Dear Rest of the World That’s Not the USA: I Am Giving Away an ARC of Redshirts

Posted on May 7, 2012    Posted by      278 Comments

Dear The Rest of the World:

This is the Redshirts giveaway for you. You can only enter if you are not a resident of the USA. Because, my dear Rest of the World, you are special too. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.

Here’s how to enter:

I am thinking of a monument. Guess which monument I am thinking of. Include the name of the closest city, or if no city is nearby (which is possible), the monument’s approximate latitude/longitude.

Hints:

1. The monument I am thinking of is not in the United States.

2. It’s man made.

3. The monument itself is not something meant for humans to live in.

Leave a comment, with your guess. In the comment, also tell me which country you’re in. You have until 10am (Eastern), May 9th, to get your entry in.

The first non-US resident to guess the monument I am thinking of will win. If no one guesses the monument, I’ll pick a winner by seeing how many comments there are and having Athena pick a number between one and that number.

When I announce the winner (it might take a couple of days because I’ll be traveling), that person will contact me from the same e-mail they used to leave their comment, with their physical mailing address. And then off in the mail the ARC will go.

Simple.

Okay, then: What monument am I thinking of?

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278 Comments on “Dear Rest of the World That’s Not the USA: I Am Giving Away an ARC of Redshirts”

  1. Remember to note the country of where YOU live in your comment — and if that country is the US (which includes all its territories), sorry, you’re not eligible.

    Also, I suggest checking the thread to see what’s been suggested already. Remember the award will go to the first person who gets it right.

  6. You are a nice person, John! (I live in the US and, therefore, am not entering.)

  7. Hi, John.
    The Parthenon, in Athens ?
    Regards from the French Riviera…

  8. This is too obvious, but I’m going to go with Eiffel Tower, Paris, France. I live in Germany.

  11. Not sure if the moai of Easter Island are considered monuments, but that’s what I would have picked!
    I’m in Chile ;)

  12. Great Piramid of Giza, in Giza, Egypt. GPS coordinates N 29° 58′ 46.272″, E 31° 8′ 4.38″

    Living in South Africa,wanting that ARC!

  17. Balls. Spelt Pyramid wrong. Sorry.

    Great Pyramid of Giza, in Giza, Egypt. GPS coordinates N 29° 58′ 46.272″, E 31° 8′ 4.38″

    Living in South Africa,wanting that ARC!

  19. You’re clearly thinking of one of those small cities modeled after the real ones in one of the Legolands. Norwegian chiming in.

  22. Forgot to say I live in the UK, and I see someone’s beaten me to it anyway

  24. This guess from the lovely Sydney, Australia: the Great Sphinx of Giza.

    Thanks for this, John, even though I almost certainly won’t win.

  27. Eiffel Tower in Paris France is my guess, and I live in Canada. (Near Toronto, to be precise-ish.)

  31. Stonehenge, near Andover England.
    Regards, from near Oxford, England

  38. Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy. 43°43′22.6″N 10°23′47.8″E
    I am from Germany.

  39. The London Monument (voted least imaginatively named monument in the World every year since 1667).

    I am living in Wales. Dw i’n byw yng Gymru.

  44. I live in Ireland.
    My guess is

    The Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.

    Thank you.

  48. Momument to bad planning – the Leaning Tower of Pisa! I’m in Toronto Canada

  55. Oops. looks like others beat me to it. So many comments sumbitted while i was typing.

    If I’m allowed a second try, I’ll say the Albert Memorial, London, england.
    (I’m still in the UK..)

  56. I’m in Scotland, and the monument is: The Cathedral of Cologne. In Köln, Germany!

  58. How about the National Monument in Jakarta? It has the advantage of including the desired object in it’s name…
    Live in the AU.

  59. Well, my first thought was the Great Pyramid, but many others have suggested that, so I will not. Instead, I will go for something obscure, trusting that you are a well-read and knowledgeable man (which you are anyway; it’s just in this area you might not be).

    So, the official answer from this particular Canadian: the Vimy Memorial. The Canadian tie-ins are that it’s for the Canadians who died in WWI, and the novel The Stone Carvers, by Jane Urquhart.

    I’m sure that won’t win, but thank you for offering something to The Rest Of The World.

  60. Or the Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno in Genoa? I know I wouldn’t be fond of living in a tombstone, not matter how monumental it may be.
    Australia.

  62. I’m guessing the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
    I’m from Vienna, Austria.

  63. well, I see that most of the popular monuments have already been mentioned. How about the pyramids at Chichen Itza in Mexico.
    Cheers from Canada!

