Does anyone know of any famous codes or ciphers that have gone unsolved for lengthy periods of time or remain unsolved?

May 7, 2004 1:46 AM

Does anyone know of any famous codes or ciphers that have gone unsolved for lengthy periods of time or remain unsolved? I am thinking specifically of things like The May Day Mystery and the Voynich Manuscript (also here). So things more like those and generally less like the Beale Cipher. Maybe something to do with Art Brut or Outsider art or perhaps Kabbalic systems like Gematria. Or, if all else fails maybe something by the Rosicrucians or Freemasons?

Put another way, I am looking for cryptic and complex visual systems that maintain an internal logic (however faulty or suspect) and ESPECIALLY anything having to do with the interpretation and/or decipherment of such systems.
posted by mokujin to sports, hobbies, & recreation (2 comments total)

The May Day mystery used to drive me crazy, back when I was a student at U of A. Was that badboy never cracked?
posted by ph00dz at 8:48 AM on May 7, 2004

When i was really interested in the Voynich Manuscript, briefly, I enjoyed this little page of Famous Unsolved Codes and Ciphers
posted by jessamyn at 9:43 AM on May 7, 2004