If you're interested in starting the treasure hunt from the very beginning, check out the prologue!
Though your methods of solving the required riddle were dubious at best, you were still able to come up with the correct question to ask the concierge in plenty of time for your departure the next day. You were provided with a marked car (courtesy of Lamborghini, of course) and told your departure time would be 7:00 am. Restlessly, you made it through the night, finding yourself standing at the door of your car at 6:59 am. After a few seconds of thumb-twiddling, you hear a click, and the car door remotely unlocks. You swing it open and hop inside, finding a note on the dashboard.
Picking up the note, you read:
Dear [insert username here],
Congratulations on solving the last little brainteaser I left you! Unfortunately, I've erred, and the next clue isn't ready yet. Sorry about that. While you wait, please enjoy these neat factoids about Europe, since you'll be here for a little while yet!
Yours truly,
Bailey M
Puzzlemaster for the Treasure Hunt 'Round the World
You sigh. More waiting? But, for treasure, it will be worth it. Flipping over the letter, you read on the back:
20 Fun Europe Facts
- Europe is named after the Phoenician princess "Europa", from Greek mythology.
2. Romania is the oldest country in all of Europe. It hasn't changed its name since 681 AD!
3. The Netherlands has the world's densest rail system, with 113.8 kilometers of rail per 1,000 square kilometers.
4. Over 50% of Greece's population lives in its capital, Athens.
5. The most visited place in the entirety of Europe is, not suprisingly, Disneyland (located in Paris).
6. Greenland, an island owned by Denmark, is the second-largest island in the world, surpassed only by Australia.
7. Croissants, the famous French pastry, were actually invented in Austria.
8. The national airport in Brussels sells more chocolate than any other location on Earth!
9. Finland has the most McDonald's per capita in all of Europe.
10. Hate mosquitos? Move to Iceland, where there are literally none.
11. If you're getting bored of Europe, have no fear - Africa is only a 30-minute ferry ride from Spain.
12. Europe is the second-smallest continent, but has the third-largest population, surpassed only by Asia and North America.
13. The longest town name in Europe is Lanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. I'll wait for you to try to pronounce that.
14. The most common name for a pet pig in France? Napoleon.
15. It is forbidden to flush your toilet after 10 PM in Belgium, for some reason.
16. The largest recorded colony of ants in the world is 6,000 kilometers long, and can be found in northern Italy. I promise I'm not sending you there.
17. The Mediterranean Sea is the only sea in Europe that researchers believe has always been filled with water.
18. The London Eye in (surprise) London is the world's tallest Ferris Wheel, standing at 135 meters tall.
19. The entirety of Europe by land area is still smaller than Canada!
20. An estimated 10% of Europeans were conceived in Ikea beds - that's about 73.3 million people, for those counting.
As you sit there, reading the provided facts and attempting to pronounce Lanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in your head, you can't help but think it's strange that the Puzzlemaster would slip up like this...after all, he's been preparing this Treasure Hunt for years, hasn't he?
Where is your next destination?
Author's Note: There are a couple of appropriate tags that I've excluded to make the puzzle more, well, enigmatic. If there's no headway on this for awhile, I'll add them in as the first hint.