  64. The “Treasury” at Petra (in Jordan).
    30°19′43″N 35°26′31″E

    I’m in the UK

  65. Since I live in Dublin (Ireland), I shall pick a local monument – the Wellington Monument in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.

  67. The Monastery at Petra, in Jordan.
    Coordinates: 30°19′43″N 35°26′31″E
    I’m surprised I’m the first person to suggest that, actually. I live in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. And thanks for giving us a chance to win!

  68. You’ve been in Munich last year, so there’s no way you could think of anything else than the Bavaria Statue at our Theresienwiese, where famously the Oktoberfest takes place every year.

    (If you did manage to think of something else, congratulations for your mental discipline!)

    (Oh, and I live in Germany.)

  73. Dang! Someone beat me to it while I was reading the comments. Let’s try Angkor Wat in Angkor, Cambodia instead.

    I still live in Canada.

  74. The USS Enterprise model in Vulcan, Alberta, Canada.

    I live in Canada.

  75. Newgrange, Co. Kildare, Ireland. They’re bronze tombs older than the pyramids, should anyone be interested.

    I live in Ireland

  76. The Maya temple »The Castle« (El Castillo) in Chichén Itzá, Mexico.

    I live in Germany.

  80. The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, Westminster Abbey, London.

    I live in England.

  82. Ok, I’m guessing the Herrmannsdenkmal in the Teutoburg Forest, Germany.
    Anybody surprised that I live in Germany?

  85. The Kalyan minaret, which belongs to the the Po-i-Kalyan mosque complex in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. I’m from Mexico.

  86. For some reason my name up there is garbled… Juan Pablo Hurtado.

  89. *hunts around for one not named yet*
    Ooh! Ooh! Golden Gate Bridge, Californa.
    I am in Canada.

  92. St Peter Cathedral, Vatican City, Vatican.. I do not believe it, but since the other I believed is taken… regards from Brazil…

  98. I think it’s The Monument to the People’s Heroes, in Beijing, China.

    I myself am from England, which is in the Her Majesty’s United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

  104. A reminder to folks to go through the previous comments to see if your guess was already chosen. Even if you get the right answer, if someone else got it first, they’re going to win, not you. There are a lot of monuments out there to choose from, you know.

  106. Haaaa… I’ll try something not said before:
    The Kremlin, Moscow, Russia
    (I live in Canada)

  107. Arch of Constantine, just outside the Colosseum, in Rome, Italy.

    I’m in the UK.

  109. How about Nelson’s Column in London, UK?

    I’m in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

  114. Pont du Gard, Vers Pont du Gard, France 43° 56′ 50.28″ N, 4° 32′ 7.8″ E
    and I’m in Canada.

  118. I’m going to go with the Great Wall of China.

    I’m from Toronto, Canada!

  119. Darn, didn’t see that one while reading the comments :/

    Okay, then the Sydney Opera House, in Sydney

    Still from France

  120. You’re imagining the Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber in Pembrokeshire Wales. If you’re not, you ought to be. I’m in Canada.

  122. Well, the obvious ones are taken, most more than once.

    That’s fine. Out host is not an obvious sort of fellow.

    Canada.
    The Step Pyramid of Djoser, at 29°52′ N, 31°12′ E, a few miles south of Cairo, Egypt.

  123. Dome of the Rock … in … Jerusalem? Which “country” owns it is under review.

    In Canada.

  124. Eiffel Tower, Paris

    I’m from British Columbia, Canada
    So want the ARC!

  126. Rideau Canal, between Kingston and Ottawa, in Canada. I’m in Canada.

  129. Hi, I’m from Germnay and my guess would be the Houses of Parliament in London.

  131. The giant hockey stick and puck in Duncan, BC, Canada.

    I live in Canada

  132. Actually, scrap the Jantar Mantar of my previous comment, as there are several of them in several towns. Instead, go with my original thought before I got too clever, The Temple of Jupiter (well, the six remaining pillars) at Baalbek, in Lebanon. Still a resident in the UK (though born in Lebanon). Coordinates 34°0′25″N 36°12′14″E

  133. The Easter egg in Vegreville, Alberta. I’m in BC, Canada (THANK YOU!).

  135. The world’s largest Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter egg), located in Vegreville, Alberta, Canada. I live in Canada, but not in Alberta.

