Scavengeroogle: A Google Maps Scavenger Hunt To Waste More Of Your Time On

Hi folks, here’s your clue today. First a note: I will most likely be out nearly all day and night, so I won’t get to update anything after I leave, sometime in the morning. So play nice…

Here is another backlogged clue from ‘roogler Mike M., a cool depiction of what looks almost like a ninja star. When I was a kid, we’d go to the swap meet and invariably there’d be a couple people selling stuff like that along with nunchucks and butterfly knives. Would you believe that they actually let us BUY them without parental consent? This was in the 70s though. Looking back on it, that’s pretty strange that an 8 year old kid was able to buy that stuff. The items weren’t that sharp, but still…

Anyhow, I’m going to give you Mike M.’s word clue that I modified a bit. The star is visible from about 14/18 or so. Also, I am not 100% certain this clue has not been discussed on other Google sites. So if you don’t want to spoil the fun, don’t look right away. Like I said I am not sure about it. Here you go:

“When in Rome, do as the Standing Stone People do”

Since I won’t be able to update nearly all day, I hope this won’t be too hard. I must say right off the back to watch out for a multitude of herrings flopping around… I have noted at least 2 direct herrings.

[Edit: 9:22 am PDT - Wow, I see a lot of new faces in the solutions coming in… cool! If you’re just surfing in and new to the game, remember I post everyone’s name at the END of the day’s game. Also, make sure to use the “solve a clue” form instead of leaving a comment - I won’t post your comment if it contains the solution! Ok, since we seem to be doing OK, I will leave it as is for now: I might check in earlier than I thought, maybe 5pm PDT or so…]

Clue Name : “Ninja Star”
Submitted by: Mike M.
Status : Solved (20)
Duration: Thursday 7/14/05

Solved By: Jim H, Hoblaa, Markus B, John N, Ken S, Mike B, Aaron F, Max P, The Beamer, Judy B, David H, Jonas M, Erica, TCS, Phil M, Mark L, Landis, Katie N, Nick A, Peter R

Word Clues : “When in Rome, do as the Standing Stone People do”
Magnification Needed: 14/18

SOLUTION TO “Ninja Star”

Ah… coffee. So anyhow, how are you doing? I went through some of my email box and found a slew of clue submissions that had found their way into an older email folder of mine. Well, more like a few clues. But anyhow, you do remember the old Paul Hardcastle song from 80s called “Nineteen”, don’t you? Yeah, the one where he’s all: “N-n-n-n-nineteen, nineteen”. Yeah, just play along here.

Well, this cool roman numeral nineteen was sent in by Brian G. and immediately reminded me of that song. The buildings that make up the numeral are pretty well defined, really nice actually. It is visible from pretty far out at 14/18.

I actually thought about Brian’s word clues and decided to change them slightly. Horrors all around! Well, now that we have an all day thing going, I think there’s a little more leeway in experimenting with the word clues. Because I can correct them later in the day if they are too difficult. If they’re too easy though, there’s no going back. =) Anyhow, let’s try this for size:

“The Indian’s Bed”

I want to see how hard that will be to find. Don’t panic if you don’t have any idea. I’ll drop more stuff soon.

What are you all doing for summer vacation by the way? Is anyone going (or have gone) on cool trips to neat places featured in Google Maps? I had to sort of cancel my usual week long summer trip this year. Budget cuts. You know how that goes…

[Edit: 9:42 am PDT - The clue seems to be doing well so far without other info, so I’ll hold off for now. Say, I hope everyone in the Southeast is doing OK from all the storms…]

[Edit: 3:44 pm PDT - Whew, it is truly hot today where I am. I think we got enough solutions so I don’t need to drop the region. I’ll check back in after dinner, have a good afternoon!]

Clue Name : “Nineteen”
Submitted by: Brian G.
Status : Solved (13)
Duration: Monday 7/11/05

Solved By: Jonas M, David H, Mark L, Judy B, ShawnD, TheBeamer, Ken S, Don R, Andy K, Moose, Golux13, Katie N, Chris H

Word Clues : “The Indian’s Bed”
Magnification Needed: 14/18

SOLUTION TO “Nineteen”

Ah, fun and joyous Friday. Going into a longer weekend, hope you are all gearing up for fun times and fireworks. The emoticon guy in this photo sure doesn’t look ready for a fourth of july though. He looks surprised, and his mouth is giving us the old “meh” treatment. Someone cheer him up, please. Maybe by finding him in the googlemap and bringing him along to your BBQ!

