Prepared by: Mustafa Al-Zoubi
A researcher from the Canadian University of Manitoba was able to solve the mystery of an encrypted message after 123 years that was inside a secret pocket of a brown silk dress, which a woman named Sarah Rivers Coffield bought from an antique mall in the American state of Maine in 2013. After careful examination, she discovered the handwritten message.
The notes were vague, containing lines of text filled with seemingly random words: “Bismarck, Ohmet, Levage, Back, Bank.”
Rivers-Coffield posted online about her discovery, hoping to get help deciphering the messages, but the meaning of the messages remained a mystery for another 10 years.
It was considered one of the top 50 unsolvable codes in the world by experts and amateur cryptographers around the world.
A breakthrough came when Wayne Chan, a researcher at the University of Manitoba, confirmed that the symbols and code words found in the notes were similar to those used by the US Army Signal Corps to discuss the weather.
Chan was able to view a PDF copy of a book titled “The Weather Code,” dating back to 1892, which is available at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Central Library in Silver Spring, Maryland.
The solution to the words was “Bismarck, Ohmet, Levage, Buck, Bank.”
Bismarck Station name: Bismarck, Dakota Territory (currently in North Dakota)
Leaf dew point: 32°F Observation time: 10:00 p.m
Pak weather condition: “Net precipitation, wind direction is northerly.”
Bank: “Current wind speed: 12 mph Sunset: Clear.”
2023-12-17 15:43:51
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