Room 45

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…the room at the center of the Maze.

My guests thought that whoever lived here was a careless person, to leave so many things around. They were wrong.

There was really only one thing for them to find: the Riddle of the Maze. They demanded that I show it to them.

“Do you think it is written on the wall for all to see? It is hidden here, somewhere, perhaps throughout the room. As far as you are concerned, what the Maze teaches can be learned in every room.”

They looked and looked…every group is the same.

“Now,” I said, after a last look around, “we must find our way back out.”

Leaving the center of the Maze we found ourselves in…

  - Images and text copyright 1985 by Christopher Manson
used with permission. [Purchase MAZE from Amazon]

 

Level: PATH     Doors: 17 19  23  28  36

Solution Summary: [COLLECTION CURATED BY WHITE Raven. SEE COMMENTS FOR ADDITIONAL SOLUTION PROPOSALS.]

● The correct door is 23. [Credit: Unknown - during the 1985 contest]

● The spear next to I AM points to door 23. [Credit: SP]

● The various components of room 45, put together properly produce the following question: “What house will all live in?” [This phrasing has been confirmed by the publisher.]

“W” + hat = What
shoe + U (horseshoe shaped like a U) (letters rearranged) = House
Will (“I AM” + shake spear)
awl = All
elvi (letters rearranged) = Live
eye = “I” + N (sideways Z) = In

Correct answer is the Earth, world or globe. Also, Shakespeare’s theater was the Globe. [Credit: Sco4tt "Fool" Purdy with some assistance from Andrew C. Plotkin, Carl Muckenhoupt and Narciso Jaramillo - See the Riddle of the Path on the Main Solution page for the rest of Sco4tt's solution - At this point the wood row was unsolved.]

● The row of wood on the table is a “wood row.” Combined with the “will” from the I AM Shakespeare riddle and the sun = “Woodrow Wilson.” Which leads to the Woodrow Wilson quote ”Without God the world would be a maze without a clue,” reinforcing the answer “The World” [Credit: John Bailey]

● The “all in/habit what evil house” phrasing alternative is put to rest by the observation that the Guide says in the text, “Do you think it is written on the wall for ALL to see.” On the wall is an “all” and “none” from which we choose. This question by the Guide frames this choice.  [Independent Credit: David G | vewatkin]

● Ongoing debate: Is the purpose of the “Woodrow WILLson” and “WILLiam Shakespeare” meant to only produce the word “Will.” Or is the purpose of the I AM Shakespeare riddle to complete the name “Woodrow Wilson” (“Woodrow (“Will” produced by Shakespeare riddle) son.”) and point only to the Wilson quote.  Or is the purpose of the riddle on the table to produce both “William Shakespeare” and “Woodrow Wilson” and point to both the Wilson quote and the globe theater. If the purpose is just to create the word “will” then why is this unnecessary word included at all?

45path

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171 thoughts on “Room 45

    • @vewatkin From one perspective it is saying: “I am.” But if you turn the room upside down, it then reads: “Eye M.” I deduced this conclusion from the attributed perspective via room 29.

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  1. Not sure if it’s been mentioned or not; with the focus on grouping, the I AM Shakespear when crossed with the Woodrow Sun, is better read as iam Shakespear crossed with Woodrow sun. The blank, or the none, is where the crossroads between the two is. The Will presumably written on the paper is covered up by the woodrow. Sorry if I’m repeating what someone else already typed.

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  2. In the interest of security, speed,and SEO, I have refurbished Mazecast dot com, and when I have time I will be backing up this site as well complete with comments. Happy new year!

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  3. I see a Woody Guthrie connection in room 45: The obvious ‘Woodrow Wilson’, plus a ‘got three’ for the horseshoe ringer, gives Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (Woody’s full name). Woody Guthrie was once asked his religious affiliation, and replied ‘All or None’ (awl or nun). Also in room 17, I could fill in the blank in ‘Why, oh ___’ to complete Woody’s song title ‘Why Oh Why’. Maybe other connections on other pages? This Land is Your Land, … Or is my imagination running amok?

