Tuva or Bust (Solution)

by John Wiesemann with graphics by Mike Yi


For Tuva's relationships, use the historical country of Tuva, which existed from 1921-1944.

Strategy

Each circle should be filled with a country from the included list. Not all countries on the list will be used. Each box on an arrow should be filled in with the letter of the rule that connects those two countries. Each highlighted arrow spells a word using the boxes it flows through. The arrow indicates the direction of the flow (so the box nearest the arrow is the last letter of the word). The green arrow provides the answer, while the blue arrows form a Feynman quote about Tuva.

There will never be more than one rule that connects two countries that has the same directed-ness, so the box will always be filled in by a unique letter. The relationships between countries can change, use the relationships as the existed during the hunt, January 18, 2013.

Quote

The sooner you figure out the quote the easier this puzzle becomes. If you google for [Feynman quote tuva] or [Tuva or Bust], the first result is the Tuva or Bust! Wikipedia page. This page includes a quote ascribed to Feynman: "Whatever happened to Tannu Tuva?". If you inspect the length of the words and the directedness of the arrows you'll find this fits into the blue arrowed boxes (without the question mark). This makes the logic puzzle, much easier, but it can also be solved as a logic puzzle.

Rules Used

List of the used rules in order by the quote/answer words.
  • W: Tuva and Bhutan are both states with a Buddhist official state religion
  • H: United Kingdom is immediately next lower in total area than Guinea according the CIA World Factbook
  • A: Brazil is immediately next lower in population than Indonesia according the CIA World Factbook
  • T: Canada has the same head of state as United Kingdom
  • E: Bhutan has its longest border with India
  • V: India declared independence from United Kingdom since 1946
  • E: Pakistan has its longest border with India
  • R: Pakistan and China are both current members of UN Security Council
  • H: Brazil is immediately next lower in total area than China according the CIA World Factbook
  • A: Indonesia is immediately next lower in population than United States according the CIA World Factbook
  • P: Japan hosted the Summer Olympics immediately before Italy since 1946
  • P: Italy hosted the Summer Olympics immediately before Japan since 1946
  • E: Canada has its longest border with United States
  • N: Mexico is immediately next lower in purchasing power parity GDP than Italy according the CIA World Factbook
  • E: Mexico has its longest border with United States
  • D: Tuva and China both claim to contain the geographic center of the same continent (Asia)
  • T: Tuvalu has the same head of state as Canada
  • O: Tuvalu and Monaco are both states with a Christian official state religion
  • T: Papua New Guinea has the same head of state as United Kingdom
  • A: Italy is immediately next lower in population than United Kingdom according the CIA World Factbook
  • N: France is immediately next lower in purchasing power parity GDP than United Kingdom according the CIA World Factbook
  • N: United Kingdom is immediately next lower in purchasing power parity GDP than Brazil according the CIA World Factbook
  • U: Guinea's name is a substring of Papua New Guinea's name
  • T: Tuvalu has the same head of state as Papua New Guinea
  • U: Tuva's name is a substring of Tuvalu's name
  • V: Guinea declared independence from France since 1946
  • A: United States is immediately next lower in population than India according the CIA World Factbook
  • R: China and France are both current members of UN Security Council
  • E: Monaco has its longest border with France
  • N: India is immediately next lower in purchasing power parity GDP than Japan according the CIA World Factbook
  • A: Pakistan is immediately next lower in population than Brazil according the CIA World Factbook
  • M: Indonesia's common name comes immediately next after India's common name alphabetically
  • E: Papua New Guinea has its longest border with Indonesia
  • S: Indonesia has the same flag as Monaco