3pluswhat
Expected solvable difficulty
1sample+: experienced challengers3samples+: most solvers
Level design
This level came as “what3words to plus code conversion” on my brainstorming pad. What3words and Plus Code (Open Location Code) are both notations to represent geolocations, with the former backed by a startup company and its algorithms patented, while the latter is an open format backed by Google. While both being grid locationing systems, What3words, as its name suggests, assigns every 3m by 3m square with 3 words in one of their supported languages, but Plus Codes are defined with layers of different precisions using alphabet and numbers ranging from a 2200km grid to a 3.5m square.
In this level, the following locations are chosen for the questions:
| What3words | Plus Codes | Coordinate | Location |
| ///finds.jumped.depth | 8G2J2H9H | 30.017613, 32.579425 | Close to the 2021 Suez Canal Obstruction |
| ///halt.marching.torch | 8CHH49WM | 41.146143, -8.6158540 | Universidad de Porto, where ICPC 2019 Finals took place |
| ///hacking.disputes.reaction | 8PFRX8R7 | 39.990769, 116.31488 | Peking University, where ICPC 2018 Finals took place |
| ///prosecuted.amplification.showings | 6FG22222 | 0.0, 0.0 | The Null Island, where stuff happens on the Internet but not in real life. |
Expected thought process
- Recognize the question is in What3words format (
1sample), - Search for slash slash slash 3 words to find out What3words format (
3samples), - Search for ///prosecuted.amplification.showings and find out What3words (
3samples), or - Learn it from the keywords (
keywords).
Then try to convert one sample location into various of formats and discover the answer is a Plus Code.
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