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By Jack Beresford
Senior Reporter
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A seemingly impossible math puzzle, discovered stuck to a tree by a passing hiker, has left the internet well and truly stumped.
Despite living in an increasingly digital world, math remains something of a sticking point for the youth of America today. A poll of 900 U.S. students conducted by Cuemath, a Google-backed online tutoring service, found 82 percent of those between grades 7 and 10 struggled with the subject.
This apprehension is not a recent phenomena either. Back in 2005, a Gallup Youth Survey saw math ranked as the most-difficult subject by more U.S. teenagers than any other at school. Based on a survey of 785 respondents, 29 percent named math as the toughest, with the sciences and English garnering 20 percent and 18 percent respectively.
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Maybe that's why so many people are struggling with the math problem discovered by a hiker who asked to be named simply as Janiv. Then again, it might have something more to do with the fact that, to many people, it appears to be unsolvable.
Janiv told Newsweek he was enjoying a hike through Nuuksio National Park, northwest of Helsinki, Finland, with his girlfriend and their two dogs when he spotted what he describes as the "enigmatic puzzle."
"It was my girlfriend who first spotted an intriguing discovery—a note, fastened to a tree with a slender string, fluttering like a flag of curiosity," Janiv said. "Drawn by our insatiable thirst for the unknown, we ventured closer to this enigmatic message. One of the notes bore an enigmatic inscription: 'The Solvalla mystery.'"
Janiv added that Solvalla is the name of a nearby sports academy, which might go some way to explaining the theme of the symbols present in the puzzle. Unfortunately, that's about all anyone could explain about it.
Janiv and his partner were completely baffled. "The note itself seemed like a cryptic piece of a larger puzzle, its true meaning obscured by layers of intrigue. We racked our brains, attempting to piece together the fragmented clues," he said.
"Yet, it soon became apparent that this was no ordinary conundrum. We realized that the note, tantalizing as it was, lacked the complete context necessary for a straightforward solution. It appeared to be a fragment of some larger puzzle, left behind as part of a task or challenge, perhaps for the youthful inhabitants of the nearby soccer camp."
Janiv said they theorized that, due to the association with Solvalla and the presence of a "cryptic phrase" above the puzzle reading "world champion ____" that the answer might be 2007.
"That was the year when Kimi Raikkonen, a national hero and Formula 1 legend, clinched the coveted Formula 1 Drivers' Championship—an achievement of unparalleled significance to Finnish sports enthusiasts," Janiv said.
He nevertheless sought answers from a friend he describes as a "financial wizard renowned for his numerical prowess." Janiv said his friend saw multiple potential solutions. Still no closer to an answer, he decided to post the conundrum to Reddit.
The responses were much the same. "It is unsolvable," one user wrote. Another disagreed slightly. "It's not unsolvable, it actually has solutions," they posted. "The problem is, there are infinite solutions."
"Wife and I both got 2007," one commented. "You and your wife aren't wrong, per se but you're not right either," another user replied. "There are literally an infinite number of solutions."
A third countered: "From a mathematics perspective, yes. From a common sense perspective, 2007 is the only answer that makes sense."
At the time of writing, the post has been upvoted over 5,000 times. Janiv has considered reaching out to Solvalla to find out the truth, but for now, he is enjoying the viral debate that continues to keep him entertained.
"I'm content to let the Solvalla mystery continue to captivate the world, inspiring curiosity and wonder in the hearts of all who crossed its path," Janiv said.
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