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

Good morning (or night for you insomniacs). I’m writing this clue up from my parents’ house right now. My PC is still on the blink which is the reason for that. Getting used to the software in our Powerbook though, in case I lose my PC again. I’ve been a bit down in the mouth for scavenger hunts out lately, but maybe I’ll get more inspired with this whole back to school thing.

Anyhow, this clue from Brian Z is of a pretty cool looking “peacock”… I think they are gardens which is why I’ve named the clue Peacock Gardens. Imaginative, to say the least. What it also reminded me of was the Spirograph drawing toy, though I don’t suppose many remember that. I had a crapload of the wheels and everything…

I have a feeling this is one of those clues where it’s either extremely simple extremely difficult depending on where you start. Wait, that’s how ALL of our clues are. But I really am at a loss to make up some word hints, so I’ll provide a variation of Brian Z’s:

“Curvy Tigress”

Yup, that’s all you get. Oh, also the peacock gardens are also viewable at 15/18. I will be dropping a region clue hopefully. I’ve been working out of my parent’s house during the day lately (would you believe I’m painting their fricken house) so I’ll try see if I can’t take some breaks to check in once in awhile.

[Edit: 9:45 am PDT - Well, looks like the clue is going OK. I am actually on the Powerbook again, probably not painting my parents house today and thus will be able to update periodically. Let me start off with a general region (which is probably apparent to a lot of people already even if they haven’t found the clue): Middle East.]

[Edit: 12:18 pm PDT - I’ll be out for about 4-5 hours but will check back around dinner. Looks like we won’t need more clues drops for today… see ya all soon.]

Clue Name : “Peacock Gardens”
Submitted by: Brian Z.
Status : Solved (21)
Duration: Wednesday 8/24/05

Solved By: Mark L, Markus B, Judy B, David H, Chorbansi, Mike M, Matt, Bryant, Trecherus, Aaron B, Mike B, Gitar2ech, David M, Charlie D, Sara D, Mike H, Jen S, Pete B, Bryce H, Tim J, Astro T

Word Hints : “Curvy Tigress”
Magnification Needed: 15/18

SOLUTION TO “Peacock Garden”

Now turn your head 90 degrees clockwise and you’ll see what Citizen of Trantor sent in as a clue the other day. Yes, the prime heavy breather from the 70s himself - Darth Vader. Or, as I like to abbreviate him as - DV.

I think good ‘ol DV has donned some funny looking spectacles or something over his helmet. Maybe they’re to increase his Schwartz, haha. He also looks remarkably like an octopus with some missing tentacles.

Whatever he is, you can see him at 14/18 magnification, maybe even higher up if you’ve got eagle eyes. I have as usual, in my nefarious ways, roogle-mangled the good Citizen’s word hints to suit my own dastardly ends. And therefore you shall feel the wrath of the following:

“100 Years of Blue Jays”

That is all. A region may or may not be dropped. And if you should see Princess Leia tell her that she’s scheduled for, erm… detention in cell block SCAV-1. Rooglers, May the Schwartz be with you…

[Edit: 9:44 am PDT - We seem to be doing pretty well with Lord Vader so I’ll hold off on any more hints for now!]

[Edit: 2:35 pm PDT - Darnit. I am already half a “Mac” person but this latest “windows update” fiasco that I just had is pushing me closer and closer to abandoning PCs altogether. The computer just keeps restarting over and over and all I did was a Windows Update. It was completely 100% fine until I did the update. Sheesh. As such, expect many delays over next couple of days as I try and recover the crap off that computer.]

Clue Name : “Darth Vader”
Submitted by: Citizen of Trantor
Status : Solved (18)
Duration: Thursday 8/18/05

Solved By: Markus B, Antti L, Janne K, Jerry R, Mike B, Mark L, Tina, Jon G, Trecherus, Mike K, Steve M, Aaron B, Other Chris R, Tim R, Dan M, Justin, Tim J, Cindy B

Word Hints : “100 Years of Blue Jays”
Magnification Needed: 14/18

SOLUTION TO “Darth Vader”

Hey there… haven’t heard from me for awhile right? I had an extremely tough weekend… someone fairly close to me passed away on Sunday after battling sickness for a long time. It was really tough. Anyhow, that’s why I’ve been out for awhile, I just needed a bit of time.

