# The CSV Scrolls

THE CLOUD EXPEDITION! · level 12 · chapter 5

Archivist Aria pushes her spectacles up with trembling excitement. 'I found historical records scattered across the web — raw CSV files, just sitting there on public servers!' She cracks her knuckles over the keyboard. 'With httpfs, DuckDB can read them directly from any URL. No downloading, no importing — it's basically telekinesis for data.' Master <span class='feature-highlight'>HTTP File Reads</span> — querying remote files directly by URL.

## Task

Use `read_csv()` to query the historical pond discoveries archive directly from its URL — no download needed. Filter for discoveries after 1950, ordered by year. File: `https://data.dbquacks.com/archives/pond_discoveries.csv` (remote CSV).<br><br><div class="text-xs text-gray-400 mt-2">Regional tip: MotherDuck runs in US East, US West, and EU Central. For best performance, query data stored in your region. These files are hosted in US East.</div>

## Hint

Use read_csv() with the URL as your table source — you can filter and sort it like any normal table

## Expected result

Rows with columns like pond_name, discoverer_name, and discovery_year for ponds discovered after 1950

## Tables

### `lake_visits` (500 rows)

| column | type |
| --- | --- |
| visit_id | BIGINT |
| duck_id | BIGINT |
| destination_pond | VARCHAR |
| visit_date | DATE |
| purpose | VARCHAR |

### `pondville_events` (50 rows)

| column | type |
| --- | --- |
| event_id | BIGINT |
| event_name | VARCHAR |
| event_date | DATE |
| organizer_id | BIGINT |
| location | VARCHAR |
| attendee_count | BIGINT |

### `pondville_residents` (100 rows)

| column | type |
| --- | --- |
| duck_id | BIGINT |
| name | VARCHAR |
| species | VARCHAR |
| home_pond | VARCHAR |
| age | BIGINT |
| occupation | VARCHAR |
| joined_date | DATE |

## Data

The tables live in a DuckDB database: https://dbquacks.com/data/databases/motherduck_tutorial.duckdb

To query it outside the browser, attach it read-only:

```sql
ATTACH 'https://dbquacks.com/data/databases/motherduck_tutorial.duckdb' AS db (READ_ONLY);
USE db;
```

This level also queries MotherDuck shares, which need a MotherDuck token. On the page, the editor asks for one.

Play it in the browser: https://dbquacks.com/motherduck/12

## Reference

https://duckdb.org/docs/stable/core_extensions/httpfs/https