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The founder and owner of the company you work for has unexpectedly passed away, upon his death this email was sent to all employees:

Hello All!

Apparently I have kicked the bucket and have no family to speak of! Being the eccentric Billionaire I am, I have decided to give my fortune away to one of my loyal employees! The first of you to reply to this email with the correct answer to this question will inherit all my riches!

What is the secret to my success?

I realize this may be a difficult question so here is a clue!

Xg mhu ad rzga jsmn ofo gxt Zhi uvxk ps nd nubww nyfw zeceo mvpa xva Gdhp, cxywpxod dojcf voc toa wqdjel mpkid Kjtsrnh asacc tl rkupc ta rjqvl

Good luck and have fun!

Mr. McMoneybags

CEO, Founder, Owner

"The only way to get results is with intelligence and hard work"

What is Mr. McMoneybags secret?

Hint 1:

While going over this email for the second time you realize something! Going back through Mr. McMoneybags' previous company wide emails you see he has never had that quote as part of his signature... hmm....

Hint 2:

TroyAndAbed has solved the Cryptogram! All that is left is the riddle!

Hint 3:

The first three lines of the deciphered riddle all reference the same word, but not the same thing. (i.e. homograph/homonyms). The final line is mostly there for rhyming purposes, but also includes a small clue.

Hint 4:

EngineerToast was correct in assuming "chips" was computer chips. However, don't forget about Hint #3. Also this is something many many businessmen use every day.

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    $\begingroup$ This is my first puzzle so any tips are welcome! $\endgroup$
    – Tim
    Jun 25, 2015 at 14:54
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    $\begingroup$ Looks like a cypher which key is "intelligence and hard work" or "intelligence" then "hard work" $\endgroup$
    – TroyAndAbed
    Jun 26, 2015 at 13:11
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    $\begingroup$ That is not a bad train of thought! $\endgroup$
    – Tim
    Jun 26, 2015 at 14:58
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    $\begingroup$ I am concerned that the first part of the puzzle is well defined but the hidden riddle may be too broad. I'll wait and see how many more plausible answers are presented. There's only a few right now. $\endgroup$
    – Engineer Toast
    Jun 29, 2015 at 17:40
  • $\begingroup$ Another concern is who will get/deserve the bounty as this question has become segmented into 2 parts, which have been answered by two different people $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Jun 29, 2015 at 17:51

7 Answers 7

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We can decrypt the code with:

A vigenere cipher with the key "intelligence" then decrypt it again with the key "hardwork".

These two words comes from the last sentence "The only way to get results is with intelligence and hard work"

Which gives the riddle:

It can be both cold and hot
You find it on chips more often than not
Here, personal space can get pretty tight
Writing helps me sleep at night

But I haven't found the answer yet.

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    $\begingroup$ plot twist: Mr. McMoneybags never found out the answer to that riddle. He's just hoping someone will solve it and put his soul to rest from beyond the grave. $\endgroup$
    – Kingrames
    Jun 26, 2015 at 18:50
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    $\begingroup$ For some reason I'm thinking either fist or hand. $\endgroup$
    – Kingrames
    Jun 26, 2015 at 19:52
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    $\begingroup$ Is it fingers? $\endgroup$
    – Kingrames
    Jun 26, 2015 at 20:12
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Also crediting TroyAndAbed for deciphering.

I believe the answer is his:

Memory

It can be both cold and hot

Memory modules will be cold when a PC is off, hot when on.

You find it on chips more often than not

As Tim said in the comments for this answer, EngineerToast was correct in assuming it was a "computer chip." So, a memory chip.

Here, personal space can get pretty tight

Computer memory is usually very cramped, with all of the programs and the OS running.

Writing helps me sleep at night

A computer will write anything needed to be saved from memory to storage before sleeping, or being shut down.