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    • You’ve found some impressive connections, but the central clue (got three = Guthrie) unfortunately holds very little water. One has to know this particular phrase from horseshoes, and then it is a very inexact homophone. (Compare the accepted solution to the “Sea bag o.k.” sign in Room 32, where “Sea” is replaced by exact homophone “C” and then the letters are rearranged to make “Go back.”)

      At best, Manson had heard of the Woody Guthrie trivia you mentioned, and thus he smiled at incorporating “awl or nun” into the Riddle of the Maze and “Why, oh _____” into its answer. Who knows?

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  4. It is interesting that Room 45 is described as the “center” of the Maze. Of the rooms in the figure-8 of the shortest path, it is one of the furthest away from the entrance. Meanwhile, Room 4 clearly seems much more like it is in the center. Room 45 has doors leading to other parts of the Path and doors leading to two rooms in the Loop that don’t seem close to each other, but it doesn’t really seem central.

    Many pencil and paper mazes do have a path to a goal at the center of the maze and then another path back out to the beginning from the center, but these mazes usually don’t have a figure-8 path that converges at a point other than the center. Obviously, with one-way doors and probably three floors in the House, the Maze would have more options than a traditional Maze even if it were spatial. However, figuring out the spacial layout of the Maze seems very difficult.

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  5. The horseshoe is in the position of a ringer… 3 points & earth is the 3rd planet.
    For both the horseshoe and earth:
    Z(26)-3 = 23
    For the Eye:
    Z(26) – C(3) = 23

    subtraction because you are headed back to the beginning now.

    The house all will live in… is the 4th accepted word “womb”?

    I just found this site today, and I’m still waiting for a new copy of MAZE… I’ve often wondered if the guide is Theseus or Hades… but I haven’t revisited that in years. I just haven’t seen any mention of it in the posts I’ve read so far. Wanting to call the book Labyrinth supports this, and being forced to use MAZE because of a movie may have been a bit of serendipity to hide a clue.

    Another statement & question – “I AM EVIL. I (a)M ?”

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    • TR,

      I’m sure you will enjoy the book. Your ringer solution is interesting. Welcome to the Abyss!

      White Raven

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  6. When I was a kid I thought the wood was saying that the base of the row was a board. So the table says “I am board.” I became obsessed anyway. ;)

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  7. As little as March 26/27 there is discussion here ref what is the correct wording/answer and somewhere back stated Manson advised one of the words was not quite correct???? It is further stated around the Earth/World/Globe is not the complete answer but just accepted by the Publisher…I’m sure to just get the contest to a conclusion…but that is not good or fair to us die hards as we can see one word can drastically change the direction of our seeking. As the contest is “OFFICIALLY”over, Manson/Publisher should “officially” state what the “exact” question/answer is not what they “accepted” it is. So am I correct in assuming that to this day only Manson/Publisher are the only 2 people that know what the question/answer really is? It was a public contest and it is over , so why hasn’t the public been informed of the exact correct solution to the contest. Further, why should we have to settle for what was accepted instead of what was created. This is just a game (and a really clever game indeed) but if the creators won’t play by the rules how can it ever be solved? Where is the credibility and trust here. Do we really want to play a game whereby the creators did not follow their own rules so how can we believe the rules are being followed now.
    I would like to see some vindication offered in the form of a written statement by the creator of the exact question/answer so the game can continue under the “umbrella” of fun instead of suspicion. White Raven was extremely gracious to devulge the origin of his name as it was directly causing misguidance in chasing the non existent Raven and I feel Manson should do the same with the elusive misleading Question/Answer. That part of MAZE should be completly over as Raven is now. We need to confidently move on…and…how can we ask Manson to create another puzzle if we can’t even solve this one. As Manson diplomatically stated, the contest was the publisher’s idea not his…the contest mess wasn’t even needed as MAZE is brilliant enough to stand on its own proven by here we are 30 years later enjoying this work…a great testament to a great creator.

