Category: Reveal

This imposing castle in the middle of rural Ohio is the home of the oldest county library in the United States. The library was initially formed as a private book lending society in 1890, subsidised by city taxes and made public in 1896. In 1901, with funding from John Brumback, a local businessman and owner of the town’s bank, this building was opened and access to the library was made available to the entire county. His son then went to the Ohio Legislature and got a law passed that enshrined the county library system all over the state. Soon, other states followed.

Today, the county-owned library paradigm is found all over the United States.

Those who checked this place out were:

• Garfield
• Eloy Cano
• Lighthouse
• hhgygy
• zorro the fox
• Phil Ower

And after the hint:

• Paul Voestermans
• Bas van Limpt
• Martin de Bock
• Graham Hedley

One of the mostly densely populated islands on earth, Santa Cruz del Islote off the coast of Colombia has between 600 and 1200 residents on an island just over 1 hectare in size!

It was “built” up by fishermen in the mid 19th Century partly because it had no mosquitoes. Water arrives by boat every three week courtesy of the Colombian Navy.

Found before the hint:

• Paul Voestermans
• hhgygy
• Martin de Bock
• Phil Ower
• Lighthouse
• Glenmorren
• Andy McConnell
• Garfield
• Ashwini Agrawal
• Eloy Cano
• Andreas Meister
• Graham Hedley
• Bas van Limpt
• zorro the fox
• Robin

This week was a visit to the capital of India, and to be more specific Central Park in Connaught Plaza in New Delhi. The Rajiv Chowk metro station is located under the park – it’s at the intersection of the Blue and Yellow lines.

Before the colourful New Delhi Metro line hint:

• Martin de Bock
• Lighthouse
• Eloy Cano
• Paul Voestermans
• hhgygy
• Graham Hedley
• Garfield
• Andy McConnell
• Ashwini Agrawal
• Andreas Meister
• Phil Ower
• Bas van Limpt
• zorro the fox

Congratulations to Lighthouse, hhgygy and zorro the fox for perfect scores during the player-driven series of contests!

Contest #810 was mine.

The Yosemite Valley in the Sierra Nevada of California is filled with amazing waterfalls, and Nevada Fall is one of them. You can hike up to the top at the start of the world-famous John Muir Trail to the right of the falls or the steeper, mistier Mist Trail to the left.

Found before the hint:

• Paul Voestermans
• Martin de Bock
• hhgygy
• Andy McConnell
• Garfield
• zorro the fox
• Graham Hedley
• Bas van Limpt
• Philip Ower
• Eloy Cano
• Glenmorren
• Lighthouse

Eloy Cano inspired this week’s contest location: in the desert city of Laayoune, Western Sahara under de facto administration by Morocco. It was not an easy contest so congratulations to the three who found the location before the hint and another three who found it after the hint.

The modern structure to the lower left is La Piscine Olympique. The one in the upper right is an indoor sports field. They were built by Morocco as part of that country’s eminent interest in the development process in the Western Sahara.

Laayoune is a city of over 200,000 located in the Sahara Desert 25 km inland from the Atlantic Ocean.

Found before the hint:

• hhgygy
• zorro the fox
• Lighthouse

After the hint:

• Glenmorren
• Bas van Limpt
• Garfield

Thanks to Graham Hedley who provided the location, hint and reveal post content for this week’s contest.

The Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area (KAVHA) on Norfolk Island is a UNESCO World Heritage site recognized for its cultural and historical significance. This area, which includes the town of Kingston, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2010 as part of the “Australian Convict Sites” group, along with ten other sites across Australia.

KAVHA encompasses an extensive area on the southeastern side of Norfolk Island and represents the complex history of the island as a penal settlement, a thriving whaling station, and a trading port. The site bears witness to the British Empire’s use of convict labor and the evolving strategies for managing and reforming convicts during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The worst of the convict population from both New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land were sent to Norfolk Island; men who had become so brutalised by the system that ever increasing levels of punishment only served to make them more recalcitrant. The prospect of punishment by death was no deterrent.

The Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area contains several well-preserved remnants of the penal settlement era, including the Old Military Barracks, the New Gaol, the Commissariat Store, the Royal Engineer’s Office, the Crankmill, and the Surgeon’s Quarters. Additionally, it includes the ruins of the Officer’s Bath and the ruins of the First Government House.

KAVHA also features the picturesque Arthur’s Vale, a lush, fertile valley located to the west of Kingston. The area is characterized by its distinctive Georgian architecture, which reflects the British influence on the island during the colonial period.

Visitors to the Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area can take guided tours to explore the site’s history, enjoy the scenic beauty of the area, and learn about the island’s convict past through interpretive displays and the Norfolk Island Museum. The site is not only of historical importance but also plays a vital role in the island’s tourism industry.

Before the hint:

• Graham Hedley
• hhgygy
• Garfield
• Martin de Bock
• Phil Ower
• Lighthouse
• Andreas Meister
• Robert
• zorro the fox
• Paul Voestermans
• Bas van Limpt

After the hint:

• Gillian B.
• Eloy Cano

Thanks again to Paul Voestermans for his location, hint and reveal content!

The Great Mosque and the old town of Djenné in Mali, are both on the UNESCO Heritage list. Designed by architect Ismaila Traoré, head of Djenné’s masons’ guild, and built from 1906-1908, the mosque’s current form is the largest and most famous building made entirely of clay. It is considered one of the highlights of architecture from the Sahel. Its use of local materials such as mud and palm wood, its incorporation of traditional architectural styles and its adaptation to the warm climate of West Africa are expressions of its elegant connection to the local environment. Such earthen architecture, found throughout Mali, can last for centuries if maintained regularly.

