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Sculptor Gives a Hint For CIA's Kryptos

Posted by timothy on from the c'mon-fellas dept.

omega_cubed writes "The New York Times reports that Jim Sanborn, the sculptor who created the wavy metal pane called Kryptos that sits in front of the CIA in Langley, VA, has gotten tired of waiting for code-breakers to decode the last of the four messages. 'I assumed the code would be cracked in a fairly short time,' [Sanborn] said, adding that the intrusions on his life from people who think they have solved his fourth puzzle are more than he expected. So now, after 20 years, Mr. Sanborn is nudging the process along. He has provided The New York Times with the answers to six letters in the sculpture's final passage. The characters that are the 64th through 69th in the final series on the sculpture read NYPVTT. When deciphered, they read BERLIN."

17 of 151 comments (clear)

  1. Shucks! by reboot246 · · Score: 4, Funny

    All this time I thought it said "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine."

    1. Re:Shucks! by Yvan256 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Why do they call it Ovaltine? The mug is round. The jar is round. They should call it Roundtine. That's gold, Jerry! Gold!

    2. Re:Shucks! by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 3, Funny

      Come now. You may weigh as much as 4 normal people but you are hardly "millions".

    3. Re:Shucks! by hey! · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine. There are starving children in Berlin who'd do anything for a nice glass of Ovaltine like that."

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
  2. No! Don't solve the puzzle! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you do, the[NO CARRIER]

  3. I'd like to solve the puzzle, Pat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Ich bin ein Berliner"

    1. Re:I'd like to solve the puzzle, Pat by PseudonymousBraveguy · · Score: 2, Funny

      My girlfriend, who is a native German speaker,
      claims that Unterwasserseebootbeleuchtungsautomatik is a valid word, which is used by a Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän.

      If you tried to fomalize German language rules, you would find the rule
      [Noun] := [Noun] + [filler]? + [Noun]

      Thus, you can combine the two words into Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänsunterwasserseebootsbeleuchtungsautomatik, and still have a valid German word.

  4. OK, so now we know that.... by dohzer · · Score: 5, Funny

    N = B
    Y = E
    P = R
    V = L
    T = I
    T = N (if it's preceded by another 'T'),

    It shouldn't take too long to solve now.

    1. Re:OK, so now we know that.... by SEE · · Score: 2, Funny

      Remember to ID by rows.

  5. The remaining 64 characters by sconeu · · Score: 4, Funny

    I remember a night we walked along the Seine riding on the metro

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  6. Re:Intrusions? by pthisis · · Score: 5, Funny

    It was part of their plan to decode it. They know that social engineering is often a much more effective way of getting at encrypted data than an attack on the algorithm; by pestering the author with a bunch of claptrap, they've already gotten him to reveal part of the plaintext.

    Next phase: Stand outside of his apartment with a stereo held overhead Say Anything-style, blasting Achy Breaky Heart. The remainder of the message will fall in days.

    --
    rage, rage against the dying of the light
  7. Re:i just fucked a girl by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ironically, this is actually the message encoded in Kryptos.

  8. Re:i just fucked a girl by VTI9600 · · Score: 4, Funny

    No, that's clearly not right, see:

    I just fucked a girl in her pussy! more than you loser-ass fuckBERLINckbeards will ever do.

    get some sunlight you stupid fuckers!! hahahaha

    Go back to cryptanalysis school, n00b.

  9. Everybody already knew it was Berlin! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    That's not the least bit helpful. Everyone knew those letters were Berlin. If only he had told us whether it is Irving, East, or New Hampshire.

  10. Re:First time, eh? by VTI9600 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well, I did the only sensible thing and entered it into WolframAlpha for analysis. So, at this point, I have determined that "fucking" is a very colloquial, informal intensifier with a Scrabble score of 17 that corresponds to the telephone keypad digits, 382-5464. I give up.

  11. Re:Intrusions? by Ihmhi · · Score: 2, Funny

    To be fair, the sculptor made it too easy to find himself when he listed his address in the phone book as "94o8sror3q9nso23n4430q0898s78q00".

    --
    Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
  12. Solved! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    After working nonstop since the hint was published, I was able to decode the entire fourth message.

    Unfortunately, it's written in all caps and has no spaces, so the Slashdot filters will not allow me to post it.