So, this find is by me. It is the letters BP in building-ese. I couldn’t think of a snappy title so I’ve just called it Beep Bop for now. Oh, I guess that should be Be Bop actually. I just felt like injecting some roboticism into it. Robot Jazz.

Actually, the letters BP sort of remind me of the gas station chain British Petrol. At least I think it’s called British Petrol. On some long trips in California, I remember encountering stations with those letters once in awhile. It was up there in big green letters: BP. I thought I remember they were only way out in the boonies though…

You can see the letters BP from 15/18. The “P” is actually most visible because it is a bright blue. The B is actually not visible until you get into about 16/18. The word hints are a combination of me trying to be too clever and it being really hot out and me thusly nearly fainting in the heat. It goes like this:

“Lean the Bag over Der, Dad”

Easy, right? I know it will be for some of you Zen Rooglers. But hmm… is that herring soup I smell? Well you shall have a region hint soon enough, I thinks… good luck!

[Edit: 9:30 am PDT - Hey there, I think I will drop a hint quickly to start. The region is actually in the U.S. That’s right. What’s more, I was informed by Mark L that there is a near exact DUPLICATE of the clue nearby. Amazing really… it even fits the word clues. So because of this oversight by me, I will take solutions to either one. I actually would really like to know what this (these) buildings are as well… can it be coincidence that the buildings and driveway in front look identical?]

[Edit: 2:06 pm PDT - Ok, so here’s a bit of a clue. Try and rearrange the words in the word hint…]

[Edit: 6:43 pm PDT - Last clue for tonight, a direct one: Texas. Yes, we are in Texas AGAIN…]

[Edit: 11:26 pm PDT - Darn email is down so I can’t tell exactly how many have solved, it is over 9 people though. Also, all the solutions are in the email so that post will be coming tomorrow.]

[Edit: 10:00 am PDT (next day) - OK, I got all your names down finally… solution page up soon]

Clue Name : “Beep Bop”
Submitted by: Scavengeroogle Admin
Status : Solved (15)
Duration: Wednesday 8/10/05

Solved By: Judy B, Mark L, Jon G, Moose, Richard K, David H, Mike B, Chorbansi, Tim J, Bryce H, Aaron B, Vlado K, Astro T, Matty L, Trecherus

Word Hints : “Lean the Bag over Der, Dad”
Magnification Needed: 15/18

SOLUTION TO “Beep Bop”

My, my, the clues will fly. Hello there. I got this cool find from Judy B. of what looks like two moths in flight. Obviously, they are buildings of some sort but the resemblance is pretty cool. Well, they could also be alien spacecraft… but of course we all know there’s no such thing as UFOs right? Sorry, that was the government agent in me speaking…

Anyhow, the mothies are visible at a fairly respectable 14/18. You should be able to see them flutter from high up on your scavengeroogle viewing port. I have decided to mangle Judy’s clues a bit. Here you go:

“Patton Lucks Out”

I have a feeling that there may be some who don’t have any trouble at all with the clues, but I am prepared to region drop if need be! Until later on: May all your clues be live and your roogle solutions be monstrous!

[Edit: 10:10 am PDT - How’s it going? A few solutions so far, so I will wait a couple more hours b4 considering a region…]

[Edit: 12:34 pm PDT - OK, I’ll start off with a very general region clue, actually a region exclusion. The Metal Moths are NOT located in the U.S.A. That should start the ball rolling for some…]

[Edit: 12:51 pm PDT - I see a lot of people coming here from I-Am-Bored and MetaFilter … if this is you, hello and welcome to ‘Roogle central! Take a look around at some of the past clues and submit some of your own if you get a chance.]

[Edit: 6:10 pm PDT - OK, one last clue for this one: Near Belgium…]

Clue Name : “Metal Moths”
Submitted by: Judy B.
Status : Solved (10)
Duration: Wednesday 8/02/05

Solved By: Tom, David H, Mark L, Adam M, Chorbansi, Chris Re, Citizen, Moose, OtherChris, Tim J

Word Clues : “Patton Lucks Out”
Magnification Needed: 14/18

SOLUTION TO “Metal Moths”

What is new, ‘rooglefolk? I am sleepy. A quick clue then, before I head off to bed (or get up from bed depending on when this gets launched).

