34 Items Tagged

Codes

The station.

Inverness, California

KPH Maritime Radio Receiving Station

An enchanting tunnel of cypress trees leads to an old morse code station still used today.

Liverpool, England

Liverpool Central Library Entrance Riddle

The red letters in the literary pavement leading to the library form a mysterious code.

Look at all dem words.

How Many 9-Letter Words Can You Make With Airport Codes?

Perth + Chattanooga + Nice = PERCHANCE

Cara Giaimo March 29, 2018

With Musical Cryptography, Composers Can Hide Messages in Their Melodies

By mapping notes to letters, some musicians sneak secret words into tunes.

Christina Ayele Djossa March 26, 2018

Watson has worked on the handwriting of famous authors, including Jane Austen. This is an 1800 letter from Austen to her sister Cassandra.

Where Old, Unreadable Documents Go to Be Understood

A transcriber on the Isle of Man can decipher almost anything.

Sarah Laskow February 8, 2018

A Zombie set aflame.

The Zombie

Donn Beach wrote the recipe for his famously potent cocktail in secret code.

Washington, D.C.

Legislative Bell System

An ear-piercing buzzer calls lawmakers to a vote with a series of long and short rings to form coded messages.

Found: The Hidden Message in a 1676 Letter Allegedly Dictated by the Devil

Code-breaking software deciphers a strange missive penned by a 17th-century nun.

Sarah Laskow September 11, 2017

A teenage Beatrix Potter and her pet mouse, Xarifa, in 1885.

Beatrix Potter's Greatest Work Was a Secret, Coded Journal She Kept as a Teen

It took a dedicated superfan 13 years to translate it.

Cara Giaimo June 16, 2017

Moon's System of Embossed Reading, aka Moon Code.

How a Blind Doctor's 'Moon Code' Helped Thousands Read Again

In the 1840s, Dr. William Moon remade the Roman alphabet to help his students.

Cara Giaimo January 6, 2017

Wellesley, Ontario

Bean Puzzle Tombstone

It took over 100 years to decode this enigmatic epitaph for two buried brides.

25 & B

How to Decode the Hidden Secrets of Havana's Streets

Hand signals, street signs, color-coded uniforms, and more.

Sarah Laskow November 15, 2016

The Hidden Meaning of Political Bumper Stickers

What does the slogan on your car say about you?

Elizabeth King September 26, 2016

How Flower-Obsessed Victorians Encoded Messages in Bouquets

Victorians used flowers a lot like we use emoji.

Romie Stott August 15, 2016

The Strangely Perplexing Problem of Communicating Numbers Out Loud

Eight-six-seven-five-three-oh...something.

Uri Bram August 2, 2016

Dresden, Germany

Dresden Codex

To the great disappointment of doomsdayers, this codex merely contains records of the Moon and Venus.