Professor Quentin Quibble, a man whose enthusiasm for archaeology was inversely proportional to his navigational skills, adjusted his pith helmet. "Right, team," he declared to his two companions, Brenda, a no-nonsense geologist, and Gary, a perpetually terrified intern. "According to this map, the Lost City of Bubbles is just over that ridge!" <br /><br /> Brenda raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Professor, that 'map' looks suspiciously like a child's drawing of a lopsided potato." <br /><br /> Gary, clutching a rusty metal detector that kept beeping sporadically, whimpered, "And what's with all the glitter?" <br /><br /> Quentin, unfazed, pointed with a flourish. "Evidence of advanced civilization, my dear! Clearly, the Bubblonians were very fond of... shiny things. Now, onward!" <br /><br /> Their journey was less "Indiana Jones" and more "Three Stooges Go to the Jungle." Quentin tripped over vines, mistaking them for ancient booby traps ("Aha! Foiled again, you dastardly Bubblonians!"), Brenda used her geological hammer to swat away overly friendly monkeys, and Gary's metal detector mostly found bottle caps and the occasional, very confused earthworm. <br /><br /> One day, after several weeks of wandering (and one incident involving a very large, very angry iguana and Gary's trousers), they stumbled upon a clearing. In the center was... a giant, inflatable bouncy castle. <br /><br /> Brenda stared. "A bouncy castle?" <br /><br /> Quentin, however, was ecstatic. "The Lost City of Bubbles! The legends were true! Behold the magnificent architecture, the sophisticated technology!" He bounced towards it, nearly knocking Gary over in his haste. <br /><br /> Gary, ever cautious, poked the bouncy castle with a stick. It wobbled precariously. "Are you sure this is safe, Professor? It looks...deflated in some areas." <br /><br /> Ignoring him, Quentin scrambled onto the bouncy castle. "Onward, to discovery!" He immediately began bouncing with the enthusiasm of a five-year-old, nearly launching himself into the surrounding foliage. <br /><br /> Brenda sighed and pulled out her radio. "Base camp, this is Brenda. We've found the 'Lost City.' I repeat, we've found a bouncy castle. Requesting immediate extraction and possibly a psych evaluation for Professor Quibble." <br /><br /> As they waited for their ride back to civilization, Quentin continued to bounce, convinced he was communing with the ancient Bubblonians. Gary, meanwhile, discovered the bouncy castle had a slow leak, and spent a frantic hour trying to patch it with duct tape. Brenda just shook her head, muttering about the importance of peer-reviewed research. <br /><br /> The mystery of the Lost City of Bubbles, it turned out, wasn't so much a mystery as it was a very strange, slightly deflated, and ultimately hilarious misunderstanding.