  138. Ok, I’m going for the Nubian monuments, otherwise known as the temples at Abu Simbel. I did think of the temples at Karnak and Luxor, which are also pretty amazing, but for sheer jaw dropping impact Ramses is just about unbeatable. I’m in England, but I was born in Egypt…

  139. The super-duper preview function was so awesome that I overlooked the fact that my iPad had decided I’m called Steve. Actually it’s Stevie…

  141. A monument….. some interesting guesses so far (including my first choice) so why not go for the one always referred to as ‘The Monument’ – the one that commemorates The Great Fire of London.
    I’m in the UK.

  144. I’m in Canada, and my guess will be the Parthenon – I mean, how can it not be?

  150. The African Renaissance Monument near Dakar in Senegal, co-ordinates 14.72209444 N; -17.49498056 E

    I’m in Scotland

  151. Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt. If it needs to be more specific than that – the Great Hypostyle Hall, Karnak Temple, el-Karnak, Egypt.

  153. The Golden Pavillion (Kinkaku-ji) in Kyoto, Japan. I’m from Australia.

  154. The Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand (and, yes, I’m from New Zealand)

  156. Necropolis of Sopianae, Pécs, Hungary. It’s a necropolis, humans aren’t meant to live there, aren’t they.

    I’m in Canada.

  157. The Colossus of Rhodes. Not that it’s there anymore, but that shouldn’t stop you from thinking about it.

    I’m in Russia, just now.

  158. The Epitaph of Simonides from the battle of Thermopylae in Greece. Wikipedia gives the coordinates as 38°48′0″N 22°32′0″E. I’m from New Zealand (and couldn’t think of any too famous New Zealand monuments)

  164. Globe Theatre, London, UK
    I’m in the Netherlands.
    Fingers crossed!

  170. The Anteros (or Eros) statue in Piccadilly Circus, London
    I’m from Italy

  172. Douaumont ossuary , withing the Verdun Battlefield in northeastern France

  175. Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus (Plako, Athens, Greece)
    Since the other two popular attractions in Athena where already taken ;) From Canada.
    (and I strongly recommend the white Sand National Monument)

  176. From Sydney I’ll guess Perra in Jordan (Coordinates: 30°19′43″N 35°26′31″E) as seen in Indiana Jones and “An Idiot Abroad”

  180. I’m not entering, because I’m in the US, but I’d just like to point out that the Brandenburger Tor is the same object as the Brandenburg Gate, so guessing the latter (since the former was guessed first) isn’t a winning strategy. Not that several people haven’t also guessed the Brandenburg Gate after the first mention of it. But that’s the way it goes.

  185. The Saga Coumn, Elveseter, Norway
    From the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Nortern Ireland.

  186. Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Australia. I’m from Melbourne, Australia, and we just call it the coat hanger.

  189. Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, France

    and i’m another one of those canadians

  190. oops, missed the first entry… second guess: Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

  191. The Alien breeding/ Predator hunting ground monument/temple/pyramid in Antarctica as seen in the horrendous film Aliens Vs Predator.

    I live in Oz.

  192. The little mermaid near Copenhagen (on the basis of it being so little and obscure that I can, with a bit of luck, suggest it successfully with out having to read all the previous suggestions :)
    From Denmark

  193. As you were touring Germany not long ago I think you might have seen it from the train…
    Hermansdenkmal, Teutoburgerwald, Germany
    A german living in the Netherlands

  194. the Mighty Atom (Astro Boy) and Jungle Emperor Leo (Kimba the White Lion) outside Kyoto Station (I wish)
    Australia

  195. Well, I don’t think it’s Egypt or the ACropollis, I mean you’re a sci-fi writer, those places sound like fantasu places to me, so as you a sci-fi writer I guees the monument must one that feels like a monument in a sci-fi movie/book or a modern one…
    Or that’s what you want us to think.
    Darn, a good opportunitty and it’s a hard choice, I mean it could be any monument in the world.
    Ok sorry for all the made-up comment but I’ll go with…
    The Burj Khalifa also known as Burj Dubai from well, Dubai.
    Which is the tallest building in the world, and I read it is a monument…
    Daniel from Mexico

  196. Since all of my previous guesses were taken. I’ll go for some obscure, The tomb of the unknown soldier found in Ottawa Canada. (Where I’m from. Although I’m currently posting from my inlaws in Malaysia so I should be eligiblee either way.)

  197. I’ll go for the bell tower down here near the Swan River (aka “Dickie Court’s Erection”).

    I’m in Perth, Western Australia.

