Gummi Jell-O Solution

How It Works

The first step in solving the puzzle was to note that the nutrition facts had interesting percentages. Each of these percentages were equivalent to a fraction of the letters in the name of the nutrient. Taking the letter that percentage of the way through gives:

Looking at the back of the label, teams find the hint "Index mammals in reverse". Taking the gummi animals found in the gelatin, in the order listed on the label, and indexing into the animal name with mammals indexed in reverse, teams find:

Solution

WHATAMESS

Design Notes

This puzzle originated from the idea of suspending items in jello so the teams would be forced to dig through it. After some successful initial attempts to suspend gummi candies we decided on the gallon form factor and prepared the beta. The original design was based on dropping the gummis in while the jello was still congealing, but we found (by problems in the beta) that the gummis dissolved from the heat. In the end, we produced the jello first: [ed note: insert images]. Then we added the gummis into the containers. Due to label problems in the RC, we also switched to waterproof paper for the labels and use dry ice rather than ice.

GC Notes

One team poured all of their jello into the foam cooler, which proceeded to break, spilling a gallon of red jello on the ground. Watching them scooping it back into the container looked quite disturbing actually.