[SPOILERS] “A Two-Story Building” and “Pop Pop’s Perplexing Postcards” Solutions

We hope you enjoyed last week’s puzzles written by our two of our scholarship finalists – check your answers below!


The answer to Zachary Wong’s puzzle, “A Two-Story Building,” was MYSTERIOUS GALAXY. [Download Solution Walkthrough]

Zachary adds this personal note: Mysterious Galaxy is a bookstore in my hometown that specializes in (among other things) fantasy novels, which has always been my favorite genre both to read and to write. I’ve spent many hours in the story simply browsing the shelves and picking out books to read, and on one memorable occasion, I met my favorite author there (Brandon Sanderson) during a book signing. To me, Mysterious Galaxy is the archetypal small bookstore: quiet, comforting, and in the end, home to so many more than just two stories.


The answer to Jonah Nan’s puzzle, “Pop-pop’s Perplexing Postcards,” was LETTERMULLEN. [Download Solution Walkthrough]

Jonah’s personal note:

The 2019 MUMS [Melbourne University Math and Statistics Society] Puzzle Hunt featured a homophone-themed puzzle in which solvers extracted “lettermullen” and were supposed to submit the final answer ISLANDOFIRELAND, a step which my team was stuck on for days. It was frustrating at the time, but now it’s one of my favorite puzzling memories because of how satisfying it was to finally get it and how obvious it seems in hindsight. To me, Lettermullen represents the frustration of being stuck, the joy of finally getting unstuck, and the “aha” moments of puzzling that stick with you for years.

One thought on “[SPOILERS] “A Two-Story Building” and “Pop Pop’s Perplexing Postcards” Solutions

  1. Great puzzles! I really enjoyed them. Couldn’t solve Pop-Pop’s Postcards, but I got kinda close. I couldn’t shake the idea that constellations were involved.

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