So anyhow, remember this is our last “scheduled” clue. From now on (until I decide on the mailing list) you’ll have to come check the site to see if a new clue has been put up. I still think it will be better all around. In particular, I’m looking forward to seeing some of you roogling here who otherwise would be at work or busy (or asleep) during the normal clue time.

Anyhow, for word clues… I made this one up myself. Checked it a few times, did a refind. I think it may be of average difficulty. We shall see. Mr. Googly Eyes is visible from quite far out, which should ease scavengeroogling a bit. You can see him at 14/18, barely. OK, here you go:

“MU football, foot only”

What? Yeah… now go out there and make me proud. Don’t do it for me, do it for the Gipper. A Scavengeroogle in the hand is worth two in the bush. And so forth. Look for a region drop if there is difficulty… Happy 4th!

[Edit: 9:45 PDT - My email was down so I thought that when it became available there would be solutions waiting. Instead, not a one! You must all be on vacay by now. In any case, region drop: England]

[Edit: 10:30 PDT - I just discovered my farking email was backed up until now… which is why I didn’t get any solutions. Remember, I have to update by hand.]

Clue Name : “Googly Eyes”
Submitted by: Scavengeroogle Admin
Status : Solved (15)
Duration: Fri 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PDT

Solved By: Don R, Richard J, Chris K, Justin, Andy K, Jason C, Jon G, Ken S, Adam M, Moose, Mike M,J P, Mike B, Judy B, Golux13

Word Clues : “MU football, foot only”
Magnification Needed: 14/18

SOLUTION TO “Googly Eyes”

I dunno how many of you know of the band Grandaddy who are one of my all time favorites. But anyhow, they sing a lot about robots at least on one album called The Sophtware Slump. I don’t think they are one-eyed robots, but anyway this clue is of what looks to me like a one-eyed robot. Named “Willy”, of course, by Mike M. who has submitted quite a few useable and well-thought out clues and word clues. Apparently, he has a pseudo “roogle” game going at his office.

This is highly, highly encouraged… er, but not because it will decrease work productivity! But I mean it’s fun to start up your own office “roogle” because you can probably get to go through more clues than you’ll get here. And the good ones you can send in as submissions!

Hmm…neat. Whenever I see “Roogle” it reminds me of “Roog”, a short story by Philip K Dick. Yes, you DO know him: Minority Report, Blade Runner, Paycheck, Total Recall…

Anyhow, tilt your head to the right when looking at the picture to make Willy look better. I especially like how the dark patch in the eye on the right looks like an eyeball. He is visible at 15/18, but you probably want to use 16/18 just to be sure. For word clues, you are going to get Mike’s original word hints which are:

“Mr. Burns heads west on a ferry”

I think this might actually be quite challenging, depending on how you come at the word clues. The region clue will definitely be a help, at least most likely it will. Who knows, these are wild Scavengeroogle times we are living in anyhow. Ok, enough talk… send me those solutions!

[Edit: 10:30 PDT - Some people are getting the solution but I think I will still go ahead with a direct region drop: Alabama!]

Clue Name : “One Eyed Willy”
Submitted by: Mike M.
Status : Solved (7)
Duration: Wed 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PDT

Solved By: Chris R, Peter R, Beamer, Jon G, Mike Z, Golux13, Adam M

Word Clues : “Mr. Burns heads west on a ferry”
Magnification Needed: 15/18

SOLUTION TO “One Eyed Willy”

Ok, this is going to be a bit of an experiment… you can probably tell just from a quick glance at the clue that this isn’t going to be in the U.S. I was sent an international clue by Pak W the other day. But I did a little scavengeroogling nearby and found this one that I thought was even better! However, I liked his word clue so I’ll be using it for this clue.

I am hoping that no one has already found this one. It is becoming more and more difficult to tell as new google sightseeing sites pop up and older ones stock up on locations. Sometimes I find our older clues on these sites, especially “writing” ones like this. This clue is an asian language character repeated twice on what looks like two cylinders. I actually know what this character stands for, so that will probably be a secondary drop in case people have problems.

