Contest #524 – Ponta do Pargo Lighthouse, Portugal

Most lighthouses are tall so that they get the light out as far as possible. There are a few exceptions that sit on cliffs, and when you add the height of the lighthouse to the height of the cliff, you get the “focal height”.

Ponta do Pargo is small, only slightly more than 14M. But it has a focal height of 316M, making it quite a bit more visible than even the tallest lighthouses out there. On a clear night, Ponta do Pargo can be seen 26 Nautical Miles from shore.

2011-03-05 03-13 Madeira 362 Ponta do Pargo

Those who saw it from way out at sea included:

  • Eloy Cano
  • Lighthouse
  • Walter_V_R
  • Rob de Wolff
  • hhgygy
  • Garfield
  • Phil Ower
  • Andy McConnell
  • Blaze
  • mehmet durmus

And after the hints:

  • Chris Nason
  • Declan Moore
  • David Kozina
  • Tuxedo Jones
  • Robin
  • Jeather
  • JF

Contest #523 – Storozhenskiy Lighthouse, Lake Lagoda, Russia

Storozhenskiy is among the tallest “traditional” lighthouses in the world. Built in 1911, this sits on the eastern side of Lake Lagoda. During the WW2 Siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Soviet forces held a portion of the western shore of the lake, and this became one of the only ways to get supplies into the city during the 4 years of the siege.

The lighthouse is accessable and, by contacting the operator, you can take these stairs to the top.

Those who found this site were:

  • Eloy Cano
  • Walter_V_R
  • Jeather
  • Garfield
  • Lighthouse
  • hhgygy
  • Phil Ower

After the hint:

  • Blaze
  • mehmet durmus
  • Lance Finney
  • Gillian B
  • Andy McConnell
  • Chris Nason
  • Declan Moore
  • JF
  • Tuxedo Jones
  • rob de wolff

Contest #522 – Milnerton Lighthouse, South Africa

Located in Table Bay, near Cape Town, this lighthouse was built in 1960. Its red sector covers Robbin Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned until 1982 (hence, the hint).

Milnerton Lighthouse, Western Cape, South Africa

Those who saw the light:

  • Lighthouse
  • Phil Ower
  • Eloy Cano
  • Garfield
  • Rob de Wolff
  • Glenmorren
  • hhgygy
  • mehmet durmus
  • Andy McConnell

And after the hint:

  • Lance Finney
  • Gillian B
  • Declan Moore
  • Streaming Doc
  • Tuxedo Jones
  • Blaze
  • David Kozina
  • Jeather
  • Chris Nason
  • Robin

Contest #521: Joan of Arc Execution Site, Place du Vieux Marche, Rouen, France

On a late May day in 1431, the French Catholic soldier Jeanne d’Arc, or Joan of Arc, was burned at the stake by the British in the town of Rouen, France.

She had been a wildly successful soldier and leader for the French in the Hundred Years’ War, even though she was only 17 when she started fighting. But in May of 1430, she was captured and turned over to the British.

She was accused of heresy and cross-dressing (for wearing military clothing), which, combined, gave the British bishop all he needed to order her death.

Of course, by then, the tables had turned and the French ended up winning the war. The French considered her a hero, an example of virtue and bravery. Nearly 500 years after her death, she was canonized as St. Joan in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.

Those who found this site before the hint were:

  • Garfield
  • Lighthouse
  • Phil Ower
  • Eloy Cano

and after the hint:

  • Andy McConnell
  • David Kozina
  • Chris Nason
  • Blaze

Contest #520: Horizontal Waterfalls, Kemberley Region, Western Australia

As the water rushes in as at high tide and out at low tide, the effect, best viewed from a low flying plane, across the breaks in the rocks creates the illusion of a waterfall, only instead of falling from height, it moves horizontally.

Those who found this location before the hint were:

  • hhgygy
  • Glenmorren
  • Eloy Cano
  • Garfield
  • Lighthouse
  • Phil Ower
  • Streaming Doc
  • mehmet durmus

And after the hint:

  • Stephen Hope
  • David Kozina
  • Tuxedo Jones

Which ends yet another series! Congratulations to the winners of this round all with perfect scores: Eloy Cano, Garfield and Lighthouse.

Contest #519: Keret House / Warsaw Ghetto Memorial Markers, Warsaw, Poland

This started out as one contest, but one of our regular contestants quickly turned it into another one.

Etgar Keret is an Israeli author and screenwriter. Among his works are the screenplay for “Wristcutters: A Love Story”. In 2012, he was invited to reside in a special house — a work of art by the architect Jakub Szczęsny — the narrowest house in the world.

