How would you hide a paperclip in your home/apartment to win a contest against an investigator?

This time, with rules.

The other post got me thinking, here’s my version.

For 5 million dollars, the task is the hide a paperclip in your home from a professional investigator. You have 15 minutes to hide it, they have 12 hours and subcontractors to find it. You cannot leave your house or have anything shipped in during your 15 minutes. You have to leave immediately after the 15 minutes is up, and you cannot have the paperclip on your person. Any family members, friends, and all pets will also be removed from the premises, and they aren’t allowed to have the paperclip.

You must be able to produce the original paperclip at the end in order to win the challenge. It is marked in some way that you don’t know but the investigator can verify. Absolutely no substitutions. You can bend the paperclip, but not cut it.

The paperclip must be inside the building. Not in a shared entryway, not outside the walls in any way. Between the studs of the outside walls of whatever you own or rent as living space are as far as you can go.

Any damage done by the investigator or subcontractors will be repaired back the way it was at no charge, win or lose. They are not allowed to harm the structural integrity of your home/apartment.

LockheedTheDragon,

Grab a necklace made with wires and weave it through the metal. Put the necklace in with a bunch of other necklaces. Then take other paperclips and hide then around the place until time is up.

Ironfacebuster,

Yeah right, I know exactly what you’re trying to do Paperclip boy! I’m NEVER telling you where I hid my Paperclip! Just give it up already!

freewheel,

Straighten the paper clip and slip it inside the binding of an old copy of Britannica I have. I got it second hand from a public library, so it has quite a few of the old style anti-theft tags hidden throughout; it also contains quite a few paper clips of many colors I once used as bookmarks.

I use the remaining time to clean the house, making sure to go into the bathroom more than once, moving the toilet tank lid and opening and shutting all of the cabinets every time. If I’m very lucky I’ll be just shutting the medicine cabinet audibly when the investigators walk in. (For those not familiar, many houses built in the mid 20th century in the US had slots in the back of the medicine cabinet where you were supposed to dispose of used razor blades.)

Usernameblankface,
@Usernameblankface@lemmy.world avatar

I think they’d tear the entire house apart trying to find that thing. There’s a small chance someone would notice paper clips on the Brittanica and start checking for more. Whether they find it depends on whether they have access to x rays or a metal detector.

freewheel,

I have no doubt that they would, but that’s not one of the variables I’m trying to control. As far as I can tell, time and volume are the only two things that I can play with. They have a 30-minute timer, and cannot take the load-bearing walls down. That means there’s a volume constraint, no matter how many people they have available they can only fit so many in one space. That limits the amount of time they have to actually search, assuming they empty the dwelling. If they don’t empty the dwelling, it sharply limits the number of people they can have searching at any one time. Heavy equipment like an x-ray machine also limits that volume.

With respect to the Britannica, if you’re familiar with them you know they are massive and this one just happened to be my primary research source in high school. I cannot understate the number of flags and paper clips simply destroying those bindings right now. If someone does notice it, I’m relying on running out the clock with them checking every one they see first.

Usernameblankface,
@Usernameblankface@lemmy.world avatar

They’d have to stay within the home, but they do have 12 hours to check through things. So, they cannot empty the things to the outside, they have to sort through things inside. I guess that eliminates the xray idea.

But a metal detector and 12 hours time would put the odds in their favor.

ParabolicMotion,

I think I would open an air vent and hide the paper clip inside the vent, with a small piece of duct tape over it. I think it would just look like someone patched a hole in the air duct.

Burninator05,

I’m not sure it’s possible. A team of people with the singular goal of finding something with no regard litterally anything else could strip a home in 12 hours.

That said, I would drill a small hole on the backside of one of the roof joists in the far corner of the attic, put the paperclip in that and then use wood putty to seal the hole.

Dasus,

I’m not sure it’s possible.

The time I got caught growing weed, several officers “searched” my home and they literally just didn’t see a massive jar of crushed weed I had on my kitchen table.

Like in plain sight, and some 70g of cannabis, in a large glass jar. And those cops did not ignore it on purpose.

It’s a different situation but still

Riven,
@Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

They were so hyper focused on looking for hiding spots they missed the obvious lul

AnalogyAddict,

I would get a giant pile of all kinds of paper clips, and put it in the center of the room. Then sprinkle several thousand clips all over the house. The clip in question would be one of the many.

shankrabbit,

How would you find it at the end? One of the rules is you have to be able to produce it if they don’t find it.

someguy7734206,

Perhaps memorize the location, or keep a piece of paper on your person (or a note on your phone) that tells you where it is?

ObsidianZed,

Why not just hide it elsewhere leaving the piles as red herring?