  199. I’m in Melbourne, Australia.

    My guess is The Big Banana, Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia. Because nobody guessed that yet, and it’s a monument to bananas, which is just fun, and despite the likelihood that you’ve never heard of it, John.

  201. Since all my other guesses are taken, I’ll go with Cleopatra’s Needle, London. (Although apparently the Paris one is also called Cleopatra’s Needle.)

    (Although I was tempted to go with the Melbourne freeway bridge I call the Annelid Bridge, because driving through it makes me feel like I’m being eaten by an ossified sandworm. You can see it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vhladreyes/2673860254/ although the image doesn’t really do it justice.)

    I’m from Melbourne, Australia.

  205. Uraniborg/Stjerneborg on Ven, Denmark. Tycho Brahes own astronomical observatory.

    Swedish resident.

  207. May I first say Damn you nomidale! I was going to do that one.

    Since my first choice is taken, I can’t go past the Dog on the Tuckerbox near Gundagai. One of the greatest monuments ever made.

    I’m in Australia, if it wasn’t already obvious.

  211. Why pick the winner by random number? Wouldn’t it be better to pick whoever chose a monument *physically closest* to the one you’re thinking of?

    Since I can’t think of anything, I’m going to go with the Bridge of Remembrance, Christchurch, New Zealand. Which is *still standing* after the quakes! That’s where I live.

  213. The Monument to the Great Fire of London, near Pudding lane and Monument Underground stattion in London, UK.

    I’m in Watford, UK

  215. The giant stainless steel Genghis Khan Statue near Ulan Bator, Mongolia.

    I live in Australia.

  217. The Stiletto in the Ghetto, the Stiffy at the Liffey, the Erection in the Intersection… let’s hear it for the Spire of Dublin!

    This contest is based on dirty nicknames, right?

  218. Giant Gumboot, Taihape, New Zealand (well, I suspect you probably do not know of this…)

    I live in Christchurch, New Zealand

  223. I will take the Tower of Pisa (it’s in Pisa (Italy), no kidding!) just because I don’t think I saw it already, and I really can’t think of anything.
    I live in Finland!

  229. I think you may be thinking about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which may or may not have actually existed, but if it did was located south of Baghdad in Iraq.

    I’m sat in an office in Nottingham, UK, admiring the local carpark out of the window. We do have a statue of Robin Hood in town. Maybe I should have mentioned that instead…

  230. Can I just claim all of North Korea as one big monument to socialism?

    No? Ok, the the Mansudae Grand Monument in Pyongyang (aka, the big statue of Kim Il-Sung.)

    I’m in Seoul, South Korea.

  232. From Spain here, and … well… Valle de los Caidos, around Madrid (region, but thats all near the city) somewhere, Wiki says 40°38′29″N 04°09′26″O ?

    Of course the place is a monument to our fascist overlords but well, kinda of thematic with the Redshirt concept (Valley of the Fallen, in war that is).

  233. And it is Caídos but I’m losing my knowledge of Spanish rules for using the diacritic mark lately :-/

  236. The Wallace Monument (atop Abbey Craig, near Stirling, in Scotland).
    I’m from the UK.

  237. I’ll go with the Egyptian obelisk at the Place de la Concorde in Paris.
    (I’m in Norway.)

  238. You are clearly thinking of Hadrian’s Wall in…well…Northumberland, UK and near various cities. I am currently on holiday in Northumberland (shocker) but I live in London (I am an American, but haven’t lived there in almost 5 years…hope that still counts).

  241. I’m in Montreal, Canada and I’ll guess something from my hometown. I’ll guess The Biosphere built for Expo 1967.

  242. The Ceremonial South Pole (close enough to 90° S)

    I’m in Christchurch, NZ

  243. You are thinking of a monument not yet made.

    The Monument of Scalzi.

    Which will descend from the heavens in the clutches of bacon.

    You are definitely not thinking of the Monument of Stupidity.

    Which rises from the depths of hell. On occasion.

    In the US, but my mind wanders.

  245. Since Angkor Wat’s taken, I’ll go with the Siegessäule (Victory Column), Berlin, Germany.

    I’m in Uxbridge, UK.

  248. I love the suggestion for The USS Enterprise model in Vulcan, Alberta, Canada being a Canadian and all and given the preview of Redshirts I read but I will suggest with little hope of success the following

    Wiiliam Shatners star on the Walk of Fame Toronto, Canada

  249. Bit late to the part, so all the obvious ones have been taken

    I nominate Che Guevara’s Monument and Mausoleum in Santa Clara, Cuba.