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    • No Marianne – you must have missed some posts. I wrote Manson at the end of that discussion. He confirmed that everything was exactly correct in the riddle and in the clue along the path – there is no wiggle room – “What House will all live in?” and “Like Atlas you bare it upon your shoulders”. The only thing he said was the 3 of 4 acceptable contest answers were “World, Earth, and Globe” He did not say the 4th. Although he did say that at some point in the past someone had published it. I suspect the 4th answer is simply “planet”.

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    • Oh and Marianne – Raven is still a huge part of Maze there are many valid paths to Raven. He’s just not the guide.

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    • But while we are asking about room 45 I suppose it can’t hurt to reaffirm the confirmed again. And we probably could just flat out ask about Marianne’s whole theory. We can also ask about WR’s Woodrow Wilson and Shakespeare globe stuff. We can ask about methods like the 3 possible alphnumeric indicators of door 23 here, and how common alphanumeric coding is in general in MAZE. And how common the “grouped objects = one word for a puzzle of the next level” method is in Maze. And if he is feeling generous maybe about exactly where the letters for shoulders are on the path. Which did he intend, did we find them all, etc…

      I’d also ask about the future tense of “will” and the oddity of the “all and the “none” adding up to “all”. I’m guessing the future tense there is suppose to be a message of “we all live together here on Earth or we all die together” and I think it fits in with the final wall in room 40 which can read “man = answer” as well as “answer = earth”. Two of those symbols in room 40 are simple. The “=” is an “=” and the symbol for Earth is the astronomical symbol for Earth. The last symbol depends on the theory that says wall 40 codes for various room numbers via number of pen strokes. There is a 3-stroke symbol there that I interpret to mean room 3. Room 3 is all about questions and answers as WR has detailed in his solutions there. And the answer to the riddle there in room 3 is of course “man”. And that is how I interpret in on the rest of the wall – “man”. So that final wall could be read a couple of ways. “Man = answer” (since the world is the answer to the maze riddle) but also it can read “world = answer” (since “man” is the answer to to the riddle in room 3). So it both gives you the litteral Maze riddle answer “World” and an interpretation of the meaning of the riddle/answer – “man is the answer”

      In any case – it seems to fit with a future tense reading of room 45. It is a general huministic thought – we all live together or all die together and man is the answer to his own problems.

      When I asked Manson about the “Man = answer” thing as a possible 4th answer to the room 45 riddle, I also asked about WR’s weight of the world idea, and VW’s “mind” idea. Manson vaguely said “those could work, but were not the answers he had in mind”. I took that to mean all those things were not really incorrect – but not answers to room 45. That is the room 40 thing was correct in its own way, “weight of the world” was a reasonable interpretation, and “mind” is not a bad attempt at an alternate answer.

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    • Small addition – if Marianne’s idea is wrong, we might follow up with “was “Elvis has left the building” a deliberate red herring or just an accident?” – I say that because that piece feels intentional-ish to me personally.

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  8. I believe this is the correct question in this room:

    W + hat =
    “WHAT”
    “Elvis has left the building” – announced at end of concert at the Astrodome =
    ASTRO
    Logs on the table =
    LOG
    Picture of eyeball (I see) =
    I C
    Awl =
    AL
    Total = “ASTROLOGICAL”
    Horseshoe U + Shoe =
    “HOUSE”
    William Shakespeare & Woodrow Wilson =
    “WILL”
    Awl =
    “ALL”
    Nun is =
    “INHABIT”

    Correct Question is:
    “WHAT ASTROLOGICAL HOUSE WILL ALL INHABIT?”

    Answer could be a place where Astrology is found or one of the Zodiac houses (constellation)…which of course brings me to the “Celstial Sphere” which is full of every Zodiacal house.

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    • Manson very explicitly confirmed the exact question. We know the question with certainty. Or as certain as anything can ever be in maze.

