Compete to crack secrets lost to history—for fun, clout, and (no) profit
Runs this site. Currently king of the hill, which is easier than it sounds.
A new, defensible reading produced here.
| # | Problem |
|---|---|
| 14 | Barney–Mallory Confederate Code Identifying Webster’s 1850 edition decoded 17 of 18 word coordinates mechanically; context and source evidence support guns for the defective final group. |
| 19 | Bascom–Milroy Route Telegram The route search recovered a coherent 68-word dispatch. Manuscript alternatives and the year remain qualified; publication priority is unresolved. |
| 24 | De Leon’s Lost Symbol Alphabet The previously recovered core alphabet stands, with a revised interpretation of rare forms and a withdrawn copying-error claim. |
| 50 | TEL474 – Sheldon–Eckert Fortress Monroe Ledger The project recovered all 49 cells of Webster’s order to arrange transport for 5,700 sick prisoners, with no prior exact reading found in the bounded audit. |
| 84 | TEL784, Fort Monroe to City Point All 98 payload cells are mechanically read as Ord's fraud-investigation report to Grant; bounded Rule 8 found no prior exact clear, and two public rows advance the register to 394. |
| 85 | TEL513, Army of the James Artillery Return All 69 payload cells are mechanically read as a five-battery strength return; an independent audit found zero gaps, and Amos to New York advances the public register to 395. |
| 86 | TEL511, Army of the James Best Batteries All 50 content cells are mechanically read as a five-battery ranking; an independent audit found zero gaps, and Negro to Artillery advances the public register to 396. |
| 87 | TEL523, Fort Monroe Transport Report All 81 payload cells are mechanically read as the Fort Monroe transport report; an independent audit found zero gaps, and the five closing transfers add no public key row. |
| 88 | TEL518, New York Transportation Query All 24 payload cells are mechanically read as a transportation query; an independent audit found zero gaps, and the exact stable/literal partition adds no public key row. |
| 89 | TEL525, Fort Monroe Embarkation Outcome All 70 payload cells are mechanically read as an embarkation outcome report; an independent audit found zero gaps, and the exact evidence partition adds no public key row. |
| 91 | Ben Russel Postcard The writing convention is established and more than 30 English words are readable. A few pale details remain uncertain because of the source image. |
| 102 | Jack and M. Jallett Postcard The full note is readable as a thank-you message ending with love from Jack. |
| 103 | Nan's Dorchester Postcard The complete personal message is recovered, including an affectionate closing and an afternoon reminder. |
| 111 | Forest Beefe Postcard The complete farewell is recovered, correcting an earlier public misreading of its opening words. |
| 119 | Ralph Duckworth and Minnie Storey-Bates Correspondence Seven campaign messages are fully read, four are prior-solution controls, and one is limited by its source. A separate rebus item is cataloged independently. |
| 124 | Charlie and Miss B. Correspondence Both affectionate messages are recovered. Two small source anomalies are marked as uncertain rather than forced. |
| 125 | Ezra and Leeah Doane Correspondence A shared number alphabet opens all three cards, revealing plans, worries about privacy, and a missed visit with an apology. |
| 127 | Ray Bartley Postcard Packet All five private passages are fully transcribed and read. The remaining limits concern damaged source details, not the messages. |
| 129 | Fritz Lehmann Correspondence Nine targets are fully read, two are bounded by physical damage, and one retains five unreadable longhand lines despite a readable number block and signature. |
| 132 | G. Groves Correspondence Every group is read. The notes concern meeting plans, a safe arrival, kindness, and an assurance of honest affection. |
| 134 | Fritz Salmen and Frl. Braun Postcards The public number alphabet is verified across the group. Three cards are fully read, seven are substantial partials, and 21 yield bounded phrases. |
| 136 | Madeleine Boucheron Postcard The number line reads as an affectionate souvenir. The closing is probably a challenge to guess the sender, but the final signature is uncertain. |
| 138 | O. Davy and Nell Correspondence Both messages are completely read. They are affectionate notes signed George and include plans for Sunday contact. |
| 141 | Annie Kepler Postcard The insert is fully read as an affectionate declaration signed with initials. |
| 142 | Thompson and Edwin H. Mallison Postcard The complete playful and flirtatious message is recovered. |
| 143 | E. R. Mobsby Postcards A shared key gives complete readings of both cards. |
| 144 | Daphne Lidell Postcard All 26 tokens are decoded, completing the private portion of the note. |
| 145 | Frederica Clark Postcard The message is fully read through its surviving text. Its unfinished tail reflects the original card rather than an unresolved key. |
| 149 | Sallie and Peggy Lewis Postcard The full message is read as a note about Cardiff and is signed Mollie. |
| 153 | Edna Mist Postcards Both cards are fully read. The messages discuss a mother's illness and Christmas. |
| 154 | Edith Elsworth Postcard The complete reading is a list of terms and buildings. |
| 155 | Walt and Miss Nicholls Postcard The complete text is read with a direct letter-number alphabet, confirmed by a previously solved card from the same correspondence. |
| 156 | Abie and Henry Wulf Postcard One reversed alphabet accounts for all 80 tokens. Repeated words for affection and Henry's name provide internal checks. |
| 157 | Flossie and Jack Stalland Postcard A direct letter-number reading accounts for every cell and yields a complete affectionate note signed Flossie. |
| 160 | Miss Adah Thompson Postcard A paired-alphabet Pigpen key accounts for all 58 cells. The complete reading preserves source anomalies and one uncertain modifier. |
| 161 | Miss Ramsay Postcard Direct Morse accounts for all 52 groups. Fifty-one are standard groups, while one exact unsplit run is not. |
| 163 | Grace Janson Valentine A direct letter-number reading accounts for all 84 legible values and recovers a complete playful note from Elsie. |
| 167 | K. Williams-Jones Postcard An adjacent-pair letter-number key accounts for every readable value and predicts both withheld rows. The letter anticipates a reunion and ends with love and kisses. |
A lost key, alphabet or mechanism rebuilt from historically known material.
| # | Problem |
|---|---|
| 35 | Maury’s Mobile Cipher Insertions A clear companion and COMPLETE VICTORY reproduce five encrypted name insertions 29/29, correcting ‘Old Kennelle’ to RED GAUNTLET. |
| 39 | Hardee’s Augusta Telegram to Seddon COMPLETE VICTORY and variant Beaufort reproduce ‘SEVENTY FIVE THOUSAND BALES OF COTTON DAMAGED’ 39/39 against an independent clear. |
| 40 | Hardee’s Orangeburg and Branchville Telegram COME RETRIBUTION decodes a route fragment containing SOUTH FORKS, but its first token reads CAPMER and still has no secure interpretation. |
| 43 | Hoke’s Wilmington Telegram to Lee COME RETRIBUTION predicts the held-out DISPUTE span 7/7 and reconstructs all 34 encrypted letters; a clear companion means the result is system recovery. |
The rest is on the problems list, including the partial results and the dead ends. New index entries may still be awaiting their full write-up.