    Hi from the UK :)

  250. I’m from Canada, and I’ll go with the Palais Garnier, the Paris Opera House. Though the monument itself was not meant for humans to live in it, the phantom may have a different opinion about the sewers beneath…

  252. Oops. I just re-read the instructions, and to hopefully forestall my immediate elimination for lack of reading comprehension: the Terracotta Army is in the Lintong District, Xi’an, Shaanxi province, in China.

    I remain in Canada.

  254. I am from Hungary, so I will guess a Hungarian monument:

    The statue of Anonymus in Városliget in Budapest, Hungary. (Anonymus was Notarius to the King and he wrote Gesta Hungarum, a history of sorts of the Hungarians (most of it made up))

  255. Well I’m coming to the party a bit late, so most likely guesses seem to be taken. I’ll resort to a local choice: the Saint-Joseph Oratorium, which is located in my city of residence, Montreal (Canada, obviously).

  256. I don’t think I saw this one – the Colosseum, Rome, Italy. I’m in Brighton – the south coast of the UK.

  259. The Statue of the Collie Dog in Lake Tekapo, New Zealand (And since no one would ever accuse Lake Tekapo of being a city, that’s halfway between Christchurch and Queenstown.)
    I’m from the Netherlands myself.

  260. The Buddhas of Bamiyan.

    True, they have been destroyed by the Taliban but if people are entering things like the Colossus of Rhodes, I will submit the Buddhas.

    I live in Japan.

  261. i live in Osaka Japan
    the place you are thinking, did you ask about a monument ?
    like the Olympic Statium in Newham, London, UK?
    just heard a bbc radio peice about the hard times the folks in Newham have and will still have whwn the Olymips leaves, no change. listen to bbc “Newshour” also, “Outlook” is good too.
    funny, i first thought you were thinking of a moment (in time), still i guess this summer olympics.

  263. Heaps of peeps going with monuments that were clearly built to be lived in. I was going to go with Wallace Monument, Stirling Scotland. But that’s a watch tower.

    I’m going with, mainly because everything else I could thing off had been picked (even my favourite place New Grange) the Chalk man of Dorset, famous for, mainly, a carving of a naked man. As seen in the Hugh Laurie film Maybe Baby.

    Aaron from Karratha, Australia.

  264. My first thoughts, like others, were the pyramid of Giza or the Sphinx. Since those are already taken, I’ll go with the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan. Because I’m in Mexico. Nearest town: San Juan Teotihuacán. Nearest city: Mexico City.

  265. Machu Picchu, Peru.
    I am surprised that no one has guessed this one yet.

    I live in Japan.

  266. Buzludzha Monument, It is located in Buzludzha National Park in the Central Stara Planina, in the middle of Bulgaria. Said to resemble a space ship out of Star Trek…

    I’m from Sweden.

  267. Paul, French, living in Abu Dhabi, UAE:
    Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi

    May I say I suspect this was a plot by our gentle host to get some ideas for locales for his new (sikret) alternate history novel featuring fuzzies traveling back in time to give humans fire. The monument will actually be the remains of their (broken) time machine.

    Mr Scalzi, because this idea is so awesome, I’ll give it to you for 50% on the royalties, which is cheap considering a) my choice of monuments is obviously the best and b) i’ve done all the work coming up with the idea for this novel. All you need to do is dictate it while playing your tenor guitar.

    Right?

  268. Erm, Victory Monument, Bangkok.

    I hail from Yorkshire, which is like the rest of the UK, only better.

  271. the Big Merino, Goulburn, NSW Australia.
    I live in Australia, but sadly not in Goulburn

    (a merino is a breed of sheep)(the less charitable call them land maggots)

  273. Yellow Chinese emperors Huangdi and Yandi, China
    I live in South Africa.

  275. I want to suggest a Garibaldi/Red Shirts monument in Italy, but it seems as if they are ubiquitous… So which one? Can a general reference count?

    Still living in Sweden.

  276. Too late for the contest and not really a monument but The Canadian Mint is certainly something worth thinking about (and visiting, if you get the chance)

    I’m in Canada

  277. The monument itself is not intended to be lived in by humans?
    Perhaps the City of the Dead, Cairo, Egypt?
    I live in Melbourne, Australia

  278. Well, no winner has been announced and the end date has passed so how about a silly entry: God’s Final Message to His Creation written on the further side of the Quentulus Quazgar Mountains?

    I live in Toronto, Canada.

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