The first mosque was built in 1240 by Sultan Koi Kunboro, who converted to Islam and turned his palace into a mosque.

The building is very vulnerable to wind and rain, so it is refurbished with new layers of clay every year. The walls of Djenné’s Great Mosque are reconstructed with mud each April in an epic one-day event called the Crépissage (Plastering). Not only is the Crépissage an important act of maintenance designed to protect the mosque’s walls from cracking and crumbling, but it’s also a festival that celebrates Djenné’s community, faith and heritage. The night before the rebuilding, the town hums with anticipation and villagers take part in a carnival of singing and dancing known as La Nuit de Veille, or The Waking Night.

Found before the hint:

• Paul Voestermans
• zorro the fox
• Garfield
• Eloy Cano
• hhgygy
• Phil Ower
• Martin de Bock
• Lighthouse

After the hint:

• Gillian B.
• Bas van Limpt
• Graham Hedley
• Andreas Meister

Glenmorren provided the location, hint and reveal information this contest.

Information in this post was acquired from thedigtree.com.au and explorebulloo.com.au/attractions/the-burke-and-wills-dig-tree.

On August 20, 1860, a group of 19 men, with camels, horses, wagons, and supplies departed from Melbourne on an exploratory trek northward across Australia. This is known as the Burke and Wills Expedition (after Robert O’Hara Burke and William Wills). Compared to the Aboriginal people who had been living on the land for tens of thousands of years (the National Museum of Australia puts it at about 65 000 years), the party was not as well adapted to surviving in the harsh conditions of the Outback.

Route map can be found at:

Burke and Wills expedition

However, four members of the party (Burke, Wills, Charley Gray and John King) did make it all the way to the northern coast before turning back to the south. They had left a small group at Cooper Creek on December 16, 1860, and returned to the site four months later on April 21, 1861.

Those left at Cooper Creek expected to wait for Burke and Wills to return within three months, but they stayed for four. Eventually they felt that the party must have died en route, so they packed up and left. But before doing so, they buried some supplies and marked a “dig” sign in a tree. That tree is known as the Dig Tree. It turns out that the Cooper Creek group left the site just nine hours before the Burke and Wills party struggled their way into the camp, only to find it deserted.
The Explore Bulloo website says that “The Burke and Wills ‘Dig Tree’ is one of Australia’s national icons and an enduring reminder of our pioneering spirit” and that the tree “is believed that the tree is 200-250 years old.”

The story of Burke and Wills does not end at Cooper Creek, so for a richer and more complete account of the story of the Burke and Wills Expedition and the Dig Tree, these two websites are highly recommended: thedigtree.com.au/the-history and explorebulloo.com.au/attractions/the-burke-and-wills-dig-tree.

Correct responses before the hint:

• Glenmorren
• hhgygy
• Paul Voestermans
• Phil Ower
• Martin de Bock
• Lighthouse
• Garfield
• zorro the fox
• Eloy Cano

After the hint:

• Graham Hedley
• Bas van Limpt
• Gillian B.

This week’s contest location, hint and reveal were from zorro the fox! Thanks for doing the legwork.

Where did our ancestors live ?
Ancestors, I mean a long time ago, a very long time, before C. !
We all know about cavemen living in… caves !
After those caves, human beings lived in their first houses built by them and some were built on stilts over the water (during Bronze Age then Iron Age).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stilt_house

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timber_pilings

It still exists around the world, people living in houses built on stilts over waters, mainly fishing communities.

You were looking for :
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) in Uhldingen-Mühlhofen, on the Lake Constance (Bodensee), Germany : This open-air museum presents how these tribes lived 4000-3500 years before our era (and I strongly recommend a visit of it).

For more information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uhldingen-M%C3%BChlhofen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistoric_pile_dwellings_around_the_Alps

https://www.uhldingen-muehlhofen.de/de/Freizeit-Kultur/Museen-und-Ausstellungen/Pfahlbaumuseum

Found before the hint:

• Lighthouse
• Graham Hedley
• hhgygy
• Garfield
• Phil Ower
• Martin de Bock
• Paul Voestermans
• Glenmorren
• Eloy Cano
• zorro the fox

After the hint:

• Bas van Limpt
• Gillian B
• Robin

krenek provided us with the location, hint and reveal – thanks!

Euronews headquarters in Lyon, France, at 45.7347° 4.8157°.

Euronews is a television news network that began broadcasting on 01.01.1993 and covers world news on a 24/7 basis. According to Euronews, the multilingual programs are available to 400+ million homes in 160 countries. (For the record, the WOGE #802 creator, when he was travelling the world, can remember he could always watch Euronews, from any hotel anywhere!)

The owners of the company have changed since 1993: It was founded by 10 public European broadcasters, then changed hands several times and is now mainly owned by a Portuguese company, whose owner is close to Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian dictator-to-be (4 public broadcasters have since withdrawn from the capital of the network).

The company Jakob + Macfarlane is the architect of this “green” building, as it is the architect of the orange one (“orange cube”) located on the same quay (to the North. about 500 meters).

Nota bene: The sport network Eurosport had and has no link to Euronews. (Euronews is basically free when Eurosport is a pay television.)

Before the hint:

• Glenmorren
• Lighthouse
• Graham Hedley
• krenek
• hhgygy
• Paul Voestermans
• Garfield
• Eloy Cano
• Phil Ower
• Martin de Bock
• Jeather
• Bas van Limpt
• zorro the fox

After the hint:

• Gillian B.
• Chris Nason
• Robin