The clue is not visible extremely far out, probably 15/18 or so. The word clues that Pak sent in are:

“Fragrant Harbour”

So, I am trying to figure out what level of region to drop, like how detailed to get. I’ve already basically told you it’s not in the U.S. but we shall see what additional clues are needed…

[Edit: 10:15 PDT - We seem to be doing OK w/out a region clue so I won’t drop it for now. I think just knowing it’s not in the U.S. is a region clue in itself…]

Clue Name : “Asian Writing”
Submitted by: Scavengeroogle Admin
Status : Solved (11)
Duration: Mon 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PDT

Solved By: Chris R, Ken S, Andy K, Judy B, Mike Z, Justin, Shawn D, Trecherus, Josh W, Jeremy R, Adam M

Word Clues : “Fragrant Harbour”
Magnification Needed: 15/18

SOLUTION TO “Asian Writing”

Hey you Scavengeroogles! How have you been? Me, I could be better. I dug up this particular clue myself, but sort of owe its origin to Tony A., who had submitted a particular clue before that I sort of used to find this one.

I’m still getting used to the new 18/18 slider that Google has changed to, but am already pretty happy with their new city labeling algo. The river labeling algo needs work though! So anyhow, this particular clue is called “Jo and Face”. The “Jo” is the usual “buildings that look like writing” hack that finds me a lot of clues. However, I didn’t notice until I screengrabbed the pic that there is a “face” in the light brown area of the picture! Kind of cool, you can see the two eyes and the mouth in grey (the mouth is at the bottom of the light brown portion).

As for word clues, this particular one is going to be interesting because it’s a little different than your ordinary location. I’m not going to say more than that because it might give it away. But anyhow, you may find this easy, or you may find it hard… all depends on whether you figure out:

“Onion Triangle”

Hehe. I think I am clever with these word clues when in reality I’m such a sluggggard. If that’s a word. I actually took part of Tony A’s suggestion for word clues and changed them a bit. And we all know what happens when I do that: Herring FEST!

Thusly, you may want to look for a region drop soon. But I am trying to figure out how to drop this region, may be difficult…

[Edit: 10:00 PDT - Whew, so the consensus is this is not too tough… I’m sort of glad about that. Therefore, no region clue drop needed!]

Clue Name : “Jo And Face”
Submitted by: Scavengeroogle Admin
Status : Solved (13)
Duration: Mon 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PDT

Solved By: Ken S, Brian G, Andy K, Chris R, Jon G, Jeremy R, Adam M, Shawn D, Ryan F, Alex P, Luke P, Trecherus, Judy B

Word Clues : “Onion Triangle”
Magnification Needed: 15/18

SOLUTION TO “Jo And Face”

Hello Friday. I’m actually starting to run low on clues, so if you’ve got any more submissions send ‘em in. I had to throw out a whole bunch of them because many had a wrong URL that didn’t show anything, or weren’t suitable (i.e. planes, ships, well known landmarks) so it ended up I didn’t have as many backlogged as I thought.

Also, I’ve been a bit lazy… if there’s no word clues submitted I generally don’t select it unless the actual picture clue is fantastic. Then I’m apt to try come up with one. So it’s a combination of a good picture and a good clue that will get your clue on here.

Alas, this isn’t the best of pictures and not the best of word clues. I mean, it doesn’t really look too much like a dragonfly but I figured I might as well use it since I had found this earlier and stockpiled it for such a time as now. The only really good thing about it is that it is visible far out at 10/15. As for word clues, gah. I have such a hard time coming up with these. But let’s try:

“A french monk runs close to it”

I already see so many potential slippery herrings just from googling that I will most certainly need to drop the region clue early. So sit tight if you’d rather not strain the brain because help will be coming soon.

[Edit: 9:42 PDT - Wow, nary a response in sight. Here is the region clue then: Iowa. If that doesn’t help I’ll have to reconfigure that word clue…]

[Edit: 10:38 PDT - Ahh… LOL. This is shaping up to be another one of those, “what are you trying to pull on us?” word clues. OK here are two clarifications, “A french monk runs SORT OF close to it”. And secondly, I just read about some apparent controversy regarding whether or not it IS french monk. So, egg on my face again. You may just want to look up what “monk” means in French and search near there… ]

Clue Name : “Dragonfly”
Submitted by: Scavengeroogle Admin
Status : Solved (7)
Duration: Fri 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PDT

Solved By: Mark L, Moose, Jeremy R, Katie N, Steve M, Jon G, Judy B

Word Clues : “A french monk runs close to it”
Magnification Needed: 10/15

SOLUTION TO “Dragonfly”

