The Scottish Display
by Jan Chong, Ian Tullis (original concept)
Answer: UNCERTAIN GRAY
Start with each line of triplets, ignoring the colors for now. Each set of triplets can be arranged to form a line from the play Macbeth, with an extra letter randomly inserted. Re-ordering by scene:
| Triplets | Line | Scene | Extra |
|---|---|---|---|
| DFO FAI FOU IRA LAN RIS SFA ULI | Fair is foul, and foul is fair: | 1 | A |
| ALL D ERN ISS LAS LIE OFK OWG PDG SAN SES UPP | Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied | 2 | P |
| ATH BLE BUB EAR HAS PER SAS THE THE THH WAT | The earth hath bubbles, as the water has | 3 | P |
| ACK AND DEE EEM ESI HTS LET LIG LPD NOT RES YBL | Let not light see my black and deep desires: | 4 | L |
| CES DPA EAC GET MOR ORE PTH SAN SE SSA STO YPU | Stop up the access and passage to remorse, | 5 | Y |
| EA ERE IEZ ING LLS LYH NOJ SME UTT WOO YFR | Smells wooingly here: no jutty, frieze, | 6 | A |
| BUT CE EST EWY GET ICK ING OTH OUR PCO PLA SCR URA | But screw your courage to the sticking-place, | 7 | P |
| DPS EAM EEW EIR ERS IDR IGH IST STN THE THR TLA TOF | I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters: | 8 | P |
| ARD AVO ECR EEP GHT HOU IHE MET NOM ORE RIC YSL | Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more! | 9 | R |
| AND ARU ASO DER EAL ELL GTH MBO MUR N RIN TRE | Ring the alarum-bell. Murder and treason! | 10 | O |
| ATA BYA GOW KIL LD LHA MOU PND SIN WAS WKD | Was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and kill'd. | 11 | P |
| ARE ATE CLE EMI GSA HSW NDD OUG PT RRU SRH VES WOL | Shoughs, water-rugs and demi-wolves, are clept | 12 | R |
| AVE ENO HDT HES ISC IT LLD NAK OTC TKI WEH | We have scotch'd the snake, not kill'd it: | 13 | I |
| A EAC FLY FLY FLY HER LEA NCE ODF OTR YFL YGO | O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! | 14 | A |
| ANB APP CHT DRU ERU ETH GGE HOU LIK R ROA SSI TEA | Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, | 15 | T |
| ANG APO DE OPP OUN REH ROF ROU SAV SDR THE | There hangs a vaporous drop profound; | 16 | E |
| ALC AND E HTV IAN LAT LKD NQU OWA RIG TBA THE TOO | And the right-valiant Banquo walk'd too late; | 17 | C |
| BLE BLE BLE DOU DOU DTR LAN OOU TOI | Double, double toil and trouble; | 18 | O |
| CHE FRY NGL OFT REA RY YOU | Young fry of treachery! | 19 | L |
| ALS AOV ARI CEI CIO EDE L LUX OUS TFU URI USF | Luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful, | 20 | O |
| DTH E EDT ERE GAT GAT KIN OBE ROC SKN THE TOB | To bed, to bed! there's knocking at the gate: | 21 | R |
| EDI ENC EOB ERE EWH IVC LYO TIS TOG TRU WED | To give obedience where 'tis truly owed: | 22 | C |
| GAT HAT HDR IVE ORW PUR RBC TRH UBA UG WHA YME | What rhubarb, cyme, or what purgative drug, | 23 | H |
| BOU EVE GH HEE IER LET MDO OLD RYS WHI WNA | Let every soldier hew him down a bough | 24 | E |
| AYT CCR EEP EFR ODA OMD PAC SIN SPE THI TTY Y | Creeps in this petty pace from day to day | 25 | C |
| AKT ARB DAN DDE ERS H ING LAM LOO OFB ORO SEC THO USH | Those clamorous harbingers of blood and death. | 26 | K |
| ATW BUT COR EAP ELA ILE ISM N ONS RDS SWO TOS UGH | But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, | 27 | E |
| EAR ED END ERE FRI IWO MRI RIV SAF SSW SWE THE ULD | I would the friends we miss were safe arrived. | 28 | R |
Reading the extra letters in scene order gives the message: APPLY APPROPRIATE COLORCHECKER. What would be the appropriate ColorChecker? Why the Macbeth ColorChecker, of course!
Indexing each color from the top left and going right and then down, (so #735244 = A, #c29682 = B, #627a9d = C and so on), gives the message: NAME OF SW PAINT SIX TWO THREE FOUR. What is Sherman Williams Paint 6234? It is UNCERTAIN GRAY, which is the final answer to our puzzle.