The Keret House between two other buildings, as seen from the street

The structure is 2 stories high with a total of just over 4 square meters of floor space.

All good — the reveal was written and queued up, ready to go, then we got Phil Ower’s comment who pointed out that this was also the location of one of the Warsaw Ghetto Boundary memorial markers. Specifically, the location of a wooden bridge (The Bridge of Sighs) which connected the large and small ghettos and became a strong physical icon of the Holocaust.

There was no way we were going to declare Phil wrong, given the importance and power of this find, especially when he was completely right. So everyone who gave either answer was given credit.

Those who squeezed in a correct answer before the hint were:

  • hhgygy
  • Eloy Cano
  • Garfield
  • Lighthouse
  • Phil Ower

And after the hint:

  • Andy McConnell
  • Rob de Wolff

Contest #518: Atomic Bomb Loading Pits, Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands

The atomic bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were huge compared to other ordinances of the time. For this reason, and for secrecy reasons, the bombs had to be loaded in the airplanes differently. The video below (starting at 2:26) shows the process. First, the bombs were loaded onto special hydraulic lifts in these pits, then the planes were towed over the pits with the bomb bay doors open. Once in place, the hydraulics would lift the bombs into the bay and attach them to the releases.

After the war, the pits were filled for safety. The airfield, which had become the largest airport in the world during the war, fell into disuse and was swallowed up by the jungle. In 2004, for the 60th anniversary of the battles of Saipan and Tinian, the bomb pits were reopened and covered by glass and steel covers with displays and plaques.

No. 1 Atomic Bomb loading pit, North Field (Tinian), 27 August 2008

Those who found this one before the hint:

  • Rob de Wolff
  • Eloy Cano
  • mehmet durmus
  • Garfield
  • Lighthouse

and after the hint:

  • hhgygy
  • Andy McConnell
  • Jeather
  • Phil Ower
  • Steve Hoge
  • Blaze
  • David Kozina

Contest #517: Chokoloskee Island, Florida, US

Chokoloskee Island, in southern Florida west of Miami, was inhabited by Indians for many years before the European explorers reached the area. The settlement we now see was started in 1874 with a post office established in 1891. It is connected to the mainland by Tamiami Trail.

It was just east of the track of the eye of Hurricane Irma last week, which hit Marco Island. Luckily for residents of the island, it is a bit higher than surrounding islands as it is about 6 metres above sea level. This is due to shell mounds built on the island over the past 2000 years. However, the causeway was still damaged with heavy damage reported in the community.

  • Lighthouse
  • Eloy Cano
  • Andy McConnell
  • David Kozina
  • Garfield
  • Horvath Gyorgy
  • Phil Ower
  • Mehmet DURMUS
  • Glenmorren
  • Blaze
  • Streaming Doc
  • Brandon smith
  • Luis Filipe Miguel
  • rob de wolff

After the hint: no-one.

Please let us know via comments here if our hints are good, so-so or truly unhelpful.

Contest #516: the iron ore port south of Nouadhibou, Mauritania

This week’s contest took us to Mauritania and more specifically the iron ore port to the south of Nouadhibou.

The port ships out iron ore that arrives via some of the world’s longest trains from the mine near Zouérat.

Interestingly enough, travelers can ride on the train to or from Choum to the city of Nouadhibou – a dirty dusty ride.

Found this port:

  • Eloy Cano
  • mehmet DURMUS
  • Garfield
  • Horváth György
  • Lighthouse
  • Blaze
  • rob de wolff
  • Streaming Doc
  • Phil Ower

After the hint:

  • Ashwini Agrawal
  • Andy McConnell

Contest #515: the University of Alberta Botanical Gardens, near Devon/Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

The University of Alberta Botanical Gardens are located just southwest of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and consist of 240 acres of gardens and natural areas.

Built starting in 1959, highlights of the garden include the Kurimoto Japanese Garden; a Tropical Showhouse with exotic butterflies; Temperate and Arid Showhouses; extensive alpine, herb, rose, peony, lilac, lily and primula collections; Native Peoples Garden; trial beds and much more.

It contains a diverse variety of plants, with emphasis on cold-hardy plants that can survive the harsh extremes of a Zone 3 climate.

The Gardens are open from May to Canadian Thanksgiving in early October.

Japanese Gardens

Maze

Rose garden

Found this gem in the wilderness for 2 points:

  • Lighthouse
  • Eloy Cano
  • Garfield
  • Phil Ower
  • Blaze

And with the hint;

  • Andy McConnel
  • hhgygy
  • Glenmorren