I couldn't imagine someone just looking at the pictures like: hmm maybe I should connect the left eye to the left hans/foot and vice versa. And then solve all the riddles with the letters! The creator truly was a genius!
yeah it actually doesn't take much to create an uncrackable code. Anyone can do it if they throw away the key. On the other hand, it's incredibly hard to say for sure when a puzzle is truly genius, because there's always the chance that nobody was smart enough to discover the correct clues yet. Effectively, the perfect difficult puzzle is one that can only be solved intentionally by the fewest number of people, but not zero people which is easy. In the case of Masquerade, a group of people working together actually did solve it correctly, even though they didn't manage to find the rabbit. So take that as you will.
Believe me. It took the country by storm. Pre-huge lotteries and the internet, it was a great distraction while it lasted. Somewhere we have his associated book in our house. ;)
There was a clue on one of the first pages of the book, before the pictures, a kind of disclaimer/prologue stanza. It read: "To solve the hidden riddle, you must use your eyes, and find the hare in every picture that may point you to the prize". So Williams basically told the readers how to solve the riddle: use the eyes, and use where the figures are pointing. So it wasn't just a 'stab in the dark'.
Saransh Gautam - It is really sad. I remember watching a doc about the treasure hunt and spoilers there is a moment at the end where they attend an exhibition of the hare. They get to see it, but it's kept in a glass box. :-(
Wha i don’t understand is, how did the hare get snatched away if they were digging the right spot first? was it literally ripped out of their hands the moment they found it?
Treasure hunting is one reason that Geocaching is a world wide activity! You could do a lot worse than being a geek walking around with a GPS looking for hidden drop-boxes...
There's one big downside to geocaching: property transfer. When someone sells a property where a cache is located, the new owner is often not informed about the cache being there and is likely to be slightly annoyed by the sight of strangers poking around looking for oddly-placed jars or boxes or what have you. So it is wise to exercise some care.
I grew up near Ampthill Park. I remember going up to the cross one morning when I was a kid and there being holes dug up all over the place. I never knew why until now. Thanks Nerdwriter.
OK your story telling ability is unparalleled! I'm just sucked inside the video and just left with my jaw hanging in awe when it ends, every. single. time.
Same! It's definitely a quality over quantity thing and we wouldn't want it any other way from Nerdwriter1! We're working on our next episode now and are already rethinking pretty much everything after seeing this video aha!
Humans are the best in pattern recognition across the planet. And I believe these treasure hunts, whether real or in the form of a story, are so popular because our brain rewards us so much in pattern recognition. That's why we like to recognize patterns where there are not any. For example, in the case of star-constellations (you know - the archer, the twins ...) or conspiracy theories. In addition, our brain rewards us when we find something. Whether food or anything else of value. That leads to this great fascination, whether it's treasure hunts, a murder mystery or a good twist. We recognize a pattern and find something.
Oh my god! I got the book "Masquerade" as a kid (7ish?) from one of my grandparents. We poured over that picture book reading ever riddle and looking at every picture. I quickly found all the hidden rabbits and figured out (or looked up) the answers to each riddle. I spent a lot of time reading and rereading the story line and trying to figure out the answer to the overarching riddle the book teased at the end. I memorized most of the book, and the "Fifty is my First" will forever be ingrained in my memory. Of course, we never found much. It wasn't till much later (14ish?) that we saw a newspaper clipping showing that someone finally found the golden hare, and then ever later that I read through the "Quest for the Golden Hare" that answered and explained the final riddle once and for all (and the scandal as well). Even after finding out the answer the book is still a mystery to me. With such intriguing and odd looking pictures with an intriguing and odd sounding tale, how could it not be?
I remember being in junior high school in 1983 and pouring over this book with my friends. We probably didn't get any further than finding the words spelled out with the red letters. But it was certainly exciting to think about!
