Speaker 1: Welcome back. Everyone, ready for another deep dive?
Speaker 2: Always what are we uncovering today?
Speaker 1: Well, this time we're going full on mystery mode. We're
diving into the world of unsolved codes and ciphers.
Speaker 2: Oh, I like where this is going? Those are always so.
Speaker 1: Fascinating, right, This is something so captivating about these puzzles
left behind by history, These secrets just begging to be unlocked.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, they're like messages from the past. It's almost like
trying to have a conversation with history itself, but with
half the words missing exactly.
Speaker 1: Okay, so get this. Imagine an entire civilization with a
written language, but no one alive can understand it.
Speaker 2: Oh wow, that's setting the bar pretty high for a mystery.
Speaker 1: That's just the beginning. That's the story of Wrongorongo A
script found on Easter Island.
Speaker 2: Easter Island, the place with the giant stoneheads, the one
and only.
Speaker 1: But this mystery goes beyond those iconic statues. Think about it.
We have these inscriptions, these beautifully crafted glyphs, but their
meaning is completely lost poof gone.
Speaker 2: What happened? Was there some kind of catastrophic event?
Speaker 1: Well, the story goes that back in the eighteen sixties,
Easter Island was hit with some pretty devastating raids. Oh no, yeah,
a lot of the islanders were taken away, and it
seems like the knowledge of rong Goroongo went with them.
Speaker 2: So like a cultural loss on top of everything else.
Speaker 1: That's awful, it really is. And what we're left with
are these really intricate carvings, mostly on wood, some showing
human and animal forms, others with these abstract symbols that
just make you go, hmm, what does that mean?
Speaker 2: I can only imagine it's like looking at a message
you know is important, but you just can't read it.
It must be so frustrating for researchers totally.
Speaker 1: It's almost like we're missing a piece of the puzzle
of human history, like a whole chapter is just ripped out.
Speaker 2: And here's where it gets even crazier. There are accounts
from back then that say Rapanui students, the people of
Easter Island could learn Wrongorongo in just.
Speaker 1: A few months, really that quickly.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so that might suggest the writing system is actually
simpler than we think. Maybe we're over complicating things in
our attempts to decipher it.
Speaker 1: Hm, or maybe like you were saying, earlier. We're missing
some vital cultural context, something that would make it all
click into place.
Speaker 2: It's possible. It's like we're trying to solve a three
D puzzle, but we're looking at it like it's flat.
Speaker 1: That's a great analogy. Yeah, what do you think is
the key to unlocking wrong or ongo? Is it more
about linguistics, you know, the structure of language, or is
it about cultural understanding or some combination of both.
Speaker 2: It's probably a mix of both, and maybe even something
we haven't even thought of yet. That's what's so exciting
about these mysteries.
Speaker 1: Yeah, totally. It pushes us to think outside the box,
try new approaches.
Speaker 2: Exactly, forces us to expand our understanding. Okay, ready for
a different kind of challenge, one with a potentially big payoff.
Speaker 1: Oh I'm intrigued. Lay it on me, all right.
Speaker 2: How about buried treasure?
Speaker 1: Now you're talking my language.
Speaker 2: Literally, the Beal ciphers. Ever heard of them? Oh? Yeah?
Speaker 1: Yeah? Those are practically legendary in the treasure hunting world.
Ciphers that supposedly lead to a fortune buried somewhere in Virginia.
Speaker 2: You got it. The whole story is shrouded in mystery.
Back in eighteen eighty five, this pamphlet called the Beeal
Papers pops up, claiming to hold the key to this
incredible fortune.
Speaker 1: Sounds like a dream come true, But I bet there's
a catch.
Speaker 2: There always is, you know it, the location of the treasure,
even with the treasure actually is, it's all hidden within
these three incredibly complex ciphers.
Speaker 1: The ultimate treasure hunt crack the codes, follow the clues
instant riches.
Speaker 2: Sound simple, right, but there are some historical discrepancies that
make people question if the Beeal Papers are even accurate.
Speaker 1: Like what what doesn't add up well?
Speaker 2: For instance, the tomline of when this golden silver was
supposedly discovered, it doesn't really line up with what we
know about similar discoveries from that era.
Speaker 1: Hmm. Interesting. So you're saying it's possible the whole thing
is a hoax made up to send treasure hunters on
a wild goose chase.
Speaker 2: It's definitely possibility. But even with those doubts, the ciphers
themselves are incredibly intricate and fascinating.
Speaker 1: So they're like a puzzle wrapped in a mystery and
then maybe wrapped in a lie.