Hey all of you, did you miss me? I didn’t get any love/hate letters in my email so apparently not… anyhow yeah I missed Monday sorry ’bout that. It’s getting increasingly harder to keep the scavengeroogling going. I guess we will see, but I am thinking I may stop the 3 clue sessions per week thing by the end of summer. I’m not sure if the site will continue but I’m hoping to at least keep posting some clues once in awhile. I think a schedule was fun, but it probably can’t go on at this rate. I really appreciate everyone who’s been playing along though. It’s the main reason I’ve kept the clues going…

Anyhow, to happier items. Here is a pretty excellent depiction of one of those cartoon type bombs submitted by Pcb100. Like something Wile E. Coyote might dream up. Pointed straight down as well. Visible pretty far out, at 11/15 or so. We will go with Pcb’s word clues, straight and unaltered:

“Near where the streets have no name.”

This may or may not be easy, I think it depends on entry point. We will most likely drop a region clue soon, but I don’t think you will need it. If all goes well, that is. Also, I’m going to run these things from 9 to 12 instead of 9 to 2 from now on… have fun!

[Edit: 10:25 PDT - Not that you need the region, but here is one: California. My connection has been up and down today so the solution may not come in at the bell and updates are sketchy for me right now…]

Clue Name : “DaBomb”
Submitted by: Pcb100
Status : Solved (15)
Duration: Wed 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PDT

Solved By: Ken S, Phil M, Andy K, Larry B, Chris R, Katie N, Moose, Scotty B, Larry, Jim, Josh W, Mike Z, Jim M, Jared R, Judy B

Word Clues : “Near where the streets have no name.”
Magnification Needed: 11/15

SOLUTION TO “Dabomb”

Good morning to you all from the past, that is from Saturday night… I decided to get an early start on my clue whilst watching SNL (still like the old ones better, but what else are you going to watch?) Anyhow, Jim M sent in a cool bug for today’s clue, which is of course called “Bug Hunt”.

Speaking of bugs, the other day I discovered some tiny “wood pellets” around a small hole in my bedroom floor (we have wooden floors that are raised up above the ground). I actually don’t think it’s termites but a subterranean type of wood boring beetle. I googled it… hmm, may have to get that treated. Ugh.

Anyhow, Mr. Bug is visible from quite far out, perhaps 12/15 or even 11/15 because it’s a very distinct shape and bright white. As for the clue, I think we will go directly with the clue thought up by Jim because I thought it was pretty clever. We’ll see how hard it is, and I will probably drop a region clue sooner or later. Here’s the clue:

“Hope’s Springs Eternal”

Wow, this is really distracting writing this up while watching TV. I think I’ll have to sign off now so I can pay attention to these scintillating skits featuring Tom Brady. Thank you again for playing and stay tuned for clues…

[Edit: 10:24 PDT - Man, I’m sleepy today. Coffee just barely does it. Anyhow, thought I would drop a region clue because I have to go out for a bit. Here ya go: Southern California]

Clue Name : “Bug Hunt”
Submitted by: Jim M.
Status : Solved (12)
Duration: Mon 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. PDT

Solved By: Chris R, Mike M, Golux13, Jarret R, Craig S, Shawn D, Mark G, Mark L, Mike J, Katie N, Brian G, Mike Z

Word Clues : “Hope’s Springs Eternal”
Magnification Needed: 12/15

SOLUTION TO “Bug Hunt”

Howdy. How’s your morning. Lunchtime for you eastcoasters. Anyhow, JCP sent me this clue which looks sort of like a building shaped like a crescent moon. (Extra Magic Bonus points to tell me what the reference of the title is.) This one may be a tough find because it is visible only at 14/15 and above. But you never know how the day’s game will turn out!

Well, I did a “re-find” on it, and it took me only 10 minutes if I knew the answer. I think the general location will help, and if you get the specific location it should be fast. However, I think the potential for herring banana peels is there so tread with caution. I decided to go with JCP’s suggestion for word clue nearly verbatim and see how it went from there:

“Mr. Packer would love to dine here, see you”

I’ve tacked on the two words at the end. Hopefully, that will get you going in the correct direction as opposed to a wild goose chase. I will try drop a region soon if the going is tough early on. And of course your usual clue drops along the way to 2:00 p.m. PDT. Okee dok, let’s Scavengeroogle…

[Edit: 10:46 PDT - There doesn’t seem to be a huge amount o’ confusion, but I’ll drop the region clue now cause I need to go out for a bit. Region: Colorado. That should also clear up the small herring that people have been following.]

