The FOFC Enigma Puzzle

[enigma]

The FOFC Enigma – see signature for further instructions.


Puzzle #1

Some say it’s a special kind of sandwich.
The greatest one had a holy destination, I’m told.
Years ago, a group of cats played a big role in its gaining acceptance.
Another nickname sounds like a lager, but that’s misleading.
The devil didn’t bring one to the crossroads – good thing.
No Park Place, but seems like quite a monopoly.
And now, the internet version just sends you anywhere.

What is it?

[WSUCougar]

Cool idea. Anyone making any headway on this?

[QuikSand]

Looks like it's you and me, Coug.

[WSUCougar]

Okay, I've narrowed it down...it's definitely NOT "2/3".

[enigma]

The enigma welcomes collaboration. You're more then welcome to share ideas... but ultimately it is a race to see who get it first.

[rkmsuf]

The enigma welcomes collaboration.

That's a relief.

[VPI97]

but ultimately it is a race to see who get it first.When someone gets it, are they supposed to identfy themselves before posting the next puzzle, or does that remain an enigma, as well?

[enigma]

When someone gets it, are they supposed to identfy themselves before posting the next puzzle, or does that remain an enigma, as well?

I guess that's up to him.

But I rather like the idea that the actual user of the name remains anonymous...

[WSUCougar]

Not sure what the intent is, but I think it'd be kind of cool to keep it hush-hush. Maybe some kind of cryptic announcement like, "The Enigma has changed hands."

[digamma]

Not sure what the intent is, but I think it'd be kind of cool to keep it hush-hush. Maybe some kind of cryptic announcement like, "The Enigma has changed hands."
I like this idea.

Is Quik trying to throw us off here? I thought for sure it was him based on the devil -crossroads line. Wasn't that the first line of his writing contest?

[VPI97]

Random thoughts...

Some say it’s a special kind of sandwich. - specialty sandwich? Like reuben or something?
The greatest one had a holy destination, I’m told. - The only thing that pops into my head is that this is a reference to the crusades.
Years ago, a group of cats played a big role in its gaining acceptance. - Lions? Tigers? football? baseball?
Another nickname sounds like a lager, but that’s misleading. - ???
The devil didn’t bring one to the crossroads – good thing. - The legend of Robert Johnson?
No Park Place, but seems like quite a monopoly. - property names?
And now, the internet version just sends you anywhere. - search engines?

Yeah, it's pretty scattershot and I can't relate any line to another. Go me.

[WSUCougar]

I like this idea.

Is Quik trying to throw us off here? I thought for sure it was him based on the devil -crossroads line. Wasn't that the first line of his writing contest?
Yes, I thought the same thing. Although he'd have to do it with dual names, since he's present in the thread as well as enigma. And this puzzle doesn't really strike me as his style.

[General Mike]

Random thoughts...

No Park Place, but seems like quite a monopoly. - property names?


Boardwalk?

[WSUCougar]

Special kind of sandwich = hero/hoagie/sub?

[SplitPersonality1]

I like this so far. Also, I like the idea of keeping the enigma screenname anonymous.

[rkmsuf]

Special kind of sandwich = hero/hoagie/sub?

knuckle?

[AnalBumCover]

Another nickname sounds like a lager, but that’s misleading.
Bud? Heineken (Heinie)? Corona (Crown)?

[Maple Leafs]

Just thinking out loud here...
Some say it’s a special kind of sandwich.
The greatest one had a holy destination, I’m told. Stairway (to heaven)?
Years ago, a group of cats played a big role in its gaining acceptance. Cats, the musical?
Another nickname sounds like a lager, but that’s misleading.
The devil didn’t bring one to the crossroads – good thing.
No Park Place, but seems like quite a monopoly. Microsoft? Windows?
And now, the internet version just sends you anywhere.

I tried gate and gateway, with no luck.

[QuikSand]

Is Quik trying to throw us off here?

Understand -- I am always trying to throw you off.

[VPI97]

I thought I had something with 'presidency', but couldn't make it work...

Some say it’s a special kind of sandwich. - Sandwiching presidential terms
The greatest one had a holy destination, I’m told. - Reference to Kennedy or whatever flavor of president floats your boat
Years ago, a group of cats played a big role in its gaining acceptance. - Founding fathers

and that's where I hit a wall...

[rkmsuf]

This has the potential to be a gigantic reach.

[Coffee Warlord]

I'm kinda onto something...sorta...kinda.

[Maple Leafs]

I thought I had something with 'presidency', but couldn't make it work...I think it's a reach. Although the most popular lager in the Domincan is "El Presidente", I just don't see it all coming together.

