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Solution to Crow Facts

Authors: Kristen Sunter and Quinn Mahoney

The puzzle page instructs you to text START to 980-404-CROW. When you do this, you receive a series of exciting Crow Facts. Each Crow Fact includes directions for how to continue receiving Crow Facts. Texting the correct response will lead to another fascinating Crow Fact!

START

Thanks for signing up for Crow Facts! You now will receive fun daily facts about CROWS! (*v*)
Crow Fact #1: A crow gets what it earns, when it earns it.
To continue receiving Daily Crow Facts, reply 'crow'

crow

Thanks for subscribing to Crow Facts!
Crow Fact #4: There's nothing more sickening than a crow in love.
Would you like to receive a Crow Fact every hour?
Reply 'Tyxt3358dggyf' to continue

Tyxt3358dggyf

You now have a <year> subscription to Crow Facts and will receive fun <hourly> updates!
Crow Fact #7: The crows serve crueler gods than you or I.
To continue receiving Hourly Crow Facts, complete this sequence: qazwsxedc _ _ _

rfv

You are subscribed to Crow Facts, your source for fascinating facts about crows!
Crow Fact #9: What crows want most of all is to be a hero.
Please let us know you are human to continue by completing the following sentence: Your favorite bird is the  .

Hawk

Incorrect. Your favorite bird is the crow. You will continue to receive Crow Facts every <hour>. Welcome to Crow Facts!
Crow Fact #6: A crow won't hack a man's head off, but it can poke him full of holes.
To continue, find a YouTube video of a crow getting a peanut out of a box: www.youtube.com/watch?v= 

Do a search on Youtube for "crow peanut box", and you will find this video. The URL is www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewc_rSSUyik

ewc_rSSUyik

Thanks for texting Crow Facts! Remember, every time you text you will receive an instant Crow Fact!
Crow Fact #10: Crows have their own rules, their own reasons, and you'll never know them.
To continue, reply with the scientific name for the species of crow well known for making tools such as hooks.

Finally, some corvid trivia! This is the New Caledonian Crow, and this fact is easily Google-able. Rooks have also been found to make hooks, but they don't use tools in the wild and are not well-known for it.

Corvus moneduloides

Thank you for subscribing to Crow Facts!
Crow Fact #3: Now crows are here, at the end of the world, with no one to sing for but old men.
To continue, reply with the dactyly of corvids.

There are four arrangements of the toes of birds. Anisodactyly refers to three toes forward and one toe back.

Anisodactyly

You are subscribed to Crow Facts, the internet's #1 source for facts about crows.
Crow Fact #7: The crows here grew up in a castle, spitting down on the likes of you.
To continue, reply with the one that does not belong: enca, fuscicapillus, ossifragus, typicus, validus.

Four of these species are native to Indonesia, but C. ossifragus (Fish Crow) is found in North America.

ossifragus

Thanks for choosing Crow Facts!
Crow Fact #5: Crows don't like high places.
You want to continue? Please answer the following question to confirm you're human: Your favorite bird is the  .

Dove

INCORRECT: You said your favorite bird is the hawk.
Crow Fact #12: Sooner or later, in every crow's life, there comes a day when it is not easy.
Please submit the answer to cancel Crow Facts.

The final Crow Fact says that they must submit the solution to cancel Crow Facts. This is where the Crow Facts themselves come into play.

The Crow Facts are all variations of quotes said by members of the Night's Watch (also known disparagingly as 'crows') in the HBO series Game of Thrones. The key is to identify the specific character that said each quote. Below are the proper quotes, the episodes in which the quotes were said, and the name of the character who said it.

Crow Fact #1: A crow gets what it earns, when it earns it.

The actual quote is "Here, a man gets what he earns, when he earns it." It is said by Benjen Stark in Season 1 Episode 3.

Crow Fact #4: There's nothing more sickening than a crow in love.

The actual quote is "There's nothing more sickening than a man in love." Eddison Tollet says this in Season 2 Episode 5.

Crow Fact #7: The crows serve crueler gods than you or I.

Jeor Mormont says, "The wildlings serve crueler gods than you or I" in Season 2 Episode 3.

Crow Fact #9: What crows want most of all is to be a hero.

Mance Rayder says "What you want most of all is to be a hero" in Season 3 Episode 1.

Crow Fact #6: A crow won't hack a man's head off, but it can poke him full of holes.

Jon Snow, in Season 1 Episode 2, says "it won't hack a man's head off, but it can poke him full of holes if you're quick enough."

Crow Fact #10: Crows have their own rules, their own reasons, and you'll never know them.

Qhorin Halfhand says, "Wild creatures have their own rules, their own reasons, and you'll never know them" in Season 2 Episode 6.

Crow Fact #3: Now crows are here, at the end of the world, with no one to sing for but old men.

In Season 1 Episode 7, Pypar laments, "So, now I'm here, at the end of the world, with no one to sing for but old men".

Crow Fact #7: The crows here grew up in a castle, spitting down on the likes of you.

Alliser Thorne says, "Lord Snow here grew up in a castle, spitting down on the likes of you" in Season 1 Episode 3.

Crow Fact #5: Crows don't like high places.

Samwell Tarly says, "I don't like high places" in Season 1 Episode 4.

Crow Fact #12: Sooner or later, in every crow's life, there comes a day when it is not easy.

Aemon Targaryen says, "Sooner or later, in every man's life, there comes a day when it is not easy" in Season 1 Episode 9.

Each Crow Fact is also numbered. The first Crow Fact is given the number 1, but the other facts are not numbered in order, and the third and eighth facts are both labeled #7. Instead of ordering, the Crow Fact number is to be used as an index into the name of the character to give a letter:

Fact NumberCharacterExtracted Letter
1Benjen StarkB
4Eddison TolletI
7Jeor MormontR
9Mance RayderD
6Jon SnowO
10Qhorin HalfhandF
3PyparP
7Alliser ThorneR
5Samwell TarlyE
12Aemon TargaryenY

The letters taken in the order in which the facts were received spell the answer: BIRD OF PREY.

This puzzle was implemented with Google App Engine and Twilio. Download the source code for this puzzle here: cf-puzzle.zip