‘Roogle me this… I found this kind of neat looking tank turret thingy while wandering the google map wilds. Actually, now that I look at it, it’s not so much a traditional tank turret than some futuristic turret shooting out a laser beam. Yeah, that’s it.

The turret is available pretty far out, at 14/18. It is a fairly large thing, I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that laser beam. For a clue, racking my brain only gets you:

“Chocolayte Empire”

And no… NOTHING to do with Willy Wonky. Get all wonky thoughts of that out of your head. Although, I did like the original Oompa Loompas. Especially their hot, hot song that goes, “Oompa Loompa Doobidie Doo”. I didn’t see the movie remake yet, should I? I heard it’s pretty good.

Ok, to bed… to bed with me. See you in the morning!

[Edit: 9:32 am PDT - A quickie region drop: Northern U.S.]

[Edit: 12:55 pm PDT - No takers? Ok, then: Michigan]

[Edit: 3:45 pm PDT - Whew, the going is slow today. Er, I’m not sure what other clues to drop here. I’ll just say try looking around Michigan in either Street Map or Hybrid mode first before diving into searching the satellite map squares…]

Clue Name : “Tank Turret”
Submitted by: Scavengeroogle Admin
Status : Solved (11)
Duration: Wednesday 7/27/05

Solved By: Jon G, OtherChris, Chris Re, Mark L, Tim J, Phil D, Jason Y, Michael H, Aaron F, Justin, Markus B

Word Clues : “Chocolayte Empire”
Magnification Needed: 15/18

SOLUTION TO “Tank Turret”

Hey. Welcome to another wild week at Scavengeroogle. Yes, I will be working on getting more bounties up soon. And thank you for your submissions, whether I use them or not…

Anyhow, this clue comes from the slightly mysterious Kilovh (is that kilovolt-hours?) . He has named it “Sea Snake” because it is some sort of green path that resembles the curls of a snake (the head is at the bottom). The contrast on this is kinda dim so you may have to squint a bit. I thought that nearly as interesting as the snake feature was the prominent geometric circular pattern near the top though.

You might notice this clue pic is rotated, I decided to make it variable… because sometimes the pieces I’d like to show are easier to show when the picture is vertical.

The sea snake is visible from about 15/18 out, possibly at 14/18. So… the infamous and dangerous word clues (courtesy of Kilovh):

“Olive Plum Place”

And no… nothing to do with Melrose Place. Yeah, I know you watched that show.

We haven’t done region drops in awhile… I think due in some part because we’ve gotten closer to our pursuit of the perfect AVERAGE clue. But anyway, I always check in at least once a day during the clue duration. So if it comes to it, I’ll let fly with one. Have fun ‘roogling!

[Edit: 9:30 am PDT - I am bit stunned that no one has solved this one… at first I was wondering if it had actually “launched” or not. Maybe I should have made it a “bounty”! Well, let’s start off regioning by announcing that this is NOT in the US…]

[Edit: 11:52 am PDT - Hm.. very weird. I think my email may have been on the blink for the past 1/2 day or so. So if you sent in the solution to the clue earlier (Mark L, Mike B: I got yours), could you please send it again? This might explain the lack of solutions.]

[Edit: 1:20 pm PDT - Wow, still nothing. Ok, let’s break it down some more: Thailand]

Clue Name : “Sea Snake”
Submitted by: Kilovh
Status : Solved (10)
Duration: Monday 7/25/05

Solved By: Mark L, Mike B, Tim J, Markus B, Richard K, Chorbansi, Peter M, David H, Don R, Vlado K.

Word Clues : “Olive Plum Place”
Magnification Needed: 15/18

SOLUTION TO “Sea Snake”

Hi, and hi again to you ‘roogles! Come here for your roogle fix, have ye? Well, I aims to please…

I got this clue in from Robert E. (no, not Robert E. Lee of civil fame) and it is a fun and quite cute picture of a tortoise’s head peeking out of its shell. It sort of looks like it has been painted in brush strokes (I believe the black is rivers actually) I particularly like how the tortoise seems to be smiling slightly. Happy turtles!

