | May 2, 2006
Update on non-loading puzzles:

I had a no-load last week on the chess challenge #11. Today, however, #15 loaded for me. When I finished, I checked #11 and — voila — It also worked!

So, if you have no-loads — keep checking back… I think the DVC-Quest googleheads are busy fixing those glitches…!

Comment by gabrielle | May 2, 2006
Toni,

just by matter of chess move for checkmate…king Leo X

Comment by charlie | May 2, 2006
on 16 its pei, louis 14 and pope leo i think but its not working any ideas??

Comment by Matt | May 2, 2006
im not going to gove away any clues to the answers, but for those who are particularly stuck on question 2, all i will say is that don’t always believe what other people are posting. Have u ever thought that the reason why choosing louis XIV doesn’t work is because it may not be he right answer!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment by pacoflan | May 3, 2006
Day 17 solutions:
f
quest
7

Comment by Dan | May 3, 2006
solucion day 17

Comment by Bysak | May 3, 2006
this is kool … can’t blieve i’m th frst one to solve it … njoy

1. letter f
2. quest
3. 7 times

Comment by nikita | May 3, 2006
I finally caught up! was on vacation when this first started and no computer in sight.

Comment by MG | May 3, 2006
Actually Nikita, I solved it sooner. I just didn’t want everyone to know.

1. f
2. Quest
3. seven

Comment by Jim | May 3, 2006
how do you get the translation of ‘kzgilm’ from Atbash? am realy stuck! how do you figure out what it means? please help! much appreciated!

Comment by psn | May 3, 2006
loius is right you idiot

Comment by Ky | May 3, 2006
for translating from or to atbash is very easy. A=Z B=Y just write down the alphabet and then under write it backwards and you will have the key.

Comment by L Gibson | May 3, 2006
‘Got the following email from the Googleheads… er, Google engineers… regarding the no-loads:

__________________________

Hi Gabrielle,

Thank you for your note. We’re aware of this loading problem, and our
engineers are currently investigating. We suspect that it has to do with
your internet connection speed. If you have access to a faster internet
connection, you may want to try the Quest again.

We hope to have this fixed soon. We appreciate your patience, and thanks
for taking the time to write.

Regards,

The Google Team

Comment by gabrielle | May 3, 2006
Day 18
London
Imperial College

Comment by Tray | May 4, 2006
Tray, I have to know how did you get “Imperial College”? I googled that map till my fingers were becoming arthritic.

Comment by MG | May 4, 2006
I found the location for IMperial College using Google maps…But, I clicked everywhere and cannot get it!!

Comment by MT | May 4, 2006
Sorry…I clicked everywhere in the general vicinity of Imperial College to no avail. I thought that the initial 3 blades created its own blade and I needed to find the spot between the two furthest blades. Please help!

Comment by MT | May 4, 2006
You get the address of the V&A museum and google map it. then you go into hybrid view and compare the spot that’s X’ed.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Cromwell+Road,+SW7+2RL&ll=51.499052,-0.176919&spn=0.002865,0.005955&t=h&om=1

Comment by dtran | May 4, 2006
you have to click on the 4 blades (triangles) and then they will criss cross each other and connect in the middle at the correct answer (as already listed).

Comment by 4 blades | May 4, 2006
3 of the blades are at the bottom of the screen the 4th is on the top…they llok like triangles

Comment by MG | May 4, 2006
i found 2 of the blades at the very bottom and 1 blade to the upper left where’s the last one?

Comment by Stylez | May 4, 2006
I found two blades along the bottom border of the map and one along the left border of the map. Where is the forth blade located?

Comment by cj | May 4, 2006
I cant fing the fourth triangle! I have found the 2 on the bottom and the one on the left side….help!

Comment by toddmeister | May 4, 2006
fyi…

The DaVinci Code — the entire book — online here:

http://neuronix.ee.iisc.ernet.in/darera/ebooks/davinci.doc

Comment by gabrielle | May 4, 2006
I having the same problem, I can’t find the fourth blade. I already found the three of them in the bottom. But where exactly is the fourth blade?

Comment by Cristina | May 4, 2006
I took out my trusty London map and had no trouble locating it.

Comment by Tray | May 4, 2006
I had trouble locating the fourth one at first. it is right at the top and forms the top of a larger partial triange straight up from the middle of the longer lake.

Comment by Tray | May 4, 2006
Not all the clues are identical for each game.

Some puzzles are different. So many solutions posted here are NOT factual.

Don’t make me get my whip.

