Change Machine
by David Andre
Answer: ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
The clue consists of 3 streams of info and flavor text that suggests a solving order of sorts: MP, T, KJ, Key+/-.
- First is the coin-fronts, which contain four pieces of info: (a) clue to episode title, (b) enumeration of title word lengths, (c) a KJ # indexing into the coin-edge “recording” which contains a King James Bible verse, and (d) a MP # indexing into a movie title from the coin backs.
For example:
- Second are the coin-backs, which contain two pieces of info: (a) a circular photo snipped from a movie poster and (b) a red, black or green offset number. Example:
- Third are a set of audio files, which have a King James Bible verse read by a robot-sounding voice and, at the end, a “Tee - number” phrase that will index into episode titles. Transcribed example:
But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people. Tee Six
All the info is about episodes of the Omnibus podcast by Ken Jennings and John Roderick:
KJ | Description | MP | Title | ans lens |
---|---|---|---|---|
25 |
Ornery snack dispensing robots | 7 | Vending Machines | 7 8 |
8 |
OCD masked bandit | 2 | The Washing Bear | 3 7 4 |
7 |
Neatly knifed numnum | 4 | Sliced Bread | 6 5 |
13 |
Smelly marbled pest | 4 | Marmorated Stink Bug | 10 5 3 |
42 |
Long-lived decapitated poultry | 13 | Mike the Headless Chicken | 4 3 8 7 |
35 |
Eschewed Union until 46 | 11 | Town Line, New York | 4 4 3 4 |
5 |
Theatrical thug troupe | 5 | Juggalos | 8 |
30 |
Hypnotic hammock of perpetual motion | 4 | Newton's Cradle | 6'1 6 |
2 |
Gouda-loving sentient inland sea | 3 | The Zuider Zee | 3 6 3 |
95 |
Isolated missionary murderers | 11 | The Sentinelese | 3 11 |
47 |
Military non-public ursine | 7 |
Private Wojtek the Bear | 7 6 3 4 |
16 |
National anti-allium embargo | 11 | The Onion Futures Act | 3 5 7 3 |
115 |
Instantly injudicious investors | 11 | Lottery Winners | 7 7 |
1 |
Bouncing Czech | 5 | Defenestration | 14 |
3 |
Strange scent at the cinema | 13 | Smell-O-Vision | 5-1-6 |
68 |
Turnpike traveller trap | 9 | Breezewood, Pennsylvania | 10 12 |
46 |
Whirl of fighting porkers | 4 | The Pig War | 3 3 3 |
10 |
Smart incendiary heavenly body from 1973 | 9 | Kohoutek | 8 |
2 |
Knowledgeable machine of prefabulated amulite, surmounted by a malleable logarithmic casing | 5 |
The Turboencabulator | 3 16 |
27 |
In Dobbs we trust | 8 | The Church of the SubGenius | 3 6 2 3 9 |
25 |
Dimension of Oliver | 1 | The Smoot | 3 5 |
1 |
All-knowing time-traveling polyhedron | 14 | The Tesseract | 3 9 |
4 |
Thoughtful troupe of tired airmen | 8 | Secret Order of the Double Sunrise | 6 5 2 3 6 7 |
Next, figure out the names of the movies and match them up with the episode titles (and put them in the coin-front order).
The movies in the order shown in the puzzle (alphabetical, to ease identification):
Critters 2: The Main Course |
Dark Passage |
Dutch |
Falling Down |
Gas Food Lodging |
Gleaming the Cube |
Grizzly Man |
It Could Happen to You |
Life Stinks |
Measure of a Man |
North Country |
Posse |
Sweet Smell of Success |
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken |
The Invention of Lying |
The Lost Tribe |
The Onion Field |
Three Coins in the Fountain |
Toys |
What About Bob |
Wild Hogs |
Wonder |
Year of the Comet |
If you google any 4 or 5 episode titles or 4 or 5 movie names, you'll get https://www.omnibusproject.com/podcasts/omnibus-archive.htm (less helpful) or http://johnroderick.wikidot.com/omnibus (very helpful).