Rembrandt Mate I have a photo of myself as my avi you're more likely to be a bot than me? And what in my statement was a lie? I'm from Stanmore North West London And yeah I think this lads shit is proper wicked, this is the most random reply I have ever gotten anywhere. You are bizarre xx
Jim Kay fair play mate but I was born in 1994 I just mentioned that I haven't heard of it, must of been big at the time it happened but hasn't really come up much since at least that I've been aware of xx
lol the last warning by you at the end with the clip of National Tresure is hilarious. I never knew about this story, it's fun hearing about a picture book that had such a grip on the public through art and puzzles.
I think I've had a lucky day today: I was just about to do a transition in to Final cut pro, and Nerdwriter pops up with a promo for the perfect place to learn it. I needed to buy a suit for my new job within two days, and I literally got an SMS today telling me that suits were on sale. Then I found out by an email today that our whole city's traffic were to be closed of on the day of my first shift because of a marathon, EXCEPT for the road to my new job... Either I'm lucky, or someone is stalking me
Great video, thanks for posting. I still have a copy of Masquerade. Think I was given it for my birthday in 1980. Totally incomprehensible but lovely to look at and I remember the mystery surrounding the hunt being very exciting
Nice to see a shout out for Ashens! I do remember this whole saga, particularly the computer game that sprang from it. It's probably what drew me to Geocaching :)
I recognised that thumbnail instantly! This was located in my homehown park! A gold rabbit wind dial is on top of my old library in the village, Ampthill! So crazy you've made a video about a story I've known for so long!!
Wow! So weird to see Ampthill Park in a Nerdwriter video. I went there so many times as a kid and recognise Catherine’s Cross but had never heard this story!
Thank you for watching! So many tedious little things in every image. Toward the end of making a vid, I usually convince myself that no one will notice those tiny things, but that doesn't stop my editing OCD. I actually uploaded this twice because I saw something was off center :)
Nerdwriter1 dont worry, details may fly over the viewers head, but the end product always has a more polished feel to it because of those minute edits! youre 1 of the best creators out there, & im currently working on a video essay myself inspired by your style :)
I've been playing The Witness for the past month, just last night I completed "The Challenge" and did the eclipse puzzle, which involves an audio log discussing the Masquerade treasure hunt (which I had never been aware of before), this morning I pull up youtube to see this video from one of my favorite channels; GET OUT OF MY HEAD EVAN!
There is a BBC program on youtube at the moment that documents Kit Williams also covering the treasure hunt. Kit Williams is a true humble genius, a glorious artist and english eccentric.
I remember coming across this book at my local library as a kid. I was obsessed with it. The idea that somewhere out there was a treasure and the book itself was a treasure map wrapped in a puzzle thrilled me. (To bad when I found the book the puzzle had been long solved.) I've always wanted to do something similar with a book. Design a treasure, bury it and build a book around it. Only this time I won't let some cheat get the best of me and ruin it for everyone else.
Every time I watch your videos I feel compelled to say thank you for making such quality content. Seriously. The videos are very interesting and amazingly put together!
I had this book as a kid and had no idea about the treasure hunt aspect until I was an adult. I was haunted by the illustrations though. The book was treasure enough for me ^_^
I also think one reason arm chair treasure hunts are so much fun is the faint hope that you might have that eureka moment. You see it in films all the time, when it seems like all hope is lost and then they reflect on something trivial that happened earlier in the film and suddenly everything falls into place. And then they scurry off to solve the problem. Kinda like suddenly discovering a riddle then hopping in your car to go find a golden bunny. I dunno.
Great story! As usual as informative as inspiring. Nice segway in your final words about sponsor. You got a really good storytelling right there ) No irony.
Just finished a detective novel that centered on the murder of an obsessed metal detector guy. Takes place in England. The Golden Hare was mentioned. Woo-woo. What a coincidence. Thanks, Nerdwriter.
I want to left a comment just saying thanks for amazing content also delivered with exquisite manufacturing. Every video is a pleasure and its unbelievable how this is the gift that keeps on giving . Thank you really much for your countless hours of hard work . Keep being awesome
Indeed! I'm pretty certain the main reason most of us love Tomb Raider isn't the D cup but the puzzles and the adventure that comes with. "The Room" series is another game worthy of mention, really cool and intricate.
