Has the eagle landed?
April 3, 2010 5:24 PM Subscribe
Help me decipher this mysterious bathroom graffiti code.
My girlfriend discover and took a picture of this very mysterious graffiti in a bathroom yesterday, and we've been puzzling over it ever since. What does it say? What could it mean? What on earth code is this?
My girlfriend discover and took a picture of this very mysterious graffiti in a bathroom yesterday, and we've been puzzling over it ever since. What does it say? What could it mean? What on earth code is this?
Yep..it's a runic alphabet.
"If you can read this, call scrib hail freya"?
Not sure about the last 3 words, but the beginning is correct.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 5:35 PM on April 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
"If you can read this, call scrib hail freya"?
Not sure about the last 3 words, but the beginning is correct.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 5:35 PM on April 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
Agreed. The colon-looking things are probably spaces between words, and the last character looks like a signature.
There are several different runic alphabets, but doing a Google image search would be a good start.
posted by box at 5:35 PM on April 3, 2010
There are several different runic alphabets, but doing a Google image search would be a good start.
posted by box at 5:35 PM on April 3, 2010
Freya is a goddess from Norse mythology.
Scrib, I have a feeling, is some dude.
posted by box at 5:37 PM on April 3, 2010
Scrib, I have a feeling, is some dude.
posted by box at 5:37 PM on April 3, 2010
Duh. "Call Scrib" (possibly someone's name). Hail Freya.
Could also very well be a WoW reference (gods, I hope not).
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 5:39 PM on April 3, 2010
Could also very well be a WoW reference (gods, I hope not).
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 5:39 PM on April 3, 2010
or what box said :)
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 5:40 PM on April 3, 2010
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 5:40 PM on April 3, 2010
I'm going to go for (based on a quick google, no actual knowledge) someone with an interest in Wicca or similar. It might be a bored student of Norse history if you're in a university town, but a) they're definitely runes, but b) they might be historically accurate or one of the new age-y versions.
posted by cromagnon at 5:41 PM on April 3, 2010
posted by cromagnon at 5:41 PM on April 3, 2010
Another vote for "If you can read this, call scrib(scribe?), hail freya."
Or: IF IU CAN RID THIS CAL SCRIB HAIL FREI
posted by Catch at 5:46 PM on April 3, 2010
Or: IF IU CAN RID THIS CAL SCRIB HAIL FREI
posted by Catch at 5:46 PM on April 3, 2010
Yeah, they're not trying to speak Anglo-Saxon (or the like.) It's a strict transliteration. Guessing it was written by some giddy SCA/gamer/geek kids in the middle of a road trip, or something. Or maybe it's left over from a fannish-nerdy scavenger hunt.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 5:49 PM on April 3, 2010
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 5:49 PM on April 3, 2010
"If you can read this, call scrib hail freya"?
Aw. I was hoping it was "If you can read this and fancy a scrub, call Freya".
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 5:50 PM on April 3, 2010
Aw. I was hoping it was "If you can read this and fancy a scrub, call Freya".
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 5:50 PM on April 3, 2010
When I was 12 (and an avid D&D player), I was given a "rune kit" based on Elder Futhark. I wrote runically on EVERYTHING that ink would stick to, so yeah, giddy SCA/gamer/geek kids :)
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 5:51 PM on April 3, 2010
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 5:51 PM on April 3, 2010
Catch, Cat Pie - what system is this, and how does it work? I can't find the fourth character anywhere in the original futharc (?) alphabets, although I can see how ᚱᛇᛞ is "read" through phonetic transliteration
posted by cromagnon at 5:56 PM on April 3, 2010
posted by cromagnon at 5:56 PM on April 3, 2010
I read the fourth character as equivalent to the "aurochs" rune here - I have seen runic 'alphabets' that vary according to whether they are written on a surface or carved, straight lines being easier to carve, of course.
I can't remember the name of the specific rune set, I'm sorry.
posted by Catch at 6:06 PM on April 3, 2010
I can't remember the name of the specific rune set, I'm sorry.
posted by Catch at 6:06 PM on April 3, 2010
cromagnon: "I can't find the fourth character anywhere in the original futharc (?) alphabets"
I think it is supposed to be ᚢ which is Ur and would be a "u".
posted by Deflagro at 6:10 PM on April 3, 2010
I think it is supposed to be ᚢ which is Ur and would be a "u".
posted by Deflagro at 6:10 PM on April 3, 2010
Ah, OK - that makes sense: ᛇᚠ:ᛇᚢ = i-f :i-u = "if you" and so on. Thanks!
Hmm. I kind of wish there was more to it than that :)
posted by cromagnon at 6:22 PM on April 3, 2010
Hmm. I kind of wish there was more to it than that :)
posted by cromagnon at 6:22 PM on April 3, 2010
I had actually skipped on to "can" and that's when I noticed the word pattern and just interpolated "you" from there. Context is everything :)
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 7:11 PM on April 3, 2010
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 7:11 PM on April 3, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by geek anachronism at 5:26 PM on April 3, 2010