microrobert
10-04-2014, 04:13 PM
The Story Behind The Web's Weirdest, Hardest Riddle
In 2004 a small website appeared that contained a browser-based game called Notpron, which has since been hailed as "the hardest riddle on the Internet (http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/abgesurft-grosse-laender-grosse-ideen-grosse-augen-a-394831.html)." It consists of a series of 140 puzzles and riddles that get progressively more complex. Completing the game requires knowledge in a diverse range of fields including HTML (http://www.fastcolabs.com/technology/html) programming, sound and graphics editing, music apprehension, research skills, and even remote viewing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_viewing).
Out of the 17 million players that have attempted the game in the last decade only 31 have completed it. That’s just one in every 550,000 players--or, to put it another way, the chances you'll be hit by lightning once in your lifetime (http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/lightning/lightning_faq.htm#2) are 41 times greater than they are for you solving Notpron.
To celebrate the game's 10th anniversary I asked David Münnich (http://www.fastcompany.com/person/david-munnich), Notpron’s creator, to go down the rabbit hole of how and why it was created--and what it all means.
The Story Behind The Web's Weirdest, Hardest Riddle âš™ Co.Labs âš™ code + community (http://www.fastcolabs.com/3036599/the-story-behind-the-webs-weirdest-hardest-riddle)
In 2004 a small website appeared that contained a browser-based game called Notpron, which has since been hailed as "the hardest riddle on the Internet (http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/abgesurft-grosse-laender-grosse-ideen-grosse-augen-a-394831.html)." It consists of a series of 140 puzzles and riddles that get progressively more complex. Completing the game requires knowledge in a diverse range of fields including HTML (http://www.fastcolabs.com/technology/html) programming, sound and graphics editing, music apprehension, research skills, and even remote viewing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_viewing).
Out of the 17 million players that have attempted the game in the last decade only 31 have completed it. That’s just one in every 550,000 players--or, to put it another way, the chances you'll be hit by lightning once in your lifetime (http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/lightning/lightning_faq.htm#2) are 41 times greater than they are for you solving Notpron.
To celebrate the game's 10th anniversary I asked David Münnich (http://www.fastcompany.com/person/david-munnich), Notpron’s creator, to go down the rabbit hole of how and why it was created--and what it all means.
The Story Behind The Web's Weirdest, Hardest Riddle âš™ Co.Labs âš™ code + community (http://www.fastcolabs.com/3036599/the-story-behind-the-webs-weirdest-hardest-riddle)