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  9. On the question of “Why 45 rooms?” – I don’t think I would have looked for much of an explanation except for the fact that Manson said there is one.
    One answer could come from Tarot and numerology. The world card is #21 but the world card’s numerological value is “9″ and that is also the numerological value of 45. So it is a “world” clue in a VERY obscure way. But also the interpretation of 45 numerologicaly would seem to have something to do with the future-looking expression of the riddle. Google says:

    The deep down basic essence of the numerology number 45 is a concern for the welfare of humanity and actually doing something about it.
    The number 45 can be reduced to the single-digit 9:
    4+5 = 9.

    Sort of fits with the (probable) larger meaning of the riddle beyond the contest that “We all live in the world together or we all die together”. (Was there still a Soviet Union in 1985? I think so).

    Rooms 27 and 9 also involve tarot and numerology I think, so that would not be the only place he used it.

    My page has some questionable items as I look at it but some things that look right too. Here is an edit of that:

    Let’s look at the possible tarot meanings in the room as well. Room 27 gives us a strong push in this direction (see room 27 description). We have lots of card stuff over there (like a Hermit) and a real spade, and we have the spade here as well helping to connect the rooms. Numerology is practiced in connection with tarot, and the numerological value of 18 is 9, the number of the room we are in. So this can be an indicator for exit 18. The star on the small picture is tarot card 17, “The Star”, (it always has that basic shape and 7 or 8 points) and may hint to try to get to room 17, along the same lines as “Go 17” in room #1. (and/or the 8 points might relate to exit 18). We might also think about “The World” card, number 21. The numbers of the exits give us 18+3=21. The numerical value of the World card is supposed to be 9, which is the number of this room. So this may be another hint to the final answer to the maze, “The World”.

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  10. Well, that’s a clever thought as we have been asking “Why 45 rooms?” “IF” Manson had thought about it, he just may have performed this switch and 45 does exit to 23.

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  11. I thought of something in a conversation with our good friend Greg (who has abandoned the Abyss, may God forgive): Room 23 is in the actual center of the book. I mean, ok, not if you count the title page and all that, but if you consider just the 45 room pages, 23 is in the center.

    Now, I can’t really read anything in the text in 45 as suggesting we go to the center, beyond it using the word “center” twice. And both times it says center, it’s referring to 45 as the center of the Maze, presumably in some geometrical sense, so that doesn’t seem terribly helpful…

    But MAN, doesn’t it seem like it SHOULD be something? Like it COULD?

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    • It’s half-way around the figure 8 path too – so maybe not accidental.

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    • It’s a good thought. Like you, I see no excuse to take it that way but it really seems like there should be something to it.

      “Leaving the center we found ourselves in…” another center? Hmm…

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    • Well…OK….if this dawned on you without already knowing the path (its sort of chicken and egg) being in the center of the book and the center of the correct path narrative would highlight the fact that it took 8 steps to get here and you have 8 steps to go and well, the correct door is 8.

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    • White Raven said: “Leaving the center we found ourselves in…” another center? Hmm…

      Unless the duplicitous Mr. Manson is talking about the centre of the room ;) (I’m a Canuck, can you tell)

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    • I looked at the directions, which I thought mentioned going to the center and back out, thinking that might give an excuse for looking to get to 23. But it actually never mentions the center. The prologue however, mentions that the group thinks that the Guide will guide them to the center. Perhaps he will…

      I don’t think it works, really, any way you slice it.

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    • Oh, I left this unspoken but, interestingly, the 16-step path from 1 to 45 and back is the same as the shortest path from 1 to 23 and back.

      The same is true of 17, though, so big deal I guess.

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  12. All vs. None:

    Is it possible that the shape of the path here (infinity symbol) is brought to bear on the choice? I’m skeptical, though it’s interesting that the Path is laid out like an infinity symbol (infinity, all), and the Loop has a large circle (with, admittedly, a lot of offshoots) as its main feature (zero, none). Of course, given Manson’s advisement against mapmaking I guess it’s implausible that the core puzzle involves heavy map analysis.

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    • I still kind of thing we are supposed to have the potential of either all or none here, even if “all” would have been the only winner – I think the larger puzzle probably intended some ambiguity on that point . BUT – if we HAVE to pick all – WR has me in his credits for spotting the word “all” on the wall in the text – so that is one tiny hint I suppose – other than that I suspect you’d have to finish wall 40 and the rest of MAZE to feel confident that “all” was the better choice than “none”.