They did something inspired by this in the US in 1982. The book was called The Secret: A Treasure Hunt! and had 12 keys buried around the US. Only 2 have ever been found, one in Chicago in 1984 and one in Cleveland in 2004. The creator died in a car accident in 2005, though his wife says the prizes are still waiting if more are found.
I wonder if Williams’s hidden message art style inspired Graeme Base’s similarly intricate children’s book look. Then again, “hidden picture storybooks” may be more popular than I realize, but still another form of treasure hunting!
The Witness first brought this to my attention with Brian Moriarty's Psalm 46 lecture. I've been a fan of treasure hunts and the more puzzley ARGs for a while. I personally think some of the fun of these is just the crazy ways people can make a code or clue, and the ways people solve them. It almost becomes an educational thing, where understanding a solution means understanding a concept or body of work.
Awesome video as always. If anyone interested in videogames there are some notorious hunts see the Trials fusion keys hunt, the everquest saga hunt, the binding of Isaac's rebirth the keeper hunt and frog fractions 2 are just a few examples
A similarly interesting modern "Treasure Hunt" with a videogame at its core (instead of an indirect relationship) was the SwordQuest puzzle by Atari. It's full of interesting twists and turns and a weird postscript to the tale about what became of some of the final prizes, too. Good stuff.
For what it's worth, the daughter of the current owner heard a piece on the radio about the hare and gave permission to have it displayed at the V&A museum for a short period of time. The hare is no longer lost :)
Does anyone miss the old more relaxed coffee on a Tuesday type episodes? don't get me wrong i love all the episodes!!! but i would be pretty happy to see a mixture of relaxed & professional episodes!
This video is absolutely FANTASTIC!! This may very well be my favorite of your videos! It is immaculately well researched, the soundtrack is well-chosen, v.o is brilliant! Is this book still in print?
Oh HI this was my thesis for my master's program in Children's Literature! Williams's MASQUERADE was the catalyst not only for the concept of Armchair Treasure Hunts, but also the Armchair Treasure Hunt genre in children's books! Graeme Base's ELEVENTH HOUR, Mac Barnett's CLOCK WITHOUT A FACE, and countless other books took inspiration from Williams. Also check out Williams' second UNTITLED book, in which the riddle is to solve for the book's title.
Great video, Evan. My mother was interested in a similar treasure hunt, back in the 80's, named "Treasure: In Search of the Golden Horse." She is an accomplished artist in a number of mediums, but also has a degree in advanced mathematics, and a knack for cryptography. She didn't solve the puzzle, but made a lot of progress on it. She marveled at the complexity and depth of the puzzle, designed by Dr. Crypton (Paul Hoffman.)
Your girlfriend/ boyfriend must be a very happy person, i guess. The way you speak with such calmness is very soothing. And it almost looks like Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code was heavily borrowed from this.
I couldn't imagine someone just looking at the pictures like: hmm maybe I should connect the left eye to the left hans/foot and vice versa. And then solve all the riddles with the letters! The creator truly was a genius!
yeah it actually doesn't take much to create an uncrackable code. Anyone can do it if they throw away the key. On the other hand, it's incredibly hard to say for sure when a puzzle is truly genius, because there's always the chance that nobody was smart enough to discover the correct clues yet. Effectively, the perfect difficult puzzle is one that can only be solved intentionally by the fewest number of people, but not zero people which is easy.
In the case of Masquerade, a group of people working together actually did solve it correctly, even though they didn't manage to find the rabbit. So take that as you will.
Believe me. It took the country by storm. Pre-huge lotteries and the internet, it was a great distraction while it lasted. Somewhere we have his associated book in our house. ;)
There was a clue on one of the first pages of the book, before the pictures, a kind of disclaimer/prologue stanza. It read: "To solve the hidden riddle, you must use your eyes, and find the hare in every picture that may point you to the prize". So Williams basically told the readers how to solve the riddle: use the eyes, and use where the figures are pointing. So it wasn't just a 'stab in the dark'.
@@sammyinengland I think it should have been mentioned in the video
I feel bad for the physics teachers @ 4:35.
