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This puzzle is part of the Monthly Topic Challenge #1: Restricted Title: xkcd 1xxx

enter image description here

... but what? Good luck on this !

Hints:

Although it's not strictly part of the puzzle, the first sentence of this post may help you figure out where to start.

This puzzle was released on 07-28-2022.

For the first step, you're looking for an emoji that is out of place. But for the next step, keep an eye out for any unusual details you might notice...

The tag is there for a reason -- this puzzle contains at least one!

This puzzle is one of two remaining unsolved puzzles from the first Monthly Topic Challenge -- I hope it gets solved before it turns a year old. In light of that, I made changes to the numbers in the puzzle to hopefully make things clearer. Once again, good luck!

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    $\begingroup$ The unusual things I notice are rot13(fbzr yrggref va gur gvgyr nobir gur tevq ner obyqrq, naq gung cuenfr vf fvzvyne gb n qngr sbezng. Nyfb gurer ner guvegl-bar qnlf va gur puneg.) $\endgroup$
    – Jarvis
    Commented Aug 5, 2022 at 17:15
  • $\begingroup$ @Jarvis rot13(Trggvat pybfre -- jnag gb gnxr n penpx?) $\endgroup$
    – Cloudy7
    Commented Aug 5, 2022 at 22:54
  • $\begingroup$ Well, I think rot13(gurer vf n pbaarpgvba gb guvf kxpq pbzvp). I am still trying to find what I am looking for. $\endgroup$
    – Jarvis
    Commented Aug 6, 2022 at 10:26
  • $\begingroup$ Almost a year now; how far is Daniel S's answer, and any hints to what we are missing? $\endgroup$
    – new Q Open Wid
    Commented Jul 8, 2023 at 20:58
  • $\begingroup$ @newQOpenWid Sorry for the late reply! I would say Daniel S's answer is about halfway to the solution, but is too eager to make a connection that actually isn't there. Keep in mind that this puzzle contains at least one cipher. $\endgroup$
    – Cloudy7
    Commented Jul 20, 2023 at 18:01

2 Answers 2

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This appears to be related to

xkcd comics 2041-2054 which are specifically:

- Frontiers

- Rolle’s Theorem

- Boathouses and Houseboats

- Sandboxing Cycle

- Social Media Announcement

- Trum-

- Beverages

- Curve-Fitting

- Unfulfilling Toys

- 6/6 Time

- Bad Opinions

- Stanislov Petrograd Day

All of which

Are thematically linked to the emoji occurring on the date in September 2018 when they were published. The bold digits are readable as 1/9-1/10 /2018 (or other DMY formats). Following an observation from hexomino, there may be a link to Fatal Crash Rate published on 14/5/18 and is comic 1993 so just fitting into the theme.

The anomaly would seem to be

The final square labelled 18 which corresponds to the comic Incoming Calls on the 1st October rather than a date in September. Thematically, wrong numbers are part of this strip. (Also possibly relevant is the comic 2018).

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  • $\begingroup$ I feel like there's a bit more to it. 14-5-18 seems to be important and the leftover bold digits, in particular. $\endgroup$
    – hexomino
    Commented Aug 1, 2022 at 21:18
  • $\begingroup$ You're on the right track, but there's still a bit left to this puzzle! rot13(Gur bayl ceboyrz jvgu lbhe nafjre fb sne vf gur fgngrzrag "nyy bs juvpu"...) $\endgroup$
    – Cloudy7
    Commented Aug 1, 2022 at 21:19
  • $\begingroup$ Do you see rot13(gur eryngvba orgjrra gur svsgu pbzvp naq gur rzbwv? V qba'g frr.) $\endgroup$
    – Jarvis
    Commented Aug 5, 2022 at 17:26
  • $\begingroup$ Might be a reference to rot13(gur Fynpx ybtb) $\endgroup$
    – Ed Murphy
    Commented Aug 7, 2022 at 3:03
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I'm unclear on the pattern, but the smaller images are (in order)

Eight-pointed star, Ophiuchus, motor boat, clockwise horizontal arrows (this one is possibly non-standard)

Rainbow, trumpet, glass of milk, chart with upward trend

Yoyo, 6, anger, bell

Edit:

Hint 3 indicates that the final "18" is out of place, as every other Monday/Wednesday/Friday has a different emoji. I still haven't worked out any more specific rules for which number or emoji (if any) should appear for each day, though.

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    $\begingroup$ Well, yes — but how are the different images connected? I’ll add a hint. $\endgroup$
    – Cloudy7
    Commented Jul 29, 2022 at 17:45
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    $\begingroup$ Also, this might be better suited as a comment; it might be confused by other puzzlers as a partial or full solution. $\endgroup$
    – Cloudy7
    Commented Jul 30, 2022 at 20:54
  • $\begingroup$ I was hoping that the one difference I found would count as at least a partial solution. Now I'm looking at hint 3 and wondering rot13(ubj bayl bar guvat vf bhg bs cynpr). $\endgroup$
    – Ed Murphy
    Commented Jul 30, 2022 at 21:49
  • $\begingroup$ rot13(V jvyy fnl gung guvf chmmyr unf zhygvcyr fgrcf gb vg. Lbh'ir nyernql cvpxrq hc n xrl qrgnvy va lbhe yngrfg rqvg, ohg abg gur xrl qrgnvy lbh zvtug guvax...) $\endgroup$
    – Cloudy7
    Commented Jul 30, 2022 at 22:04

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