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    • Yeah, I’ve sort of signed on to that before (“Do you think it is written on the wall for all to see?”), although, really, since the implication is that it ISN’T written on the wall for all to see, but scattered throughout the room, you could just as easily take that as an indicator against “all.” (The guide is being honest in the statements he makes here about where to find the Riddle.)

      I wonder whether the phrase, “They looked and looked…every group is the same,” is a clue to how we should be grouping similar objects together.

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    • “Every group is the same” – yes, I think so – every “group” gives you one word here, so they are all the same.

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  13. I’m wondering why this solution is listed:

    The correct door is indicated by the spear and I AM. In alphanumeric substitution I AM = 9,1,13 which added equals 23. The spear next to I AM points to door 23.

    But another alphanumeric exit indicator is not. The chair and the table are two extra objects in the room. C and T. C=3, T=20 and 20+3 = 23 = exit.

    I think they are both about equally valid, personally.

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    • I agree, though predictably would err on the side of listing neither. There are a lot of alphanumeric clues throughout the book that seem just as plausible, and it’s hard to know where a line can be drawn. But I suppose we’re desperate for anything here to give us a door indicator.

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    • I am normally very reluctant regarding alphanumeric solutions, but in this case the letters I AM are spelled out (not symbols for letters) in all capitals and the spear next to I AM points directly to door 23. It could be a coincidence but it would be a truly extraordinary one.

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    • I say I would err on the side of listing neither, but that’s not quite right–I think most of the things we latch onto are far from clearly deliberate, and I would probably list things like this but avoid expressing undue confidence in solutions in general. I wouldn’t bet on IAM–>23 being intentional, but I wouldn’t bet against it either.

      The thing is, once you open up the gate to that, I find it hard to believe that other, similar alphanumeric coding solutions weren’t noted by Manson. It seems extraordinary that Room 4 indicates both IT and ELL [L], and those both encode to 29. (Not to mention ELL upside-down, 7-7-3, adding to 17, because people like to see 17 references wherever they can.)

      O, U, and the indicated F add to 42 in Room 30.

      FABLE adds to 26.

      Room 20 features the repeated letter T, and indicates it has an extra S; T minus the extra S = 20 – 19 = 1.

      (Head nod to Gentile.)

      And probably a lot of other things.

      If those are just coincidences, things that happen when you have a lot of numbers and letters floating around, then IAM = 23 seems equally explicable. And if Manson was comfortable relying on the audience to alphanumerically decode things without indication they should do so, it’s remarkable that he didn’t notice inadvertent solutions in 4 and 30 that do the same thing.

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    • Room 9 3 blind mice , 3 bearded men. 3 b m . 3 + 2 + 13 = 18. Etc.

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    • If forced to choose I would remove the IAM = 23 solution before including the alphanumeric solutions mentioned, but in this case, again, the spear points directly through door 23.

      To take something as intentionally alphanumeric I believe we should have a non-alphanumeric reason. In this case it is the proximity to the spear pointing directly through door 23. In Room 18 it is the placement of the notes over the door. In Room 30 it is the placement of the F on the watch dial instead of a number.

      Granted, of these three, the alphanumeric solution in this room is the weakest but it’s hard to ignore the spear which goes from being a weak indicator of the correct door to a strong indicator with the addition of the alphanumeric.

      Am I certain? Absolutely not. I understand both of your positions on this and you both are making good points. It was SP’s inclusion of the spear that swayed me. If the spear could be shown to be a strong indicator of Door 23 as part of another puzzle then I would drop this solution in a heart beat (my apologies to SP if this happens).

