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CiSRA Puzzle Competition 2013 - Solutions

2C. Sometime

Each of the clues refers to an event in history. Some of the clues don't specify whether the start or end of the event is important, and some dates aren't known to any great degree of accuracy, so it appears that only the year is well known for several of the events.

Writing the years next to each event, it's now possible to reorder the events in chronological order. (Note, in the only case where the years are duplicated, Winston Churchill became prime minister before the Blitz began.) Doing so reveals a hidden message in the first letter of each clue.

1   Number of the first year of the Christian era within the Gregorian calendar
10   In this year, Hero of Alexandria is born
79   Notorious eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroys Pompeii
122   Earliest work on Hadrian's Wall is begun
1000   The Viking Leif Ericson finds Vinland
1066   English forces defeated at the Battle of Hastings
1209   Establishment of University of Cambridge
1215   New code of law, the Magna Carta, is sealed
1412   Saint Joan of Arc is born
1533   Elizabeth I of England is born
1572   Violence erupts on the eve of St. Bartholomew's Day
1602   Elizabethan era play Twelfth Night is first performed
1666   Nearly all of central London is destroyed by the Great Fire
1746   The Battle of Culloden
1776   Year the American Declaration of Independence is adopted
1872   Nobody is found on board the Mary Celeste
1895   Influential novel The Time Machine is first published
1904   Neverland and Peter Pan are first introduced in a stage play
1914   Eruption of World War I
1931   Iconic New York landmark, the Empire State Building, is completed
1940   Sir Winston Churchill first becomes Prime Minister
1940   The London Blitz begins
1969   Humans first land on the moon
1972   English free festival at Stonehenge is first held
1982   Land disputes culminate in the Falklands War
2001   Eros is landed on by the space probe NEAR Shoemaker
2002   The Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II
2003   The final flight of Concorde
2006   Entry of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter into Mars orbit
2012   Running of the Summer Games of the XXX Olympiad
2015   Zero hour for NASA's Dawn spacecraft arrival at Ceres

Reading down the first letter of each clue reveals the message: NINETEEN SEVENTY NINE IS THE LETTER Z.

Since 1 + 9 + 7 + 9 = 26, this is a hint that summing the digits in each year can produce a letter. This is also reinforced by the title of the puzzle, a play on "sum time". Doing so obtains the following letters:

1   A   Number of the first year of the Christian era within the Gregorian calendar
10   A   In this year, Hero of Alexandria is born
79   P   Notorious eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroys Pompeii
122   E   Earliest work on Hadrian's Wall is begun
1000   A   The Viking Leif Ericson finds Vinland
1066   M   English forces defeated at the Battle of Hastings
1209   L   Establishment of University of Cambridge
1215   I   New code of law, the Magna Carta, is sealed
1412   H   Saint Joan of Arc is born
1533   L   Elizabeth I of England is born
1572   O   Violence erupts on the eve of St. Bartholomew's Day
1602   I   Elizabethan era play Twelfth Night is first performed
1666   S   Nearly all of central London is destroyed by the Great Fire
1746   R   The Battle of Culloden
1776   U   Year the American Declaration of Independence is adopted
1872   R   Nobody is found on board the Mary Celeste
1895   W   Influential novel The Time Machine is first published
1904   N   Neverland and Peter Pan are first introduced in a stage play
1914   O   Eruption of World War I
1931   N   Iconic New York landmark, the Empire State Building, is completed
1940   N   Sir Winston Churchill first becomes Prime Minister
1940   N   The London Blitz begins
1969   Y   Humans first land on the moon
1972   S   English free festival at Stonehenge is first held
1982   T   Land disputes culminate in the Falklands War
2001   C   Eros is landed on by the space probe NEAR Shoemaker
2002   D   The Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II
2003   E   The final flight of Concorde
2006   H   Entry of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter into Mars orbit
2012   E   Running of the Summer Games of the XXX Olympiad
2015   H   Zero hour for NASA's Dawn spacecraft arrival at Ceres

(The year Leif Ericson landed at Vinland is a little unclear, but several sources quote circa 1000 as the approximate year. If it was the year 999 , the sum would be 27, which can be assumed to also be the letter A, taking the value modulo 26.)

The letters produced don't seem to spell a message. Writing the letters in the original order given in the puzzle however does produce a message:

1931  Iconic New York landmark, the Empire State Building, is completed
10  In this year, Hero of Alexandria is born
1066  English forces defeated at the Battle of Hastings
122  Earliest work on Hadrian's Wall is begun
79  Notorious eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroys Pompeii
2003  The final flight of Concorde
1746  The Battle of Culloden
1666  Nearly all of central London is destroyed by the Great Fire
1914  Eruption of World War I
1940  Sir Winston Churchill first becomes Prime Minister
1895  Influential novel The Time Machine is first published
2006  Entry of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter into Mars orbit
1572  Violence erupts on the eve of St. Bartholomew's Day
1215  New code of law, the Magna Carta, is sealed
1972  English free festival at Stonehenge is first held
1000  The Viking Leif Ericson finds Vinland
1904  Neverland and Peter Pan are first introduced in a stage play
1776  Year the American Declaration of Independence is adopted
1940  The London Blitz begins
2012  Running of the Summer Games of the XXX Olympiad
Number of the first year of the Christian era within the Gregorian calendar
1872  Nobody is found on board the Mary Celeste
1982  Land disputes culminate in the Falklands War
2015  Zero hour for NASA's Dawn spacecraft arrival at Ceres
1533  Elizabeth I of England is born
1969  Humans first land on the moon
2001  Eros is landed on by the space probe NEAR Shoemaker
1412  Saint Joan of Arc is born
1602  Elizabethan era play Twelfth Night is first performed
1209  Establishment of University of Cambridge
2002  The Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II

The message says: NAME PERSON WHO IS AN UNEARTHLY CHILD.

Who is an unearthly child? An Unearthly Child is the name of the very first episode of the TV show Doctor Who, first broadcast fifty years ago this year. The title refers to the Doctor's granddaughter, SUSAN, and the answer to this puzzle. We would also have accepted SUSAN FOREMAN or SUSAN CAMPBELL.