I think we need to keep in mind that there's no guarantee that the puzzle is as simple as coming up with an answer that fits all seven clues. Maybe the seven clues yeild seven answers, and it's those that then point to one final answer?

[Coffee Warlord]

Some say it’s a special kind of sandwich. - Panini? Google'd it, had a reference to it. Sandwich, and some ancient Indian who basically invented Sanskrit.

Best I got at the moment.

[Maple Leafs]

Still thinking out loud in hopes I might trigger someone else...

Some say it’s a special kind of sandwich.
Like the rest of you, I'm stuck in food mode. Hero could work well. The "some say" is odd... is there an ad campaign about special sandwhiches?

The greatest one had a holy destination, I’m told.
What are some holy destinations? Heaven? Mecca?
Could it be a pun (holy = full of holes)?

Years ago, a group of cats played a big role in its gaining acceptance.
Any number of possibilities here... A sports team? A musical group? The Black Panthers?

Another nickname sounds like a lager, but that’s misleading.
Not even sure how to start on that one.

The devil didn’t bring one to the crossroads – good thing.
When you meet the devil at the crossroads, it's to sell your soul. What would you not want him to have? A contract? A pen?

No Park Place, but seems like quite a monopoly.
Microsoft, Windows, Gates...

And now, the internet version just sends you anywhere.
Page? Node? Link?

[rkmsuf]

And now, the internet version just sends you anywhere.
Page? Node? Link?

highway, road?

[Whar]

I focused on Boardwalk for the monoply question. Tried different 'hot dog' references. It can be considered a sandwich. The dog can be considered a 'link'. Hotdogs are a favorite when I am out on the boradwalk. But seems to be a dead end.

[digamma]

Understand -- I am always trying to throw you off.
Respekt.

[AnalBumCover]

I think we need to keep in mind that there's no guarantee that the puzzle is as simple as coming up with an answer that fits all seven clues. Maybe the seven clues yeild seven answers, and it's those that then point to one final answer?I think that as well. I also think the one final answer might lead to a current sporting event: The Olympics maybe?

That said:

Some say it’s a special kind of sandwich. Hamm? As in Mia Hamm?

[rkmsuf]

I think that as well. I also think the one final answer might lead to a current sporting event: The Olympics maybe?

That said:

Some say it’s a special kind of sandwich. Hamm? As in Mia Hamm?

Don't eat Nomar's sandwich.



That is the answer to Enigma #1.

[Maple Leafs]

One of the rules of good puzzles is that they choose their words carefully. Sometimes when you're stuck, it's useful to look for odd turns of phrase or seemingly out-of-place words.

For example, in the "holy" clue, the addition of "I'm told" at the end must have some meaning, yes?

[Vince]

Link, sausage, hot dog, bratwurst...that sounds like it has to be along the right track...

Maple Leafs - I think the 'I'm told,' 'some say,' 'nickname,' etc. seems to me to indicate that the creator of the puzzle is bending the truth a little with the clues.

[Masked]

Earl of Sandwich - no idea where i am going here just heading away from the food theme. This makes me think of URL for the last clue.

[enigma]

Hmmm... so far, I see a lot of well-reasoned speculation, but almost none of it is heading in the right direction.

The devil didn’t bring one to the crossroads – good thing. - The legend of Robert Johnson?

This (above) is on the right track (or course, there's another level to it). I don't see anything else in the thread so far that is making the right connection. For the most part, the whole "food" line of thinking is sending you in the wrong direction -- even though it happens to appear first on the list of clues, don't let it dominate all your ideas.


You are, in fact, looking for one answer that connects directly to each of the original clues. Of course, in the modern age of search engines, the connections can't be all that obvious... otherwise anyone with Google and a little imagaination could solve this in a flash. Of course, that still might be one of your best tools... beats me.

[Maple Leafs]

You're all hopeless.Shortened that up for you.

[rkmsuf]

This is shaping up like a Geraldo tomb special.

[enigma]

This is shaping up like a Geraldo tomb special.

Okay, okay. So far, not so good. Let's see if a nudge or two (or several) might help...




The thing you are looking for is an object. An item. A product.


Some say it’s a special kind of sandwich.

"Some say" is a reference to a nickname for this item. See below, where clue #4 references "another" nickname ... this is the first one.


The greatest one had a holy destination, I’m told.

The reference here is to the most decorated one of these ever made ... it was a gift from its single largest manufacturer.


Years ago, a group of cats played a big role in its gaining acceptance.

The product was once more or less dismissed as "not serious" -- this one is tough to elaborate on without giving things away too easily, I think.


