The "Oops, I Goofed"

(Contest #3)

Without doubt, the most challenging puzzles I have ever encountered are those with an embedded mistake.  ...If you  regularly attack cryptograms, you know what I mean.

My favorite episode with an "accuracy-challenged" cryptogram occurred while I was a grad student at NYU.

My wife an I lived on the third floor of a five-floor walk-up in the East Village. 

Upon entering my building every evening, I would first check the mail.  Once a week I would find my copy of a popular, national intellectual magazine (the editor of which was NC).

Inside the pages of that magazine I found the best cryptograms around.  They were always short, and usually employed short, sometimes esoteric words.  They were relatively difficult.

My challenge was to solve the puzzle by the time I reached my apartment on the third floor. 

Admittedly, I took a few moments in the airlock to find and initially examine the puzzle.  Then, I would proceed slowly up the two sets of steps to my apartment.

I was three years in that apartment.  That means I performed this ritual once a week, every week, for three years, or around 150 times.

Only once did I fail.

In that instance, my wife was with me, and helping me.  She saw I was stuck, and she wanted to go out for something to eat.  We stood outside our apartment door for about five minutes, while I tried every possible technique I knew.   Nothing worked.

Finally, she convinced me to unlock the door.  We both entered, but I refused to give up. 

After about an hour, I figured out the problem.  The cryptogram made perfect sense, except for one letter.  The magazine had made a mistake.   You must remember, this was back in 1970.  Publishers were still using type-setting methods of publication.  That means, no computer screens to review accuracy, and probably, no "spell check" (except, of course, for Laverne with the thick glasses).

At any rate, I did solve the puzzle.  ...Even with the embedded mistake.  Furthermore, that experience, or challenge, was one of the best I remember (in connection with solving puzzles, of course).

So, I intend to challenge you in the same fashion.  The puzzles included in this section of our game pages will contain a single "error." 

Your job is to solve the puzzle correctly in spite of the error, and also to note the error.  Have funn.

How to submit solutions:  Email solutions to puzzle03@purplehunt.com 

Good thinking, and thanks for accepting the challenge!

 

 

After all that, here is the "oops" Puzzle for March 1, 2000:

DAMN TYXT YRNZ NPUB ZANW WANY

RNUU YAJA RZNN TBCZ ZADU 

NBAT BLAA YBHU BBUM BWNN 

NCNL UBSN LATB NTYJ NCMB …

I need three things answered successfully:

1--Plaintext rendering.

2--Official title of the source of the plaintext.

3--The year published

Go for it.  It is a simple cryptogram, but with a single mistake.  This is probably as tough as the last "OOPS" puzzle, and it eventually was solved.  This one will likely be solved as well.  Clues will start 3-8-2000.

Copyright © Purplehunt Inc. 1998 All rights reserved.