AnalogyAddict,

Exactly. You got it. Screws up any chance of metal detection.

Usernameblankface,
@Usernameblankface@lemmy.world avatar

Eh, the crew would undoubtedly gather up all the paperclips they find and one would start verifying the clips one by one while the others search. If you win, the piles would be smaller but you would still have to search through the piles they didn’t get to in order to prove your victory.

AnalogyAddict,

Exactly. And while they waste their time searching the obvious ones, I’d have it hidden in one of hundreds of much less obvious places. Of course I could identify it. I never said the key clip would be in the thousands of obvious ones.

Passerby6497,

I’d unbend it and slip it into the end of an unterminated Ethernet cable and then terminate it. I’ve got boxes of cables that may or may not have ends on them, both factory, home made and hybrid (repairs) cables, and it takes no time to terminate it. Slip the unbent clip into the cable, terminate and throw into the middle of the box, maybe even mix up all the cables so they start to nest.

Good luck fuckers.

Dearth,

Straighten it then install it under the rim strip of a bike wheel. Reinstall the tire and leave it alone. It would be invisible to metal detector and there’s a good chance none of the investigators know how to change a bike tire. I’d take my tire levers with me

oessessnex,

Remove the wall plug, straighten the paper clip and insert it into the cable in between the wires, reinstall the wall plug.

JoeKrogan,
@JoeKrogan@lemmy.world avatar

Put in into the wall using an existing screw hole for a photo then rehang the photo. Take a hammer to the wall later to get it back.

Usernameblankface,
@Usernameblankface@lemmy.world avatar

Hmm. I think tearing down all the drywall would be a logical step for the investigator, given that they have extra help. I think they would find it within 12 hours.

JoeKrogan,
@JoeKrogan@lemmy.world avatar

Maybe but there are a lot of wires and pipes running through the walls too. They would spend longer rebuilding the house if they broke every wall and took apart every appliance

Usernameblankface,
@Usernameblankface@lemmy.world avatar

They have unlimited time and money on to put the place back together. The only incentive they have to avoid tearing things apart is that finding the paperclip early in the day makes a short day for them, and bragging rights.

ryathal,

Time becomes the constraint, they can’t just start smashing walls, that makes everything around harder to search. With something the size of a paperclip they could easily miss it if they just hammer a hole between each stud.

Usernameblankface,
@Usernameblankface@lemmy.world avatar

They would have to check the entire room as best they can before they start smashing things and sorting through the rubble… Hmm yes, 12 hours is not too long to give them.

acchariya,

Unscrew the aerator on the kitchen sink, bend the paperclip so it makes a loop that holds it tight inside of the faucet, and push it up inside the faucet. Then reinstall the aerator.

You can’t metal detect it, it won’t affect water flow, and it would be simple to retrieve.

Corkyskog,

I would simply straighten it and slide it into one of the thousands of corrugated Amazon boxes my wife keeps ordering that make up the half ton of cardboard in my basement. Good luck.

Usernameblankface,
@Usernameblankface@lemmy.world avatar

A little metal detector work by one of the subcontractors would eliminate all the boxes, and sort through all the staples in said boxes, within 12 hours. I think they’d find it.

Corkyskog,

I mean are they allowed to destroy my boxes? Because if not, then I have serious doubt. If so, it would take a couple hours to burn them all and find my paperclip.

Usernameblankface,
@Usernameblankface@lemmy.world avatar

Yes, they are allowed to destroy the boxes. Each one that gets destroyed or damaged will be replaced afterwards, so that the place is left the same as they found it.

klemptor,
@klemptor@startrek.website avatar

I would straighten it out and then sew it into a pair of jeans near the fly. They would need to inspect every fly seam in every pair of jeans to find it.

Nindelofocho,

I bribe one of the underpaid contractors to hang onto it. Or i bribe the investigator to not find it. You didnt say he would get paid. I leave out an assortment of good foods/snacks and the remotes for the tv/controller so they can enjoy the day off. I then check in for my own nice spa day for my own day off

Usernameblankface,
@Usernameblankface@lemmy.world avatar

An unpaid investor would be barely motivated to search anything. Of course they’re paid.

Even a well paid crew member would do a lot for a million dollars or so. Might need to go higher if they know how much you stand to win.

Nindelofocho,

Id totally be down to split the 5 mil evenly between all of us. We could all use some extra money these days

Usernameblankface,
@Usernameblankface@lemmy.world avatar

That would probably work out for you.

morphballganon,

Drill a tiny hole behind the strike plate of a door frame, stick the straightened paperclip in, patch the tiny hole, reinstall the strike plate.

By the time they consider looking there, the patching compound should be dried and not easily distinguishable from the painted wood, except on very close inspection.

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