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Someone (or something) has killed the grass around it for...reasons.
List

12 Cryptic Inscriptions to See Around the World

What does it all mean?
Allegra Rosenberg November 19, 2025
Winchester, England

Curle’s Passage Riddle

Four hundred years ago, this turned-about message was carved into one of Winchester Cathedral's exterior walls.
All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura
subways

Puzzle Monday: Code-Breaking on the Armenian Subway

Alex Bellos August 1, 2022
All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura
native americans

Puzzle Monday: Secrets of the Original Code-Talkers

Alex Bellos June 6, 2022
Alchemists were a puzzling bunch. Take, for instance, this 1618 engraving by Matthaeus Merian the Elder, which is full of alchemical secrets encoded in complex symbols.
secret

7 Puzzles That Perplexed People for Centuries

From the secrets of Venice’s codebreakers to China’s intricately carved puzzle balls, these historical ciphers will inspire your curiosity.
Sarah Durn May 3, 2022
A traditional hobo moniker tells other rail riders that Ace was traveling west in 1927.
hoboes

Everything You Thought You Knew About ‘Hobo Code’ Is Wrong

Rail riders past and present leave messages for each other, but not the ones you’ve probably heard about.
Maggie Downs November 16, 2021
This 1618 engraving by Matthaeus Merian the Elder depicts the alchemical universe with the Philosopher's Stone at its center.
science

How Scholars Cracked a Medieval Alchemist’s Secret Code

Written in a puzzling Latin cipher, it contains his formula for eternal life.
Sarah Durn November 11, 2021
San Jose, California

The San José Semaphore

It took years to decode its mysterious messages.
The machine, abandoned and claimed by nature at the bottom of the bay.
objects of intrigue

Found: A Nazi 'Enigma' Machine at the Bottom of a Bay

The rust-encrusted device was likely abandoned at the end of World War II.
Isaac Schultz January 4, 2021
The emblems on this 18th-century wineglass declare the drinkers' devotion to a deposed king.
objects of intrigue

These Coded Wine Glasses Were Used for Treasonous Toasts

The Jacobites slyly drank to a deposed king.
Amelia Soth December 28, 2020
Wallis turned all of this code into written sentences.
mathematics

Sold: 53 Letters Deciphered by a Groundbreaking English Codebreaker

Cagey about his methods, John Wallis was a bit of a cipher himself.
Matthew Taub October 7, 2020
San Jose, California

The Center of Santa Clara Valley

A mysterious monument covered in a binary code marks the heart of tech.
The banks of the Schiavoni in Venice, painted by artist Leandro Bassano (1557-1622).
roman

The Hidden Professional Code Breakers of Renaissance Venice

A cabal of early cryptographers helped the government keep secrets and spy on enemies.
Christopher DeCou September 5, 2019
The mysterious rock, spotted in its natural habitat.
geology

A Village in France Will Pay You $2,240 to Decipher a Rock

We hope you like reading in all caps.
Sabrina Imbler May 14, 2019
At Bletchley Park, teacups were a bone of contention.
food

During WWII, Bletchley Park Was Home to Codebreaking and Tea Shenanigans

Staff at "Station X" threw their teacups into lakes and stuffed them into hedges.
Allan Richarz January 31, 2019
An Engima machine, photographed in 1943.
world war ii

For Sale: A Tricky Cipher Machine From WWII

Attention, tinkerers: It's still solvable.
Jessica Leigh Hester November 28, 2018
The Capitol Records building.
Los Angeles, California

Capitol Records Building Morse Code

The blinking light atop the iconic landmark has been sending secret messages for decades.
Navajo Code Talkers Tribute
Phoenix, Arizona

Navajo Code Talkers Tribute

The first permanent memorial to a unique secret weapon of World War II.