This is the induction exam for Wired's Ring of Dishonor. As of this minute, the exam is live, and the first person to successfully submit the final answer, the necessary verification step, and their name, phone, and address will be declared the winner. Assuming no improprieties, that winner will become the sixth member of the Ring of Dishonor, joining those inducted at the ceremony going on now at Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco.
But even if you're not there, you have an exam to take. The exam consists of four tests. Each of them is a pdf linked below:
* Ring Toss
* Telephone Ring
* Rings of Hell
* Crime Ring
Each of these four tests resolves to a word. You will need to determine what they have in common, and submit a summation of what that is to the email address decodewired@gmail.com. If you are the first to correctly submit that summation and all four words, and your name, phone, and address, you will be our online charter member, and win a rare charter member ring. Here, I show off my reaction to receiving the first such ring.
You may only submit one entry; the Ring of Dishonor does not induct those who are indecisive. If you are the chosen inductee, you will be contacted some time after the exam by a member of the Ring of Dishonor.
Begin.
__Solutions »__PUZZLE ANSWERS FOR THE ONLINE INDUCTION EXAM
CRIME RING
1. INDUS TRIALS ABO (T) AGE
2. PO AC(H)ING
3. HO MI CID(E)
4. HU MANTRA F(F)IC KING
5. SOL (I) CITATION
6. HI TAN D(R)UN
7. CON (S) PI RACY
8. AT TEMP(T)E DAR SON
9. (W) ARC RIMES
10. MO(O)N SHIN ING
11. P(R)OSTIT UT ION
12. GRAN(D)T HEF TAU TO
13. AS SASS (I) NATION
14. PE T(N)APPING
15. WI(T)NES STAMPER ING
16. BO MB T(H)REATS
17. ILL (E) GALEN TRY
18. WARP RO(F)I TEE RING
19. A’S S(A)ULTAN D-BATTERY
20. PI RA(C)Y
21. TR(E)S PAS SING
22. ESP I(O)N AGE
23. MA(N)S LAUGHTER
24. END ANGER (M) ENT
25. JA(Y)W AL KING
26. (B) LACK MAI LING
27. POSSES SI(O)NO FD RUGS
28. BUR G(L) ARY
29. DEF AMA TI(O)N
30. (T) AKIN GHOST AGES
31. HERO(I)NS MUGGLING
32. RACK ET(E)E RING
The missing letters spell THE FIRST WORD IN THE FACE ON MY BOLO TIE. In the picture on this page, I wear a Ghost Rider bolo tie, so the answer is GHOST.
__TELEPHONE RING
__Each photo's number is in the position of a “key” on the telephone keypad. Taking the only letter in the name of the movie or show that is on that key spells SHIFT TWENTY PLACES LRGBUX, which, when Caesar shifted 20 places, gets the answer FLAVOR.
1. Seinfeld (S)
2. Doctor Who (H)
3. Dial M for Murder (I)
4. Fight Club (F)
5. Batman (T)
6. All the President's Men (T)
7. It's a Wonderful Life (W)
8. Scream (E)
9. Sex and the City (N)
10. A Hard Day's Night (T)
11. Desperately Seeking Susan (Y)
12. Phone Booth (P)
13. The Fifth Element (L)
14. Star Trek (A)
15. I Love Lucy (C)
16. Cellular (E)
17. Clueless (S)
18. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (L)
19. Die Hard: With a Vengeance (R)
20. Glee (G)
21. Bones (B)
22. Superman (U)
23. The Matrix (X)
__RINGS OF HELL
__The path to take is Blue-Red-Green. This will spell: 1+1+2 (4=D), 3+3+4+5+4+3+1 (23=W), 1 (1=A), 2+3+5+5+2+1 (18=R), 6 (6=F), for DWARF.
__RING TOSS
__The full clues and answers are:
Athens landmark: ACRO(P)OLIS
Bi-color dessert sandwich: O(RE)O
Breasts: BO(S)OMS
Beaujolais aficionado: O(EN)OPHILE
Clothing material: CO(TT)ON
Adjective preceding asphyxiation: AUTO(ER)OTIC
Lifestyle rainbows symbolize: HO(M)OSEXUALITY
Shakespearean romance tragedy: RO(ME)O AND JULIET
Immolated saint: JO(AN) OF ARC
Laundromat machine descriptor: CO(IN)-OPERATED
Douglas Adams's horrible poets: VO(G)ONS
Powerpoint manufacturer: MICRO(S)OFT
Slithering crusher: BO(A C)ONSTRICTOR
Russian novelist Vladimir: NABO(K)OV
Caesar’s topper?: CRO(UT)ON
The encircled letters spell PRESENT TERM MEANING SACKBUT, for TROMBONE.
__INDUCTION TEST
__Each of the answer words matches a number: 13 GHOSTS, 31 FLAVORS, 7 DWARVES, and 76 TROMBONES. The "summation" of those numbers is 127, which was the answer to the test. However, some potential inductees submitted the alternate answer HOURS, referring to the Oscar-nominated film 127 Hours. We accepted that answer as well.
See this post for a winners list.
