The original burial of the hare took place in 1979 in a park in Ampthill, Beds., and was witnessed by Bamber Gascoigne, the former host of University Challenge. Gascoigne poured a cowpat from a Tupperware box over the hole to disguise where it was laid. The original winner, who used the pseudonym Ken Thomas, turned out to have discovered the whereabouts of the hare via Williams's former girlfriend. She had hoped to share the proceeds with a fellow animal rights activist. Two physics teachers were later acknowledged as the real solvers of the puzzle.