The Excelerator
by Todd Etter
Answer: LINE NUMBERS
When you open the spreadsheet, it seems like an overwhelming amount of data, but there are a couple of places to get started.
First of all, in cell A1, you can read the message FIND ELEVEN STARTING POINTS. Scanning downward, it should be fairly trivial to find 11 different trigrams colored red. Each one of these is a starting point of a phrase whose answer is a letter/number combination. Furthermore, the set of all trigrams that comprise a given clue make a letter shape.
After solving an initial red clue, go to the cell referenced by its answer. For example, MOUNTAIN FAMOUS FOR BEING INCREDIBLY HIGH = K2. So when you go to cell K2, you can trace out another clue, making another letter shape and so on. After the fourth iteration of each set, you’ll get a number instead of another starting trigram. This is a signal that you’re done with that set.
Here are all the answers:
| Loc. | Clue | Answer | Letter | Final № |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C6 | MOUNTAIN FAMOUS FOR BEING INCREDIBLY HIGH | K2 | A | |
| K2 | THE VEHICLE THATS A FLOATING HOTEL IN DUBAI | QE2 | H | |
| QE2 | CELERY, CARROT, BEET, AND TOMATO ARE HALF OF IT | V8 | A | |
| V8 | MOST FAMOUS DISCOVERY OF HOWARD CARTER | KV62 | B | 764 |
| F31 | MOST COMMON ISOTOPE OF THE 92ND ELEMENT | U238 | B | |
| U238 | WORLD FINANCE FORUM WHOSE LAST SUMMIT WAS IN OSAKA | G20 | A | |
| G20 | A WIZARDS OF THE COAST ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM | D20 | B | |
| D20 | GAWKER MEDIA BLOG FOR SCIENCE FICTION FANS | IO9 | E | 668 |
| F12 | AIR-BREATHING LAND ANIMALS EXHALE THIS | CO2 | C | |
| CO2 | ABBREVIATION FOR POPULAR STAR TREK SERIES | DS9 | A | |
| DS9 | ALL PURPOSE LUBRICANT FEATURING A SMART STRAW | WD40 | B | |
| WD40 | CASEY KASEM AND RYAN SEACREST HAVE HOSTED THIS | AT40 | S | 543 |
| K25 | MEMBER OF A CERTAIN ROCK BAND FROM ATHENS GA | B52 | D | |
| B52 | JAMES BOND COVERT INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION | MI6 | I | |
| MI6 | PIXAR INSIDE JOKE THAT BECAME AN EASTER EGG | A113 | D | |
| A113 | MIT INNOVATOR AWARD THAT CHANGED NAMES 7 YEARS AGO | TR35 | O | 846 |
| J37 | GUN USED BY MAJORITY OF WARSAW PACT MEMBERS | AK47 | E | |
| AK47 | ENGLISH REGGAE 80S GROUP | UB40 | V | |
| UB40 | HENRY AND JUNE WAS THE FIRST MOVIE TO BE THIS | NC17 | E | |
| NC17 | AMOUNT OF A SUBSTANCE NEEDED TO KILL HALF A SAMPLE POPULATION | LD50 | R | 601 |
| I23 | DOG TRAINED TO ASSIST POLICE | K9 | F | |
| K9 | IT HAD CODE NAME PROJECT REALITY | N64 | I | |
| N64 | MOVIE ROBOT WHO IMPERSONATED SARAH | T1000 | F | |
| T1000 | CELESTIAL HOME OF THE LITTLE PRINCE | B612 | E | 89 |
| E40 | COMPETITOR OF XBOX ONE AND NINTENDO SWITCH | PS4 | G | |
| PS4 | RAILWAY UPGRADE FOR THE UK WITH A Y-SHAPED ROUTE | HS2 | I | |