This second site has a table matching up the episode title, a movie (referred to in the podcasts by the certificate number, which turns out to be a MPAA certificate number), and an index number, part of which references a verse from the King James Bible. Snippet of that table:
Now matching them up, and using the MP #s to index into the movie name yields the following:
Episode Title | Movie Name | MP | result |
---|---|---|---|
Vending Machines | Three Coins in the Fountain | 7 | O |
The Washing Bear | Critters 2: The Main Course | 2 | R |
Sliced Bread | Wonder | 4 | D |
Marmorated Stink Bug | Life Stinks | 4 | E |
Mike the Headless Chicken | The Ghost and Mr. Chicken | 13 | R |
Town Line, New York | North Country | 11 | R |
Juggalos | Posse | 5 | E |
Newton's Cradle | Toys | 4 | S |
The Zuider Zee | Dutch | 3 | T |
The Sentinelese | The Lost Tribe | 11 | B |
Private Wojtek the Bear | Grizzly Man | 7 | Y |
The Onion Futures Act | The Onion Field | 11 | E |
Lottery Winners | It Could Happen to You | 11 | P |
Defenestration | Falling Down | 5 | I |
Smell-O-Vision | Sweet Smell of Success | 13 | S |
Breezewood, Pennsylvania | Gas Food Lodging | 9 | O |
The Pig War | Wild Hogs | 4 | D |
Kohoutek | Year of the Comet | 9 | E |
The Turboencabulator | The Invention of Lying | 5 | N |
The Church of the SubGenius | What About Bob | 8 | U |
The Smoot | Measure of a Man | 1 | M |
The Tesseract | Gleaming the Cube | 14 | B |
Secret Order of the Double Sunrise | Dark Passage | 8 | S |
This spells ORDER REST BY EPISODE NUMBS. Resort by episode number.
After transcribing the King James Bible verses, match them up with the episode titles:
Ep. № | Episode Title | KJ | Audio file name | Start of bible verse | Tee | Index into Title | Index into KJ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Defenestration | 1 | s | And he said, Throw her do | 4 | E | A |
4 | The Pig War | 46 | n | Now there was there nigh | 4 | P | D |
5 | Smell-O-Vision | 3 | m | I hate, I despise your fe | 8 | I | A |
7 | The Tesseract | 1 | w | May be able to comprehend | 7 | S | M |
10 | Newton's Cradle | 30 | o | When I was a child, I spa | 5 | O | U |
11 | Secret Order of the Double Sunrise | 4 | d | The sun also ariseth, and | 9 | D | S |
15 | Kohoutek | 10 | t | Raging waves of the sea, | 7 | E | E |
16 | The Sentinelese | 95 | a | But I have said unto you, | 6 | N | M |
28 | The Zuider Zee | 2 | k | He rebuketh the sea, and | 5 | U | E |
39 | Vending Machines | 25 | i | Thou shalt sell me meat f | 8 | M | N |
66 | The Washing Bear | 8 | g | Ye shall therefore put di | 11 | B | T |
108 | Marmorated Stink Bug | 13 | e | All fowls that creep, goi | 9 | E | C |
114 | The Turboencabulator | 2 | u | For with stammering lips | 6 | R | O |
132 | Mike the Headless Chicken | 42 | p | But when Herod heard ther | 5 | T | M |
140 | Breezewood, Pennsylvania | 68 | f | In the days of Shamgar th | 7 | W | P |
142 | The Smoot | 25 | v | The height of the one che | 7 | O | A |
152 | Private Wojtek the Bear | 47 | r | I will meet them as a bea | 6 | T | N |
165 | Town Line, New York | 35 | c | Wherefore come out from a | 3 | W | Y |
172 | The Church of the SubGenius | 27 | j | And so were the churches | 10 | O | I |
176 | The Onion Futures Act | 16 | q | We remember the fish, whi | 9 | F | S |
181 | Lottery Winners | 115 | h | Let your conversation be | 2 | O | K |
188 | Juggalos | 5 | b | Whereas thou has been for | 2 | U | E |
190 | Sliced Bread | 7 | l | For they considered not t | 8 | R | Y |
Indexing into the titles gives EPISODE NUMBER TWO TWO FOUR and indexing into the bible verses gives AD AMUSEMENT COMPANY IS KEY.
Episode 224 will be released on January 16th, 2020. In it will be an ad for the RIDE ENHANCERS COLLECTIVE. This is the key from which to apply the +/- numbers from the coin backs to get the final answer: ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA.
Movie Name | Key | Offset | Answer |
Falling Down | R | -13 | E |
Wild Hogs | I | 5 | N |
Sweet Smell of Success | D | -1 | C |
Gleaming the Cube | E | 20 | Y |
Toys | E | -2 | C |
Dark Passage | N | -2 | L |
Year of the Comet | H | 7 | O |
The Lost Tribe | A | 15 | P |
Dutch | N | -13 | A |
Three Coins in the Fountain | C | 2 | E |
Critters 2: The Main Course | E | -1 | D |
Life Stinks | R | -9 | I |
The Invention of Lying | S | -18 | A |
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken | C | -1 | B |
Gas Food Lodging | O | 3 | R |
Measure of a Man | L | -3 | I |
Grizzly Man | L | 8 | T |
North Country | E | -4 | A |
What About Bob | C | 11 | N |
The Onion Field | T | -6 | N |
It Could Happen to You | I | 0 | I |
Posse | V | -19 | C |
Wonder | E | -4 | A |
Thanks to Ken Jennings and John Roderick for running an ad in their podcast. Thanks to Melissa and Josie Andre for helping with cluing.