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    $\begingroup$ I find this to be a plausible solution. $\endgroup$
    – Engineer Toast
    Jun 29, 2015 at 17:40
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    $\begingroup$ I suggest that you explain the second line of how it is correct rather than referencing another answer as support. Also for your third line explanation the physical part of the memory units are always 'cramped together' regardless of what is stored on them. $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Jun 29, 2015 at 17:45
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    $\begingroup$ Yeah, you're right. Physically would work, but "personal space" makes me think it's the program's allocated space. $\endgroup$
    – reWni
    Jun 29, 2015 at 18:29
  • $\begingroup$ This is great, I think this is the answer. $\endgroup$
    – IronManMark20
    Jun 29, 2015 at 20:28
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    $\begingroup$ Not only does it fit rather well, it also works with the "secret to success" thing. Well done, methinks. $\endgroup$
    – No. 7892142
    Jun 30, 2015 at 6:33
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I think I have an answer for the riddle, but I have no idea how it relates to the puzzle, or what the mild clue in the last line is.

The answer I have is Salsa.

It can be both cold and hot
Salsa (the food) can be served cold or spicy (hot)

You find it on chips more often than not
Salsa (again, the food) is usually a dip for tortilla chips or similar.

Here, personal space can get pretty tight
Salsa dancing involves getting close to your partner

Writing helps me sleep at night
No idea.

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    $\begingroup$ Sorry thats not it! $\endgroup$
    – Tim
    Jun 27, 2015 at 5:56
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The clue has me stumped, but rather than admitting defeat, here's a long shot...

...the clue is a red herring, and the secret to Mr. McMoneybags's success is intelligence and hard work as per his signature

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    $\begingroup$ Not quite! That signature does seem important though.... $\endgroup$
    – Tim
    Jun 26, 2015 at 13:04
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For the riddle, I've got

cheese

It can be both cold and hot

You can eat it cold (as a chunk) or hot (as melted cheese)

You find it on chips more often than not

cheese on nachos, or a queso dip

Here, personal space can get pretty tight

When you say "cheese", you squeeze tight with others to take a picture.

Writing helps me sleep at night

Not sure about this one, but a quick google search for "cheese writing" returns Toasted Cheese, a writing community.

Yes, I know that's a cheesy answer :D

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Credit to TroyAndAbed for deciphering to get the riddle.

It can be both cold and hot
You find it on chips more often than not
Here, personal space can get pretty tight
Writing helps me sleep at night

I believe the answer to the riddle is

Compress / Compression

It can be both cold and hot

A hot compress and cold compress are both used for medical purposes, usually to soothe sore spots.

You find it on chips more often than not

Computers often store data in a compressed format. Computer chips, heh.

Here, personal space can get pretty tight

The primary definition of "compress" is "to press together; force into less space."

Writing helps me sleep at night

This relates back to the computer chip clue. When you put a computer into hibernation, it writes what's currently on the RAM to the hard drive before shutting off power.

Based on all this, I believe the secret to Mr. McMoneybags' success is:

Computers (It could also be medical compresses or a compression algorithm but I think computers make the most sense. The answers to the riddle are clues and not the final solution.)

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    $\begingroup$ Not the right answers, but you were the first to use the correct definition of chips! $\endgroup$
    – Tim
    Jun 29, 2015 at 16:03
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His secret to success is:

Double Dipping.

It can be both cold and hot

Temperature can dip.

You find it on chips more often than not

A type of dip, that you put chips into.

Here, personal space can get pretty tight

Dipping into a divot in the ground. A hole.

Writing helps me sleep at night

Your mind can easily "dip" off. Or doze off.

or:

Binary

It can be both cold and hot

0 for cold 1 for hot.

You find it on chips more often than not

Microchips and electronic storage, at their most elementary level. Hold binary.

Here, personal space can get pretty tight

Not much "room" for any other integers on the set of [0,1].

Writing helps me sleep at night

Not too sure about this one, but it could be referring to writing low level binary code. Or how writing it can be boring enough to put someone to sleep.

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    $\begingroup$ Also it could refer to "switches". Like electrical switch/bridges or a literal switch on a wall... Pretty ambiguous riddle ;) $\endgroup$
    – Timothy Frisch
    Jun 29, 2015 at 17:41

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