Speaker 2: Pretty much even William Friedman, you know, the famous cryptanalyst
who cracked codes for the US government. He was torn
about their authenticity.
Speaker 1: No kidding. He must have been pretty good if he
was working for the government. What did he think about
these ciphers?
Speaker 2: Well, he had this great line about it. He said
he believed the Beeal ciphers. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays,
and the other days he doubted them. Couldn't quite make
up his mind.
Speaker 1: That's hilarious, but I get it. These mysteries have a
way of pulling you in. Would you risk it all,
bet your fortune on these ciphers knowing they might be fake?
Speaker 2: Oh that's a tough one. The potential reward is incredibly tempting,
but so is the challenge of crackting those codes. It's
like a gamble, but the prize might not even exist.
Speaker 1: A gamble with his side of brain teaser, I kind
of love it.
Speaker 2: Speaking of brain teasers, let's move on to something a
little more visual.
Speaker 1: Ooh, okay, I'm picturing something now. What is it?
Speaker 2: It's a manuscript, but not just any manuscript. This one
is full of bizarre illustrations, strange plants, astrological charts, even
women bathing in these weird green liquids.
Speaker 1: Wait what that sounds like something out of a fever dream.
Speaker 2: That's the Voynage Manuscript for you. It's like someone took
all the strangest parts of history and crammed them into
this one book.
Speaker 1: And it's a mystery too, right, Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 2: A big one. It's like the book itself is an enigma.
Its origins are totally unclear. We know it's probably from
the fifteenth or sixteenth century, and there's a possible connection
to Emperor Rudolph the Second.
Speaker 1: The emperor Wow, Okay, this is getting interesting.
Speaker 2: He was known for collecting all kinds of esoteric texts.
And there's even a theory that John Dee, advisor to
Queen Elizabeth the First and a bit of an alchemist himself,
might have had his hands on the Voynish Manuscript at
some point.
Speaker 1: So we're talking emperors, alchemists, secret societies.
Speaker 2: I'm hook And that's just the backstory. Then there's the language.
It's written in an alphabet that no one recognizes. It's
like they made it.
Speaker 1: Up, no kidding that people tried to crack.
Speaker 2: The code countless times. But the Voynish Manuscript is a
tough nut to crack. It's like it's determined to keep
its secrets.
Speaker 1: You said, some pretty brilliant minds have tackled these other codes.
Any luck with this one.
Speaker 2: Well, even William and Elizabeth Friedman, the code breaking power couple,
couldn't crack it. They were the ones who deciphered all
sorts of messages in World War Two.
Speaker 1: Seriously, and they couldn't figure this out.
Speaker 2: Nope. They were convinced it was genuine, not a hoax,
but it's complexity stumped even them.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 2: William Friedman even had this radical theory that maybe it
wasn't a code at all.
Speaker 1: Really, what did he think it was?
Speaker 2: He thought it might be an early attempt at creating
a universal language, kind of like a proto Esperanto.
Speaker 1: That's a fascinating idea, Like instead of hiding secrets, maybe
it was trying to bridge different cultures, create a way
for everyone to understand each other exactly.
Speaker 2: It speaks to that human desire to connect, to communicate
beyond the barriers of language.
Speaker 1: But without knowing what it says, it's still just this beautiful,
mysterious object.
Speaker 2: A true enigma, proof that the unknown can really capture
our imaginations. You know, it's amazing how these mysteries can
span different fields. We've talked about ancient scripts, possible treasure maps,
even a book that seems like it's from another world.
Speaker 1: It's true, these codes and ciphers pop up in the
most unexpected places. Speaking of unexpected, what if I told
you that one of these mysteries involves a famous composer.
Speaker 2: Oh, now that's a twist. I'm all ears. Which composer
are we talking about?
Speaker 1: None other than Edward Elgar? You know, the guy who
wrote Pomp and Circumstance.
Speaker 2: No way, that's the graduation march, right, the one that
plays it like every ceremony.
Speaker 1: Yep, that's the one. But besides writing those grand, sweeping melodies,
Elgar also had a penchant for the mysterious. He created
his own cipher, known as the Dora Bella cipher.
Speaker 2: Really a musical mystery. What's the story behind it?
Speaker 1: Well, in eighteen ninety seven, Elgar sent this coded message
to a young woman named Dora Penny. They were close friends,
and the cipher has remained unsolved for over a century.
It's like a musical puzzle box waiting for someone to
find the right key.
Speaker 2: It's so intriguing to think that someone who created such
beautiful music also dabbled in secret codes. What does the
cipher look like? Is it like musical notes or something?
