ImSci Intern Challenge #2 Recap: Oh, there you are, Perry

Some of the feedback from last week's Challenge was that it was too easy, so this week we really upped the ante. Maybe a little too much... The problem was related as such:

Challenge 2: The Imaging Science platypus was captured by cyber thieves and hidden in another domain.

Each of the teams was then given a case file containing a dossier all about the platypus:

And a ransom note left by his captors:

So the first step to solving the problem was the same as last week's challenge: separate the texts, and decipher the Greek. Easy peasy. However, we changed the colors of the texts to make it harder - the background text was a script font in light yellow, so it was basically unreadable without taking advantage of Imaging Science techniques. Our thinking behind this was that, if you put the effort into doing a good job last week, it would help you this week; plus, the teams were all reassigned, so the interns in each pairing should have been sharing their best practices from the week before, thereby doing some additional teaching and learning. Pretty awesome, right? And we're only at Step 1. (Spoiler alert! Step 2 is where pretty much EVERYBODY hit a brick wall.) The yellow text ended up saying:

And the Greek text was lyrics to a Third Eye Blind song, with "steganos graphei" repeated twice at the end, which translates to steganography. 

So those were all the puzzle pieces... But no one was getting anywhere figuring out how they all went together. So, come Wednesday we decided to give the interns a break:

And with a little help and encouragement, one by one the teams started getting it. Instead of going through the effort of describing the steps to solving the puzzle, I'll let the winning team's video describe the tricky solution:

Do you think you could have gotten that? Okay, okay, it was pretty difficult. But they asked for it! Meanwhile, please take a minute to imagine all the work that went into creating this challenge. It was absolutely no small feat and took hours of brainstorming and preparation (major props to Bob for his invaluable help). Even with SO much time and effort put into this, I think we got a huge return on our investment (I mean, did you WATCH the video above?!). Even though the uptake was a little sluggish, with some interns thinking they wanted to give up because it was too hard, they all ended up getting really into it. Every team completed the challenge in time, some even going so far as to bribe for hints and bonus points. One team really set the standard for the "Best Design" award for this week by even creating an epic movie trailer! (They made a really good video about their solution, too; though it's missing the last step because the steganography software doesn't work on macs, and they didn't have admin access for the available windows machines...) We also received powerpoint submissions (good practice for the upcoming presentations), spot-on written descriptions ending with links to Monty Python (which I LOVED - way to steal a girl's heart), and flattering compliments such as, "Great job on the challenge though, that had to take a ton of time to plan out." Oh, and let's not forget cake!

Too bad I don't eat things with faces on them.

I think what's happening is really amazing and awesome and fun... Hopefully the interns would agree.