Another nickname sounds like a lager, but that’s misleading.

This item has more than one nickname or slang name... one (above) suggests a type of sandwich... another (here) suggests a type of lager.


The devil didn’t bring one to the crossroads – good thing.

Robert Johnson sold his soul for the ability to play guitar like nobody ever could, so the story goes. Johnson could have made the trade for some other ability -- and we would have lost out on perhaps the greatest guitar player ever.


No Park Place, but seems like quite a monopoly.

Just a reference to the fact that there is one dominant manufacturer of this item/object/product.


And now, the internet version just sends you anywhere.

Oddly enough, this word is used in the name a web site that has nothing at all (as nearly as I can tell) with the word itself... but just www, the key word here, and a common internet extension gives you a general-use website.

[Vince]

Robert Johnson sold his soul for the ability to play guitar like nobody ever could, so the story goes. Johnson could have made the trade for some other ability -- and we would have lost out on perhaps the greatest guitar player ever. Anyone else IMMEDIATELY think of the Jimmy Hendrix Pepsi ad with the Accordion in it?

[VPI97]

This puzzle has confirmed the long standing speculation that I'm a dumbass.

[Danny]

This puzzle has confirmed the long standing speculation that I'm a dumbass.

We're all dumbasses then

[QuikSand]

This puzzle has confirmed the long standing speculation that I'm a dumbass.

Seems to me the real indictment is on the puzzle creator.

[WSUCougar]

Seems to me the real indictment is on the puzzle creator.
Ouch.

Grasshopper takes it on the chin. ;)

[Maple Leafs]

Some of us are actually having a good bit of fun with it. The silence you hear is people thinking.

(The answer just better not turn out to be something dumb...)

[rkmsuf]

Seems to me the real indictment is on the puzzle creator.

don't be so hard on yourself.

[VPI97]

don't be so hard on yourself.heh

[QuikSand]

don't be so hard on yourself.

Up yours, pony boy.

[Maple Leafs]

So what do we know?

It's a product which practically speaking has only one maker.
It used to be dismissed years ago, but now it's taken more seriously.
It has two nicknames -- one sounds like a sandwich, one sounds like a beer.
It's something you would learn to use.
There was a famous/fancy one that wound up someplace "holy"

(That's all I have... given how many unused domains are generic web directories, I don't think the Internet clue will be useful except as confirmation that we're right.)

[Buzzbee]

Robert Johnson sold his soul for the ability to play guitar like nobody ever could, so the story goes. Johnson could have made the trade for some other ability -- and we would have lost out on perhaps the greatest guitar player ever.

This leads me to believe that it is some other type of instrument. Violin perhaps.

[rkmsuf]

Up yours, pony boy.

heh

[QuikSand]

I don't think the Internet clue will be useful except as confirmation that we're right.

I agree with that.

[enigma]

And yes folks, the enigma is under new management. Oh. Yes.

[enigma]

Dola - Do you want me to tell the answer now, or wait a little bit?

[VPI97]

Now, bitch.

[Franklinnoble]

Cough it up, mystery-boy.

[rkmsuf]

go

[QuikSand]

I think you should wait a bit... but a new puzzle would be good, when you can do it.

::grinning::

Okay... maybe just another hint or two?

[enigma]

The answer is/was...harmonica.

[Maple Leafs]

Answer this question first:

When we hear the answer, will we want to kick ourselves, or kick the first enigma?

Edit: Or, you could just rush to blurt it out.

[rkmsuf]

a harmonica sandwich?

[VPI97]

The answer is/was...harmonica.Hey now...I went harmonica.com and dismissed it as an answer!

Damn!

[VPI97]

Edit: Or, you could just rush to blurt it out.LOL

[enigma]

Don't ask me. I got it off the Robert Johnson one. He played the harp and the harmonica before he played the guitar. Harp actually sounded more right to me, but harmonica got me in.

[QuikSand]

Cowboys call a harmonica a "tin sandwich," I'm told.

[Buzzbee]

Hey now...I went harmonica.com and dismissed it as an answer!

Damn!

Or maybe, harmonica.org?

[QuikSand]

"Harp" is just another nickname for harmonica... RJ didn't play the stringed instrument.

[QuikSand]

Or maybe, harmonica.org?

Ding.

[rkmsuf]

Cowboys call a harmonica a "tin sandwich," I'm told.

thanks enig1.

[enigma]

Working out new puzzle now, will post tonight or tomorrow morning.

[VPI97]

Or maybe, harmonica.org?Shut up.

:p

[Coffee Warlord]

Harmonica?

HARMONICA!?!?

