GC SF Sp WH BV YL BT CP SA CB CC Back to puzzle

YesterdayLand

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+/-.

  1. 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:
    one coin front
  2. 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:
    one coin back
  3. 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.