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Post by happyphantom on Sept 19, 2013 22:33:05 GMT
I was taking another look at the emoji message posted on this page and noticed that there is one set of repeating emoticons in the last two screenshots, starting with the 2 flames. 2 flames - 4 happy faces - 8 broken hearts - 6 ghosts - 7 swimmers - 4 oriental couples - 9 dancing girls - 5 sad faces - 7 cows - 6 mailslots (?) - 18 churches - 6 satellite dishes - 4 worry faces - 4 backpacks - 2 water droplets - 3 ships - and 2 cds making the number strand: 2 4 8 6 7 4 9 5 7 6 18 6 4 4 2 3 2 I have to admit I know nothing really of codes and ciphers, but I have tried everything I can think of. Maybe one of you more savvy puzzle solvers can do something with this. Good luck everyone, and as always- Thank you, M.
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cherrybomb
Starlighter
I want to be a Master Starlighter
Posts: 71
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Post by cherrybomb on Sept 19, 2013 22:36:43 GMT
Thank you. Processing ...
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Post by subjectoftowels on Sept 19, 2013 23:28:17 GMT
Actually I don't think those are repeated lines. I think it's two screenshots of the same portion of the message. sfmola says at the end that they had to take two shots of that image to fit that last line with the two trains.
I'm currently going through the message and using this source (http://www.iemoji.com/) to figure out exactly what each icon is supposed to be (that is, what it's labeled). Then I'm counting them and also doing a word association (possible meanings for the symbol, which is of course subjective). I'm making an ExCel sheet; I can share it when I'm done (it will probably take me a couple of days to compile it all. I'm about halfway through now.)
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Post by Kaylen Aldanae on Sept 19, 2013 23:40:23 GMT
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Post by happyphantom on Sept 20, 2013 0:00:26 GMT
Actually I don't think those are repeated lines. I think it's two screenshots of the same portion of the message. sfmola says at the end that they had to take two shots of that image to fit that last line with the two trains. Ah, I must have missed that, or misunderstood her note at the bottom. Thanks
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Post by cvxn on Sept 20, 2013 0:47:50 GMT
I'm currently going through the message and using this source (http://www.iemoji.com/) to figure out exactly what each icon is supposed to be (that is, what it's labeled). Then I'm counting them and also doing a word association (possible meanings for the symbol, which is of course subjective). I'm making an ExCel sheet; I can share it when I'm done (it will probably take me a couple of days to compile it all. I'm about halfway through now.) Be careful. Lots of errors there. They describe an emoji that is clearly a British Beefeater as "kid with oversized beanie cap".
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Post by subjectoftowels on Sept 20, 2013 0:52:52 GMT
I'm currently going through the message and using this source (http://www.iemoji.com/) to figure out exactly what each icon is supposed to be (that is, what it's labeled). Then I'm counting them and also doing a word association (possible meanings for the symbol, which is of course subjective). I'm making an ExCel sheet; I can share it when I'm done (it will probably take me a couple of days to compile it all. I'm about halfway through now.) Be careful. Lots of errors there. They describe an emoji that is clearly a British Beefeater as "kid with oversized beanie cap". Thanks for the heads up! Once I have the list compiled I might cross-check with other sources (or leave it up to others to do so if they're so inclined). I don't have an iPhone, so I have no other access to emojis, and I wanted to see if there was a general consensus for what some of the more obscure ones are supposed to be.
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Post by cvxn on Sept 20, 2013 1:00:37 GMT
A lot of emoji are based on things from Japanese culture, which I am pretty familiar with after teaching English in a suburb of Tokyo (albeit 20 yrs ago), so I'd be happy to look over what you've got and help with the obscure ones if I can.
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Post by Kaylen Aldanae on Sept 20, 2013 1:04:42 GMT
I don't know. Emojis can mean a lot of different things to different people, so I doubt M would go for specific words to coincide with each individual type of emoji.
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Post by Kaylen Aldanae on Sept 20, 2013 1:07:50 GMT
Just a thought, what if the images were made small enough to the point they were just colors instead of pictures?
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Post by subjectoftowels on Sept 20, 2013 1:42:45 GMT
I don't know. Emojis can mean a lot of different things to different people, so I doubt M would go for specific words to coincide with each individual type of emoji. That's why I was trying to look up what they're defined as in the software (I think some of the descriptions at the website I posted above do come from a source). Generally I agree with your opinion, but in the blue key message I thought it might be helpful to know that, for example, the building with the "H" on it is meant to be a hotel, not a hospital. But that might not mean anything in the end. That's why in my spread sheet I'm also doing word associations with the first few things that come to mind for me when I look at the emojis. I'm hoping that that might help me and others either see a larger general pattern in the message or see if we can come to a general consensus about what certain images might mean. As for reducing them down to colors, I'll leave that project to someone else for now. XD
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Post by subjectoftowels on Sept 20, 2013 1:48:37 GMT
So I finished the spreadsheet sooner than I thought, but I want to clean it up a bit before I share it (I'll make it a Google doc as I think that will be easiest). I'll try and post it this weekend.
The numbers come out interesting because by and large the emoji are repeated in the single digits (under ten times) except for a large chunk in the middle (~39 emoji) that are repeated anywhere from 10 to 32 times. After that sequence, the only one that hits the double digits again is the church, at 18 (which I think is worth mentioning because of the presence of the Bible pages in the Alchemy kits).
I don't know that the emoji are meant to be counted (maybe they are), but I think the number of times one repeats has to be relevant somehow (possibly indicating its importance).
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Post by cvxn on Sept 20, 2013 1:58:05 GMT
Yeoman service, Towels. Much appreesh. (Sorry, should have called you Nicole, but I like the nickname.)
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Post by subjectoftowels on Sept 20, 2013 12:46:58 GMT
The spreadsheet is ready. You can find it here. I've made it so people can leave comments but not edit (I'm just worried about a 'too many cooks in the kitchen' scenario if I allow anyone with the link to edit the spreadsheet). So if you want to make suggestions, please leave a comment on the spreadsheet or leave your thoughts here on the message board! Some of my word associations might be a little silly, I know, so feel free to suggest what an emoji means to you.
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Post by subjectoftowels on Sept 20, 2013 23:29:15 GMT
Just a thought, what if the images were made small enough to the point they were just colors instead of pictures? So I put all the images together into one image, then zoomed it out enough that (1) the whole message fit in the screenshot and (2) you can mostly only make out predominate colors. Just in case someone wants to follow this possibility. I've been crunching numbers in just about every way I can think, but so far I haven't had an "ah-ha!" moment. u_u Attachments:
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