Comment by Uranus | May 4, 2006
omg people. this is supposed to be a game and a challenge. half of the questions you are asking can be found by *following the instructions*, i.e. watching the video trailers, checking out google maps, etc. they havnt left you in the dark- its all there. try spending more than 10 seconds on each puzzle and really put some thought and effort into it. and if that gets boring, look up definitions for ‘challenge’ and ‘quest’ on dictionary.com.. maybe youll get it. i really wish blatant answers would stop being posted here.

Comment by J | May 5, 2006
Hey we only gave the solution to our puzzle…I thought I had the whip

Comment by MG | May 5, 2006
The answer’s Genoa

Comment by MG | May 5, 2006
I’m with J on this. I think google should have a way to track anyone who’s been on and posted to this website, or similar websites, and ban them from the actual contest.

Oh crap, I just got myself banned. Dang.

Comment by theMike | May 5, 2006
you can have the whip… i’ll wield big rocks! =)

Comment by J | May 5, 2006
that was so helpful for the Atbash translation! thankyou!
for day 19…where do you get the answer for the question-According to Grant Allen’s Paris, this is the most undoubted work of the master in existence.
Please help!!!
thankyou !!!

Comment by psn | May 5, 2006
DAY 13 SUDOKU! HELP!!

Comment by isaac | May 5, 2006
Duh, the answer is ‘by sea’.

Comment by symphonic | May 6, 2006
hey can u please publish help for quest 20?

Comment by Dougie | May 6, 2006
#19 and #20 can be found by using the Google Book Search link at the bottom of the dialog box. Sometimes you have to edit the question to come up with the answer though.

My #20 was;
As A Florentine Revery begins, our first impression is one of what?

Perfect Harmony was the answer

Comment by Kate | May 6, 2006
Can anyone tell me what the catalogue number is for Leonardo’s Medusa Head. I found the 1890 catalogue no trouble from ‘Google Book Search’ but I have tried every search combination I can think of inside the book and only come up with 84 or 1157, both of which are wrong.
Please Help Me!!!
Thankyou.
Love you forever!!

Comment by Rouchent | May 6, 2006
ahhh number 20… help. i’ve tried many a colour, and it doesnt want to accept anything.

Comment by sarah | May 6, 2006
You guys know that everyone doesn’t get the same question, right..?

Comment by Marcus | May 6, 2006
Day 20- What’s the answer to :

“What Florentine business was not very highly regarded?”

Comment by D. | May 6, 2006
Day 20 Restoration Puzzle: The question after solving the resoration puzzle is: According to H.H. Powers, what is the true Italian city?

Answer: Fiesole.

Comment by SecksKandi | May 6, 2006
Has anyone gotten the answer to Day 20 (May 6th)?
My puzzle question had to do with what words may be divided by tons in the “Numismatic Chronicles?”
Did anyone else get that?
Does anyone need help solving it?

Comment by Snoopy | May 6, 2006
Some other possibilities for the Day 20 Puzzle Question:

Q: According to The Numismatic Chronicle, during whose reign were the rare fleur-de-lis groats of Stirling struck?

A: James II

Q: Several art-critics think this painting in the Royal Uffizi Gallery in Florence to be one of Leonardo’s earliest works.

A: The Annunciation

Q: Decidedly, the Florentine is prepared for what?

A: Emergencies

Comment by SecksKandi | May 6, 2006
Day 20:
There is a painting of the Head of Medusa in the Royal Uffizi Gallery in Florence, usually attributed to Leonardo. What is its catalogue number in the 1890 catalogue of the museum?

can not find answer anywhere =/

Comment by Aaron | May 6, 2006
Anyone know the answer to the “words divided by tons” question in #20?

Comment by 986 Girl | May 7, 2006
Marcus (comment 125)
Yes, we know there are different questions, but there cannot be thousands of questions i.e. one for each person. Therefore many people get the same question as someone else.
Ergo, if we’re stuck we can ask.
Simple really!

Comment by Rouchent | May 7, 2006
I gave up with the catalogue number and got a new puzzle.
Day 20 question - ‘a woman playing the lute’.
Answer - Cornelius Bega
I hope this helps someone.

Comment by Rouchent | May 7, 2006
HELP!
I have just started, cant figure the answer to question 2. I know that it is some form of celtic cross. But dont know what the whole name of it is.

Comment by flea_be | May 7, 2006
Dont worry about it i have figured it out finally

Comment by flea_be | May 7, 2006
According to Vol. IV of The Eclectic Review, who endeavoured in vain to unite Christian art with the Pagan ideas of antiquity?

Comment by Era | May 7, 2006
Day 21 challenge
Can anyone Help I am stuck on this question -
According to Vol. IV of The Eclectic Review, whose childhood was distinguished by the inevitable persecutions which all geniuses are fated to endure?