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    • If I were told one of those two was accidental at this point I’d guess the “IAM” – I would guess then he did still mean to point the spear at 23 – but wanted the IAM for what it does in the puzzle and missed the sum of the letters. Chair and Table are stronger because they not only add to 23 but each give one of the two digits 20 and 3. It would be difficult to quantify exactly but order of magnitude the odds of having he last two remaining leftover objects give both digits but a quite estimate is 26*26 = 676. The chances of “IAM” accidentally adding up – 1 in 75. To me the spear pointer is roughly the same as the last two objects in this respect – both conditions give us some reason to try those particular letter. No one suggested we try EVIL – because why exactly would we? Or add S+U+N? No – too many degrees of freedom if you to that sort of stuff. The spear invites us to single out he letters IAM and test them just as the chair and table being the “last men standing” invites us to test those. But here is a new complication – W = 23! lol and there is no door 26 for the z or 14 for the n or 9 for the i or 21 for the u. or for the E, V, L, A or M for that matter.

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    • Without substantially changing my position on alphanumeric coding, I’ll note that I think I was wrong to equate “table and chair – T and C – 20 and 3″ with “IAM – 23.” I do think that the latter is better. Some of the others I listed I do think are as good or better, but not table and chair. (It’s somewhat predictable that I would turn my back and table and chair, since I myself suggested it way back on Bailey’s site. There’s nothing I hate more than one of my own suggestions. I do think it’s interesting that Dave had the same thought independently. I also think it’s interesting that we have a W in here.)

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    • And you know, since the Guide says the Riddle of the Maze is the only thing to be found in the room, it does seem like any room indicator is going to have to be a part of the Riddle. That does sway me a bit toward accepting that Manson took his pre-existing, planned puzzle elements, added up the alphanumeric coding and made the correct door number 23.

      I’m not sure whether the chair and table are really considered extraneous to the Riddle. The first set of clues suggest the chair is somehow indicative of combinging two names in one place; maybe the names are on the table in order to sort of pair them with the chair? It’s ridiculous alright, but that doesn’t mean…

      Anyway, in the sense of not being used for words, the table and chair aren’t alone–the nun is there too. As Manson says, throw three things out. But as far as playing a part in the Riddle, though, the table and chair may be intended to do that.

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    • But then each of the 3 alphanumeric solutions here reinforce each other because the odds of all three being random are quite steep, and if we accept one then we know he had alphnumerics on his mind in this room.

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    • Well, we don’t know that he intended people to take initial letters of objects. That’s a step removed. As for the W, it’s just there in the room, along with [eye] and N or Z. But it does seem like a waste of an opportunity not to involve the W.

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    • On throwing the “nun” out – again – I think that is really only for contest purposes – but Maze was not conceived of as a contest and all vs. none still plays roles in the bigger picture. Anyway – I believe he meant all 3, but that’s me.

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    • On first letters of objects – true apriori we don’t know that but given there degree of fit here from that point forward I would say say we “know” it unless we find new evidence against it. We also are pretty sure he used objects for there starting letter in 15 say. Also may have used arrow=a=1 in 20. And probably other examples. 3 blind mice is actually the weakest of the things we listed I think. Anyway – I think we’ve done that topic to death.

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    • Dave G and Vewatkin,

      I bow to the wisdom of the debate between my peers and I have scaled the solution back to read just, “The spear points to Door 23.”

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  14. Do what you will with it: The doorway to 23 is the only one without any object overlapping our view of the opening.

    28: the ELVI sign
    17: the eye sign
    36: the wood row
    19: the Z/N sign

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  15. I really think I’m feeling the lesson of the MAZE :
    “WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND”.
    We are told , “What the MAZE teaches can be learned in every room.”
    We certainly have been going around every room in the MAZE. The line is a statement and a question! It states what we (the guests) have been doing and as a question can be answered by “Our World”.

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  16. “In,” “what,” “all,” and “live” appear in the text. (“Live” inside “lived.) not too surprising, though “live” isn’t as common as the others, and “all” is kind of shoehorned in. “House” is not in the text, though “Maze” is, and the book takes pains to establish Maze and House as synonymous. I see no indication of “will” anywhere, though, so I suspect this is all nothing, but I thought I’d mention to see whether anyone else can see a “will” implied by the text, or something suggesting we should be looking in the text for the words in the riddle.