The Hare belongs to them.
Saransh Gautam - It is really sad. I remember watching a doc about the treasure hunt and
spoilers
there is a moment at the end where they attend an exhibition of the hare.
They get to see it, but it's kept in a glass box. :-(
:(
Wha i don’t understand is, how did the hare get snatched away if they were digging the right spot first? was it literally ripped out of their hands the moment they found it?
^^ wondering too
Saransh Gautam - He was my Physics teacher...
I just love the way you tell a story, Evan. Thanks again for putting yet another beautiful one on my radar.
Treasure hunting is one reason that Geocaching is a world wide activity! You could do a lot worse than being a geek walking around with a GPS looking for hidden drop-boxes...
Never heard of this before.
Wow, there is so much stuff people do!
There's one big downside to geocaching: property transfer. When someone sells a property where a cache is located, the new owner is often not informed about the cache being there and is likely to be slightly annoyed by the sight of strangers poking around looking for oddly-placed jars or boxes or what have you. So it is wise to exercise some care.
busi magen yes
yes, but they charge now for much of the access. strange.
So happy to see this in a comment! Love geocaching!
No words bring joy to my life quite like “new from nerdwriter1”
Michael Riddling +
Yuss! Agreed! But what about the word "Bungalow"? We love that word. Just a thought.
I grew up near Ampthill Park. I remember going up to the cross one morning when I was a kid and there being holes dug up all over the place. I never knew why until now. Thanks Nerdwriter.
OK your story telling ability is unparalleled! I'm just sucked inside the video and just left with my jaw hanging in awe when it ends, every. single. time.
Maybe try the channel Internet Historian
Once again, this video inspires me as a creator in a way I can't describe
Thank you so much for saying that.
if you could understand it you would have been a scientist all along
Agreed, TH-camrs like Nerdwriter1 have really set the bar. Always a joy to watch!
+
Same! It's definitely a quality over quantity thing and we wouldn't want it any other way from Nerdwriter1!
We're working on our next episode now and are already rethinking pretty much everything after seeing this video aha!
Humans are the best in pattern recognition across the planet.
And I believe these treasure hunts, whether real or in the form of a story, are so popular because our brain rewards us so much in pattern recognition.
That's why we like to recognize patterns where there are not any. For example, in the case of star-constellations (you know - the archer, the twins ...) or conspiracy theories.
In addition, our brain rewards us when we find something. Whether food or anything else of value.
That leads to this great fascination, whether it's treasure hunts, a murder mystery or a good twist.
We recognize a pattern and find something.
Roland Deschain +
We love finding patterns in game of chance. Like having a "system" for roulette. Spoiler: There is no pattern, it's completely random.
Oh my god! I got the book "Masquerade" as a kid (7ish?) from one of my grandparents. We poured over that picture book reading ever riddle and looking at every picture. I quickly found all the hidden rabbits and figured out (or looked up) the answers to each riddle. I spent a lot of time reading and rereading the story line and trying to figure out the answer to the overarching riddle the book teased at the end. I memorized most of the book, and the "Fifty is my First" will forever be ingrained in my memory. Of course, we never found much. It wasn't till much later (14ish?) that we saw a newspaper clipping showing that someone finally found the golden hare, and then ever later that I read through the "Quest for the Golden Hare" that answered and explained the final riddle once and for all (and the scandal as well).
Even after finding out the answer the book is still a mystery to me. With such intriguing and odd looking pictures with an intriguing and odd sounding tale, how could it not be?
I remember being in junior high school in 1983 and pouring over this book with my friends. We probably didn't get any further than finding the words spelled out with the red letters. But it was certainly exciting to think about!
Man, stories like this are a really cool idea to do every once in a while
I'm from North London and I had never heard of this haha, I love the variety of subjects you choose they're always brilliant and always unexpected xx
Don't lie, you Russian Bot!
Rembrandt Mate I have a photo of myself as my avi you're more likely to be a bot than me? And what in my statement was a lie? I'm from Stanmore North West London And yeah I think this lads shit is proper wicked, this is the most random reply I have ever gotten anywhere. You are bizarre xx
I'm from Luton and remember this well.
