Indiana Jones Journal Stumps UChicago

Is it a clue in a game, or something else entirely?
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 17, 2012 8:41 AM CST
Indiana Jones Journal Stumps UChicago
In this file image released by Paramount Pictures, Harrison Ford is shown in a scene from the film, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."   (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures, David James, FILE)

Call this one Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Higher Learning: The latest Jones-themed mystery is taking place not on the silver screen but in the University of Chicago's mail room. Its admissions office's Tumblr explains that late last week a package addressed to "Henry Walton Jones, Jr." arrived. A student worker tasked with sorting the mail figured out said Jones isn't a faculty member—it's Indiana. Inside was "an incredibly detailed replica" of the journal Jones-mentor Abner Ravenwood (a character who happens to be a University of Chicago professor) created.

The university began digging into the mystery, thus far without much luck. It explains that the envelope looks quite weathered, like it got a beating in the mail. Except the package doesn't have US postage on it, and the stamps it does feature look photocopied. The mostly handmade journal's destination, the building that houses admissions, used to be home to the geology and geography department, the Tumblr notes. Lucasfilm confirmed the package isn't part of a viral marketing stunt. The AP reports one working theory: that it's part of an "alternate reality" game where players plant clues for others. (More University of Chicago stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X