Comment by Kat | May 7, 2006
Not to worry given up started 21 again.
The question now is
According to Vol. IV of The Eclectic Review, what author talks of his sufferings in terms that might suit a Galileo imprisoned by the Inquisition? HELP

Comment by Kat | May 7, 2006
Found it - Mr Ruskin hope this helps.

Comment by Kat | May 7, 2006
Does anyone know the answer to this question, According to Vol. XXIII of The Eclectic Review, ecclesiastical power of all kinds is an engine of what?

Comment by Pearce | May 7, 2006
Puzzle 2:

The Greek Cross

Puzzle 20:

*Catalogue # of ‘Head of Medusa’

1159

*Words divided by tons in The Numismatic Chronicles…

HOC OPVS DEI

Puzzle 21:

*One who endeavoured to unite Christian art w/Pagan ideas

Michael Angelo (Keep space between Michael and Angelo.)

Comment by gabrielle | May 7, 2006
DAY 21:
AFTER PUTTING UP ALL THE PAINTINGS YOU WILL GET A QUESTION: Which volume of The Eclectic Review featured Jones’s Greek and English Lexicon? THE ANSWER: 21

Comment by Brett | May 7, 2006
Day 21:

“According to The Eclectic Review, what is justly considered as an entirely poetical invention?”

Comment by D. | May 7, 2006
Found it. The answer is Chivalry

Comment by D. | May 7, 2006
I don’t understand why people are posting the answers if this is a contest. I guess you just want to be like “Hey, look at me. I figured it out. Give me a cookie.” or you are someone who doesn’t have a clue and doesn’t mind cheating. Every man/woman for themselves I say.

Comment by G | May 7, 2006
Petrarch sent three presents to the Bishop of Cavaillon was was the last one……
the answer is
epistle

Comment by mazetronic | May 8, 2006
Hasn’t anyone realized yet that towards the end of the quest now, there are many different questions for each level that we are not going to get the same question for each level?

Comment by Joey | May 8, 2006
this is easy so farr… wat happens at the end????

Comment by Arun | May 8, 2006
yo g…
It’s a game dude!
Are you really worried that someone (besides you) that hasn’t been working on answering the questions themselves will suddenly win the contest?
Duh!
And if they do, who cares?
The probability of YOU or myself winning is very slim, and if they do, good for them.
Stop being such a cry baby…
Wah, wah, wah…

Comment by Snoopy | May 8, 2006
G,

If that’s how you feel “every man/woman for themselves” then stop entering this site and copying our answer..

KISS-KISS

Comment by MG | May 9, 2006
[…] For all the other quests, check out this page. Posted: April 27, 2006 by Nathan Weinberg in: […]

Pingback by » Google / Da Vinci Code Quest #11 » InsideGoogle » part of the Blog News Channel | May 9, 2006
[…] For the other Quests, go to this page. Posted: April 28, 2006 by Nathan Weinberg in: […]

Pingback by » Google / Da Vinci Code Quest #12 » InsideGoogle » part of the Blog News Channel | May 9, 2006
[…] For the other Quests, check out this page. Posted: April 27, 2006 by Nathan Weinberg in: […]

Pingback by » Google / Da Vinci Code Quest #10 » InsideGoogle » part of the Blog News Channel | May 9, 2006
[…] For the other Quests, check out this page. Posted: May 3, 2006 by Nathan Weinberg in: […]

Pingback by » Google / Da Vinci Code Quest #17 » InsideGoogle » part of the Blog News Channel | May 9, 2006
The answer the “classic sequence” 0-1-3-4-9…is square number

Comment by MT | May 9, 2006
Just finished #24 at 12:01 and i think the contest is already closed.

phwew!

Comment by aaron | May 10, 2006
#24 was easy… maybe one of the easiest of all the 24. I’ve noticed that I’m having trouble getting into Google since the game was turned on today… is that due to increased traffic from the game?

Good luck in the finals.

Rick

Comment by Rick | May 10, 2006
Quest #24 was not too difficult. It took longer to fill out the Puzzle Completion form…

Comment by Joe | May 10, 2006
i am on day 24, the last qu im very confussed. firstly which letters, also iv typed in every painting the louvre and the nat gallery have and none have been excepted. i need help please

Comment by Emma | May 10, 2006
AAAAAARGH!

I saw the last puzzle come up today, and saved it do at home tonight. However, it tells me that the contest is closed!

It says:

Thank you for participating in The Da Vinci Code Quest on Google.

We’re sorry, but in order to compete in the Final Challenge you must have completed the previous 24 puzzles correctly and registered prior to 1pm (EST) on May 11th.