Jim Kay fair play mate but I was born in 1994 I just mentioned that I haven't heard of it, must of been big at the time it happened but hasn't really come up much since at least that I've been aware of xx
Lights Out! Fair play. It was massive at the time and a bit of a national obsession.
I had this book in my public library in the early 80's. Never thought I'd see anything about it on youtube of all places. Thanks for the great video.
lol the last warning by you at the end with the clip of National Tresure is hilarious. I never knew about this story, it's fun hearing about a picture book that had such a grip on the public through art and puzzles.
I think I've had a lucky day today:
I was just about to do a transition in to Final cut pro, and Nerdwriter pops up with a promo for the perfect place to learn it.
I needed to buy a suit for my new job within two days, and I literally got an SMS today telling me that suits were on sale.
Then I found out by an email today that our whole city's traffic were to be closed of on the day of my first shift because of a marathon, EXCEPT for the road to my new job...
Either I'm lucky, or someone is stalking me
Let's be Honest Official +
Let's be Honest Official I've always loved you.
Sometimes it happens. It's been years since I had one of those days, lucky you.
Probably Facebook
Come on. It's definitely Facebook. Or GOOG or Amazon.
Great video, thanks for posting. I still have a copy of Masquerade. Think I was given it for my birthday in 1980. Totally incomprehensible but lovely to look at and I remember the mystery surrounding the hunt being very exciting
Nice to see a shout out for Ashens! I do remember this whole saga, particularly the computer game that sprang from it. It's probably what drew me to Geocaching :)
I love that ashens is being appreciated, he's one of the curators of TH-cam and he's basically the Platon's form of what the TH-cam video should be
I recognised that thumbnail instantly! This was located in my homehown park! A gold rabbit wind dial is on top of my old library in the village, Ampthill! So crazy you've made a video about a story I've known for so long!!
Awesome nostalgia pull! Loved Masquerade as a kid. Never before heard the solution or subsequent events.
Thanks!
Wow! So weird to see Ampthill Park in a Nerdwriter video.
I went there so many times as a kid and recognise Catherine’s Cross but had never heard this story!
It's always weird to both see things you know in a massive video as well as learn what you never knew about those things!
thank you for the immense effort you put in each video :)
Thank you for watching! So many tedious little things in every image. Toward the end of making a vid, I usually convince myself that no one will notice those tiny things, but that doesn't stop my editing OCD. I actually uploaded this twice because I saw something was off center :)
Nerdwriter1 dont worry, details may fly over the viewers head, but the end product always has a more polished feel to it because of those minute edits! youre 1 of the best creators out there, & im currently working on a video essay myself inspired by your style :)
+
+
Emiliana, good to see a fellow Nerd Fighter here :)
I've been playing The Witness for the past month, just last night I completed "The Challenge" and did the eclipse puzzle, which involves an audio log discussing the Masquerade treasure hunt (which I had never been aware of before), this morning I pull up youtube to see this video from one of my favorite channels; GET OUT OF MY HEAD EVAN!
There is a BBC program on youtube at the moment that documents Kit Williams also covering the treasure hunt. Kit Williams is a true humble genius, a glorious artist and english eccentric.
I remember coming across this book at my local library as a kid. I was obsessed with it. The idea that somewhere out there was a treasure and the book itself was a treasure map wrapped in a puzzle thrilled me. (To bad when I found the book the puzzle had been long solved.) I've always wanted to do something similar with a book. Design a treasure, bury it and build a book around it. Only this time I won't let some cheat get the best of me and ruin it for everyone else.
The unfairness of insider information.
LOVE OF PLANTS 🌻 classic Uncharted situation
"He designed it so that any one of any age could solve the puzzle..."
Yeah, okay.
You should cover Cicada3301 as a follow-up to this
BUHHRIED.
Every time I watch your videos I feel compelled to say thank you for making such quality content. Seriously. The videos are very interesting and amazingly put together!
We had that book. It was a beautiful piece of art even without the mystery and I truly loved it.
