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Fermilab Calls For Code Crackers

Posted by kdawson on from the finding-patterns-where-none-may-exist dept.

atrocious cowpat passes along a call for help from symmetry magazine, the joint publication of Fermilab and SLAC, noting: "Could be just plain gibberish, it could be something like those wonderfully weird letters to the Mount Wilson observatory, or it could be a message from aliens who just happened to have gotten their hands (tentacles/exoskeleton) on a fax machine." "A little over a year ago, the Fermilab Office of Public Affairs received a curious letter in code (4.4-MB image here). It has been sitting in our files all that time and we haven't had much of a chance to look into breaking the code, nor are we particularly expert at this!"

19 of 392 comments (clear)

  1. Clearly.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's Dr. Emma Russells formula for cold fusion.

  2. I'm not positive about my translation by Eevee · · Score: 5, Funny

    But it seems he's from Nigeria and wants help tranferring money out of the country.

  3. Well, obvious stuff: by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Three "stanzas" maybe.

    Starting with the "middle" stanza, that appears to be some sort of "key" perhaps. Each of the different symbols correspond to a different hexadecimal digit.

    In the first stanza, each grouping of lines has 1, 2 or 3 lines.

    In the last stanza, each group of lines is only 1 or 2 lines.

    Maybe the last stanza is binary?

    And maybe the first stanza is base 3?

    Anyone else care to wager a guess?

    --
    My blog
    1. Re:Well, obvious stuff: by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 5, Informative

      Mirror here. I think Google's servers can probably handle the traffic. ;)

      --
      My blog
    2. Re:Well, obvious stuff: by azzuth · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's funny, when i converted it and then etch it onto a vinyl i got Rick Roll'd

    3. Re:Well, obvious stuff: by baffled · · Score: 5, Funny

      You're thinking waaay too deep.

      Turn the page 90 degrees clockwise.

      It says 'Hi'

  4. Google recruiting? by spydum · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Perhaps Google is targeting Fermilab scientists for hiring.. Don't they have a history of using strange riddles and puzzles for hiring purposes?

  5. Hmmm... by Omicron32 · · Score: 5, Funny

    4.4MB image link on the front page of Slashdot? I sense a great disturbance in the force...

  6. Interesting... by wile_e_wonka · · Score: 5, Funny
    Very odd indeed! I received this cryptic message (which it seems I've seen before):

    Error!
    Could not connect to remote server

    You tried to access the address http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/breaking/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/fnalcodeletter.jpg, which is currently unavailable. Please make sure that the Web address (URL) is correctly spelled and punctuated, then try reloading the page.
  7. Mathamatically speaking.... by hengdi · · Score: 5, Funny

    There are 113 symbols, each of which is either 1, 2 or 3 strokes. So it is essentially a 113 digit base 3 number.

    This limits the amount of information that the message is trying to pass.

    For example, using base 26 - all the letters - means we could convey the same information in ??? digits.

    Oh damn it. I'm too drunk and Google ain't working for me. Perhaps someone could give a value for ???

    But I'm betting it won't be very many digits. I.e. this message is very short.

    1. Re:Mathamatically speaking.... by mr_mischief · · Score: 5, Funny

      Jose Cuervo Especial, 750 ml, 12-pack case.

      Mystery solved!

      Damn, Google has us spoiled.

  8. Okay, let's do this! by The+Insane+One · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just let me get a pencil and some paper.

    "All your base are belo"

    Oh crap.

  9. I've seen this before by Crash+McBang · · Score: 5, Funny

    The translation comes out as:

    My name is Kosh Naranek.

    I am writing this brief letter to bring to your attention a business offer which we believe you might find attractive.
    Mrs Maria Garibaldi; wife of one a wealthy Martian executive (Late Mr. Michael Garibaldi) seeks a business assistance from a reliable and reputable businessman to invest and manage funds to the tune of 15 Million Credits...

    --
    To put a witty saying into 120 characters, jst rmv ll th vwls.
  10. Mirrored Copy by LaptopZZ · · Score: 5, Informative

    I mirrored it on my server as well as made a scaled down version which is just as readable as the original (unless you're making a poster).

    http://www.pixabug.com/aliens/fnalcodeletter.jpg

    http://www.pixabug.com/aliens/fnalcodeletter_sanesize.jpg

    Happy Cracking

    --
    -=LaptopZZ=-
  11. I've managed to decipher the final section... by DirtySouthAfrican · · Score: 5, Funny

    It reads "Use only Genuine Interocitor Parts". Seems gibberish to me.

  12. I've seen this before.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's obviously Woodstock. He's telling Snoopy about encryption.

  13. DNA sequence? by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 5, Funny
    1. Four DNA characters: A, C, G, T
    2. Four character sequences: |, ||, |||, (space)
    3. Determine character mapping.
    4. ...
    5. Velociraptor.
    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  14. FRANK SHOEMAKER WOULD CALL THIS NOISE by wirelessbuzzers · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The first part is ternary, with 3 substituted for 0. It's somewhat miswrapped, but it appears to say "FRANK SHOEMAKER WOULD CALL THIS NOISE".

    --
    I hereby place the above post in the public domain.
    1. Re:FRANK SHOEMAKER WOULD CALL THIS NOISE by femtobyte · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Last stanza:
      consider the || separators between trinary digits |, | |, | | |; decode as for first stanza, gives:
      tadcfmtt blaztr zyppt pioqttb ->
      "employee number basse sixteen"

      thus, the central numbers are probably the employee # of the prank letter writer. Someone at Fermilab could probably check this (maybe Frank Shoemaker?)

      I think we've solved it!