THE WORLD'S UNSOLVED CIPHERS

INTRODUCTION

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Today, there are thousands of languages that people speak daily, and yet, it is predicted by linguists that most of these languages will become extinct in the future. Conservation efforts have been made to keep languages alive, but inevitably, some will disappear forever. This may be the case in some of the world’s uncracked ciphers, which today still make cryptographers scratch their heads in confusion.

THE RICKY MCCORMICK CIPHERS

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Ricky McCormick was a high school dropout living in Missouri with his mother. According to several investigations done by police, he not only had several health problems, but he was also imprisoned for a time and has a known criminal history. At the age of 41, McCormick was found dead in the middle of a field. Officials did not know how McCormick ended at the field when he had no access to a car or public transportation. His murder remains unsolved, but the two notes found in his pockets provoked another investigation.

The two notes appear to be a jumbled mess of letters, numbers, and other symbols. Investigators concluded that two people wrote the notes, but the family of McCormick states that he could not even write his name, let alone an entire code. This led to authorities suspecting that McCormick was only a carrier for the notes. Attempts made by the FBI resulted in nothing, and the codes remain unsolved. Theorists believe the notes point to McCormick’s killers. As a result of media attention, the FBI set up a page for the public to comment on theories and solutions for the notes.

THE BEALE CIPHERS

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The Beale Papers, found originally by Thomas J. Beale, supposedly contain the whereabouts of buried treasure around Bedford County in Virginia. The text is made up of three main cryptograms, each one giving clues for the location of the treasure. Today, only the second cryptogram was deciphered, using the United States Constitution as the key. The second cryptogram described the appearance of the treasure and its general location.

Many believe that the Beale Ciphers are a hoax, stating that the second cryptogram purposely draws people’s attention to the possibility of finding treasure. Nevertheless, many expeditions have been led into the county for hopes of finding the lost treasure. The only thing that has ever turned up from these expeditions are Civil War artifacts.

THE VOYNICH MANUSCRIPT

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The Voynich Manuscript is one of the most well-known books of all time. The entire book is written in an unknown language dating back to the 15th Century, written by an unknown author. The book can be split mainly into four sections: Astronomy, Botany, Biology, and Pharmaceutical. Not only is the book written in an unknown language, but scholars have determined that the book is not a hoax due to its complexity. Furthermore, the book contains knowledge that should not have been known at the time of its writing. For example, numerous astronomical pictures showcase very accurate information and description of astronomical phenomena. In Botany, over 100 unidentified plants are illustrated in the book. Unknown medicinal recipes also appear in the book, and tube-like structures containing humanoid beings further confuse scholars,

Today, the Voynich Manuscript is housed at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University. Despite countless investigations done by scholars and historians, the language remains undeciphered, and the illustrations continue to elude them as well.

SOURCES

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Ricky McCormick murder notes (https://cryptography.fandom.com/wiki/Ricky_McCormick_murder_notes)

McCormick Cipher (https://www.dcode.fr/mccormick-cipher)

The Lost Treasure of the Beale Ciphers (https://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena/lost-treasure-beale-ciphers-003824)

Voynich Manuscript (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manuscript)