Charming
by Shelly Manber, Larry Hosken
Answer: MONARCH
Each catalog course description clued two things:
- A Harry Potter spell (specifically, its incantation)
- A class from the 2010 MIT Charm School catalog.
For each class, take the incantation and remove letters from the MIT Charm School class title. For example, FLIPENDO minus PASTA VS NOODLES leaves FI. If the incantation had been FLIPENDOOO, the leftover would have been FIO: we "subtract" only two Os since there are just two in the class title.
101 | flipendo | pasta vs. noodles | FI |
---|---|---|---|
102 | incendio | artful email as a competitive advantage | N |
103 | diffindo | evaluation etiquette: how to give constructive feedback to your professors | D |
104 | relashio | speaking to girls 101 | H |
105 | aguamenti | dating for dummies | A |
106 | reparo | besame...besame mucho: kissing etiquette in spain | RR |
107 | stupefy | presentation zen: delivering powerful presentations | Y |
108 | imperio | making conversation: the art of getting things going | P |
109 | accio | be a charming public speaker | O |
110 | petrificus totalus | cultured pearls: tips for a diverse workplace | T |
111 | tergeo | professional drinking | TE |
112 | incarcerous | confessing your love with chocolate: japanese valentine's day etiquette | R |
113 | protego | finding true love online: the do's and don'ts of online dating | P |
114 | orchideous | bow tie tying and suspender selection | H |
115 | melofors | israeli folk dancing experiment | O |
116 | oppugno | game theory: the art of the pick-up | N |
117 | erecto | samba for scientists | E |
118 | ferula | perfect propriety in the new millennium | A |
119 | expecto patronum | authentic mexican food vs. the american version | PP |
120 | herbivicus | nonverbal communication - job hiring | S |
121 | scourgify | finding alumni career advisors | Y |
122 | arresto momentum | nonverbal communication/rate your handshake | M |
123 | mobiliarbus | library etiquette: information search-a-thon | B |
124 | engorgio | approaching strangers | O |
125 | lumos | gym etiquette and comfort zone | LS |
This yields the intermediate message FIND HARRY POTTER PHONE APP SYMBOLS.
This tells you to consider the symbols from a Harry Potter phone game—either Wizards Unite or Hogwarts Mystery. In those games, players cast spells by means of symbols. These symbols look like letters (though some require rotation). The Schedule notes order these and tell rotation:
Thus:
ARRESTO MOMENTUM (M)
EXPECTO PATRONUM (O)
DIFFINDO (N)
INCENDIO (A)
FLIPENDO (r)
ACCIO (c)
HERBIVICUS (h)
M·O·N·A·r·C·h spells MONArCh, the solution.