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  17. A reason to use Woodrow would be that Woodrow Wilson believed the people should govern themselves, that governmental power should not overtake the power of the people who put the government in place. There is a chair in the picture. Chair can mean to preside over or lead. There are two shoes; while the horseshoe is a “U”, it is also a shoe. That could mean houses instead of house. I agree with Just a Kid again that it is “Seize” (the eye is looking at a Z). Seize can mean to take over. One meaning could be:
    What will all evil houses take over and preside over? (meaning political houses), and the answer could be the “world”.

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  18. “All inhabit what house?” – Woodrow Wilson.
    Awl
    eye + n + nun (habit) = i n habit = inhabit
    w+ hat = what
    u + shoe = house
    Question mark =?
    PS. Elvis has left the building = upside down sign.

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  19. There is also Manson:
    M (the W), A (awl) N (the z) S (shoe), U , N (nun)
    But, for me the text code is what is most important.

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  20. My two cents on the solution to 45…

    The items against the wall all go together as group and the items in the middle of the room are closely linked to each other (see the table leg IN the horseshoe).

    This give us “All live in what” from the walls and “will house” or “Woodrow Wilson house” from the middle of the room.

    “All live in what will house?” makes no sense so “All live in what Woodrow Wilson house?” is the clear winner.

    But let us suppose that we were to look at putting together the Woodrow Willson, William Shakespeare, or will, with the shoe and U in a new way. This is what I’ve been working on with nothing to show for it so far.

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  21. One more thought on the puzzles…

    Let’s assume (possibly errantly) the publishers have not confirmed the solution.

    If the riddle of the maze is: “what house will all evil seize?”

    And the clue is: “like atlas, you bear it upon your shoulders.”

    Then is it not possible the solution is “the mind?”

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    • Oh man I wish that were true! The solution World, Earth or Globe has been confirmed by the publisher.

      But ‘the mind’ makes sense of the fact that Atlas carried the sky not the earth until the myth got confused.

      So the whole Maze is figment of one’s imagination as opposed to a metaphor for life…it would have been awesome!

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    • OK, last thought on this new approach to the riddle of the maze. The publisher gives six clues, each applies to one word of the riddle.

      The first three make perfect sense:
      1) “two of you” is the ‘W’ plus “hat” is “what”
      2) the two shoes becomes “house,” which you don’t go anywhere when you go inside.
      3) “will” fits both names, William Shakespeare and Woodrow Wilson.

      But the next three clues get more interesting:
      4) choosing between “all” and “none” could mean select one. But what if both are used for something, even if you have to choose which one goes where?

      5) there are no two ways you can read the sign… There are four. No to two of the four leaves two: evil and live?

      6) the symmetry between the eye/see (I) and Z (N) could mean seize (in).

      Stick with me here… What if the symmetry in the last three words is actually two phrases?

      What house will none live in and all evil seize?

      Now I am really convinced the answer could be “the mind.” Especially because that is what YOU bear upon your shoulders… Since YOU are not Atlas, and are not holding up the world.

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    • Just A Kid Again,

      In regards to the solution we know for certain that it is “The World” “The Globe” or “Earth.” The publisher confirm this in a letter sent out to people who wrote requesting it. The contest was managed by a law firm hired by the publisher who were given a solution provided by Manson. There can be no doubt that the letter sent by the publisher matches the information given to the law firm.

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    • The mind and the muscle or the brain (bear + rain) and the brawn (bear + awn) ?

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  22. I don’t think the last word of the puzzle is “in.” The eye is looking at a ‘z’, therefore it sees a ‘z’ or: seize. Substituting seize at the end doesn’t make sense as is, so replace “live” with “evil.” What do you get?

    What house will all evil seize?

    This question is consistent with all the publisher’s clues, in the order they were provided. Also, the answer remains consistent with the puzzle of the path.

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    • Welcome Just A Kid Again!

      There is debate about whether or not the answer of the room has been confirmed by the publisher with most the evidence leaning toward yes. But I like your solution better than most of the ones offered so far. It would be great to find out one day.

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