This week’s handmade co-op puzzle won’t defox itself. If you’re a dab hand at quizzes, lateral thinking, and search engine sleuthing, why not help out.
The ‘cluster foxer’ is regarded by some as the most demanding form. Solving one involves identifying 25 pictures and five hidden themes. The enlargeable mosaic below consists of five interlocked picture clusters (some possible cluster arrangements are shown above) each with its own theme. Themes have nothing in common with each other. Don’t be surprised to find, for example, “Crocodiles”, “Tulip mania”, “Words beginning with “ter””, “1948” and “Fictional policemen” sharing a puzzle. A picture’s connection to a particular theme won’t always be literal. An image of the Brandenburg Gate is just as likely to be part of a “Bach” cluster as a “Berlin” one.
In an attempt to ensure as many people as possible get a chance to participate, Roman requests defoxers solve no more than five squares per person on Day 1, and guess no more than one cluster theme. (After 24 hours have elapsed, fill your boots!). Use your ration to complete an entire horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line before anyone else to win ‘Connect 5’ bragging rights.
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SOLUTIONS
1. ambazonia (Aergistal, a_monk)
2. avia S-199 (a_monk)
3. avocado (a_monk)
4. aldabra giant tortoise (a_monk)
5. axiom space (a_monk)
6. atmospheric railway (a_monk)
7. anubis/afterlife/ancient egyptian religion/ammit (Aergistal, a_monk)
8. annette kellerman (aergistal)
9. archer artillery system (a_monk)
10. artwork damaged or destroyed in the september 11 attacks (Colonel_K, a_monk)
11. asteroid mining (Phlebas, a_monk)
12. akonting (Colonel_K, a_monk)
13. action man (Aergistal)
14. abyssinian cat (a_monk, Phlebas)
15. alms (Colonel_K)
16. ammunition boot (Froggster)
17. alan partridge (Phlebas)
18. adze (Colonel_K)
19. ampoule (Aergistal)
20. asymmetric warfare (a_monk)
21. arctic roll (Phlebas, a_monk)
22. aegean art (Colonel_K, a_monk)
23. agrivoltaics (a_monk, Colonel_K)
24. american museum of natural history/achelosaurus (Phlebas, a_monk)
25. autopsy of john f. kennedy (Aergistal, a_monk)
A5. M61 VULCAN – 20mm Gatling-style cannon
E3. WARRIOR KINGS: BATTLES
(Didn’t somebody here work on that game series?)
Err yes, what’s that doing here? :p
That’s a behemoth if it helps.
D5. George A. Romero’s KNIGHTRIDERS
(Makes one wonder if E5. is going to be simply ‘A Team’)
Re: A1.
I haven’t found the precise screenshot but reckon it’s ARABIAN NIGHTS (2001).
This picture is the second to last of the GOG game page.
https://www.gog.com/fr/game/arabian_nights
C1. Looks like a B52 cockpit
At the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. Outside view is here:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.78064,-84.1096923,3a,75y,343.33h,89.81t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNDsUDo457QlarUAlRIyoSOarBWRYOopl4cQVdl!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNDsUDo457QlarUAlRIyoSOarBWRYOopl4cQVdl%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya76.088066-ro-0-fo100!7i5760!8i2880!5m1!1e1?coh=205409&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDkyNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
It’s looking at a General Atomics Aeronautical Systems YMQ-9 REAPER.
B1. PAINTED LADY butterfly
Could be a CYNTHIA, could be a VANESSA as the genus.
E1. Constructivism: El Lissitzky’s poster ‘Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge’ (1919)
Cooking advise? Peripheral Star Wars characters?
B5 – Redver’s Reverse
E5 – Think that is Steve Coppell managing Reading to the 2006 Football Championship title.
C4 – Key Largo with Bogart and Bacall
A2 – Indira Gandhi German Stamp – https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.philaart.com%2Fshop%2Fstamps-of-india%2Fstamps-related-to-india%2Ffamous-indian-personalities%2Findira-gandhi-germany-1v-stamp%2F&psig=AOvVaw1QIWq8kijcNYxdpjbfKHe2&ust=1727519220663000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCKDyqN704ogDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
A3. is from the patent:
Himalaya, M.A.G. Improved Apparatus for Making Industrial Use of the Heat of the Sun and Obtaining High Temperatures. Patent GB190116181. 26 October 1901.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?FT=D&date=19011026&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP&CC=GB&NR=190116181A&KC=A&ND=2
Manuel Antonio Gomes was a Portuguese priest nicknamed ‘Himalaya’, apparently.
E2 – Is a Patriot missile system
D4 – The Stockholm, the ship that hit and sunk the Andrea Doria
A4 is a memorial plaque to Ota Benga, an African man once exhibited in a human zoo. The plaque is outside Africa house of Virginia University, in Lynchburg, Virginia.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@37.3946624,-79.1518909,3a,50.4y,84.59h,91.7t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYAF7NDLmPUqzwtWTLGO6uQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205409&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDkyNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
D3 – The “Marie Antoinette” pocket watch by Breguet.
https://www.breguet.com/en/breguet-house/1775-1801/order-watch-ndeg160-known-marie-antoinette-watch
D2. Ernest Hemingway’s DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON
(First UK edition, aged and used, went at auction for £150)
I worked out a connection…
Caribbean Premier League Teams:
D5 – Trinbago KNIGHT RIDERS
E2 – St Kitts & Nevis PATRIOTS
E3 – Guyana Amazon WARRIORS or/and Saint Lucia KINGS
E5 – Barbados ROYALS (Reading)
Leaving E4 as FALCONS
E4. Novint FALCON (with pistol grip attachment) – it’s a Force Feedback replacement for your mouse!
https://www.wired.com/2008/09/novint-falcon-pistol-grip/
Couldn’t find a blooming weapon called Falcon :p
Maybe 1904 St Louis World Fair had:
A4 – OTA BENGA
A5 – Statue of VULCAN
B5 – There was a Anglo-Boer War Concession with re-enacted battles from the Boer war of which the Battle of Ladysmith was part of?
Also
A3 was there:
https://cdm17210.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/lpe/id/422/
I think C2. is the PADMA bridge under construction in Bangladesh. Part of China’s Belt & Road Initiative.
Correct. Here is the picture from the wikipedia page of the bridge:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padma_Bridge#/media/File:Padma_Bridge_01.jpg