Omigosh! I'm so glad you made this video! I was just explaining the story of Masquerade to my students a couple of weeks ago.
Great storytelling. REALLY enjoyed this one! At least 3 times I had to hit pause because I was thinking, "What?!?!"
Your editing, words, tone of voice, and topic, they just lure you in, grab you and entrance you. A great video.
I had this book as a kid and had no idea about the treasure hunt aspect until I was an adult. I was haunted by the illustrations though. The book was treasure enough for me ^_^
I never heard about masquerade, but I remember in the late 90's there was a similar puzzle book with a hidden reward, called _The Merlin Mystery_
I grew up with both Kit Williams puzzle books, they are so amazing.
It gives me so much hope for humanity that the puzzle actually got solved as intended, even if obtaining the treasure was far less straight-forward.
Incredible amount of work. Even down to the 70's Punk font.Amazing
YOU AMAZE ME WITH THE AMOUNT OF EFFORT YOU PUT INTO YOUR VIDEOS. OMG
I also think one reason arm chair treasure hunts are so much fun is the faint hope that you might have that eureka moment. You see it in films all the time, when it seems like all hope is lost and then they reflect on something trivial that happened earlier in the film and suddenly everything falls into place. And then they scurry off to solve the problem. Kinda like suddenly discovering a riddle then hopping in your car to go find a golden bunny. I dunno.
Oh my god I know all about these! My dad talked me through the entire story of this and the second one. Amazing
I was obsessed with one of William's other treasure hunt books as a kid! Great video!
Great story! As usual as informative as inspiring. Nice segway in your final words about sponsor. You got a really good storytelling right there ) No irony.
I should be doing homework right now, but...
Let's be honest I'll learn more from this anyway.
There's always time for homework.
right*
parker - TheHatz Fixed. Nice catch.
Nerdwriter1 That's why I never do them
Saaaaammmmeeeee
Just finished a detective novel that centered on the murder of an obsessed metal detector guy. Takes place in England. The Golden Hare was mentioned. Woo-woo. What a coincidence. Thanks, Nerdwriter.
I love this dudes videos. My favorite essayist for sure
It’s good to see you’ve credited ashens for this
Just spent 10 hours in a greyhound and this comes up when I come home open TH-cam. Excellent
I tried solving this years ago. Happy to see a video made on it
Cool story. I had this book as a kid and spent ages staring at the kinda weird pictures. Didn't come anywhere close to solving it though.
This channels owner makes the greatest intriguing videos- the quality is unmatched, and they're addictive.
I want to left a comment just saying thanks for amazing content also delivered with exquisite manufacturing. Every video is a pleasure and its unbelievable how this is the gift that keeps on giving . Thank you really much for your countless hours of hard work . Keep being awesome
Indeed! I'm pretty certain the main reason most of us love Tomb Raider isn't the D cup but the puzzles and the adventure that comes with. "The Room" series is another game worthy of mention, really cool and intricate.
It’s so cool that you made a video on this, I have the book
High quality content video alert!!!!
They did something inspired by this in the US in 1982. The book was called The Secret: A Treasure Hunt! and had 12 keys buried around the US. Only 2 have ever been found, one in Chicago in 1984 and one in Cleveland in 2004. The creator died in a car accident in 2005, though his wife says the prizes are still waiting if more are found.
My favourite channel in youtube, never disappoints.
Love that little PSA at the end. 😆
Grew up with the Masquerade book, looking for the hidden hares in every picture and trying to work out the puzzle
So great to see Kit here. I know him a bit. Proper genius.
3:55 The Twist! 😐
Yep. Still the best channel on this website. Thank you for that.
Dope video man. Your production quality is getting better and better with each vid.
As soon as I saw the first image in this video, I knew what it was about. Fantastic story, albeit a sad fate for the Golden Hare.
I don't think I can say this enough: I love your channel!
I wonder if Williams’s hidden message art style inspired Graeme Base’s similarly intricate children’s book look. Then again, “hidden picture storybooks” may be more popular than I realize, but still another form of treasure hunting!
