5 Secret Historical Codes That Have Still Not Been Cracked
There are some secrets too great to be unlocked.
Mysteries, puzzles and secrets have fascinated us for countless generations. This is because uncovering hidden truths can lead to massive cultural revelations and eureka moments. But, one of the curses of being human is that we have a mind for curiosity but can't always get the answers we want.
Not knowing the secrets behind something can be incredibly frustrating, and the constant attempts to solve these mysteries falling short can have you pulling your own hair out. This is particularly clear when looking back at some of history's most pervasive codes, which have, to this day, remained sealed to us.
Breaking open the crypt of knowledge from the past and finally cracking historical puzzles has happened plenty of times, with some great examples being the Egyptian Hieroglyphics, the Zodiac killer's cypher, Edgar Allen Poe's cypher mystery, and more. Getting the secrets from these big mysteries gives you hope that even the toughest of codes can be cracked, but as you're about to learn, it's not always that simple.
The following five historical secrets have plagued the minds of both experts and common folk for years, and sadly, they will probably do so forever.
5. The Carrier Pigeon Message
Finding a dead pigeon in your chimney is pretty grim, but for one man, it opened up a whole world of wartime secrets and codes. After uncovering such a decayed body in his home in 1982, David Martin found a plastic capsule around its leg and a piece of paper inside. On this paper was a coded message, which this pigeon was clearly tasked with delivering.
The use of carrier pigeons was widespread during the first and second world wars. This one had the alias 40TW194, and plenty of people have speculated (thanks to its proximity to Bletchley Park, an Allied code-breaking centre near Normandy) that it harboured sensitive information about D-Day.
Eventually, the government itself decided to try and crack the code, with experts at Bletchley Park itself doing their best to uncover the hidden message. However, they fell entirely short, as they didn't have the cypher to translate the information and couldn't figure one out.
When the mystery stumps even those who sent the message, you know you'll never get a solid answer.