Clue Name : “Moon Is A Sickle Cell”
Submitted by: JCP
Status : Solved (19)
Duration: 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. PDT

Solved By: Mike M, Chris R, Brian G, Michael J, Jenny, Jim M, JoJo, Shawn D, Tonia, Jason C, Justin, Josh C, Brian M, Mark L, Deuce, Golux13, Robert M, Tony A, Mike Z

Word Clues : “Mr. Packer would love to dine here, see you”
Magnification Needed: 13/15

SOLUTION TO “Moon Is A Sickle Cell”

Grr… this clown is very angry. Hehe. Er, I don’t know what else to write about this. Clowns actually scare me, ever since I was a kid. Coulrophobia = Fear of clowns. I kid you not. I googled it.

Anyhow, this clue comes to you from Johnny K. who wrote “…looks like a clown…an ANGRY clown. He’s got a frown. The building in the middle sorta looks like a big nose, and the stuff on the left and right looks like crazy clown hair. The lake looks like it could be some more hair, Krusty the Clown style.”

I like using these types of clues because there is little chance of them appearing on other people’s googlemap sites. Unless they happen to have a category for “Buildings that look like clowns”. Like I said, I really could care less about famous landmarks and locations…

The delicious word clues I shall provide you with are:

“Busted Aero Highway”

Tasty. And yet… Johnny’s original word clue was going to be something absolutely crazy like “Do you want to buy clown insurance?” Life insurance, I suppose, for when the clown tries to come and getcha in the middle of the night.

Mr. Clown is visible at 11/15. Usual time trial until 2:00 p.m. PDT today. I may need to skip tomorrow (Thurs) but will definitely have something up on Friday to look at. Keep an eye on the clue launch at top of page. Now quit clowning around and get to work. Ah, you saw that coming…

Clue Name : “Angry Clown!”
Submitted by: Johnny K.
Status : Solved (21)
Duration: 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. PDT

Solved By: Chris R, Tim R, Golux13, Mike M, Ken S, Robert M, Andy K, Mark G, Scotty B, Jason C, Mike Z, Katie N, Tony A, Tina, JoJo A, Mark, Shawn D, Josh C, Chris R, Daniel R, Michael J

Word Clues : “Busted Aero Highway”
Magnification Needed: 11/15

SOLUTION TO “Angry Clown!”

Salutations, and happy Friday. We just cannot seem to get away from Texas. Scott L. sent in some cool clues, among them this neat looking building that resembles a baby’s rattle. Quite visible recognizable from as far out as 12/15. Scott is also one of the few to actually do some hard thinking on what kind of word clues would be appropriate and send in his ideas. That’s very much appreciated, in case I haven’t mentioned it! I’ve taken some of the suggestions he had and combined them in usual Scavengeroogle fashion to leave you with:

“Stonewall, left of Fate”

Note that this is a combination of his ideas; I fear I may have scavengeroogled them into oblivion. Hopefully, this won’t turn into a hair pulling fest again. I am going to be ready to drop clues furiously in case of that, but I’m thinking that there’s a chance I won’t need to. There’s really no way to predict it; the clues I think are too hard are too easy and vice versa. That’s life!

Actually, here is one hint up-front: Don’t jump too quickly to conclusions with this clue, or you might find yourself up to your necks in herring!

Okay, you’ve got until 2:00 p.m. PDT today or so. I’ll be checking in every so often… On your mark, get set, Scavengeroogle!

[Edit: Eeps. Ok, I hear ya…The consensus is that this was WAY too easy. What say we knock off early today around 12:00 then? Happy Friday to ya, and see you all hopefully on Monday.]

Clue Name : “Baby Rattle”
Submitted by: Scott L.
Status : Solved (17)
Duration: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PDT

Solved By: Michael J, Eric W, Robert M, Ken S, Andy K, Wes B, Tonia, JoJo A, Mike Z, Brian G, Angie S, Jason C, Josh C, Phil M, Bill C, Golux, Shawn D

Word Clues : “Stonewall, left of Fate”
Magnification Needed: 12/15

SOLUTION TO “Baby Rattle”