HOWEVER… this is NOT in the rules. The Rules state that entries must be received before midnight on the 12th May - tomorrow!

Anyone else have this problem?

Comment by Paul | May 11, 2006
[…] Be here on May 19th. Go to my main Da Vinci Code Quest page, and look for a link to The Final Challenge, and join in. Good luck to everyone. […]

Pingback by » Google / Da Vinci Code Quest Final Challenge Coming » InsideGoogle » part of the Blog News Channel | May 12, 2006
While I appreciate your efforts, and I’m sure everyone else does, there is a flaw in your wait and see method. If there is a tie whoever finishes first is the winner.

Comment by Nick | May 12, 2006
Nick, the page only says that whoever finishes it the fastest, not the first, is the winner. Where did you get that idea from?

Comment by Nathan Weinberg | May 12, 2006
Read the rules Nate. That’s where I got that idea from.

“In the event of a tie between two or more Finalists, the Finalist whose Puzzle Entry Time is the earliest will be declared the Grand Prize Winner. In the event of a further tie between two or more Finalists whose respective Puzzle Entry Times are the same, the Finalist who submitted his/her Contest Entry Form at the earliest Contest Entry Time (by date, time, hour, minute, seconds) will be declared the Grand Prize Winner. In the event of a further tie…” ETC.

Comment by Nick | May 12, 2006
People, there are some misconceptions in these comments about things that are very clearly stated in the rules (US version):

* It doesn’t matter how long it took you to do the individual puzzles. Your puzzle completion time is the time that you entered your email address on the puzzle completion page. If you took 45 minutes to the day 12 puzzle, it doesn’t matter.

* If you received an email from Google, you aren’t guaranteed to be in the top 10,000. Everyone who completed the 24 puzzles in the allotted time gets this email.

Finally, I don’t think the puzzle was closed at 12:01 … I solved it at 12:03 and saw the same exact thing as everyone else. Nobody will know until Monday if they were in the top 10,000 or not.

Comment by Rich | May 12, 2006
What is the chance that the top two will finish the five puzzles in exactly the same time, say 6 minutes and 23 seconds? The times will probably play out like a Bell curve and some Geek will be able the beat the rest by a small margin. Still, it may pay to wait; but it sure helped to know what the final video clip was. Knowing if there are questions associated with the final puzzles or they are straight solve the puzzles is critical knowledge.

Comment by Chas | May 13, 2006
Got my cryptex in the mail today!! (Monday)

Comment by Janet | May 15, 2006
Just got a cryptex in the mail today! I submitted the puzzle at 1:13 EST and must have been in the top 10,000. There’s no accompanying letter or anything, but I have to say I’m rather surprized!

Comment by Dan | May 15, 2006
Update: the code to open the cryptex was GRAIL and was printed on the box. The message printed inside was the following:

Congratulations,
You have proven worthy of the Da Vinci Code Quest on Google. Visit www.google.com/DaVinciCode to see if your journey continues.

It looks like I’m seeing the same page as everyone else, though, so maybe google wasn’t counting on them arriving in the mail so fast… who knows.

Comment by Dan | May 15, 2006
got cryptex today as well. let the games begin!

Comment by Steven | May 16, 2006
My cryptex came in the mail Monday, as did the email. I’m really in this for the puzzles, but I started thinking about the prizes this morning. The total value is just short of $130,000. So then I started thinking, ‘Wow. You have to pay taxes on that.’ That could be $32,000. Who has that kind of money sitting around?

Comment by Eric C. | May 16, 2006
Google will be known as the company that ran a hugely popular contest that nobody could afford to win. Actually it’s probably Sony’s fault re. the prize structure. You could whore yourself around for $50k in publicity fees and cover the taxes, but taking all those trips in one year would already severely strain employer relations. Asking for even more time off could be out of the question. This isn’t a life changing prize that would make it possible to quit your job. Maybe some guardian angel somewhere would kick in to cover the taxes but that’s highly doubtful. I wonder if you write a book about winning the first big interactive and successful internet contest and write off the trips as a business expense.

Comment by Jerry Smythe | May 17, 2006
[…] Did you enjoy playing the Da Vinci Code Quest, and don’t want the puzzles to stop coming? Well, you are in luck, since puzzle creator Wei-Hwa has pledged to continue creating great challenges for fans, starting next Friday. […]

Pingback by » The Da Vinci Quest Continues » InsideGoogle » part of the Blog News Channel | May 19, 2006
Who won?

Comment by gabrielle | May 28, 2006
i want to know about da vinci code??

Comment by ananya | June 2, 2006