[Buzzbee]

Cowboys call a harmonica a "tin sandwich," I'm told.


Now, the REAL puzzle here is:

Did Quik do this on purpose to make us THINK he is the original enigma even though he is not

OR

Did Quik slip up and accidentally reveal his secret identity

OR

Is Quik really enigma and just giving us a really obvious hint so that we know?

[Franklinnoble]

So if I go to a bar and ask for a harmonica, what exactly am I going to get, aside from a blank stare from the bartenter?

[QuikSand]

Excerpted from:

http://www.celticguitarmusic.com/harmreview.htm

"The foregoing is taken from the lovely little footnotes, illustrations and background pieces on the tunes, which make the book something. worth having and not lending. For instance, did you know that the most expensive har- monica ever made was in solid gold, except for the reeds, which must be brass, and it was given to Pope Pius VI. Obviously the name Hohner features prominently in the book: their 48-chord harmonica is 23 inches long and the biggest in the world with 384 reeds. And one more fact-totem: the breakdown on those who purchase the instrument is 70% for men and 30% for women."

[rkmsuf]

So if I go to a bar and ask for a harmonica, what exactly am I going to get, aside from a blank stare from the bartenter?

a beerwich?

[QuikSand]

So if I go to a bar and ask for a harmonica, what exactly am I going to get, aside from a blank stare from the bartenter?

I dunno about that, but...

"Harp" is just another nickname for harmonica...

...and that might get you a delicious, frothy lager. Or maybe, a blank stare, if you go to seedier bars than I do.

[VPI97]

...and that might get you a delicious, frothy lager.pwned.


I tried out some of the 'instrument' sites (http://www.fof-ihof.com/upload/VPI97/harmonica.jpg) and was on my way to find more...didn't think of .org, though...

[Franklinnoble]

Good puzzle... humbling, yet educational. Sort of like the first time I watched porn.

[QuikSand]

Good puzzle... humbling, yet educational. Sort of like the first time I watched porn.

Glad I wasn't drinking a lager (yet) when I read that...

[Buzzbee]

didn't think of .org, though...

Obviously. :rolleyes:


:p

[Franklinnoble]

I think this would have been a good hint:


http://koti.mbnet.fi/rs901536/shobary/actors/charles/Charles_Bronson.jpg

[Buzzbee]

Nah. Then we would've guessed Kung Fu, barefoot, Chinaman, Grasshopper, and Shaolin...but NEVER harmonica.

[Franklinnoble]

Nah. Then we would've guessed Kung Fu, barefoot, Chinaman, Grasshopper, and Shaolin...but NEVER harmonica.
Uhh.. that's a picture of Charles Bronson in "Once Upon A Time In the West." Go look up the name of his character in that movie.

[Maple Leafs]

Uhh.. that's a picture of Charles Bronson in "Once Upon A Time In the West." Go look up the name of his character in that movie.Churchill?

[Buzzbee]

Uhh.. that's a picture of Charles Bronson in "Once Upon A Time In the West." Go look up the name of his character in that movie.

Sorry, didn't look very closely, obviously. Sure didn't look like David Carradine in Kung Fu when just glancing at it. Just assumed he played a harmonica.

[Buzzbee]

Easy mistake to make. I think.


http://www.geocities.com/iamdeja/dcms20.gif

[Pumpy Tudors]

I guess I was screwed from the beginning because I've never even heard of Robert Johnson.

[QuikSand]

Some say it’s a special kind of sandwich.
The greatest one had a holy destination, I’m told.
Years ago, a group of cats played a big role in its gaining acceptance.
Another nickname sounds like a lager, but that’s misleading.
The devil didn’t bring one to the crossroads – good thing.
No Park Place, but seems like quite a monopoly.
And now, the internet version just sends you anywhere.

What is it?


Full Solution:

One of several nicknames for the harmonica is a "tin sandwich."

The Hohner company made history's most elaborate and expensive harmonica as a gift to Pope Pius VI.

Back in the 1940s, a group called the Harmonicats (http://www.harmonicats.com/) gained some success and even a #1 hit with harmonica music -- which played a role in that item being generally accepted as a musical instrument, rather than just a children's toy.

As mentioned, some people refer to a harmonica as a "harp."

Robert Johnson did indeed play the harmonica, but it was his egendary guitar expertise that inspired rumors that he had sold his sould to the devil.

The Hohner company seems to be by far the dominant maker of harmonicas -- perhaps not quite a true monopoly, but a very dominant market player.

The web site harmonica.org seems to be some kind of general search engine.

[KWhit]

I'm glad I just found this thread and wasn't trying to guess this!