Dude your videos are so well made and thoughtful. I'm a new subscriber but this stuff is gold. Looking forward to future uploads 👍✌
The Witness first brought this to my attention with Brian Moriarty's Psalm 46 lecture. I've been a fan of treasure hunts and the more puzzley ARGs for a while. I personally think some of the fun of these is just the crazy ways people can make a code or clue, and the ways people solve them. It almost becomes an educational thing, where understanding a solution means understanding a concept or body of work.
i LOVE this kind of thing. The Secret is a treasure book still active in the US today
Awesome video as always. If anyone interested in videogames there are some notorious hunts see the Trials fusion keys hunt, the everquest saga hunt, the binding of Isaac's rebirth the keeper hunt and frog fractions 2 are just a few examples
Props to those that really solved the puzzle. I tip my hat.
Passed the video a few times because it looked greyed out and I thought I had already seen it. Just thought I would let you know. Good video.
I’ve never heard this story before. Thank you
A similarly interesting modern "Treasure Hunt" with a videogame at its core (instead of an indirect relationship) was the SwordQuest puzzle by Atari. It's full of interesting twists and turns and a weird postscript to the tale about what became of some of the final prizes, too. Good stuff.
For what it's worth, the daughter of the current owner heard a piece on the radio about the hare and gave permission to have it displayed at the V&A museum for a short period of time. The hare is no longer lost :)
I bet it would be fun to do something like this! But maybe start small to get a feel for it first...
Am the only one who was a little disturbed by the way he said “buried?”
No you're not! Why does he say it so weird?? Burrrrried
How do you say it? “Barried”?
@@fatabbot6 In England we say it like "berry" with a "d" after it. I'm not sure why, to be honest!
I'm from Canada and that's how I pronounce it.
That's a common pronunciation in parts of Northern England.
Does anyone miss the old more relaxed coffee on a Tuesday type episodes? don't get me wrong i love all the episodes!!! but i would be pretty happy to see a mixture of relaxed & professional episodes!
Thanks, Ashens.
Awesome video. Just an amazing story.
Such a well made video, thank you for telling the story!
One of your best videos yet!
This video is absolutely FANTASTIC!! This may very well be my favorite of your videos! It is immaculately well researched, the soundtrack is well-chosen, v.o is brilliant! Is this book still in print?
There's also The Secret by Byron Preiss which was covered on an episode of Josh Gates Expedition Unknown same concept but like multiple treasures.
Oh HI this was my thesis for my master's program in Children's Literature! Williams's MASQUERADE was the catalyst not only for the concept of Armchair Treasure Hunts, but also the Armchair Treasure Hunt genre in children's books! Graeme Base's ELEVENTH HOUR, Mac Barnett's CLOCK WITHOUT A FACE, and countless other books took inspiration from Williams. Also check out Williams' second UNTITLED book, in which the riddle is to solve for the book's title.
One eyed willie 👀
i used to read this book when i was younger!!!
I owned a similar book with this premise as a kid, but with even more creature-shaped jewels!
I had that book when I was a kid! Showing my age there...
Great video, Evan. My mother was interested in a similar treasure hunt, back in the 80's, named "Treasure: In Search of the Golden Horse." She is an accomplished artist in a number of mediums, but also has a degree in advanced mathematics, and a knack for cryptography. She didn't solve the puzzle, but made a lot of progress on it. She marveled at the complexity and depth of the puzzle, designed by Dr. Crypton (Paul Hoffman.)
I love how the guy who conceived this bizzare surreal treasure hunt kinda actually looks like an insane rabbit straight out of a Louis Carroll poem.
This was so interesting. Love National Treasure, glad you referenced it in the video.
This came out on my birthday, not complaining about that
Your girlfriend/ boyfriend must be a very happy person, i guess.
The way you speak with such calmness is very soothing.
And it almost looks like Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code was heavily borrowed from this.
The sound quality is pristine.
I was already on your channel watching other videos when you uploaded this 😅❤️
Thanks nerdwriter. Awesome video
You make great videos, well edited resulting in a good end product. All Very interesting thank you!