The mystery of Rennes le Chateau involves two coded parchments claimed to have been found by Berenger Sauniere in 1887 while restoring his church. Much controversy surrounds the discovery, as well as the meaning to the hidden messages found on the parchments. The purpose of this article is to only …
This segment of MW Codes, Ciphers, and Puzzles talks about the Ottendorf Cipher. Those of you who have watched the movie, National Treasure, are probably familiar with it, but just might not remember the characters saying the specific name for what the cipher was in the movie. In the …
There are many variations or types of substitution ciphers. One of the more simpler types is a number cipher. A number cipher is where a number takes the place of a letter in the alphabet. This can be done by numbering each letter of the alphabet, 1 thru 26, and …
This segment of the MW Codes, Ciphers, and Puzzle Series features the Keyword Cipher. The Keyword Cipher is similar to the Caesar Shift Cipher in that the alphabet is shifted; but instead of being shifted by a certain number, it is shifted by the use of a Keyword. For example, …
In many puzzle sections of newspapers are found a fun type of puzzle called a Cryptogram. Most often these Cryptogram challenges use a simple form of substitution cipher. A substitution cipher is where each letter is replaced by a different symbol (letter, number, or other character). Cryptograms in newspapers are …
In the first segment of the MW’s Codes, Ciphers, and Puzzles Series, we talked about the simple form of Substitution Cipher known as the Caesar Shift. The Caesar Shift simply shifts the letters of the alphabet by a fixed amount. For instance, a shift of 1 would encode each letter …
As this site is a leading source for Armchair Treasure Hunts and other treasures, mysteries, and adventures, we wanted to create an informative series on Codes, Ciphers, and Puzzles. This MW Series is not only to help those being introduced to these types of hunts for the first time, but …
In the preface of the book, The Devil in Britain and America (1896) by John Ashton, there is shown a copy of the assumedly only known example of the Devil’s Writing. Ashton explains that during his research for his book about the Devil, he came across this mysterious message included …
One of the most popular word games of today is Scrabble. Like Monopoly, almost everyone has at least heard of the game Scrabble, and recognizes the letter tiles and board used for play. What might not be known is the invention of Scrabble was inspired by the Cipher used in …
Help solve a mystery! Who was the Somerton Man? On December 1st, 1948, a man was found dead on Somerton Beach in Adelaide, Australia. His true identity remains unknown today. Below are 10 interesting facts about the Somerton Man and the mystery involved. It will be noticed the facts seem …
