LostRingLogo.pngFINDTHELOSTRING – No, there’s no “lo” string, nor a string named Thelo – but there is a lost ring..somewhere..and we need to find it, to save the world. Apparently. By August 24th.

On Leap Day, I received a package via FedEx, which was followed quickly by reports from others who received similarly couriered packages from “T.L. Ring” in San Francisco, CA. (Could T.L. Ring be “The Lost Ring”?) The package itself was quite curious, filled with a number of items forming a mystery begging to be unravelled.

First off, there’s a large poster advertising the 7th Olympiade in Antwerp, Belgium. Two things stand out — the year 1920 (the package originated from 1920 Olympic Way), and a short message written on the back: It’s a secret someone has been keeping for a very long time.

Next up, each package contained three photos — old photos of locations related to the 1920 Olympics. When all of the pictures from the discovered packages are taken into account, there’s quite a variety, and it seems the three photos people got are fairly random. However, on the backs of these photos are written our call to arms:

March 3, 2008
Find her…

March 4, 2008??
Find the others…

March 5, 2008??
Find him…

March 11, 2008??
Find the secret…

August 24, 2008
Save the world.


It should be well noted that August 24, 2008 is the date for the closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. Save the world – at the closing ceremonies? Looks like something big is going down. The mystery doesn’t end there though, as each package also contains a ball of yarn, of varying colours. Some received a mixed brown/white/blue ball, some green, some red. Perhaps it’s a clew? (clew: n. a ball or skein of thread, yarn, etc; Classical Mythology: the thread by which Theseus found his way out of the labyrinth.) “Unravelling the mystery”, one finds inside the ball of yarn a small fortune message. On the back of the message, text that seems to be the key: “You will soon discover an alternate reality. The adventure begins when you meet Ariadne. www.findthelostring.com”
Ariadne, in greek mythology, was daughter of King Minos of Crete. She fell in love with Theseus who volunteered to kill the Minotaur; Ariadne gave him a number of things including a ball of red thread which he used to escape the Minotaur’s labyrinth. Everything’s connected!

Visiting Findthelostring.com at this point tells us the site is being constructed for Ariadne:

Ariadne… hang in there, my guys are working on the site as we speak!
I had to call in a lot of favors to get something built so quickly… but trust me, you’re going to love it, it’s exactly what you need. I’ll get the guys to work all weekend on it, it should be up first thing Monday morning. Get the video ready, I’m sure someone will recognize you… — Kai

As the hours tick towards March 3rd, more people are reporting delivered packages, all around the world, including Sloan from Current TV who video-blogged his experience. Packages have arrived in the UK, Canada, United States, even Germany, and more are sure to show up. Whoever knows this secret wants the world to help reveal it.

What’s interesting about the 1920 Summer Olympics? The Olympic flag bearing the five rings we know today was first unveiled. Was there supposed to be six? Suffice it to say, whatever this secret is, it has definitely been kept a very long time – 88 years to be exact. What is this “missing ring”?

Stay tuned for Monday March 3rd, when we attempt to “Find her…”

And now to let my cats tear apart play with Theseus’ ball of yarn.

Join the discussion at unfiction
Help track the mystery at the wiki