Speaker 1: It's kind of similar. Actually, it's made up of eighty
seven characters spread across three lines. They're these strange symbols,
sort of like semi circles, loops, and dots. Some people
think it might be related to musical notation, but no
one's really sure.
Speaker 2: So it's like a melody written in a secret language.
Have people tried to decode it?
Speaker 1: Oh, tons of times. People have used all sorts of methods,
you know, like frequency analysis comparing it to Elgar's musical scores.
There's even been a theory that it's based on a
type of semaphore flag signaling.
Speaker 2: Wow, that's a lot of effort for one little code.
Have any of the solutions been convincing?
Speaker 1: Not really. There's one that supposedly spells out this bizarre
message about drooping beige weeds in a tuned loot.
Speaker 2: Drooping beige weeds. That's pretty random. It doesn't sound very
romantic for a message to a close friend, right.
Speaker 1: It's more like a prank than a heartfelt message. Some
people think Elgar was just having a bit of fun
with Dora, maybe testing her wit.
Speaker 2: It wouldn't surprise me. Composers are creative people, right, Maybe
he saw it as another form of artistic expression.
Speaker 1: I like that idea. It makes you wonder how many
other secret codes are hidden out there, tucked away in letters, diaries,
maybe even sheet music.
Speaker 2: It's a thought provoking idea. Perhaps we're surrounded by mysteries
we just haven't noticed yet. All right, ready for a
different kind of codebreaker. This one involves a Nobel Prize
winning physicist.
Speaker 1: A physicist. Okay, you've definitely got my attention. Tell me more.
Speaker 2: This is about Richard Feynman.
Speaker 1: Wait, Fineman, the guy who cracks safes at Los Alamos
during the Manhattan Project, the.
Speaker 2: One and only brilliant mind, playful personality, and apparently a
lover of ciphers.
Speaker 1: I've got to hear what kind of codes did a
guy like that come up with?
Speaker 2: Well? Back in nineteen eighty seven, a guy named Chris
Cole posted three ciphers to a cryptography news group. Okay,
claim they came from Feineman. The first one was cracked
pretty quickly, but the other two they're unsolved. Even after
all these years, with all the advances in code breaking
and the power of the Internet, no one's cracked them.
Speaker 1: That's incredible. It's like a puzzle that's designed to stump
even the brightest minds. What makes them so difficult to solve?
Speaker 2: That's part of the mystery. We don't know what kind
of ciphers they are, what system Fineman used, or even
if they contain actual messages. Some people think they might
hold clues to his unpublished work.
Speaker 1: Oh wow, that would be amazing, like hidden scientific breakthroughs
just waiting to be discovered. Right.
Speaker 2: Others think they might just be fun puzzles, Feineman's way
of challenging the world.
Speaker 1: It's like trying to peek into the mind of a genius,
but there's this thick fog obscuring the view. What do
you think motivated Fineman to create these ciphers?
Speaker 2: It's hard to say for sure. Maybe it was his
love of puzzles, or maybe a way to leave a
little mystery behind. But one thing certain, those unsolved ciphers
are a testament to his unique way of thinking.
Speaker 1: Okay, from the mind of a physicist, let's go to
a place that's practically synonymous with secrets, CIA headquarters.
Speaker 2: Ah, you're talking about cryptos.
Speaker 1: Cryptos, right, the sculpture that has everyone baffled. It's like
a real life DaVinci code right in the heart of
the intelligence world.
Speaker 2: It's pretty remarkable. Cryptos is this large copper sculpture created
by Jim Sanborn. It was installed at CIA headquarters back
in nineteen ninety and it's covered in these encrypted messages.
Speaker 1: I've heard that even the CIA's own code breakers haven't
been able to completely solve it. Is that true?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's true. Cryptos has four encrypted sections. The first
three have been deciphered, but the fourth one remains a mystery.
Speaker 1: So what do we know about the parts that have
been solved? What secrets did they reveal?
Speaker 2: Well, the first section, which was cracked in nineteen ninety nine,
turned out to be this poetic phrase by Sanborn lf
It says, between subtle shading and the absence of light
lies the nuance of occlusion ecclusion.
Speaker 1: Did he misspell illusion?
Speaker 2: He did on purpose. He wanted to throw off potential
code breakers.
Speaker 1: That's so clever. It's like he's playing a game with us.
Speaker 2: He definitely is. Then there's the second section. It was
deciphered that same year, and it has these cryptic references
to Langley's coordinates, former CIA director William Webster and the
phrase ww was here.
Speaker 1: So it's like a little shout out to the CIA
director confirming he was part of the code breaking fund exactly.