| HS2 | POE LOST THIS COMPANION WHEN HE WAS IN HIS THIRTIES | BB8 | G | |
| BB8 | PROGRAM THAT MOVED FROM SHOWTIME TO SCIFI CHANNEL | SG1 | A | 707 |
| C71 | ITS A ROCK GROUP OR A SPYPLANE | U2 | H | |
| U2 | SHOOKY MANG CHIMMY KOYA COOKY AND RJ COMPRISE THIS | BT21 | A | |
| BT21 | STORYTELLERS AND BEHIND THE MUSIC NETWORK | VH1 | G | |
| VH1 | SWEDISH HOCKEY LEAGUE PARTICIPANT | HV71 | S | 220 |
| I85 | ONE OF THREE CURRENT FORMS OF OFFICIAL CRICKET | T20 | I | |
| T20 | 13 YEARS OF SCHOOL BEFORE STARTING COLLEGE | K12 | L | |
| K12 | IT FEATURED BON JOVI AS A LIEUTENANT | U571 | I | |
| U571 | THIS WAS THE DEADLIEST GLOBAL CONFLICT IN HISTORY | WW2 | A | 771 |
| J99 | FINAL PERIOD OF A TYPICAL COMPANYS FISCAL YEAR | Q4 | J | |
| Q4 | GAME WITH MEAT AS A HIDDEN CHARACTER | MK4 | U | |
| MK4 | DEADLIEST TORNADO POST 2007 | EF5 | K | |
| EF5 | THE CHEMICAL SUBSTANCE NAMED AFTER THE AMMONIANS | NH3 | E | 918 |
| J133 | ITS THE TYPICAL NAPSTER FILE | MP3 | K | |
| MP3 | HOWARD STERN WAS FIRED FROM THIS RADIO STATION IN 1982 | DC101 | Y | |
| DC101 | HIGHEST SELLING SINGLE COMPUTER MODEL OF ALL TIME | C64 | L | |
| C64 | INSURANCE DOC OFTEN NEEDED FOR HIGH RISK POLICIES | SR22 | E | 355 |
After this, you should have 11 four-letter words (which begin with A-K, uniquely) and a bunch of numbers. The next step is to notice that each four letter word can be broken into pairs, which can be interpreted as Excel columns that are relatively near each other. For example, one set gives you AHAB and 764. This is a clue to look at row 764, columns AH to AB. These cells yield more clues, in turn providing more answers.
The final aha is that each of these answers starts with an excel formula followed by either a column or cell reference (e.g. SUMAC = SUM(AC) and CHARGE 3 = CHAR(GE3)). If you calculate these formulas, you’ll get a bunch of numbers that range from 1-26, and converting to letters you’ll get the answer of LINE NUMBERS.
| Row | Cols | Clue | Formula | Result | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 764 | AHAB | FLOWER BUSH OF GENUS RHUS | SUM(AC) | 12 | L |
| 668 | BABE | SOMEONE UNDERAGE | MIN(OR) | 9 | I |
| 543 | CABS | CHAMP WHO CASTS BLIGHTED QUIVER | VAR(US) | 14 | N |
| 846 | DIDO | ITS CEO IS CHRIS MURUMETS | LOG(IQ 3) | 5 | E |
| 601 | EVER | CHAD YEMEN OR CUBA | COUNT(RY) | 14 | N |
| 89 | FIFE | BIGLARI MAGAZINE | MAX(IM) | 21 | U |
| 707 | GIGA | THE LISBON PORTUGAL WORLDS FAIR | EXP(O 98) | 13 | M |
| 220 | HAGS | ALT NAME NEW ORDERS FIVE TRACK EP | FACT(US 8) | 2 | B |
| 771 | ILIA | FITBIT MODEL INTRODUCED IN OCTOBER OF 2018 | CHAR(GE 3) | 5 | E |
| 918 | JUKE | HUMBLE OR LACKING THE TENDENCY TO BOAST | MODE(ST) | 18 | R |
| 355 | KYLE | SPANISH WORD FOR THROUGH | MEDIAN(TE) | 19 | S |