Panorama (solution)

by Kai Huang and Melissa Shi; all photos by Melissa Shi

The first step is to identify the locations (mostly cities). The regular photos (not the panoramas) are listed in alphabetical order by location name to help you identify them easier. Here’s the info on all the photos:

FileLocationPhoto note
p1.jpgKyoto, JapanKinkaku-ji (a.k.a. Golden Pavilion)
p2.jpgIstanbul, TurkeyCity view from Galata Tower (notice mosques with lit minarets)
p3.jpgBerlin, GermanyBerlin Wall (East Side Gallery)
p4.jpgKuala Lumpur, MalaysiaCity view from KL Tower (notice Petronas Towers)
p5.jpgNiagara Falls, Canada/USAAmerican and Horseshoe Falls with rainbow
p6.jpgIguazu Falls, Argentina/BrazilWaterfalls flanking the Devil’s Throat
r01.jpgAthens, GreeceTemple of Olympian Zeus
r02.jpgBangkok, ThailandWat Pho
r03.jpgBruges, BelgiumCanal
r04.jpgBuenos Aires, ArgentinaThe Obelisk
r05.jpgChicago, USA“The Bean” in Millennium Park (with snow on top)
r06.jpgDubrovnik, CroatiaOld Port
r07.jpgJeju Island, South KoreaFountain of Five Blessings (notice sign says “Fountain of Five”)
r08.jpgNew York, USAFAO Schwarz (notice Patrick the Pup)
r09.jpgOslo, NorwayMonolith at Frogner Park
r10.jpgRio de Janiero, BrazilBack of Christ the Redeemer
r11.jpgSingapore, SingaporeMerlion statue (from Sentosa)
r12.jpgTokyo, JapanTokyo Tower

After identifying enough photos, answer extraction involves grouping the locations geographically. The 18 locations can be grouped geographically into groups of 3 that are closer to each other than to the other groups (the two groups in Europe are a little bit near each other, but it’s still easy to divide them up once you’ve identified the pattern from the rest of the world). Each group contains

This set of info suggests semaphore encoding, a common puzzle encoding for answer extraction. The location with the panorama is the center of the semaphore, and the given compass direction is the “up” direction. The two semaphore arm directions are the directions toward the other two locations. Here are the 6 geographic groups and their extracted letters, in the order that the panoramas are listed:

Semaphore center“Up” dirGeographic areaSemaphore arm directionsLetter
KyotoWbSSE AsiaJeju Island, TokyoD
IstanbulNWbNSE EuropeAthens, DubrovnikO
BerlinSEbEN&C EuropeBruges, OsloN
Kuala LumpurSENE AsiaBangkok, SingaporeK
Niagara FallsEbNE North AmericaChicago, New YorkE
Iguazu FallsESESE South AmericaBuenos Aires, Rio de JaneiroY

The final answer is DONKEY.

Ben Bitdiddle
Ben Bitdiddle