Speaker 2: Then in two thousand and six, the third section was cracked.
It's a paraphrase passage from Howard Carter's account of opening
King Tut's tomb.
Speaker 1: Wow, ancient Egypt's spies secret codes. It's like all these
historical threads are weaving together.
Speaker 2: It really is. And the third section describes the scene
of anticipation as the tomb is breached. It's almost like
a metaphor for the excitement of uncovering hidden knowledge.
Speaker 1: I love that. It makes you wonder if the fourth section,
the one that's still unsolved, holds an even bigger revelation.
Speaker 2: That's the million dollar question, isn't it.
Speaker 1: Has Sandborn given any clues about the fourth section?
Speaker 2: He has, but they're pretty vague. He's revealed a few
words that appear in the message Berlin clock and northeast.
Speaker 1: Okay, so we have a few puzzle pieces, but we're
still missing the big picture. Yeah, what do you think
is the point of cryptos? Is it just a piece
of art, a challenge to the intelligence community, or something more.
Speaker 2: It's hard to say for sure. Maybe it's all those things.
Maybe it's a commentary on the nature of secrets, or
maybe it's just a really, really elaborate puzzle. But whatever
its purpose, Cryptos has definitely captured our imaginations.
Speaker 1: It's a great reminder that some secrets are meant to
be savored. The journey of trying to solve them is
just as rewarding as the solution itself.
Speaker 2: You know, we've been talking about codes from all these
different corners of history and culture.
Speaker 1: Ancient scripts, hidden treasures, even messages from.
Speaker 2: A physicist, right, and some are unsolved to this day exactly.
Speaker 1: And it makes you think, are there codes and ciphers
hidden in everyday life? Maybe right under our noses?
Speaker 2: I bet there are. I mean, people have been using
codes for centuries. There's got to be some modern mysteries
out there.
Speaker 1: Well, what if I told you that one of these
unsolved mysteries hits a little closer to home and might
even hold the key to solving a crime.
Speaker 2: Oh wow, Okay, this is getting serious. I'm definitely intrigued.
Tell me more.
Speaker 1: All right, this was a little different from the ones
we've discussed so far. It's the case of Ricky McCormick
and his cryptic notes.
Speaker 2: Ricky McCormick. I don't think i've heard of this case.
Speaker 1: What happened, Well, back in June nineteen ninety nine, McCormick's
body was found in a field in Missouri. The cause
of death undetermined, but there were definitely some suspicious circumstances, so.
Speaker 2: Like a potential murder exactly.
Speaker 1: And what made this case particularly strange was that they
found two hand written notes in McCormick's pockets. And these notes, well,
they were filled with this jumble of letters, numbers, and symbols.
Speaker 2: Code. Do you think he was trying to send a message.
Speaker 1: That's what investigators thought too. But here's the catch. Ricky
McCormick was reportedly illiterate. He could barely write his own name.
Speaker 2: Wait, so an illiterate man was carrying around these complex codes.
Something doesn't add up. What did the police think?
Speaker 1: They were baffled? The FBI actually believes those notes contain
a genuine cipher but they couldn't crack it.
Speaker 2: Wow, So it's possible that those notes hold the key
to figuring out what happened to him.
Speaker 1: Right, It's like a message from beyond the grave, but
no one knows how to read it. The FBI worked
on it for years with no luck.
Speaker 2: So what did they do? Just give up?
Speaker 1: Well, in twenty eleven, they decided to take a drastic step.
They released the notes to the public, hoping that someone
somewhere might have the skills to decipher them.
Speaker 2: It's like they were making a last ditch effort to
get justice for this guy. Did it work? Did anyone
crack the code?
Speaker 1: Sadly no, Despite the public's interest and the efforts of
all sorts of code breakers, those notes remain a mystery.
Speaker 2: That's heartbreaking. It's like the answers are right there, but
we just can't grasp them.
Speaker 1: It's a stark reminder that not all mysteries have neat
and tidy solutions. Some secrets, it seems, are determined to
stay hidden.
Speaker 2: While from lost languages to hidden treasures, from the minds
of geniuses to the mysteries of everyday life, one thing's
for sure. What's that unsolved codes and ciphers continue to
fascinate us. They tap into something deep within us that
desire to uncover hidden knowledge, to solve the puzzle, to
make sense of the world around us, And.
Speaker 1: They remind us that there's still so much out there
that we don't know, maybe even right under our noses exactly.
Speaker 2: Who knows what secrets are waiting to be discovered.
Speaker 1: Maybe one of our listeners will be the one to
crack the next great code.