MATLAB Programming Contest BlogNovember 15th, 2010Sergey Y. is the Big Sunday PusherSergey Y.‘s remarkable entry StarCat1 would have, in one crushing blow, won either the Saturday Leap prize or the Sunday Push prize. Since he chose to submit it on Sunday, he walks away with the laurels for the Sunday Push. Congratulations Sergey for the single biggest improvement since Nick Howe’s Skookumchuck2 early on Friday. I’m a big fan of the creative naming that we see in many of the contest entries. Skookumchuck? It’s a narrow inlet in British Columbia. I had to look it up too. And speaking of trivia, here’s a question for you. The boat illustration we used for this contest has special relevance for Sergey (and the contest team). Can you identify the source of the image and why it is significant? Leave your answer in the comments here. 
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I suspect it has “special relevance” for Nicholas Howe too ;-)
You are right, Sergey. I almost mentioned that, but I didn’t want to make it too obvious!
A wild guess, but is that the Mayflower? :)
That’s a good guess. Since the map this ship appears on was made in 1614, it’s very likely that this map was actually aboard the Mayflower when they came back 6 years later.
So you’re getting warmer…
Well, the boat illustration comes from John Smith’s map of New England, and I gather that he named many of the places on the map. Perhaps he named Natick (the location of MATLAB headquarters)? I see Cambridge on the map, which is where Sergey is, so that could be the tie to him. Is there more to it?
That’s all there is to it, and you are the winner (although it appears Sergey also worked it out). John Smith’s 1614 map is what gave New England its name. The land labeled “Cape Anna” is now known as Cape Ann, and if I had included a little more of the map to the south, Cape Cod would have clearly been in view. Since Sergey, Nick, and the contest team are all based in Massachusetts, it seems to have been a lucky choice for an image.
Of course we still don’t know what part of the world the contest winner is going to come from. But if recent history is any guide, the winner isn’t likely come from the United States.