Mr. Tortoise is visible from about 14/18. I have been in a puzzle-y mood so the word clues that Robert gave were right up my alley. Actually, I decided to modify them in the usual herringwise way. So, this MAY be a little tougher. Famous last words before hordes of correct solutions descend…

“Mass pomp And over circumstance”

Hm.. looking at it now, I may have mangled them a bit. Herringahoy. Well, if you’re having problems, don’t fret; help may be arriving soon in the form of a region drop.

[Edit: 2:45 pm PDT - Sorry I was out for awhile b4 coming home to quite a few solutions… this seems to be very doable without a region so far. Also, not as many herrings as I thought, cool! See you later on tonight…]

Clue Name : “Tortoise Head”
Submitted by: Robert E.
Status : Solved (24)
Duration: Tuesday 7/19/05

Solved By: Markus B, Katie N, Mike Be, Judy B, Scott G, Peter R, David H, Mark L, Theresa S, Jon K, Ryan F, Don R, Mike B, Jen M, Chris L, Jake M, Shawn R, Adam M, Aaron F, Steve C, Phil M, Justin, Phil D, Tim J

Word Clues : “Mass pomp And over circumstance”
Magnification Needed: 14/18

SOLUTION TO “Tortoise Head”

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”

Hello, what’s this? A clue on a THURSDAY?! You bet your Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans… Sorry, a Potter lapse.

Anyhow, we are back and in full experimentation mode. That is, this clue is open all day long today. You’ll note that it was auto-launched (at least it should have been) at midnight. So, if you suffer from insomnia, mosey on over once in awhile and you might find some Scavengerooglin’ awaitin’ you. Well, anyhow I will try and set it so it launches early from now on (especially for you east coasters). But there may be times I’ll just launch a clue up in the middle of the day too!

Also remember, if you’re solving a clue at 3 in the morning I’m most likely asleep so I won’t update the “Pending Solutions”. On that note, I’ll try check in every so often and update the Pending Solutions, but if you don’t see the number change after submitting don’t worry.

OK, as to the clue! This looks somewhat like an Exclamation Point lying on its side and was sent in by Dan M. awhile back. Hmm.. we do like our punctuation, don’t we. Interestingly, I just bought the Schoolhouse Rock DVD which contains the superfun jingle “Interjection!”. So you can say that exclamations were on my mind. Catchy buggers, those songs. (If you’re not over 25 you probably don’t remember them from Saturday morning cartoons).

The exclamation point is visible at about 15/18. I actually thought it was kinda funny that the reddish buildings sort of form the letters “H” and “I”, with the “I” lying on its side. So the clue is sort of a “HI!” Lots and lots of laughs…

Your word clues, should you choose to accept them, are:

“I wouldn’t. How about Glen?”

and are straight from Dan’s submission. OK, get to it. I am trying to decide exactly when a region will be dropped. I am thinking that it will be on a clue by clue basis to start with. That is, if there are no solutions at all, I’ll drop it right away whenever I get to the computer. But if there are some rolling in then we’ll wait, or not drop anything at all!

[Edit: 10:56 am PDT - Our first day long clue looks pretty good up to now, so I’ll hold off on region for now. Gosh, that is really tragic about the stuff in London. I hope if any of you are from the area you are all safe and sound.]

[Edit: 1:37 pm PDT - Whee! I am REALLY liking the all day clue thing so far. There’s no pressure to writeup the solution by a set time in the middle of the day, and it looks like some of you who don’t normally get to play are getting a chance to! I’ve been checking my email every 2-3 hours or so and that seems about right…]

Clue Name : “Exclamation Point”
Submitted by: Dan M.
Status : Solved (15)
Duration: Thursday 7/7/05

Solved By: Judy B, Mike B, Shawn D, Chris R, Katie N, Adam M, Trecherus, Mark L, Justin, Margie M, Moose, Peter R, Karl, Phil M, Hank

Word Clues : “I wouldn’t. How About Glen?”
Magnification Needed: 15/18

SOLUTION TO “Exclamation Point”

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”