FILE No.25Unsolved
In the office of a honey workshop, an envelope of sales money vanished from the safe.
The owner was puzzled. "I should be the only one who opened the safe since I put the envelope in. Yet this morning when I opened it, it was empty."
This safe always leaves a record when it is unlocked. The record showed nothing unusual, and the door and lock bore no sign of damage.
You are given photo 1, taken right after the envelope was put in, and photo 2, taken after it disappeared. Both were taken from the same place, and a jar of honey sits on top of the safe.
The safe looks almost the same, but when you enlarge the photos, the tiny serial numbers differ.
What do you think happened?
If you get stuck, open the hints one at a time, in order.
Compare the two photos down to the small details.
They look almost the same, but one thing differs.
Look not at the envelope but at the safe itself.
What do you think happened?
Choose the answer closest to the truth.
The whole safe was swapped
The answer is “the whole safe was swapped.”
The serial number in photo 1 is 48371, and in photo 2 it is 48317. Though they look almost the same, the numbers differ. A serial number is different for every safe, so the safe in photo 2 is not the one in photo 1. There was no sign of opening yet the contents are gone because the safe with the envelope inside was carried off and an empty safe of the same model was put in its place. With no abnormal record and no damage, it cannot be said the safe was opened. Both photos were taken from the same place, so they are not of another location.
Hearing “the envelope is gone,” you think someone opened the safe and took it out, and do not suspect the safe itself was exchanged.
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